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Description edit see section history

Times are hard for newly minted vampire Merit. Ever since shapeshifters announced their presence to the world, humans have been rallying against supernaturals-and they're camping outside of Cadogan House with protest signs that could turn to pitchforks at any moment. Inside its doors, things... read more

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Characters edit see section history

  • Merit: Main Character, Vampire, Cadogan Sentinel
  • Ethan Sullivan: Centuries old master vampire of Cadogan
  • Mallory Carmichael: Merit's best friend. A powerful sorceress.
  • Catcher Bell: Sorcerer. Mallory's boyfriend.
  • Jonah: captain of the Grey House guards
  • Seth Tate: Mayor of Chicago
  • Chuck Merit: Merit's grandfather
  • Jeff Christopher: Werewolf who works for Merit's grandfather and and is good with computers and hacking
  • Fallon Keene: Gabe Keene's younger sister, next in line to be alpha, Jeff Christopher's girlfriend
  • Darius West: Head of the GP (Greenwich Presidium).
  • Noah Beck: Leader of Chicago's rogue vampires, and of the local Red Guard
  • Celina Desaulniers: Ex-head of Navarre House
  • Lindsey: Cadogan guard and Merit's friend
  • Malik: Second-in-command at Cadogan House
  • Luc: Cowboy-boots-wearing Captainof the guard at Cadogan House
  • Paulie Cermak: Suspect in Merit's current investigation
  • Scott Grey: Master vampire of Grey House
  • Sarah: A human girl at a vampire party
  • Tonya Keene: Gabriel's wife
  • Gabriel Keene: Wolf-shifter and Apex (alpha/leader) of North American Central pack
  • Colin: Bartender at Temple Bar
  • Charlie: Darius's assistant
  • Mr. Jackson: Not-entirely-reliable eye witness to vampires in blood lust killing three young women.
  • Marie: Name of woman reportedly recruiting humans for rave-like parties.
  • Christine Dupree: Young Cadogan vamp
  • Simon: Mallory's tutor
  • Kelley: Cadogan House guard under Luc
  • Helen: Vampire den mother for Cadogan
  • Morgan: Head of Navarre house.
  • Peter Cadogan: Founder and first master of Cadogan house.
  • Julia: Cadogan House director of marketing and public relations
  • McKetrick: Apparent leader of anti-vamp militia group
  • Joshua Merit: Merit's father. Chicago new money.
Show all 33 characters
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Quotes edit see section history

  • “"I never start trouble,” I assured him. It just usually seemed to pop up in my vicinity.”
    Merit
  • “Regardless of its length, life never quite seemed long enough.”
    Merit
  • Popular Highlights from Kindle Customers
  • “You can run. You can keep running to the ends of the earth. But I won’t be far behind you.”
    Highlighted by 33 Kindle customers
  • As a girl with good sense, how was I supposed to react to a boy who’d done the unthinkable and actually grown up?
    Highlighted by 22 Kindle customers
  • “Do the things you need to do. Learn to be a vampire, to be a warrior, to be the soldier you are capable of being. But consider the possibility that I made a mistake I regret—and that I’ll continue to regret that mistake and try to convince you to give me another chance until the earth stops turning.” He leaned forward and pressed his lips to my forehead, my heart melting even as my more rational side harbored suspicions. “No one said love was easy, Sentinel.”
    Highlighted by 19 Kindle customers
  • The fear that comes from loving something so much you feel weighted down with it, nearly crushed by it. The fear of potential loss, of potential heartbreak, that you might fail the thing you worked so hard to bring into the world.
    Highlighted by 19 Kindle customers
  • “I don’t think a relationship is any good if I have to ask you to change. Do you?”
    Highlighted by 18 Kindle customers
  • “I told you once that you were my weakness,” he said. “But also my strength. I said it before betraying your trust. I know that now, and I am so very sorry.” He paused. “What would I have to do to convince you to give me another chance?”
    Highlighted by 16 Kindle customers
  • I was self-aware enough to know that the only thing I enjoyed more than getting what I wanted was not getting what I wanted. In my experience, wanting was often more fun than having.
    Highlighted by 14 Kindle customers
  • “Anger isn’t merely for the old,” Ethan pointed out. “Even the young can face misery, tragedy, and twist sadness into hatred.”
    Highlighted by 12 Kindle customers
  • cathartic cry—when you aren’t necessarily crying over something specific, but because everything has worked itself into a giant, contorted knot.
    Highlighted by 10 Kindle customers
  • “One kiss,” he promised. “And after that, the next time we touch, it will be because you ask me.” I wasn’t naïve enough to tell him I wouldn’t ask, to deny that I’d ever seek him out again. I knew better; we both knew better. “I’m afraid,” I finally confessed. “I know.” His voice was quiet. “I know, and it kills me that I put that fear into your eyes.”
    Highlighted by 8 Kindle customers
Show all 12 quotes from this book

Setting & Locations edit see section history

Chicago ... in a parallel universe in which vampires came out a little less than a year ago, and shifters have just become known.

Organizations edit see section history

  • Cadogan House: Second oldest vampire house in Chicago
  • Grey House: Youngest vampire house in Chicago
  • Navarre House: Oldest vampire house in Chicago.
  • Greenwich Presidium: the council that rules West European and North American vampires.
  • Red Guard: An organization independent of the house structure dedicated to the protection of all vampires and guarding against too-powerful masters. Members are sometime rouge vampires.

First Sentence edit see section history

We worked beneath the shine of floodlights that punched holes in the darkness of Hyde Park—nearly one hundred vampires airing rugs, painting cabinet doors, and sanding trim.

Table of Contents edit see section history

CHAPTER ONE - MAGIC IS AS MAGIC DOES
CHAPTER TWO - A FISTFUL OF VAMPIRES
CHAPTER THREE - SCIENCE FRICTION
CHAPTER FOUR - THE SAVAGE BEAST
CHAPTER FIVE - DOWN BY THE RIVER
CHAPTER SIX - SEASON OF THE WITCH
CHAPTER SEVEN - MORE HUMAN THAN HUMAN
CHAPTER EIGHT - THE ART OF WAR
CHAPTER NINE - BE IT EVER SO HUMBLE... UNLESS YOU’RE IMMORTAL AND...
CHAPTER TEN - LIKE A BOSS
CHAPTER ELEVEN - PARTY GIRLS
CHAPTER TWELVE - OVER THE RAINBOW
CHAPTER THIRTEEN - THE REVOLUTION WILL BE TELEVISED
CHAPTER FOURTEEN - THE BUCKET LIST
CHAPTER FIFTEEN - ALL THAT GLITTERS
CHAPTER SIXTEEN - THE PERP
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN - TWO MASTERS AND ONE BAD ATTITUDE
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN - V IS FOR VALOR
CHAPTER NINETEEN - RED, RED WINE
CHAPTER TWENTY - THE HANGOVER
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE - DEEP-FRIED PLAUSIBLE DENIABILITY ON A STICK
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO - DEVIL IN A BLUE DRESS
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE - DEMERITS
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR - CHERCHEZ LA FEMME
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE - LETTING GO

Glossary edit see section history

  • Sentinel: A formal position in a vampire house. The sentinel is responsible for defending the house itself, not the master.
  • Ombud: Short for Ombudsman, the liaison between the city administration and the city's supernaturals. Position currently held by Merit's grandfather. Chuck Merit.
  • Four Keys: The four divisions of magic: power, weapons, beings, and texts.
  • Rave: Vampire flash mobs at which vampires feast on a group of presumably consenting, ill-informed, humans. Not approved by the Vampire Masters. Humans co-opted the term.
  • The Order: Governing council for sorcerers.

Series & Lists edit see section history

This is book 4 of 8 in Chicagoland Vampires. (standard series)

Preceded by Twice Bitten, and followed by Drink Deep.

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

  1. Chloe Neill (Author)

First Edition edit see section history

Original Language: English
Publisher: New American Library
Country: USA
Publication Date: May 3, 2011
ISBN: 0451233328
Page Count: 368

Classification edit see section history

  • Library of Congress: PS3614.E4432 H37 2011
  • Dewey: 813.6

Notes for Parents edit see section history

Reading Level: Adults

Sexual content; some violence; adult themes

Links to Supplemental Material edit see section history

More Books Like This edit see section history

   
  • Nice Girls Don't Have Fangs

Books with Additional Background Information edit see section history

   
  • Some Girls Bite
  • Friday Night Bites
  • Twice Bitten

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