Author Chloe Neill introduces us to her Chicagoland Vampires Series with her debut novel Some Girls Bite, featuring newly turned vampire, now ex-graduate student, Merit, who is learning to deal with her newly undead status in the city of Chicago where humans were recently made aware of the vampires existence.Our main character goes by her last name only, Merit, and is a very likable, kick ass, heroine. Due to circumstances surrounding her change, we quickly discover she is not like other newly turned vampires, and has the strength and skill of a much older vampire. In the beginning Merit tends to complain a lot, as she is now vampire she must give up all her plans for the future; graduate school and a career as a teacher. She vows to punish the vampire who changed her, even though part of her readily admits that he saved her life. After some confrontational scenes with the vampire Ethan Sullivan, we learn that he is a 400 year old vampire and head of his household, the Cadogan House, which is one of twelve vampire houses in the US. We also find out that there is a magnet like attraction between Ethan and Merit, one which she readily fights and he attempts to take advantage of, this storyline proves to be an intriguing unrequited romance throughout the story.
Merit is the daughter of Joshua Merit, a self made man in the new money category who cares very little for his rebellious daughter who refuses to cower to his whims in exchange for her inheritance. Merit's grandfather, retired cop and a man with little needs, is Merit's true parent and confidant, and ends up being a fairly crucial component in the story and more aware of his surroundings than Merit ever could have imagined. Also alongside Merit is her best friend and roommate, Mallory, who at first appears to be the necessary sidekick character, there to help Merit understand her new life as a vampire and fill in the blanks for us readers who are also learning what it means to be a vampire in Neill's world, something which Mallory readily studied and researched once the announcement was made that vampires are in fact real. As the story develops we find out that Mallory has other qualities as well that will prove to be attributes that will keep her busy in Merit's new life and make her crucial to future books. Catcher is a man met through Merit's grandfather, an attractive guy who has some paranormal qualities about him. When Merit first meets him there's an implication that he may be a romantic interest, however this is quickly changed as we find he is meant for Mallory. This match gives both of them a bigger storyline than I initially thought they would have.
This book has many elements to it, since it is the first book in a series, it spends quite a bit of time setting the scene and explaining the characters, and does so in a way that is captivating and exciting. There is family drama, jealous vampires, romance, and great fight scenes. Another large component of the book is mystery. The reason that Merit was turned in the first place was due to the fact that she was attacked and nearly killed, Ethan simply had to turn her in order to save her. After her change we find out someone is still trying to kill her. This angle gives way to the main plot of the story which I found to be hooking, and it kept me reading well into the night.
Overall I actually really enjoyed this book. The cover and title gave it a look that screamed young adult genre to me, however after reading the cover I discovered it was in the paranormal romance genre. Merit was a strong character with some funny lines and entertaining mood swings, holding my attention as she fought with the life she thought she would have, and her new life that she didn't ask for but now has to succumb too. The lead male vampire character, Ethan Sullivan, was alluring and mysterious even though his old style mannerisms were frustrating at times. I'm still not sure how I feel about him as the leading romantic interest, but am definitely excited to see how he plays out in the sequel. One really great quality of this book were the fight scenes, the author did a amazing job of describing them, and I found them much more entertaining than action scenes I have read in other series.
I would recommend this book to readers who love following paranormal series, who are fans of YA paranormal books, and who love a book that has a female heroine learning to fill her too big shoes. I am looking forward to the continuation of the series in Friday Night Bites the second book in Chloe Neill's Chicagoland Vampire Series, scheduled to come out in early October of 2009.
