Twice Bitten - by Chloe Neill
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Series: The Chicagoland Vampires #3
Publication Date: July 2010
ISBN: 0451230647
Page Count: 368
My Rating: ★★★★★

Summary: Shapeshifters from across the country are convening in the Windy City, and as a gesture of peace, Master Vampire Ethan Sullivan has offered their leader a very special bodyguard: Merit, Chicago's newest vampire. Merit is supposed to protect the Alpha, Gabriel Keene-and to spy for the vamps while she's at it. Oh, and luckily Ethan's offering some steamy, one-on-one combat training sessions to help her prepare for the mission. Unfortunately, someone is gunning for Gabriel, and Merit soon finds herself in the line of fire. She'll need all the help she can get to track down the would-be assassin, but everywhere she turns, there are rising tensions between supernaturals-not least between her and a certain green-eyed, centuries-old master vampire.

REVIEW

I am now at the third book in the Chicagoland Vamps series, and by this point I am fully involved in the story and I have some favourite characters. But most importantly of all, and the thing that's keeping me flipping pages at breakneck speed, is the incredible tension—sexual and otherwise—between Ethan, Master vampire and eyebrow-archer extraordinaire, and Merit, Sentinel and all-round good guy/ badass vamp soldier for Cadogan House.

The scenes with these two positively sizzle! If you're anything like me, you'll be clamouring for them to just get on with it already! How much more does Ms Neill think we can take? I'm reluctant to give too much away regarding this, but let's just say that there will be conflict in this area. BIG conflict.

The storyline for TWICE BITTEN sees us immersed deeper in the Shapeshifter world. There has never been any great love lost between these two races after the Shapeshifters declined to help (read: turned tail and ran away to hide) during the last Vampire Clearings (a time when humans rose up to rid the world of the threat vamps posed by staking them all. Rational beings us humans, eh?). Now Ethan, ever the opportunist, sees the current shapeshifter difficulties as a perfect time to build a bridge between their two races, united against the overwhelming human population, in case they decide the time for another Clearing is upon us again. While tackling these tricky political manoeuvres, he of course wants his right-hand girl, Sentinel Merit, by his side at all times.

Merit is really coming into her stride in her role as Sentinel. After sorting out a little problem she had with her inner vamp in the last book, she is now unparalleled in her Katas sword work—ridiculously fast, although she does still struggle with her sparring—so Ethan decides to stop her lessons with Catcher and have her train with the only other person he can think of who might be able to keep up with her: himself!

"Humiliation is like a fine wine. It should be shared between friends.”

Overall the story was a lot more complex and fast paced than the last two. We got a lot of emotional drama and an intriguing ending. This is my favourite so far (by far), and I'm glad I only have to wait until 3rd May for the next one!