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Early Review: Blade Bound by Chloe Neill (Chicagoland Vampires #13)

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Blade Bound by Chloe Neill // VBCBlade Bound (Chicagoland Vampires #13)
Chloe Neill
Published: April 25, 2017 (Berkley)
Purchase: Book Depository or Amazon
Review source: copy provided by publisher in exchange for an honest review 

Reviewed by: Margaret

Rating (out of 5): 4 stars

Note: While review will be spoiler free, it does make reference to previous books. If you haven’t started this series yet, check out VBC’s review of book 1, Some Girls Bite.

I started the Chicagoland Vampires series seven years ago so reading the series finale feels like saying goodbye to old friends. I put it off for as long as I could. In Merit’s world, it’s been about a year and a half. (I know, crazy.)

Blade Bound begins four months after Midnight Marked when the Cadogan crew defeated sorcerer Sorcha Reed only to see her escape from police custody. When people in Chicago start hearing voices that cause violent outbursts, Merit and friends think Sorcha’s magic might be responsible. And since one of those outbursts was aimed at Merit inside Cadogan House they have to get involved even if it interferes with their wedding plans.

Sorcha is not my favorite villain in the series. She’s not an evil mastermind so much as an entitled brat. I would have liked to see some loose end from an earlier book come back to bite them. And there’s an element of Sorcha’s magic that doesn’t quite work for me. But then there’s this other part that’s just so cool it mostly makes up for it. It’s as if the author thought, “What’s the one thing these characters haven’t fought yet?” and found a way to work it in.

Blade Bound starts with a wedding and ends more or less the way you’d expect if you’ve been following the series from the beginning. But in between Neill finds opportunities to check in on just about everyone and revisit events from earlier books. My favorite is the time that Jonah taught Merit how to jump off a building. I’m still a little bit Team Jonah despite the last six books of Sullivan swooniness, so I’m happy that Jonah got in on the action as much as he did.

Blade Bound also provides plenty of swoon-worthy Ethan moments. He’s more often a man in love than a badass Master Vampire, which gives Merit a chance to shine as a badass in her own right. She’s come a long way in that year and a half. It’s nice to see her relationships mature, not just with Ethan but also with Mallory and even with her family to some extent.

I enjoyed Blade Bound even though I didn’t think there were any surprises. It’s a sentimental story rather than one that wows, but I think fans of the series will be pleased with how well the nostalgia is woven in to the new. And as much as I hate to leave Merit behind, I’m happy with where she wound up.

Sexual content: sex

3 Responses to “Early Review: Blade Bound by Chloe Neill (Chicagoland Vampires #13)”

  1. Amy M says:

    Great Review! I agree with you when you say nothing was a surprise, but it was a good way to end the series.

    Any spoiler-free thoughts on the epilogue and the potential spin-off?

    • Margaret says:

      I saw Chloe Neill say (on FB or Twitter, I forget which) not to read the teaser until you finish the book, which leads me to believe the spinoff involves a character we meet in the epilogue.

      If I could choose a character from the book to star in a new series, I would probably pick the FBI agent. I know the paranormal federal agent thing has been done, but it’s one of my faves.

    • DC says:

      Spoiler free thoughts-I think it’s going to be bad ass. I’m interested in the angle though-will it be similar to the other Chicagoland vamp novels? I think I’d like to see her push the envelope here and do something cool-I meannnnnnn how many of us are going to pre-order anyway because CHLOE NEIL SPIN OFF hellllo. If ever there was a chance to take a chance on something new-this is it!

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