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    Hard Bitten
    Hard Bitten
    Hard Bitten
    Audiobook10 hours

    Hard Bitten

    Written by Chloe Neill

    Narrated by Cynthia Holloway

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    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 between Merit and her Master, green-eyed heartbreaker Ethan Sullivan, are tense. But then the mayor of Chicago calls Merit and Ethan to a clandestine meeting and tells them about a violent vamp attack that has left three women missing. His message is simple: get your House in order. Or else.

    Merit needs to get to the bottom of this crime, but it doesn't help that she can't tell who's on her side. So she secretly calls in a favor from someone who's tall, dark, and part of an underground vamp group that may have some deep intel on the attack. Merit soon finds herself in the heady, dark heart of Chicago's supernatural society-a world full of vampires who seem to be ready to fulfill the protesting human's worst fears, and a place where she'll learn that you can't be a vampire without getting a little blood on your hands.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTantor Media, Inc
    Release dateMay 13, 2011
    ISBN9781400189397
    Hard Bitten

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    Reviews for Hard Bitten

    4/5

    410 ratings40 reviews

    What did you think?

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    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 5/5
      Book 4 didn’t disappoint, it was just good as the first 3 books. I’m really enjoying getting to know these characters more and more. They’re an excellent group of friends, of different supernatural origins. Each having their perfect spot in the story, all are original, easy to relate to and I love them. The story has not lost me at all, I’m as committed to it as I have been in the first books and looking forward to reading the rest of the series. I can’t wait to start the next book, this one ends crazy. I can’t believe what happened and can only hope it’s not so, that it was some type of trick or magic. I still recommend this series and am heading to listen to book 5 now. I am waiting with baited breath to see what happens next??? There’s a lot going on and on the line right now.
    • 4/5
      A new drug called "V" has been circulating around the city and showing up at raves. Merit takes it upon herself to trace down the source and stop the distribution against the wishes of the GP.(The GP isn't really looking very favorable to me. Darius, the head of the GP, is more-or-less plain mean.)The beginning through the middle of the book was a bit slower for me than the previous books, however, there is a very shocking ending to this book and it makes you totally forget the slower pace. I believe the ending in this book answers some questions about a previous revelation made by Gabriel Keene.Mayor Tate is also carrying around a secret that is revealed toward the end of the book. Which I believe we have suspected the mayor was into some malicious activities before even reading this book.Overall, this book leaves a lot of questions to be addressed in the next book, Drink Deep, which will be released in November. I did think the pace was slower than the previous books, but (oh my!) the shocking ending makes up for it.
    • 5/5
      Love this series! It keeps you entertained from beginning to end.
    • 3/5
      OMG - a huge turn at the end of this book left me pissed, upset, broken-hearted, unfulfilled and depressed! I felt like a two-year old ready to pitch a huge tantrum. Up until this book, this was one of my favorite series! Unless this gets a MAJOR fix in the next book, I'll regret ever starting to read this series & will no longer recommend it to my friends.
    • 3/5
      This book... Oh, god, this book. Not saying any more, because spoilers, but... THIS BOOK, man...
    • 3/5
      This one deals with the vampires have become a bit less popular now that werewolves are out and people are wondering what else is out there. Ethan and Merit meet with the Mayor to try and solve the report of missing girls. Nothing has been reported to the public, but things might change if this isn’t solved quickly and with an extra bonus of Ethan being tossed in jail. The ending is a bit of a surprise and does finish an overall story arc. It certainly left me with wanting more.
    • 5/5
      Loved this even though I cried my eyes out. Can't wait till the next one to see how this is hopefully resolved! No spoilers here.
    • 3/5
      Hard Bitten
      3.5 Stars

      Has its ups and downs.

      The first half drags due to the focus on recapping events from the previous books and explaining, once again, who the various players are. By this point, readers should be aware of these details and even newcomers might want to read and find out for themselves rather than having everything told to them.

      Things starts to liven up once the focus shifts to the story revolving around the vampire raves/drugs and the political issues amongst the vampires. The mystery and subsequent investigation are intriguing and the romance between Merit and Ethan ratchets up. Ethan completely redeems himself by demonstrating his love, respect and appreciation for Merit who, in turn, is still wary of his motivation but is ultimately willing to meet him halfway.

      Now on to the big surprise that made numerous fans want to destroy their copy of the book and lynch the author. Thankfully, I was aware of the ending beforehand (one time I actually appreciated a spoiler) and could, therefore, prepare myself and not be completely overwhelmed. It is an emotionally tense scene and definitely opens new directions for the series whether we appreciate it or not.

      The next few books are already out so I don't have to wait "forever" to find out what happens next. If this were not the case and I didn't know that Neill sorts things out satisfactorily, this book would probably be a deal breaker for me. As things stand, there is much to be done in Drink Deep in order to live up to my expectations.

      On a final note, the narration is still awful. Cynthia Holloway has ONE voice only and speaks with a single accent regardless of whether a character hails from Texas or England. She also lacks emotional inflection, which detracts from the intensity of some of the scenes.
    • 4/5
      This was really, really good. Despite bracing myself for the shock ending I heard so much about, I was in shock when I finished. It was the one ending I didn't see coming and I still can't believe it. I tell myself it couldn't be, that it'll all work out in the next installment. Man, I'm really staring to hate cliffhangers!!
    • 3/5
      The characters are gaining strength. The twists and turns are growing. A long running story line ends, maybe, with this book. Not quite done listening yet.DAMN IT! No love triangles. Sick and tired of those. Tried it once with Ethan and Morgan, then killed it (thankfully). Don't do another one. Not worth it!-----I'm starting to wonder if the author only know of two baseball teams. She has one cubs fan and multiple Yankee fans now. That's annoying. Otherwise, I'm still dealing with the narrator and her not always making it obvious who's speaking, not to mention her sibilant S. Enjoying the series, especially the smart alec comments and the sass. Maybe it's just me, but that is part of what keeps drawing me in. The character admits she's new yet is showing the backbone of an ancient vampire.Now to follow the plot of being an anti-drug book. I can live with that thought. I suspected that the plot would stab at people higher than the original level that the author always focused, though the final reveal did surprise me. Okay, time for the next book.
    • 2/5
      I always have this hope that behind a cheesy cover actually lies a rollicking good tale.
      Alas, such is often not the case.
      I picked this up from the 'free' shelf at work, saying 'ooh! sexy vampires!'
      Sadly, it did not deliver.
      Firstly, it was strikingly unoriginal. Basically, the author cribbed the whole scenario from Charlaine Harris, just moving the story from the South to Chicago. It's like a True Blood fanfic writer said, "well, while Sookie was having her adventures, this is what was happening elsewhere." Unfortunately, the book lacks Harris' humor and wit.
      It's the fourth in a series, and around the first fourth of the book was spent in (re)introducing the characters. It was pretty boring, but I figured that the story had to get started soon... any time now.
      When it did, it was a totally forgettable plot that reminded me of an episode of a cop TV show. There was also some lackluster romance. What struck me the most about it, though, was that although there were characters named as vampires, fairies and werewolves, the supernatural aspect was completely unnecessary to the plot. It was almost like, "well, paranormal is trendy right now, so make your characters vampires." You never got a good sense of the characters actually being supernatural, or acting any differently because of it.
    • 5/5
      Well, I loved it, cried with it, laughed and had the ah, moments with it. What a roller coaster ride, E ticket. I was left my with a stake in my heart, and I am smiling about it ? Great story weaving !
      Merit grows into her position big time and stands for her beliefs. She is unbelievably strong, while trying to deal with her scars from the past.. Ethan he shows us his gentler side and starts to open his life to Merit. He is so gentle and loving towards her, pure sweetness. They are back stabbed, over ruled and twisted by more than one person. It's so twisted up, wait till you find out who and what is going on.
      A few characters step up in the story, my favorite, Jonah. I can't wait to hear more about him. Him and his group RG seem to be stepping up in the story.
    • 4/5
      Another great book in the series, but the surprise twist at the end left me worried about future books.
    • 5/5
      Merit's love life sucks!!
    • 4/5
      Well, like everyone else on the planet who read this book I was very sad and emotional about the ending. I had no idea what would happen and how the series would progress at this point but I know that Ms. Neill may have shaken her readership with this book.
    • 4/5
      I really enjoyed it. However it has an unexpected twist. I won't spoil it for you, but I never saw the twist coming.
    • 5/5
      OMG!!! I both loved and hated this book. It absolutely tore out my heart and left it in pieces.
    • 5/5
      I'm warning you there's a bit of a spoiler here. Not a full spoiler, more of, this is going to happen be ready for it. I hate when about half way through a series one of the main/regular characters gets killed off. Here we are, book 4 of the Chicagoland Vampire series, and boom, there goes one of the main characters. You've invested 4 books, you've gotten to know all these characters, the likeable ones and the villians. but you get to know them... It's like losing a friend when an author does this. Actually I don't read reviews, so I didn't see this coming, wasn't expecting it...so I'm pretty much blindsided by it. So here I am at lunch reading this, and we lose our character and my heart breaks along with all the characters in the book. I said after 4 books you're invested in what happens and where the story is going to take us. Think I sniffled and wiped my eyes for 5-10 minutes. So now where do we go from here and whenever a character gets killed off there's the why, so onward to Book 5, Drink Deep and maybe some of our questions will be answered. Despite the tears, or maybe because Ms. Neill made me feel something reading her story, I really did enjoy the story. It keeps you on the edge of your seat and turning pages. But don't say I didn't warn you, it's going to blindside you when it happens.
    • 4/5
      I'm so very thankful I knew the ending of this book before I read it, or else I'd have been so angry I wouldn't have continued with the series. Luckily, I knew what was coming and was able to enjoy the book in spite of it. I found the story to be excellent and didn't want to put it down. I missed the great interplay between Merit and Mallory - there just wasn't that much time spent with the friendship, but I suspect that will be changing in the next book.

      I will be picking up Drink Deep tonight!
    • 4/5
      I don't know exactly what I'm feeling after finishing the book. Really, feelings all over the place right now.
    • 5/5
      Loved this book. Love this series! set in Chicago, Merit is learning about how to live the life of an almost immortal. The action ebbs and flows and we learn about more about the people the people in Merit's world.
    • 3/5
      Another good addition to the series, but oh man! Already reading the next because I can't stand how it ended!
    • 4/5
      Emotional, well paced and strong. I can't say more because I will spoil the heck out of it, but yeah...fabulous.
    • 4/5
      What. The. Fuck.
    • 4/5
      Would have been 5* if not for that ending...

      I think it's safe to say i was a bit of an emotional wreck last night/this morning after finishing this story because i'm not afraid to say that i become emotionally invested in some books, series, like this one.

      Anyway, I've made no secret of loving the previous books in this series, or my reasons why--Merit and Ethan. So i think it's fair to say i took the last 15/10% of the story as a sucker punch to the gut.

      The whole will they/wont they actually seemed ready to be resolved finally and it was obvious they cared for each other deeply and were going to get together properly when doubts were thrown into her head by the resident physcho vampire and the mayor. And then Ethan throws himself in front of an Aspen stake to save Merit's life and unfortunately it hit's his heart and he's gone. Well the floodgates opened and i mourned Ethan with Merit because, God, they were so close to being happy together. Then their's that bit with with her dad and like i mentioned before i was an emotional wreck.

      I can't help wanting Ethan to magically reappear in the next one - maybe Mallory or Catcher can work some black magic and bring him back...because otherwise i'm not sure i want to continue the series when my reason for reading it in the first place is no longer there
    • 5/5
      Amazing boook! However the ending was heart-breaking! I literally started crying when Ethan died, I was hoping that maybe somehow he'll be back but...X(

      Itz just so painful seeing someone you love soo much die & that too before you've actually confessed your love..

      It was a horrible ending. Probably one which will make you cry more than any other emotional book because here Ethan and Merit don't even get a chance to be together and when finally Merit is going to forgive him...BAM..Ethan dies...

      I practically feel like abandoning this series because itz really painful watching a protag suffer like this but I'll continue with the hope that Merit finally gets a happy ending...

      Ethan is one character who will never fade from your memories because he is so unique and the circumstance of his death is one of the most painful, shocking and one which will leave you speechless.

      EDIT

      Just checked out the 6th book's summary and it mentions Ethan!!!!! OMG! Definitely continuing this series!
    • 4/5
      I really loved most of this book. I was prepared for something shocking and horrific to be at the end of the book, but I was still a bit surprised by what actually happened. My major issue wasn't even what happened, but how fast it happened. I didn't feel like the whole incident was fully realized. I had questions that weren't really answered and that is the main reason that I took away one star from what would have been a five star rating, perhaps some of it will be cleared up in the next book. As for the big incident itself, I have to say that I'm not overly worried as with paranormal type books things like death can generally be overcome in one way or another.
    • 5/5
      Omg! Twist I did not see coming. I feel like I've been staked through the heart. That's all I'm going to say.
    • 3/5
      Yeah.....like another reviewer said....finished it, but didn't really care about what happened....dunno if I'll read more in the series.
    • 4/5
      This one started slowly for me but as it went on and the action ramped up it few by. And then the end, Merit learns something about her father and something else breaks her heart, oh wow, that came out of nowhere.Merit is working as sentinel, doing research about a new drug on the market that's making vampires uninhibited, more bloodthirsty, which is putting the vampire community in danger from the human community. Making the already fragile peace even more fragile. To add to the stress there's a vampire from England assesing Cadogan House, and he's not sure that peace with humanity is a good thing.Some moments flowed better than others but overall it was a very interesting read and I'm looking forward to the next in the series.