Audiobook Review: Biting Cold by Chloe Neill

This is book 6 of the Chicagoland Vampire Series by Chloe Neill, and I wasn't 3 sentences in before I was completely ticked off.  Why? Because we have a new narrator, Sophie Eastlake. Not that she didn't do a good job. Kinda. I guess.  But I had Cynthia Halloway's voice locked in my head and suddenly nobody sounded like they once did and I am having trouble figuring out who is who.  To be honest, I had a huge problem with the male voices for the first quarter of the book; they all sounded alike to each other. It felt just like someone had taken a well loved tv show cast and replaced everyone of the actors, but went on as if nothing had changed. Let's just say that I'm a bit bitter about the change and continue on.

Biting Cold jumps right into the story with Merit and Ethan having to head out after Mallory to stop her from gaining the Maleficent once again. Mallory managed to escape the Order, and was headed for Nebraska and the empty nuclear warhead silo that is was being housed in. Just before they leave out, they get the news that former Mayor Seth Tate was released as well.  And so it becomes a race to see who would get to it first.

At first I thought Ethan had finally got his shit together after being killed and brought back, but he once again pulled his "I can't be with you right now" crap. I seriously don't understand how come Merit didn't give up on him once and for all. Fortunately this time, Merit got some better advice than, "Be the bigger person, be professional, let him see what he's missing." The new advice was more along the lines of "smack him upside his head till he pulls it out of his ass." Merit did a very nice job performing the cranial rectal inversion and what follows is a very nice smexy scene that was long overdue between Merit and Ethan.

This was a book very much about forgiveness and redemption leading to new beginnings.  It was the closing of a couple different story arcs and the beginnings of others.  The next book, House Rules should prove very interesting.  I gave this book 3 stars, mainly because I am still cranky about the narrator change.

Turned into a vampire against her will, twenty-eight-year-old Merit found her way into the dark circle of Chicago’s vampire underground, where she learned there was more to supernaturals than met the eye—and more supernaturals than the public ever imagined. And not all the secrets she learned were for sharing—among humans or inhumans.

Now Merit is on the hunt, charging across the stark American Midwest, tailing a rogue supernatural intent on stealing an ancient artifact that could unleash catastrophic evil on the world. But Merit is also the prey. An enemy of Chicagoland is hunting her, and he’ll stop at nothing to get the book for himself. No mercy allowed. No rules apply. No lives spared. The race is on.

Available at the following retailers:
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