Expected publication date: August 14th, 2018
Cover blurb:
In the first thrilling installment of Chloe Neill’s spinoff to the New York Times bestselling Chicagoland Vampires series, a new vampire will find out just how deep blood ties run.
As the only vampire child ever born, some believed Elisa Sullivan had all the luck. But the magic that helped bring her into the world left her with a dark secret. Shifter Connor Keene, the only son of North American Central Pack Apex Gabriel Keene, is the only one she trusts with it. But she’s a vampire and the daughter of a Master and a Sentinel, and he’s prince of the Pack and its future king.
When the assassination of a diplomat brings old feuds to the fore again, Elisa and Connor must choose between love and family, between honor and obligation, before Chicago disappears forever.
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I am a Methan addict…I love all things Merit and Ethan! For that reason I was extremely saddened when Chloe announced the end of the Chicagoland Vampires novels but knowing that the story would continue with their daughter Elisa helped. While Methan and their associates would no longer be the focus of the novels, they will still appear so it’s *almost* as good as being a CV novel!
When the story starts out, Elisa has spent the last 4 years in Paris at the École Dumas, a university for sups in Europe. She made the choice to leave Chicago partially to escape the notoriety of being the daughter of Merit and Ethan as well as the first ‘born’ vampire. The vampires in Europe had been warring since the Greenwich Presidium was dissolved, and Elisa will be escorting French diplomats to peace talks in Chicago as part of a required year of armed service to Maison Dumas. There not only will she get to see her parents, but Connor who has been a thorn in her side since they were children. (And you know that means there is more to their relationship to come!)
Once the various factions arrive in Chicago and the talks begin, one of the delegates is murdered and Riley, a member of Connor’s pack and an old friend of Elisa’s is accused of the crime. Elisa knows that he is innocent and sets out to prove it, though she is forced to investigate without House support due to an agreement between Chicago’s vampires and the city. (Housed vampires are not allowed to interfere in investigations and must rely on the Ombudsman’s office started by her great-grandfather.) She is joined however by her best friend Lulu (Mallory and Catcher’s daughter and Riley’s ex) and Connor as the danger mounts.
Wild Hunger contains many of the same elements that made CV a favorite of PNR readers, while still being a fresh take due to the new generation taking the lead. One particular theme I’ve always enjoyed is the food talk (Merit’s one true vice) and that holds true with this new one! Don’t read them if hungry, because the food talk will make you salivate! Another similarity is the slow boil romance between the leads; it took 3 books for Methan to really develop and while there are hints of the probable Elisa/Connor relationship to come, it’s not a huge factor in this book. There’s just enough to keep your appetite whetted for more!
I know some reviewers have said that reading CV is not necessary prior, but I would tend to disagree. There is so much of the CV lore that a reader unfamiliar with the storylines will miss that is a huge element to the story. While Chloe does lay out some of the background, there were 13 novels plus novellas and I just think to fully enjoy this one a reader needs to have at least some knowledge of the prior series. (Maybe skip Hard Bitten though lol! Just to save the heartache!!)
Needless to say, I enjoyed this new outing in the CV universe immensely, and cannot wait for the next outing! Thank you SO much to Berkley and Netgalley for the chance to read this early!!!