Once Bitten, Twice Shy

Once again, into the fray with Merit and the rest of the vamps in Chicago.  In this book, she is settling more into the role of Sentinel at Cadogen House, and still fighting an attraction to Ethan Sullivan, leader of the house and the vampire who made her.  She’s also on the outs with Mallory, her BFF, but she is trying hard to fit in with the rest of vamps and improve on her fighting skills.

In this book, the shifters and their leader are in Chicago for their convocation.  Gabriel Keene is the leader, and he is charismatic and sexy and trying to keep a lid on the various factions.  There are some threats against him, and Ethan has offered Merit’s help as protection while the packs are in Chicago.

As Merit and Ethan meet with the shifters, they find themselves in the middle of an ambush and while Merit is supposed to be the guard, Ethan throws himself over her as bullets fly.  Without wanting to give too much away, desires are bubbling to the surface and they end up acting on that desire.  Ethan is a complicated character, over 400 years old, and he’s done his best to avoid any kind of relationship.  So when he finds himself worrying more about Merit than the case they are on, it freaks him out and he tells her it can’t work between them.

Merit is stung by his dismissal, but they have to work together to deal with protecting the shifters.  Ethan comes off as the ultimate alpha douche, but without seeing the story from his viewpoint, it’s difficult to get a feel for his character.  I would like it better if the series wasn’t told from first person in that regard.

Of course, this is only the third book in a long series, so if I believe that Merit and Ethan are the one true pairing, I guess I have to be patient and see where Ms Neill takes this.  Naturally there are a lot of other hot, sexy supernatural guys in the books who would love to have a chance with Merit.  After all, she is doing her best to keep things professional with Ethan:

And then his voice echoed through my head.

“Merit.”  He silently called my name, even as he stood beside the other vampire.

“Liege?”  I answered back.

His eyes glinted.  “Don’t call me that.”

“There is nothing else for me to call you. You are my employer.That is the deal we’ve struck.”