Devouring Darkness by Chloe Neill – Review & Excerpt
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Description:
As the only vampire ever born, and the daughter of two very powerful Chicago vampires, Elisa Sullivan knew her life was going to be…unusual. But she wanted to make her own way in the world, preferably away from her famous family. Then supernatural politics—and perhaps a bit of destiny—intervened, and Elisa had to steady her nerves and sharpen her steel to fight for the city of Chicago. Luckily, Connor Keene, son of the North American Central Pack’s Apex wolf, is right by her side.
When Elisa and her Ombudsman colleagues agree to escort a troubled sorcereress to Chicago, they inadvertently set in motion a scheme of long-awaited magical vengeance. The city may pay an arcane price it can’t afford unless Elisa and her allies rise to the challenge.
Review:
Devouring Darkness by Chloe Neill is the 5th book in her fantastic Heirs of Chicagoland series. Refresher: Elisa Sullivan, our heroine, is the only vampire child ever born, and her parents (Ethan & Merit) are the powerful leaders of the vampires that lead Chicagoland. Connor Keen, our hero, is a werewolf and the heir apparent to the North American Central Pack Apex (Alpha). Connor and Elisa have become a wonderful romantic couple, as the chemistry between them is sizzling.
When Elisa and her Ombudsman colleagues agree to escort a troubled sorcerer to Chicago, they quickly learn that the woman they were trying save was a demon. With the demon loose, Chicago is under siege with chaos wreaking havoc. The stakes are high, as Elisa tries to find the demon, and stop her from destroying Chicago; Connor always shows up to be by her side throughout. Things become worse when Elisa’s family home disappears, which includes her mother, father, Connor’s mother, father, and many others we knew from previous books. Time is of essence, as they only have a few days to stop the demon and save the family. Connor is also under pressure from an out-of-town pack that plans on taking over his pack and challenging him.
I love how Elisa and Connor were so great together, with both of them always supporting each other, constantly being by their side whenever needed; even though she was a vampire and he was a werewolf. They were both independent, strong, savvy and very much in love, with awesome chemistry. It was also nice to see many of the recurring characters in this series, such as Lulu, Alexi, Theo, Petra, as well as many of the originals from Chicagoland.
What follows is an exciting action filled adventure, especially in the last half of the book as the danger escalates, with threats are escalated. Devouring Darkness was very well-written by Chole Neill, with lots of action, romance, fun and intense. Once again, I thought Elisa was a fabulous heroine, and we got a glimpse of the monster inside of her, who would help her when the danger escalated, adding the strong element of a berserker. Only Connor was aware of the monster.
Chloe Neill gives us another great story, with a wonderful couple, great secondary characters. Devouring Darkness was an exciting, tense, nonstop action filled addition to this wonderful series. I wholly suggest you read this series. I can’t wait for more.
Reviewed by Barb
Copy provided by Publisher
Excerpt
A human approached us-dark skin and dapper suit, trimly fit around a strong body. He smiled tentatively at me, then Lulu. “Lulu Bell?”
“That’s me,” Lulu said. “Hi.”
“I’m Clint Howard,” the man said, offering her a hand.
“Oh my god, sure!” Lulu said brightly, shaking and then gesturing to me. “Elisa, this is Clint. He owns the gallery.”
“Nice to meet you,” I said. “You’ve got a lovely space here. And . . . an eclectic collection.”
His grin was wide and a little sly. “We’re a space for emerging artists. And speaking of which, I saw your piece on Halsted. I’d love to talk to you about an installation.”
Lulu’s eyes went wide. She was a muralist and specialized in outdoor projects; her brightly colored creations covered at least a dozen brick
