House Rules by Chloe Neill Series: Chicagoland Vampires #7
Published by Penguin on 5 February 2013
Genres: Adult, Paranormal Romance, Urban Fantasy
Pages: 352
Source: Kindle Purchase
Buy on Amazon 
House Rules brings even more drama and fights to Merit's plate. She needs to prove herself to everybody who is close to her - even to Ethan. There is a very powerful enemy to fight this time, and it seems as if Cadogan house vampires must fight it alone this time. Good thing that Merit has kept up with different allies, and that she can count on someone to help her out when things look bleak. Of course one powerful enemy isn't enough, and Merit needs to use her wit and skill on several fronts at the same time, both to save herself and to save the house she's finally started to see as her home.
House Rules picks up soon after the ending of Biting Cold. The pacing is fast and furious, and Merit has to fight practically on all sides in this one.
As I start writing my review of House Rules, I give it 3 stars, this may or may not change to 4 stars as I digest the story a little more. I sighed several times because of what, in my opinion, was unnecessary relationship drama! It really wasn’t needed for the plot to move forward in any way, and it felt pretty forced. After six books of back and forth, it would be nice if Ethan and Merit could just make up their minds! Especially Ethan, who is several hundred years old, should know when to hold back and when to give all of his love and trust.
I also got a little miffed about the fact that the RG and the GP were mixed up several times during the narrative, it seemed like lazy editing to me – and that should not be a part of a full priced book I pay for. You might say that it’s a really small mistake, and it is, but it happened several times. And each time it happened, I had to go back to make sure whether it should really be the RG or the GP.
House Rules had a lot of action, though, and the pacing was pretty fast. It was a quick and easy read that I enjoyed. During long stretches, House Rules was exactly the kind of story that made me fall in love with the Chicagoland Vampires in the first place. But I had a little trouble getting into the drama anyway. And yes, there was drama. Between characters, and between Cadogan House and the GP.
What I liked the most was the delicious murder mystery! That was worth reading about, and I could not have guessed who the killer was. So I have to give kudos where it’s warranted. I loved the way Merit went out to all of her allies to try to glean some information to figure out who was doing the killing, and how she would get little clues that she had to piece together.
Another thing I liked was that one relationship that had been very strained started to be healed during House Rules, and I hope it will be completely mended in the future. Of course, the special brand of Merit humor was present as well, and I appreciated laughing at her antics again.
Some quotes I enjoyed:
“You did attack him for changing you into a vampire,” Luc pointed out. “Only because he didn’t do it very well.” “I reject the notion that I am capable of doing anything ‘not well’,” Ethan offered.
He was Welsh, didn’t really believe in vowels to speak of.
“Does your ego know no bounds?” Ethan Sullivan, Master of Cadogan House, smiled wickedly and slapped my ass. “Not when it’s well deserved.”
And you know what? If I was the type of girl who quit an obligation because my boyfriend told me to, Ethan wouldn’t have been interested in me in the first place.
“We’ve talked. We’re talking. Lots and lots of talking and then more talking and conversing and communicating and talking.”
I arched an eyebrow at her. She made an awful sound. “God, you’re already Mrs. Sullivan. Let’s go downstairs.”
And yes, even now that I’ve thought about it more, it’s still a 3… But if you like or love the Chicagoland series, I think you would like House Rules as well. And I have to admit I’ll probably read Biting Bad this fall as well.
About Linda @ (un)Conventional Bookworms
Linda is an English as foreign language teacher and has a Master's degree in English Language and Literature. She's an avid reader, blogger, compulsive one-clicker and a genre omnivore. Ever since she learnt how to read she has been seen with a book or two in her hands everywhere she goes.
It’s funny…this was the ONE time that I thought Ethan was a little justified in being miffed with Merit. I, too, get tired of the back and forth and am hoping that with the next book, we get no more of it. 🙂 And I completely forgot about those GP/RG mixups. You’re right…it took me out of the narrative in order to correct it. All in all, I had fun with this one. I was a little disappointed with Biting Cold though.
I think I’m still having trouble trusting what might happen in this series, so I’m a little careful while reading it – that takes a little away from my enjoyment as well.
Thanks for stopping by to leave me a comment, Lee!
It’s funny…this was the ONE time that I thought Ethan was a little justified in being miffed with Merit. I, too, get tired of the back and forth and am hoping that with the next book, we get no more of it. 🙂 And I completely forgot about those GP/RG mixups. You’re right…it took me out of the narrative in order to correct it. All in all, I had fun with this one. I was a little disappointed with Biting Cold though.
I think I’m still having trouble trusting what might happen in this series, so I’m a little careful while reading it – that takes a little away from my enjoyment as well.
Thanks for stopping by to leave me a comment, Lee!
I see this series all over and I picked up the first one a long time ago, but I just can’t get into it. Maybe I will try again some time.
If you had trouble getting into it, maybe you should just leave it… I loved the first few books, but then something happened that made me like it less…
I did like the series at first but by book 3 I was annoyed by Merit and Ethan :/
I agree! But at the same time, I just can’t make myself give up on this series. Which might even be part of my frustration. I wish it would become as awesome as it was in the beginning, because it was different from other PNR series I had read.