House Rules

House Rules by Chloe Neill

(Book #7 of the Chicagoland Vampires series)

Rating: 🍁🍁🍁🍁

Link to Blurb

Overall: A satisfying addition to a fun series.

The Good Stuff:

1) One of my favourite things about House Rules is the way Ms. Neill has developed Merit's relationships with others in a realistic, mature way. First, we get to see Ethan & Merit settle into their relationship and work to find their footing as a couple who happens to face some pretty daunting challenges. Then we get to see the rocky beginning of reconciliation between Merit & Mallory. There's no instant forgiveness, but neither is there complete condemnation. Instead, we see an open acknowledgement of the damage done to their relationship, and tentative first steps towards reestablishing trust and friendship. THEN we get to see Merit & her dad, who don't reconcile, but start to maybe find a way to work together? It's all very well done.

2) Word of warning: if you're not already hungry before reading this book, you will be by the time you're done. I love how into the local food scene Merit is, and how very present the city of Chicago is in the story. It's not another character or anything like that, but you couldn't pick the story up and transplant it to another city without fundamentally altering it.

3) Suck it, GP! (You'll understand after you read the book, trust me.)

4) I normally skip the little quotes at the start of books, or skim them at the very best. The epigraph for House Rules made me gigglesnort.

5) I like how the concept of honour is explored through the series of choices Merit makes as all the chickens from previous installments have come home to roost in this one. Ultimately, there's no hard and fast guide except for Merit to be true to herself and the promises that she's made, even when those promises seem to contradict themselves.

The Not-So-Good-Stuff:

1) Maybe it's because it has been a while since I last visited the Chicagoland Vampires, but there seemed to be a preponderance of extraneous characters popping up all over the place. It made it a little difficult to focus on what was going on, as I struggled to remember who everyone was and what their purpose/role was in relation to either Merit or the plot.

2) Merit has to be the blushingest vampire ever. I mean, I get that Ethan is hot and the relationship is relatively new, but I had a hard time believing that Merit would be so easily embarrassed by every little thing. Silvering eyes, sure! Like I said, Ethan is hot. But the blushing? Why?