Drink Deep by Chloe Neill (Chicagoland #5)
Urban Fantasy
November 1, 2011
Reviewed by Mandi
NOTE: There are spoilers for previous books in this series, as well as spoilers for Drink Deep.
The first three books of this series I loved and adored. I recommended them to many based on their snark and action appeal. But then Hard Bitten came along, and at the end, the vampire hero Ethan dies. Stake in the heart, turns to ashes. The end.
I did the whole – wait, what? Let me read that again. Seriously? I may have thrown the book across the room. I’m all for cliff hangers – I enjoy being miserable along with my friends. But this just didn’t feel right. After 3 books, and most of 4, I didn’t want the hero of the series to be dead. I actually thought by the end of book four Merit and Ethan would finally trust each other enough to be together. I wasn’t only angry that the hero dies, but I was angry that we were still being dragged along in this series without some good solid romance. I was bitter and angry, and I remained bitter and angry as I started Drink Deep – did it skew my opinion of this book – maybe. Just putting that out there.
Now I assumed all along that Ethan would eventually come back. He has to, right? Right. I was more worried with the “how.” HOW will Chloe Neill bring him back, and will it be plausible? I’ll answer that in a minute. First let me set up this book.
Drink Deep starts two months after Hard Bitten ends. Right here is a problem for me because we miss all of Merit’s mourning. Although sad, she is basically ready to get back to work. I think we needed to be a part of her intense mourning instead of just telling us she mourned.
Malik is now in charge of Cadogen House and has problems. The water in Lake Michigan has turned a dark, inky black and has stopped moving altogether. The public is quick to blame the vampires, but they have had nothing to do with it. Not wanting anymore riots, Merit knows they must get to the bottom of this before the public acts against the vampires even more than they do now. Now that she doesn’t have Ethan to work with anymore, she turns to Jonah. Jonah is captain of the guards for Grey House, but he is also secretly a member of the Red Guard, “a secret organization dedicated to providing oversight to the American vampire Houses and the Greenwich Presidium (GP), the European council that ruled them from across the pond.” Jonah has been pressuring Merit to join the Red Guard for quite some time. With the offer still open, he agrees to help Merit investigate this weird disturbance.
Meanwhile back at Cadogen House, Franklin Cabot has been appointed receiver of Cadogen House. The GP has decided they didn’t like the way Cadogen House was run, so Frank was sent in to evaluate the house. He has also changed many rules and has become a complete pain in the ass for everyone that lives at Cadogen. Merit is also have vivid dreams of Ethan, usually involving some crisis, but waking up right before anything devastating happens. When the sky suddenly turns red, they realize they must get to the bottom of this before action is taken against the supernaturals.
I’ll start by saying I think this book is on the slow side. Maybe that is because I was waiting, and waiting for the Ethan situation to be addressed. But while there is some action with the water turning black, and the sky turning red, there really isn’t a lot going on. While Mallory is still working with Simon to pass her sorceress tests – Lindsey fills in with the snarkiness, which drew me to this series to begin with.
I was worried that Jonah would become a new love interest for Merit, and while I’m happy to say there really isn’t a love triangle that develops, I don’t understand Jonah’s role in this book. He felt more as just a place marker in the book until Ethan could come back. There is a secret that develops between Merit and Jonah (nothing romance related) and I can see in the future this might cause tension for Merit’s relationship with Ethan….and this worries me. Maybe it won’t happen – but Jonah definitely has a thing for Merit, even if she doesn’t necessarily return those feelings. And keeping secrets from Ethan regarding Jonah– I can see this as a set up for drama and I really hope in the next book we get a more smooth road for these two.
One thing I have to reconcile for myself with this book is Merit’s feelings for Ethan verse my feelings for Ethan. As a romance reader, I am fully invested in Ethan being the hero in the series. And I’ll say it again– by book 4 I wanted their relationship to move forward. Here is Merit’s take on her past relationship with Ethan as she relays it to Jonah:
“Tell me about Ethan.”
Startled, I looked over at Jonah. “Excuse me?”
Nonchalantly, he shrugged and swallowed another knot of noodles. “You told me you weren’t together. That may be true, but I don’t get the sense it’s the entire story.”
I watched him for a moment, smiling as he chewed, as I decided what to tell him. My time with Ethan had been tempestuous. More stops than starts, and those stops had been traumatic. Ethan was gone before the relationship had had a chance to blossom, but that didn’t make the grief any easier to bear – or explain.
“We had moments together,” I said. “We weren’t quite a couple – although I think we might have been if he hadn’t….” I couldn’t make myself finish the sentence.
“If Celina hadn’t done what she’d done,” Jonah finished kindly.
I nodded.
“He meant a lot to you.”
“I nodded again. “He did.”
How to explain the above? When I first read the above passage, I was a little put off. I wanted Merit to accept deeper feelings for Ethan than what she does above. I’ve reread this scene many times since. I have to agree that Merit and Ethan have not had the smoothest of all relationships, but I think I wanted her to declare love above, and when she doesn’t, it upset me.
I’ve reflected as to why this series is turning me off so much and this is what I’ve come up with. In most UF series we read, the good guys (heroine, hero, supporting characters) are usually fighting an evil outside force. They work together to defeat this evil. What I don’t like about the direction this series is going is that traumatic things keep happening to main characters.(At the end of Drink Deep another favorite character has something bad happen) They are becoming different people than how they were presented at the beginning of the series. And I don’t mean they are growing and changing in a good way. I don’t want to read about awful things happening to the characters I love. I want to read about the characters I love helping each other to face down the villains I love to hate.
Ethan dying wore me out and I’m really unhappy with “the how” as I mentioned above. Really unhappy. Very lackluster scene at the end. And I fear when we find out how the new predicament is to be resolved with another favorite character (the way it is set up I can’t imagine it with a positive result) I will also be disappointed.
Maybe I’m just bitter over the end of the previous book, but I don’t like the end of this one either. The big scene at the end lacked emotion, which is my biggest disappointment. And then another cliffhanger. Not what I was expecting.
Rating: C-
Tori has also read Drink Deep and I asked her for her thoughts:
I found the arc stalls as the main conflict overreaches and eclipses everything else. One character does expand their boundaries and an interesting future storyline is born but every other character storyline was only briefly touched upon and any advancements are only alluded to; they happen between Hard Bitten and Drink Deep. I found the Franklin storyline ended rather anti climatic for the huge build up it receives in the book and I don’t even want to talk about the major reason we all had to read this book. I expected more and didn’t get it.
While I will continue to read the series because I am hooked, I did feel this one was a letdown in comparison to the first four.
Recent Reviews:
Caught in a FAB Romance – 4/5
Rex Robot Reviews – 3.5/5
Hanging With Bells – 3.75/5
A Book Obsession – 5/5
Under The Covers – 4/5
Goodreads
Author’s Website l Series Listing
So wait… did Ethan come back or not? I haven’t read this series, and unfortunately, I don’t think I will.
Nice review! I felt Drink Deep was a really slow read, too. It took me days to finish and there were so many things going on with so many different characters that it seemed choppy. C- seems like a fair grade to me.
(Spoilers)
I thought the Frank thing was poorly executed and thought Malik should have done something when Frank subjected the guards to the “daylight test”. Didn’t he have an obligation to his people as much as the guards had to him and the the house? Grrrrr! Also, I am not a fan of character resurrection, whether in literary or soap opera format….enough said.
I’ll read the next book in the series, but with lowered expectations.
MinnChica…yes…but I don’t like how or the explanations surrounding the event.
Christine- yes…Malik didn’t prove to be a very worthy leader. Not a fan of that storyline.
Really wish I would have felt more at the end. Just felt flat.
This is so discouraging to me. I threw hard bitten several times…punched…and stomped on it. I even thought there had to be a mistake at the end. I went to the bookstore to make sure my copy was complete…and it was to my horror. I was really hoping for a resolution as well as a forward momentum for Merit and Ethan, a deeper understanding…something smexy and fulfilling. This is the 3rd review I have read. My disappointment is acute especially when Chloe said to trust her. I don’t know if I can continue with a series where I feel strung along. I need substance, smexy times, and emotional resolution in my relationships with my books.
I think this is missing that deep, emotional fulfillment. Even as Merit thinks he is dead, I think it lacked emotion. I worry that we have not seen the last of Jonah either. His feelings for Merit are going to have to be addressed by Ethan in the future I think….
Even though Ethan and Merit have a happy for now (at least at end of book) I didn’t feel their joy. I just don’t know about this series anymore.
Oh you agree with your review too. I want to see what happens with the characters but I totally guessed this book theme and what was going to happen once Tate mentioned magic.
I found it lacking smex and the ending was very lack luster. I too and wondering to continue with the series. It did answer Catcher questions and I wanted more of something. Rex mentioned this a filler book and I totally agree with her .
I know – why couldn’t we have a little smex at the end? I don’t know if I felt like this was filler, but it didn’t have any direction. What was the point of Ethan’s death? The point of Jonah? It just didn’t seem to go anywhere.
I know …it was lacking direction and all over the place with all the other paranormals introduced in the book. Yeah what was the point of the death and Jonah ?? I didn’t like that fade to black scene :( I wanted more smex. I want Ethan to be the hero too .
I still have not started to read this series, but wow ladies, you are not encouraging me! A rotten ending, a cliffhanger, a slow book. Hmm.
Books 1-3 are great..LOL. But this is not a series I would recommend at this point. Unless things turn around – but it has been two books I have said that now at this point. The fun, snarky series has turned into something different.
I’ve not read this series yet-but as you’ve recommended before, I’d like to at some point. Does Ms. Neil write other series? We all have favorite series, and while one cannot really compare with the other, I’ve found that authors who right long running series seem to stumble around book 5 or so and they are either lucky enough to get it back on track or it becomes a dud and we move on. Could this be happening?
On the flip side, making everyone upset may have been her master plan. You mention that Ethan comes back-were any romantic issues resolved?
She writes a YA series.
I’m definitely feeling frustrated with the romance by book 5. It needs to start going somewhere.
I get we need tension and things like that in series to keep interest – but killing off the hero just to bring him back in a lackluster scene didn’t do it for me.
And I’ve had several people write me to say they think Jonah is going to be the eventual HEA of the series. Of course, that is only a guess, but if that is where this series goes, I’m done. Ethan needs to be the hero.
Mandi,
Thanks for a thoughtful, concise review! I have held off reading book 4 because of the Ethan “deal,” and I feel even more certain in my decision to stop purchasing the series, and start borrowing them. Did you get the sense that romantic elements / a shift in the drama (fighting external v. internal threats) might occur in later books?
I don’t see them fighting an external threat in book 6 with how this ends. There is major internal drama with another character. The author has turned a character somewhat into a villain. (which does not sit well with me)
I HOPE we start getting some serious romance between Ethan and Merit and that Jonah stays out of the picture. We shall see :)
As I may have mentioned once or three times, I was never an Ethan fan. But his and Merit’s relationship WAS the thing that hooked me on the series, so I felt the same way as you after reading Hard Bitten. I’m a little shocked we don’t get any mourning period from Merit and she’s so dismissive of her relationship with Ethan, to be honest! I have no idea where these books are going now and I’m not sure I want to know.
We needed a little mourning. She has her moments of sadness, but I wanted to see those immediate feelings of loss. Like when Barrons dies and Mac thinks she had lost him forever. There was a scene where Mac so intensely mourns him. We needed something like that here – and likewise at the end. It felt like a hey, howdy, you are back. (Okay not quite like that but still).
I have no idea where book six will go. But I’ve lost that excited feeling for this series.
I was all fired up and ready to buy the book tomorrow, but after this, I don’t think I want to. I’m all about artistic license and I respect that this is Chloe Neill’s story, but at the end of the day.. I’m the reader, and she’s selling her book to me and other readers like me. I completely agree with your statement about how you are a romance reader and you want the characters to band together to fight the enemy instead of the author killing everyone off. I hate what she did in Hard Bitten, and I’m incredibly disappoined that this one just turned out to be a filler novel.
I don’t know if I want to put my support behind an author who is going to go whatever way she wants, and doesn’t listen to her fans. So bummed!
Oh sure – I get she can do whatever in this series, but I have the choice not to agree with what she writes. I just don’t see romance readers staying on board with this series. I needed more emotional depth.
It’s funny you should mention the Fever series. I can’t help making comparisons. With the end of Dreamfever as upset as I was with the ending, I somehow new Barrons would be back. It was a plot twist that was integral to the story and who Barrons is. In Hard Bitten, Ethan dying seemed to come out of nowhere. Ethan coming back from ash doesn’t seem plausible…does that mean that all vampires can come back too? Ethan’s death now feels like a ploy. I think I mourned him more at the end of Hard Bitten than Merrit. If Drink Deep lacks the emotions to help carry the reader through the story then what’s the point. I feel she has cheapened her characters with her implausible plot twists.
Exactly. Barrons death fit that story. It killed me – I was wrecked for days..LOL. But it made sense. That series was dark and intense. And him coming back made sense. The explanation fit. Even their on/off relationship worked for me. Maybe because that series was only 5 books? So we knew by book 5 things would be resolved?
Ethan dying in book 4 didn’t fit AT ALL. Not with the tone of this series. And with the explanation about how he is brought back – it was not explored enough. Even Catcher says vampires who are brought back are brought back more as zombies – with no emotion – but Ethan isn’t brought back like that. He is the same as before – I know this will be explored in book 6 but I needed a little more explanation rather than just poof, here is Ethan.
I think missing the mourning period at beginning combined with flat scene at end made Ethan’s death insignificant. And that’s a shame.
I totally agree, Mandi. For several reasons, nothing will ever make the ending of Hard Bitten sit well with me but the ending of Drink Deep just added insult to injury.
I don’t think I like this series any more.
I was thinking abt why I didn’t get muy mad w/ Barrons in KMM series and I think it was bc she gave us a little hope that he might not be dead. As for Ethan, bam, dead. End of story. I don’t know if I’ll be on board for how Neill can bring him back. Sooooooooo disappointed that author didn’t go into the grieving aspect.
Sigh, I’m prob still going to read it but I’m not happy abt it.
I was shocked and crazy when Barrons died – but maybe it was because we only had one book left in the series – I knew all would be resolved in the next book.
I fear this series will be dragged out for awhile…
I just skipped to the end and was not happy at all …another cliffie?!
Something else happens to another big character – SIGH! :)
Still not happy. I don’t know how much more unhappy I can say I am, I’m just not happy. NOT HAPPY!
LOL..me either!
That is so disappointing. I mean…I could go with the Ethan dying thing because I KNEW he’d come back, but if the circumstances did make all the drama worth it – then WHY?? Sounds to me like this book might ruin the series.
Yes – why? Is it to bring in Jonah a bit?
There are some ramifications of Ethan coming back – I don’t want to give too much away – but there is something he needs to resolve to live his life – not sure how that is going to play out.
This book sounds like it was the fail book of the series.
This series lost me at the end of book two :( after that book I really didnt’ care what happened to any of them. I keep trying to get into book three because I see all the great reviews but I just don’t care what happens to them :( that sucks.
I liked it up to beginning of 4 – but I was definitely frustrated with the romance as the series progressed.
Perhaps the author wants to be more fantasy than romance. I, on the other hand want the romance. I gave up on Kim Harrison because she killed off a main character and I won’t carry on with this series. Kill some one I like and I’m gone.
I hear ya.
The more I read comments here and other places, the more it just comes down to – there is not enough in this series for romance readers.
“…there is not enough in this series for romance readers.”
There was at the beginning though, books 1 through to the end of book 4. I loved the romance even though it was being dragged out. The series seems to have undergone an abrupt metamorphosis.
True – I liked the sexual tension in books 1-3. It just didn’t go anywhere…
No more Merit until Chloe Neill goes back to writng for the reader and not just to sell books. They wait for a cliffhanger ending to raise price of next book, and it doesn’t deliver the goods!
My decision stands, I waited until a week before Drink Deep came out before I listened to Hard Bitten, now I’m going to wait until the next book comes out before I listen to this one, No Ethan no Chloe.. lol
I love an honest review.