A fun little post-series catch up for Chicagoland Series fans. Merit's ready to pop out the first vampire baby in recorded history when a rogue vampire attempts to kidnap her and hold her for ransom. This is merely the prop, however, for the resolution of Jonas' HEA. I never disliked Jonas, but never felt as though his story was a dangling thread, so mostly I enjoyed this story for the snarky dialogue that Neil is so very good at.

And yes, I realise this will probably have been perfect for a Halloween square of some sort; I just really wanted to check something out with my new library card before they changed their mind and took it back. ( )

61 points/100 (3.25 stars/5).

Merit is pregnant - and just survived a kidnapping attempt. Also, Margot and Jonah dance around each other.

How did I manage to get baby ever aftered twice...in the same damn series? I should have read what this was about better. I was really looking forward to just Merit and Ethan and the baby Elisa. That isn't what this is about.

I swear I saw somewhere that this was meant to bridge the gap between the last book in Chicagoland Vampires and the first book of Heirs of Chicagoland. That isn't the case. I can't imagine anything in this story actually making it into the next series.

The plot is pretty depressingly basic, really. I thought I would get a more slice of life story. Instead I get some half baked kidnapping scheme that is only really solved because of the story's B plot being in the story at all. The B plot being that Margot and Jonah like each other but Margot is scared because her old boyfriend was a dick to her.

I'm not certain why Margot and Jonah are in this, except to give Jonah a happily for now story. Something so the fans aren't so sad that Jonah didn't have anyone at the end of the series. Nothing is resolved in this storyline. It isn't a full story. It is the start to a story that I really don't care about seeing in full.

I'm complaining a lot, but it really wasn't that bad. Just completely, depressingly unnecessary. It was nice to see Merit and Ethan again, even if it was brief. It was nice seeing pregnant Merit. It was nice seeing them adjust to the idea of being parents. Just short and easily distracted by the plot.

( )

This short story has two arcs, Merit in her last months of pregnancy and Margot's history and why she keeps pushing Jonah away. Margot was abused and she still has problems that keep her gun shy around Jonah. When her ex returns to town to cause trouble, Jonah proves he's a trustworthy man, so they can finally have their happily ever after. Nice quick read, glad to finally see Margo and Jonah find happiness and seeing Merit give birth safely.
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Merit is very pregnant when she is almost kidnapped. Both the vampires and the ombuddies want to find the guy who attempted the kidnapping to remove the threat to Merit. Meanwhile, Merit is concerned about Margot and Jonah's relationship. They seem like a perfect couple but something isn't clicking. It turns out Margot is still attempting to get over her abusive relationship with her previous boyfriend. Things get more complex when it is discovered that Merit's kidnapper is Margot's ex who is a guy always looking for the next get-rich-quick scheme and it debt to the mob. Great setup for Neil's upcoming spinoff series. ( )