2.5 stars. 
 I think I have finally figured out what ruins this series for me. The writing is decent, the plots are interesting, the characters are nice - so why do I not rush out to get the next book when it comes out? The answer is that the author doesn't do her research. A reader (or at least someone who read a lot) can easily tell when an author researches before writing a book, the book feels more authentic. This is what made Angels and Demons better to me than The Da Vinci Code. This is why I love Diana Rowland and Patricia Briggs. Chloe Neill wants to write great urban fantasy, but it will never be great because everything seems like a joke. The 'ops' missions seem juvenile - it is like what you think an ops missions should be if you only watch campy spy movies. 
 The second little thing that bothers me quite a bit is the way in which the characters speak. Many of the vamps in this series are supposed to be old, very old and well educated. Therefore, their simple language sometimes throws me off. I expect them to speak like Bill and Eric from the Sookie Stackhouse series (meaning somewhat old fashioned and using outdated or formal language), but instead they often sound like the guys from the business frat on campus. Not exactly sloppy in language, but not polished either. The vocabulary is kept very simple, and that seems out of character for who these people are supposed to be. 
 This series has so much potential, and I keep coming back to it because I think the next one must be better, but it just stays flat for me. Ethan and Merit are a great couple, it is nice to have a female protagonist who doesn't freak out and break up with a guy the moment she knows he doesn't tell her absolutely everything. People have secrets, people in power tend to have more. Ethan and Merit even each other out pretty well. 
 Some impressions while reading: 
 1)	Merit saying that after a whole year of training, she better sound like a soldier - umm, be happy you sound like a seasoned soldier after only a year. 
 2)	Merit getting surprised when someone in the middle of a fight punches here . . . yes Merit, when people fight, they don't always use cool ninja moves, duh. 
 3)	Merit not thinking of needing a cleanup crew . . . I feel as though that should have been covered in week 1 of her "sentential" lessons, more and more there is evidence of her just being unqualified for her position, but yet being awesome at it anyway. 
 4)	Really, what was the point in the whole Nicole nonsense that we have been enduring? 
 5)	The grading for the GP tournament thing makes no sense!!! How is it possible that with all the points the American's supposedly lost for breaking the rules, that they still beat all the European vamps to get 2/3 of the top spots? 
 6)	Nicole's GP maneuver feels like the author taking a shortcut out of a massive plotline that has been building for a while . . . that may just be me, but it really doesn't feel like the end this massive plot point deserved. 
 For all the complaining I have done, here is my real issue. It has been four days since I read the book (and wrote the first part of this review) and I don't even remember much about what happened. The book was just forgettable which sucks.