I think Biting Cold was actually a bit of a letdown. GASP! I know, right? If you've been reading any of my reviews for the previous five books in the Chicagoland Vampires series you've heard me talk about how great Merit is and how the twists are never predictable. In Biting Cold I found myself feeling the exact opposite for the first time. I'll explain... and fair warning: there may be mild spoilers ahead. 
 Let's start with Merit. For so long I've applauded her inner fortitude and her smart decision making skills. While I still find her detective skills to be top notch, I feel like she lost some of her moxie here. As usual, something comes up and Ethan starts being a butthead, AGAIN. This time I felt like Merit took a somewhat passive stance on it. Merit just kind of gives him space which doesn't really feel like something she would do. Personally, I wanted to step into the book, call Ethan and coward, and slap him for good measure! Also, is it just me or was anyone else wondering where Jonah was? Merit and Jonah are PARTNERS! Why is she never calling him!? It's like Ethan came back and she just forgot all about him. Maybe I'm biased because I not so secretly love Jonah but still... he deserves better than that. 
 As for predictability, I had this one figured out at chapter five. While I liked that Merit had to do some good detective work to find the answers it was abundantly clear to me where the story was going right off the bat. (view spoiler)[ As soon as Tate split into two I knew this was going to be an evil twin situation. And of course the good twin would have to stop the bad twin in the end. It's a fairly common plot line! (hide spoiler)] I also was satisfied with the big reveal and the resolution to the problem named Tate. What I didn't like was how these events were wrapped up so quickly. When a major storyline ended so close to the beginning of the book it felt like a cop out. (view spoiler)[ The evil Mallory issue was cleared up by chapter 5! Considering she was such a major "big bad" I thought it would take quite a bit more to finish her evil story line. (hide spoiler)] Like maybe Chloe Neill got bored with it and just wanted to focus on other stuff instead? Like I said, I thought the resolutions were great but I didn't necessarily agree with how we got to them. 
 So ya... I liked the end result but not exactly the journey itself. I'm a bit mixed on how I felt about this one. I think I may have just been expecting something different and couldn't change my preconceptions enough to fully enjoy the story. I'm still excited to continue on with the series and start reading House Rules and I'm hoping it stays a bit more on course. Especially with that game changing decision at the end! (view spoiler)[ Cadogan House takes a vote and decides to officially declare independence from the GP! FINALLY! The GP are a bunch of tools in my opinion and I think the House will be far better off without them. (hide spoiler)] I'm really interested in what the future holds for Cadogan House, Merit, Ethan, Mallory, Catcher, Jeff, and all the other supernaturals of the Chicagoland Vampires series. Now... onto House Rules!