In Dark Debt we left our Chicagoland Vampires in a state of conflict with a group called The Circle, headed by one Adrian Reed. 
 When it looks like a vampire was responsible for the death of a shifter near Wrigley field, Merit knows there has to be more to it. When mysterious alchemical writing is also found near the body, it doesn't take long to determine that The Circle is somehow connected. What Merit and Co. have to figure out is to what purpose The Circle is connected, and ultimately what is Adrian Reed's end goal. 
 I really loved Dark Debt, and when I compare Midnight Marked to Dark Debt, it falls a little bit short than its predecessor. This isn't a bad thing I still enjoyed Midnight Marked more than other installments in the series, but for me Dark Debt was a really strong addition. 
 The good things that Chloe Neill had built up in this series are all here. Merit and Ethan continue to grow as a couple. They continue to love and fight - although now I don't fear their fights are an end to their relationship - their devotion to one another is clear, and I love seeing their interactions as they continue to grow. 
 I really felt like Midnight Marked had a great deal of the Merit and Mallory friendship dynamic, which is something from the earlier books that I love and was missed for a while in a few books when Mallory took a walk on the dark side, and was then awkward as they tried to rebuild their friendship to what it was. Things were really solid for them in this book. 
 The actual conflict between the vampires and Adrian Reed / The Circle kind of fell short for me. Steps that should have been taken in the investigation were clouded over because personal things got in the way. I love taking time out for the personal, I really do, but Ethan acting overly protective of Merit just didn't feel right. We know she can take care of herself (we've seen this for what twleve books now?), so when he goes all Alpha-male it felt, to me, like something he was "supposed" to do (kind of like a checklist). Because of situations like this, there were things clearly missed in the investigation - things I spotted from a mile away - and when they were revealed by the end, I wasn't surprised, it felt lackluster. 
 Something done really well in Midnight Marked was calling out the fact that all sups need to work together instead of being on opposing sides with one another. The beginning of the book (with the shifter killed by a vampire) already amps up tension between the pack and vampires again. We've seen the vampires (especially Cadogan House) get blamed for a myriad of things, and they always come out fighting with little to no help from other sups. Midnight Marked addresses this big time, and all I can say is FINALLY! But with Midnight Marked being the penultimate book in the series, I'm very interested to know how this trickles down into the next and final installment. 
 I feel like the last book is going to have to be about 500+ pages. I know I've been keeping a mental list of things I want to see happen in the course of the books (not assumed to happen off page), and I'm a little worried that not all those things will come to fruition on page. Chloe Neill has built up a lot of stuff (especially with certain ahem*prophecies*ahem) and over the course of the last few books they've been brought up regularly. I guess we'll just have to wait and see. Midnight Marked brings a lot of storylines full-circle. It's been a year since Merit was turned (a year since Some Girls Bite) and I liked that readers get some of the earlier mysteries put to rest so to speak. 
 Overall, Midnight Marked was another great addition to one of my favorite series. I love how much the characters have grown and changed. If you're a long-time reader of the series, this one cannot be missed. 
 *ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.