This one started out rough for me, as I generally don’t like the ‘woman in peril’ trope at all. It’s trite and worn in all its iterations, so having the MC set up for a murder she didn’t commit and put before a kangaroo court didn’t incline me to lose myself in the narrative or plot.

Luckily I really enjoy the author’s gift of snark and dialogue, so I persevered, and the story got interesting as soon as it became clear the said MC wasn’t going to martyr herself. I enjoyed watching the formation of the scooby gang, and the political machinations at the end were a lot of fun. So all in all, the author pulled it off, and I await with anticipation the next one in the series. ( )

Elisa’s actions in Wicked Hour have come to bite her in the butt in Shadowed Steel. Someone has turned Elisa into the Assembly of American Masters, the governing body for vampires, for the woman she changed into a vampire in Minnesota, Carlie. The AAM has devised the punishment for the crime of turning someone without that person’s permission (and without their permission) is to force Elisa to join a House and submit to Testing.

Some of the things mentioned in this series sort of require knowledge of the Chicagoland Vampires series. I’d say vampire houses and what joining one entails need some explanation especially since it’s central to the plot of this book. I’ve read the main series so I’m already familiar with the process but a quick summary of Novitiates, Testing, and Masters would be helpful for the average reader.

Read more at https://theparanormalreview.blogspot.com/2021/09/shadowed-steel-by-chloe-neill.h... ( )

During their investigation into some Pack issues in Wicked Hour, Elisa was forced to turn a human, and now her actions have been brought to the attention of the Assembly of American Masters (AAM). They’ve come to Chicago to force Elisa to answer for what she had done. Elisa refuses to cede to their terms, not only because she knows she wouldn’t change how she acted, but she also fears that doing so will bring out the “monstrous” side of her vampirism. When a member of the AAM is found dead, Elisa becomes suspect number one.

There is no doubt that Elisa is innocent. So, Elisa and Connor will have to figure out who is behind the murder before they set their sights on someone closer to home.

I was so happy to get back into this series, and I love the follow up that Chloe Neill has taken with the characters especially the growing relationship between Connor and Elisa. It’s difficult not to compare them to Ethan and Merit from Neill’s predecessor series, but I ultimately like how things have progressed with Connor and Elisa more. I like that even though they’re still at the beginning of a relationship, there’s really no back and forth between them. They’re both very clear about what they want from each other and what they want out of a relationship. I like the fact that it’s outside forces that draw potential conflict, and that they have to work together to solve them. For me, it’s where Shadowed Steel really shines.

I also really enjoy seeing how Elisa and her “other half” are learning to cohabitate. I like seeing the development of Elisa acknowledging that she shares herself with a seemingly separate entity, but that entity doesn’t have to be the enemy. Besides, Elisa and Connor, this is one of the relationships I’m most invested in seeing grow.

Now, in talking about the conflict with the AAM and everything that stems from there, it fell a little flat for me. I know that what happens here is a direct consequence from prior events, but there was just some integral part missing to really hook me. I think since the idea of Elisa being “special” – she’s the first born vampire – has been batted around for the entire series thus far, I wasn’t too surprised that we ended up in this spot. I guess, I wanted it to be a little harder to figure out who was pulling the strings in the end.

Regardless, there are a few seeds planted that I’m very interested to see where they go. Plus I’m a complete Elisa and Connor fangirl right now so I’d read a story with them any day. Which is probably Chloe Neill’s cue to throw some kind of wrench in the mix  ( )

In this third book in the Heirs of Chicagoland series, Elissa Sullivan finds herself in trouble with the Assembly of American Masters for making a human into a vampire in the previous book in this series.

Vampires from the Compliance Bureau have come to Chicago to demand that Elissa join a House or face the consequences which include testing and/or facing a kind of imprisonment until she complies. Testing is not something she will agree to. She hasn't even told her parents about her monster half. Only her best friend Lulu and her boyfriend Connor know about it.

When Blake, one of the vampires from the Compliance Bureau, is found messily dead, Elissa is pulled in for questioning by the Ombuds Office where she has been working. She's put on administrative leave while the investigation goes on which makes her very determined to find out who killed Blake.

Elissa has also attracted a stalker who is sending her creepy notes which talk about their very close relationship. Elissa has no idea who's sending the messages but she's concerned that the stalker seems to be targeting her friends including Connor.

This was a very entertaining story filled with both action and vampire politics. I like the way Elissa's relationship with Connor is progressing. I also like her determination to make her own choices and not let anything, including disappointing her parents, get in the way of making the right choices for her life. I enjoyed the worldbuilding and the near-future setting of the story. ( )