Howling For You by Chloe Neill

CNeill-Howling For YouI love the Chicagoland Vampires by Chloe Neill and Jeff Christopher is easily one of my favorite side characters. So when I heard he was getting his own story, Howling For You, I was so excited. However, while I enjoyed his romance with Fallon, I have to be honest, I still want more.

Jeff Christopher is a shapeshifter and ally of Chicago’s Cadogan House of vampires—he’s also a tech whiz and mostly-legal hacker. And the only protective shields he’s never been able to find a way around are those of the powerful Keene Family.

For a long time, Jeff has only had eyes for the beautiful Fallon Keene. Unfortunately, she is the only sister of the lethal North American Central Pack Apex Gabriel Keene. The intricate balances of power and politics make it all but impossible for Fallon to trust her feelings.

But fate takes a hand when the Pack’s totem is stolen—threatening the Keene family’s rule—and Fallon enlists Jeff’s help to retrieve it before the Pack is thrown into chaos. Can she and Jeff find the totem, and restore order, before it’s too late? And will Jeff finally be able to prove himself to the only person he truly loves?

Maybe it’s my current mood (I’m getting over a cold, so it takes a lot for me to really care about something right now) or I’m just not remembering much about either Jeff Christopher or Fallon from the novels, but their story seemed to go really quick and everything just fell into place a little too cleanly. Jeff really didn’t have to fight to get the girl; Fallon simply had to make up her mind. I guess, maybe that’s why I’m so iffy on Howling For You – the romance has already happened, which we really don’t see, so all we do get to see is the decision. We don’t get to see Jeff court Fallon or try to convince her that they should be together. It’s very obvious that they love each other, and they’re simply floating along.

Now granted, I get that Fallon has certain responsibilities to the Pack considering she’s next in line to be Apex; and I get that Jeff is both loyal to his pack and Gabe, Fallon’s older brother. So while they come off seeming like star-crossed lovers, which totally works for me and I would have loved to see more heat/conflict in this vein of thought, it kind of all falls through when it’s revealed that was never the case. Fallon’s family had no problem with her being with Jeff, she just couldn’t be the heir apparent. She doesn’t really seem that conflicted over it either.

In and of itself, Howling For You was just as fabulous as the rest of the Chicagoland Vampire novels, but I just wish that it really shoved Jeff and Fallon in our faces. That they had to really fight to be together, that we got to see them exhibit some really strong emotions. That’s one area Neill has never let us down before – I mean seriously, Hard Bitten, hello – but Howling For You just seemed really mellow in comparison. I do have to say that I loved seeing how Jeff and Fallon romanced each other at the end; but I also would have loved to see more of that too.

Read Order:
Some Girls Bite
Friday Night Bites
Twice Bitten
Hard Bitten
Drink Deep
Biting Cold
House Rules
High Stakes (novella found in the Kicking It anthology)
Howling For You (novella)
Wild Things (Feb 13, 2014)
Blood Games (Aug 5, 2014)

About Jackie 3282 Articles
I am a 30-something SAHM with two adorable boys and a supportive husband who is very tolerant of my reading addiction. I love to read and easily go through about a dozen books a month – well I did before I had kids. Now, not so much. After my first son was born, I began to take my hobby of reviewing a little more serious and started Literary Escapism to help with my sanity. I love to discuss the fabulous novels I’ve read and meeting all the wonderful people in the book blogging community has been amazing.

2 Comments

  1. I haven’t read this one yet, but I do think that novellas are prone to feeling too-fast or too-easy. It’s just kind of their nature. I’m coming to appreciate them more in my old age; sometimes even fictional drama is just too much on top of real life!

    • I love the novella. Yes some are a bit too quick, but they’re easy to read. I think I wanted more Jeff than what there was. We’ve seen their relationship develop through the main series, so it didn’t have to be a focus for the story.

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