Guest Post with Chloe Neill - Shadowed Steel ~ JeanBookNerd

Photo Credit: Dana Damewood

Chloe Neill is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Captain Kit Brightling, Heirs of Chicagoland, Chicagoland Vampires, Devil’s Isle, and Dark Elite novels. She was born and raised in the South, but now makes her home in the Midwest, where she lives with her gamer husband and their bosses/dogs, Baxter and Scout. Chloe is a voracious reader and obsessive Maker of Things; the crafting rotation currently involves baking and quilting. She believes she is exceedingly witty; her husband has been known to disagree.

Chloe is represented by Lucienne Diver of The Knight Agency and is a member of the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America.

TEN REASONS TO READ SHADOWED STEEL

10. Vacation. Traveling in real life is still difficult and fraught with peril, but books can transport you. I hope Heirs can bring you into a world of magic and vampires and love and friendship.
9. Monster. It may live inside Elisa, but it has its own agenda. And we’re only just beginning to understand . . .
8. Relationship Growth. Vampire + shifter dating isn’t easy, and there are plenty of obstacles for Connor and Elisa to overcome. I think we see some beautiful growth in this one, as both of them work to define who they are, and who they’ll become.
7. Ethan & Merit. If you’re a classic CV fan, you’ll find plenty of Ethan, Merit, and Cadogan House in Shadowed Steel! Including the delicious quote below.
6. Kissing. *cough* Possibly more Connor + Elisa kissing in this one. *cough*
5. Sarcasm. I mean, I wrote it, so obviously. And couldn’t we all use a snicker right now?
4. Alexei. Mostly naked.
3. Malik. We get a good, long talk with “Uncle” Malik, and learn a bit more about why he was so quiet all those years in Cadogan House.
2. Eleanor of Aquitaine. Eight pounds of fury, and she’ll be furious to learn she’s only in the Number Two spot.
1. Family. Ultimately, Heirs is about families—the one you’re born to, and the one you make. Elisa and Connor were both born into families of important people and high expectations. And that can wear on a person. They’ve both made families – of friends and allies – who understand the weight of those expectations. I hope the found family in Heirs is one readers can rely on, too.

YOUR FAVORITE QUOTES/SCENES FROM SHADOWED STEEL
QUOTE ONE
I gave him a speculative look. “Maybe I should have made you chase me harder. Or further.”

His smile went feral, and I could actually hear girls sighing on the other side of the room. “Try it,” he said, a dare in his brilliantly blue eyes.

“You think you could catch me?”

This time, the kiss was possessive and consuming, and as arrogant as the dare had been.

“Elisa Sullivan,” he said, smiling against my lips. “I’ll always catch you.”

QUOTE TWO
“I will. Hey, before you leave, do you by chance have a cloak?”

Sighing woefully, she walked to the door. “You aren’t wearing a cloak.”

“I could pull it off.”

“You’d pull off nineties vampire princess goth. And that’s not a compliment.”

QUOTE THREE
My father’s head tilted. “Is that a threat?”

“It’s a statement of fact.”

“Please trespass,” my mother called out. “Please give me an opportunity.” My mother loved a good fight.

“Sentinel,” my dad said, a gentle rebuke that carried no heat.

In the third installment in the Heirs of Chicagoland series, the vampires in Elisa Sullivan's world are out for blood.

Elisa Sullivan is the only vampire ever born, and she bears a heavy legacy. After a sojourn with the North American Central Pack of shifters in the wilderness—where she turned a young woman into a vampire to save her life—Elisa returns to Chicago.

But no good deed goes unpunished. The ruling body of vampires, the Assembly of American Masters, is furious that Elisa turned someone without their permission, and they’re out for her blood. When an AAM vampire is found dead, Elisa is the prime suspect. Someone else is stalking Chicago—and Elisa. She'll need to keep a clear head, and a sharp blade, to survive all the supernatural strife.

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