Book Review: Morganville Vampires Series by Rachel Caine Books: 1-9

 

 ***Sorry to do this review in bulk, instead of doing each book individually, but most of my books are in volumes and they all kinda blur together.***

A little about the books:

          Glass House:  This is the first book in the Morganville Vampires series. Morganville is a small college town filled with quirky characters. But when the sun goes down, the bad comes out. Because in Morganville, there is an evil that lurks in the darkest shadows, one that will spill out into the bright light of day. Claire Danvers has had enough of her nightmarish dorm situation. The popular girls never let her forget just where she ranks in the school's social scene: somewhere less than zero. And Claire really doesn't have the right connections to the undead who run the town. When Claire heads off campus, the imposing old house where she finds a room may not be much better. Her new roommates, Michael, Eve, and Shane, don't show many signs of life. But they'll have Claire's back when the town's deepest secrets come crawling out, hungry for fresh blood.

          Dead Girls' Dance: The second book in the series continues from the cliffhanger ending of the first book. The book starts with the arrival of Shane's anti-vampire father, who tries to murder Michael and cause havoc in Morganville. His killing spree starts with Brandon, an evil troller. Shane gets blamed for Brandon's murder and is caged as a result. (Caged is the punishment for murderers, where the guilty person is locked in a cage and publicly burned to death.) Soon after that, Claire sees Oliver holding a friendly conversation with Shane's father and starts to get suspicious. While trying to free Shane, Eve gets out an arsenal of vampire-killing equipment and Michael locks her away in her room after mesmerizing her. Eve takes Claire on a search for help the next morning, but Claire gets kidnapped by Monica and her pet Monickettes. They are intercepted by Shane's father, who holds Monica hostage. To get help from Sam the vampire (Michael's grandfather), Claire and Eve go to the Dead Girls' Dance to meet him. While there, Claire meets a boy named Ian, who offers her a drink. Ian turns out to be an amateur rapist. Eve finds Sam just in time and they leave the party unharmed. When they return to the house, they find that Michael has begged Amelie to turn him into a vampire. He is turned and soon after that, they find that Shane has been freed by his father. After a period of fighting, Shane's father leaves town, and Claire strikes a contract with Amelie.

          Midnight Alley:  In the third book of the series, Claire makes an important decision that determines the rest of her life. This leads her to finding out the deepest, darkest secret in Morganville, enough to destroy the city – if it falls into the wrong hands. She must learn all she can to save her best friend, patron, and those she tolerates. With Monica kissing up and Shane in more trouble than ever, Claire must work to protect her friends and herself.

          Feast of Fools:  In the town of Morganville, vampires and humans live in relative peace together. Student Claire Danvers has never been convinced, though — especially with the arrival of Mr. Bishop, an ancient, old-school vampire who cares nothing about harmony. What he wants from the town's living and its dead is unthinkably sinister. It's only at a formal ball, attended by vampires and their human dates, that Claire realizes the elaborately evil trap he's set for Morganville.

          Lord of Misrule: In the college town of Morganville, vampires and humans coexist in (relatively) bloodless harmony. Then comes Bishop, the master vampire who threatens to abolish all order, revive the forces of the evil undead, and let chaos rule. But Bishop isn’t the only threat. Violent black cyclone clouds hover, promising a storm of devastating proportions as student Claire Danvers and her friends prepare to be

          Carpe Corpus: To protect her friends (as much as possible), Claire has been forced to side with Bishop as the battle for Morganville rages on. Somehow, Claire manages to save Shane, reconcile with Michael, and make up with Eve. Claire and Myrnin also may have discovered a cure to the vampire disease. Now they still have the problem of Bishop controlling the city. To save Morganville, someone unexpected has to pay the ultimate price that leaves the entire town in mourning.

          Fade Out: Morganville has stabilized into a kind of peace (although it may only be skin deep), but new players are entering the scene, and the course of true love never does run smoothly, especially when an old girlfriend drops in for a visit. And the phrase “hidden camera” takes on entirely new and significant meaning for our heroes in the Glass House.

          Kiss of Death: Claire Danvers and her friends have been given an offer they can't refuse – time away from Morganville, with an escort of course. But when they encounter trouble of both the human and vampire varieties they begin to realize life outside Morganville isn't all it's cracked up to be.

          Ghost Town:  The fragile peace between humans and vampires in Morganville is in trouble, and when Claire takes drastic action, she's put under serious pressure to re-establish the barriers that keep the town residents inside, and wipe the memories of those who leave. But working with her half-crazy vampire boss Myrnin means that things don't always turn out as planned...and as the people of Morganville begin acting strangely, Claire and her friends must solve the mystery and try to put things right. But one by one, her allies are turning on her... even the ones she trusts most.

*** The brief description of each book was supplied by: 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Morganville_Vampires, under Synposis.***

 My Review:  The Morganville Vampires Series is quite extraordinary.  It's not your average story about vampires.  There's way more to it than that.  The characters are well-developed and are intriguing.  The plot and story for each novel was well thought out and holds the attention quite well.  I found myself pulled into the world and the lives of each character in the story.  The hardships and struggles that the characters face, especially those who live in the Glass House, will have you sitting on the edge of your seat, nose pressed closely to the inside of the book.  The bitter and sweet romances add an extra flare to the already outstanding stories.  This series is one of my favorites and I can not wait until I can get the next books.  Rachel Caine did a wonderful job when created these masterpieces.  4/5 Stars!!!