Review: Feast of Fools by Rachel Caine (Morganville Vampires #4)

Publisher - Allison and Busby
Publication Date - 23rd February 2009
Paperback - 352 pages
Genre -  Young Adult / Urban Fantasy

Source - Purchased

Rating - 4 out of 5: I really liked it

Reviewed by - Chrissie

Book Info - In the town of Morganville, vampires and humans live in relative peace. 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.

My Thoughts - In Feast of Fools we are introduced to three new vampire characters – Bishop, Ysandre and Francois. They are definitely not friendly and they take pleasure is using humans in their games and think nothing of killing them or using their powers to force humans to do things against their will. Ysandre, a very sexy female vampire, takes a liking to Shane and this does create some tension between him and Claire. These new vampires are a great addition to the story. They are bad to the bone and, unlike the other vampires in the series who seem to have both a good and a bad side, you just know there will be trouble whenever they are around.

Previous books in the series have been non-stop action from start to finish, however, this one moves at a slightly slower pace. The book begins with some action when Bishop and his two sidekicks arrive at the Glass House, but then the story slows down in the lead up to the welcome feast. Although, what this story lacks in action it certainly makes up for it with suspense. The feelings of tension and fear leading up to the feast just jump off the page at you as you’re reading. I do have to say though that I found it slightly unbelievable that the residents of Morganville can be so aware of what is going on around them with regards to what the vampires are getting up to, whilst non-residents (e.g. students at the University) seem to be so oblivious to these events. I just don’t see how such a divide can exist between the humans in Morganville.

Once again everybody is so beautifully characterised that by now I feel as if I really know Claire, Shane, Eve and Michael. And, whether they are humans or vampires, the characters all have such complex personalities and this is one of my favourite things about this series. I have really enjoyed getting to know each and every person in Morganville (although Myrnin still creeps me out A LOT!).

Summary - Although this isn’t my favourite story in the series so far, Feast of Fools is still definitely worth a read and I can’t wait to read Lord of Misrule. I’m very interested in seeing exactly what Bishop has got up his sleeve for the residents of Morganville.

Other books in this series:
1. Glass Houses
2. Dead Girl's Dance
3. Midnight Alley
4. Feast of Fools
5. Lord of Misrule
6. Carpe Corpus
7. Fade Out
8. Kiss of Death
9. Ghost Town
10. Bite Club
11. Last Breath
12. Black Dawn

Other reviews of this book:
Bookish Novelties / Gimme The Scoop Reviews / Love Vampires

Review: Midnight Alley by Rachel Caine (Morganville Vampires #3)

Publisher - Allison and Busby
Publication Date - 5th September 2008
Paperback - 384 pages
Genre - Young Adult/Urban Fantasy

Source - Purchased

Rating - 5 out of 5: I really liked it.

Reviewed by - Chrissie

Book Info - Morganville is such a nice place to live… and die. If you don’t mind that sort of thing.

When Claire Danvers learnt that her college town was run by vampires, she did what any intelligent, self-preserving student would do: she applied for a transfer and stocked up on garlic. The transfer is no longer an option, but that garlic may come in handy. Now Claire has pledged herself to Amelie, the most powerful vampire in town. The protection her contract secures does little to reassure her friends. All of a sudden, people are turning up dead, a stalker resurfaces from Claire’s past, and an ancient bloodsucker extends a chilling invitation for private lessons in his secluded home.

My Thoughts - ***It is impossible to write this review without giving away some spoilers for events in the previous books in this series. If you have not read the other books please read this review with caution***
 
For me, this has to be my favourite book in the series so far. I love all of the housemates and find them all likeable and relateable. What I really like about this installment of this series is the impact that is caused by Michael becoming a vampire in Dead Girls’ Dance. It brings more complexity to the relationships between himself and Claire, Eve and Shane. Shane finds it very hard to accept that his best friend is now a vampire and this leads to a lot of testosterone-fuelled fighting between the two boys. Although at times I felt like I wanted to bang their heads together to knock a bit of sense into them both, it also shows how much Shane truly cares for Michael and how difficult he is finding the transition. Michael’s new life as a vampire, along with some other things, also helps Claire to come to some realisations about the world she lives in as she realises that the lines between good and evil are quite often not very clear at all. She has always believed that vampires are the bad guys but how can this be the case when one of her best friends is a vampire? And this belief is further shattered when Eve’s brother (a human, so supposedly one of the good guys) starts hurting young women in Morganville.

But Claire is the same old Claire that we know and love from the previous books in the series – a brave and mature girl who always seems to find her way into trouble. She once again needs to be rescued several times in this book but you always know that she will end up saving the day. Her relationship with Shane is sweet and endearing, although there are times when the chemistry between them sizzles on the page.

There is a new vampire introduced to the readers of this book in the form of Myrnin. He is teaching Claire about alchemy after school but he is ill and this illness is leading him to bouts of anger, confusion and uncontrollable hunger for Claire’s blood. I will admit to not liking this new character too much. I just found him a little bit too creepy, as he went from being Claire’s friend to trying to eat her. Every time she was alone with him I found myself feeling very on edge.

The action in Midnight Alley is well-paced and the storyline is intriguing and pulled me in right from the beginning. This book really needs to be read as part of the series and not as a stand-alone, as the plot of all the books is too tightly woven together to really be able to understand the complexities from just one of the novels. And as always, Rachel Caine has left us with a huge cliff-hanger that will ensure that all readers will rush off to get Feast of Fools as soon as they have finished reading Midnight Alley.

Summary - Overall, an amazing read that will keep you turning the pages well into the night. It’s a must read for any fans of vampire fiction.

Other books in the series:
1. Glass Houses
2. Dead Girl's Dance
3. Midnight Alley
4. Feast of Fools
5. Lord of Misrule
6. Carpe Corpus
7. Fade Out
8. Kiss of Death
9. Ghost Town
10. Bite Club
11. Last Breath
12. Black Dawn

Other reviews of this book:
Love Vampires / Mindful Musings / The Bookette

Review - The Dead Girls' Dance by Rachel Caine (Morganville Vampires #2)

Publisher - Allison and Busby
Publication Date - 7th April 2008
Paperback - 320 pages
Genre - Young Adult/Urban Fantasy

Source - Purchased

Rating - 4 out of 5: I really liked it.

Book Info - Claire has her share of challenges. Like being a genius in a school that favours beauty over brains; homicidal girls in her dorm, and finding out that her college town is overrun with the living dead. On the up side, she has a new boyfriend with a vampire-hunting dad. But when a local fraternity throws the Dead Girls’ Dance, hell is really going to break loose.

My Thoughts - ***It is impossible to write this review without giving away some spoilers for events in the previous books in this series. If you have not read the other books please read this review with caution***

This book carries on directly from the amazing cliffhanger at the end of Glass Houses (if you have not read Glass Houses then please do not even try picking up this book as it will be pretty difficult to figure out what is going on!). The action starts right from the beginning of The Dead Girls’ Dance and it doesn’t stop until you turn the last page. Although I have to say that, as much as I enjoy a good action-packed novel, there were definitely times when I was wishing for a few quiet moments in the book just so that I could relax and catch my breath.

In this novel, Shane’s father is back in town and he wants to kill a few vampires whilst he is in Morganville. This obviously leads Shane and his housemates (including Claire) into a lot of trouble with the vampires. Shane finds himself being captured by the vampires and it is up to Claire, Eve and Michael to help rescue him. In her attempts to help him, Claire finds herself in some very dangerous situations and she has to be rescued several times. Although this did at times make me want to tell her to sort herself out and stop being so stupid, at other times Claire comes across as being incredibly brave, strong and determined.

I think Shane was my favourite character in this novel. He is strong and very protective of Claire, but we also see a much more vulnerable side to him as we learn about how his mother and sister died a couple of years ago. And we also see him making a few mistakes (such as the phone call that brings his father back to Morganville) and, for me, this all makes him a much more likeable and relatable character.

Rachel Caine has the ability to write an action-packed story that will keep you hooked from the very first page and will keep you guessing about what happens to the characters. I really like all of the four housemates in this book and I couldn’t help but feel for them as they all try to do what they feel is right – even though at times things still go very wrong for them.

Summary - Although I didn’t enjoy this book quite as much as I enjoyed Glass Houses, I still had difficulty in putting it down once I had started it and once again the author has left us with a huge cliffhanger, which means I will be picking up the third book in the series very soon!

Other books in this series:
1. Glass Houses
2. Dead Girl's Dance
3. Midnight Alley
4. Feast of Fools
5. Lord of Misrule
6. Carpe Corpus
7. Fade Out
8. Kiss of Death
9. Ghost Town
10. Bite Club
11. Last Breath

Other reviews of this book:
Electrifying Reviews / Karin's Book Nook /  Love Vampires

Review: Glass Houses by Rachel Caine (Morganville Vampires #1)

Publisher - Allison and Busby
Publication Date - 2006
Paperback - 348 pages
Genre -  Young Adult/Urban Fantasy

Source - Purchased

Rating - 4 out of 5: I really liked it.

Book Info - Morganville is a small town filled with unusual characters – when the sun goes down, the bad comes out. In Morganville, there is an evil that lurks in the darkest shadows – one that will spill out into the bright light of day.

For Claire Danvers, high school was hell, but college may be murder. It was bad enough that she got on the wrong side of Monica, the meanest of the school’s mean girls, but now she’s got three new roommates, who all have secrets of their own. And the biggest secret of all isn’t really a secret, except from Claire: Morganville is run by vampires, and they are hungry for fresh blood…

My Thoughts - I found Morganville to be a fascinating place. The idea that a town could be run by vampires is an amazing premise for a book. The inter-vampire politics and vampire/human politics that are explained really help the reader to understand how the town works. It appeared to me that humans were only allowed to live in the town to satisfy the vampires needs.

The storyline surrounding Michael is really interesting. When Claire first meets him, and finds out that Michael is never seen during the day, I assumed (probably like most people) that he is a vampire. I was nowhere near the truth in this assumption and I thought this was a great twist in the story.

I also really liked the budding romance between Claire and Shane. He is very protective of Claire, and he is called in to protect her several times when things start to get dangerous, but at the same time is incredibly sweet and caring towards her. I hope that this is a storyline that is followed up in the rest of the series.

The book is fast-paced, barely leaving the reader a chance to catch their breath, and making it impossible to stop reading. The end of the book is amazing – a complete cliffhanger – and I can’t wait to read the next book in the series.

Summary - Overall, I loved this book as it was different to the other vampire novels I have read. I would definitely recommend this book to fans of the paranormal genre.

Other books in this series:
1. Glass Houses
2. Dead Girl's Dance
3. Midnight Alley
4. Feast of Fools
5. Lord of Misrule
6. Carpe Corpus
7. Fade Out
8. Kiss of Death
9. Ghost Town
10. Bite Club
11. Last Breath

Other reviews of this book:
Electrifying Reviews / Love Vampires / YA Reads

Waiting on Wednesday: Last Breath

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week my "can't-wait-to-read" selection is:

Last Breath by Rachel Caine

Claire Danvers is concerned when three vampires vanish from Morganville without a trace. The last person seen with them is someone new to town - a mysterious individual named Magnus. Claire is convinced creepy Magnus isn't human... but is he a vampire, or something else entirely? Claire's hunt for answers leads her to solving another mystery that's long been puzzling her: why do vampires live so far out in a sunny desert when they're sensitive to sunlight? The answer has nothing to do with sunlight, but with water - and an ancient enemy who has finally found a way to invade the vampires' landlocked community. Vampires aren't the top predator on earth. There's something worse that preys on them... something much worse. Which means if Claire, and Morganville, want to live, they will have to fight on to the last breath...