Daylighters by Rachel Caine

Something drastic has happened in Morganville while Claire Danvers and her friends were away. The town looks cleaner and happier than they've ever seen it before, but when their incoming group is arrested and separated - vampires from humans - they realise that the changes definitely aren't for the better.

It seems than an organisation called the Daylight Foundation has offered the population of Morganville something they've never had: hope of a vampire-free future. And while it sounds like salvation - even for the vampires themselves - the truth is far more sinister and deadly.

Now, Claire, Shane and Eve need to find a way to break their friends out of Daylighter custody, before the vampires of Morganville meet their untimely end ...

So everyone arrives back in Morganville only to be arrested and get split up. They discover the Daylight Foundation has taken over Morganville and ousted the vamps from their post as rulers. Everyone seems happier and Morganville is suddenly safer but Claire, Eve and Shane realise that it's not all it seems and that maybe it WAS better with the vamps in control rather than the weird Daylighters. They find out that the guy in charge has a "cure" for vampirism and is looking for volunteers, but nothing is ever as it seems, is it?

This book saddens me because it's the last book in an amazing series, it also saddens me that the cheesy ending really ruined the book for me. I kinda wish I could go back in time and tell me to just finish a bit earlier and leave on a high.

I don't think I'm going to be able to do a spoiler free review so I'm not going to try. The following section will contain spoilers, you can highlight to read if you don't mind.
{spoilers}The humans of Morganville have put all the vampires together in a sort of concentration camp (actually it's an old shopping mall) where they get limited blood and have to wear shock collars to keep them from attacking the guards. The Daylighters have a supposed cure for vampirism that they're looking for volunteers to test it on, if they don't get volunteers they'll force vampires into it - trouble is the cure has a higher fail rate than success rate and when it fails, the vampires get executed. Michael is grabbed as a test subject and the cure actually works on him - luckily enough just as his marriage to Eve is destroyed due to new laws. Shane's dog bite turns out to be an infection that changes him into some sort of vampire hunting werewolf - again luckily enough for him and Michael that the cure works on him since being around vampires causes Shane to change automatically.

And those last two sections are my problem with the ending, it all ended so happily and quite cheesy in my opinion. As much as I love this series, the ending was a HUGE disappointment. It's all so coincidental that Michael turns human again and happens to solve lots of problems all at the one time.{/spoilers}

The story itself is just as interesting as the rest of the series, it really is just the ending that lets it down. Despite that, I will still recommend the Morganville series to others - it's a great series with lots of ups and downs and some great characters, plus it's getting made into a TV show thanks to the fans (myself included). I love the series and it's sad to see it end.


Book Depository: Daylighters
Amazon UK: Daylighters

Fall of Night by Rachel Caine

Thanks to its unique mix of human and vampire residents, Morganville is a small college town with big-time problems. But it isn't the only town with vampire trouble ...

Claire never thought she'd leave Morganville, but when she gets accepted into a graduate course at MIT, she can't pass up the opportunity. Saying goodbye to her friends, especially her boyfriend Shane, is bittersweet, and her new life at MIT is both scary and exciting. Enrolled in a special advanced study programme with Professor Irene Anderson, former Morganville native, Claire is able to work on VLAD, her machine designed to cancel the mental abilities of vampires.

But Morganville and its inhabitants are never really far from Claire's mind. When she begins testing her machine on live subjects, things quickly spiral out of control, and Claire begins to wonder whether leaving Morganville was the last mistake she'll ever make ...

Claire leaves Morganville (and her friends) to go to MIT on a special programme with one of Myrnin's former helpers. She takes VLAD with her and her new Professor wants to help her work on it - using a live vampire as the test subject. Meanwhile Claire's room mate is introducing Claire to a new level of creepiness - courtesy of her ex.

The penultimate book in the Morganville series - yes, sadly (very sadly) we are almost done with the wonderful town of Morganville and the weird and quirky residents. I shall miss my bi-annual dose of Myrnin, and I suppose Claire, Shane, Michael and Eve .... but mostly Myrnin.

This book surprised me by actually having Claire leave Morganville, I kept waiting for something to stop it from happening at the beginning - as normally happens in Morganville. But she does leave and I think it does a lot for her growing up and it definitely did something for her relationship with Shane. The story is told from Claire & Shane's POV - so yet another view into Shane's head which I loved before. It's so nice to read Shane's thoughts (and fears) on their relationship.

And what an ending! It's made me even more excited for Daylighters - even though I know as soon as I read it, the series will be finished. Which causes my face to do this :(


Book Depository: Fall of Night
Amazon UK: Fall of Night

Bitter Blood by Rachel Caine

Now that the threat to the vampires of Morganville has been defeated, the gravest danger to the human residents is the enemy within.

For years, the human and vampire residents of Morganville have managed to coexist in peace. But thanks to the eradication of the parasitic creatures known as the draug, the vampires of Morganville have now been freed of their usual constraints. With the vampires indulging their every whim, the town's human population is determined to hold on to their lives by taking up arms. College student Claire Danvers, with ties to both humans and vampires, isn't about to take sides.

To make matters worse, a television show comes to Morganville searching for ghosts, just as vampire and human politics collide. Now, Claire and her friends have to figure out how to keep the peace without ending up on the nightly news ... or worse.

The residents of Morganville have been equipped with ID cards, the cards must be carried at all times - for humans they state name, blood type and protector, for vampires they mean they can have 1 free human hunt a year. After confronting Amelie about it, Claire and Michael kick off a whole mess of crap. Because of Eve and Michael's marriage has brought out bad feelings in both vampires and humans, this has made all members of the Glass House a target for both - it's a free-for-all for the residents of Morganville and our gang are the target.

As is typical with a Rachel Caine book, it's packed with enough action to keep you reading. I know when I get a new Caine book that I'm going to need time to read it 'cos I don't want to put it down - I normally read one of her books in one sitting 'cos she's BIG on cliff hanger/exciting chapter endings.

Separate paragraph for the spoilers 'cos I need to mention them ...... highlight to read** Myrnin decides to leave town but when he tells Claire he kisses her ....... did you see that??? He KISSES her! We all know Myrnin has had feelings for Claire but this is the first time he and Claire have really admitted it. Eve almost dies when a group of humans beat her up in the street and Michael ends up being put under Naomi's thrall and breaks up with Eve, to drive the point home he then kisses Claire and puts doubts in Shane's mind about the pair of them. This is a lot of stuff to happen ... and Claire gets kissed by a lot of people!

I ADORE this series, I cannot recommend it highly enough. If you're a YA vampire fan, this is definitely the series for you - Caine is an excellent storyteller and she is excellent at keeping you hooked. This is a series I will continue to be excited about when a new book comes out and I will be exceptionally disappointed when it comes to an end.


Book Depository: Bitter Blood
Amazon UK: Bitter Blood

Country vs Country - Morganvill Vampires

So another of one of my favourite YA series this time.

The Morganville Vampires by Rachel Caine

Above are the US covers. I don't know why but I really don't like them, they seem very teen-soap-opera style.

And these are the UK covers. There are more covers because the first 4 books came out with an awesome glow-in-the-dark cover (that I loved) but then , sadly, got changed when Lord of Misrule was released. The first 4 books then got re-released with the new covers. I would have been happier if they'd kept the glow-in-the-dark ones but I do like the new covers as well, they're very shiny and pretty. And , in my opinion, seem more fitting with the series than the US ones. But then I could just be being bias since they're MY covers.

Black Dawn by Rachel Caine

When a tide of ferocious draug, the vampire's deadliest enemy, floods Morganville, its eclectic mix of residents must fight to save their town from devastation.

Chaos has taken over the quiet college town of Morganville as the threat of the draug rapidly spreads with the help of the city's water system. Whilst most of the locals have already fled, student Claire Danvers and her friends Shane, Eve and Michael choose to stay and fight.

Things take a turn for the worse when vampire Amelie, the town's founder, is infected by the master draug's bite. Unless Claire and her friends can find an antidote to save Amelie and overcome the draug, Morganville's future looks bleak ...

So anyone who has read any of my previous Morganville reviews will know I love this series and Rachel Caine. I love anything that woman writes and refuse to believe there is anything bad to say about her books. You might think this would make writing the review easier but it's a lot harder since I feel like I just gush over her and her works.

For any who don't know, Morganville is a town in Texas that is run by vampires. Everyone, except for the Uni students, know about the vampires and live by certain rules etc. to keep themselves alive. Claire Danvers is one of those students but she finds out about the hidden background of Morganville and eventually starts working for the founder, Amelie. Throughout the books Claire deals with a lot: bullying, moving into a house with strangers, finding out vampires exist, learning how to live in Morganville, falling in love, almost dying, actually dying, saving the town, saving herself and her friends as well as other little trivial things. Black Dawn is the most recent in the series and we find out more about the even-more-baddy-than-vampire draug that were introduced in Last Breath.

So, like I said above, there are no bad things to say about Black Dawn. All Morganville fans will want to read this, it brings up some interesting ideas for future books and any non Morganville fans, I highly recommend you start the series with Glass Houses and work through it from there. For UKers there's a gorgeous Morganville omnibus available that includes the first 3 books: Glass Houses, The Dead Girl's Dance and Midnight Alley.


Book Depository: Black Dawn
Amazon UK: Black Dawn

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 predators 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 ...

Book eleven and still loving it. This book has several voices, including Amelie, Michael and Eve. I discovered I liked Amelie's voice, she's very regal and thinks about how everything might affect Morganville. Even though some of the choices she makes seem weird and wrong, they're for the good of the town and keeping the peace.

This book has one particularly shocking section that I was not expecting and, as is the norm for Rachel Caine's books, there are several small shocks in the book too. One thing I really enjoy is getting into Shane's head more and finding out exactly how he really feels about Claire. It's silly but I feel protective of Claire, we've read her growing up and seen all the hardships she's had.


The UK version also had a free short story called Anger Management which is set between Bite Club and Last Breath and focuses on Shane going to a Founder-mandated Counsellor instead of jail. It was very short and I do really enjoy Shane so that's a huge bonus!


Book Depository: Last Breath
Amazon UK: Last Breath

Bite Club by Rachel Caine

Morganville is a quiet college town where humans and vampires live in relative peace. But lately a great deal of blood is being spilt ...

Having survived a number of adventures with her new night-dwelling friends, college student Claire Danvers has come to realise that for the most part, the undead just want to get on with their lives.

But someone else wants then to get ready to rumble.

There's a new extreme sport being broadcast over the Internet: bare-knuckle fights pitting vampires against one another - or, worse, against humans. Claire soon discovers that what started as an online brawl will soon threaten everyone in Morganville. And if they want to survive, they'll have to do a lot more than fight ...

This is book ten in the Morganville series and Rachel Caine's storylines are still as strong and well written as ever. Usually by the 10th book in a series, I've came across at least one book in there that I didn't like. Mostly because the story was poor, and I fear this with some of my favourite series because it may put me off them. Thankfully, this hasn't happened here.

I absolutely love the characters in the Morganville books. Claire has grown so much since we first met her in Glass Houses and I really like who she's turning into. Shane is hot as ever and we get some Shane POV in this book which is great, I've read a couple of shorts from Shane's POV and I like his voice. Eve is .... well, she's Eve, she's awesome! And Michael has some stuff to deal with but he's still fun. And of course, my favourite character is, and always will be, Myrnin. I think it would be hard to knock Myrnin from my top spot, he's crazy and loveable.

If you haven't read the Morganville series, I suggest you do it but you really have to start from the beginning which is Glass Houses. And if you have read the rest then I'm sure, like me, you'll be delighted with this installment and eagerly awaiting Last Breath which, I think, is out in November.

So it's not too long ...... *taps fingers and chews nails* ........ not long at all!


Book Depository: Bite Club
Amazon UK: Bite Club

My 10 Favourite Series

I wrote Top 10 up there in the post title but then thought to myself "I can't actually put them in order of most to least favourite", so I deleted the top and it is now just my 10 favourite in alphabetical order.
The lists are in reading order, I have included links to author sites and, if available, direct links from there to the individual books. Also a link to my review if I've done one.

ALPHA & OMEGA by Patricia Briggs
The first story, Alpha & Omega , is actually a short story in the anthology On The Prowl. My review of On The Prowl.
Cry Wolf. My review of Cry Wolf.
Hunting Ground. My review of Hunting Ground.
Alpha & Omega #3 is due to be published in Autumn 2011

BLACK DAGGER BROTHERHOOD by J.R. Ward
Dark Lover
Lover Eternal
Lover Awakened
Lover Revealed
Lover Unbound
Lover Enshrined
Insider's Guide
Lover Avenged
Lover Mine

DARKEST POWERS by Kelley Armstrong
Darkest Powers website
The Summoning. My review of The Summoning.
The Awakening. My review of The Awakening.
The Reckoning. My review of The Reckoning.
And the following book is technically a new series called Darkness Rising but it's the same world as Darkest Powers and is based on the same storyline.
The Gathering is due to be released April 2011

JANE TRUE by Nicole Peeler
Tempest Rising. My review of Tempest Rising.
Tracking the Tempest. My review of Tracking the Tempest.
Tempest's Legacy. My review of Tempest's Legacy.

KITTY NORVILLE by Carrie Vaughn
Kitty and the Midnight Hour
Kitty Goes to Washington
Kitty Takes a Holiday
Kitty and the Silver Bullet
Kitty and the Dead Man's Hand
Kitty Raises Hell
Kitty's House of Horrors
Kitty Goes to War

MERCY THOMPSON by Patricia Briggs
Moon Called
Blood Bound
Iron Kissed
Bone Crossed
Silver Borne
River Marked is due to be released March 2011

MORGANVILLE VAMPIRES by Rachel Caine
Glass Houses
The Dead Girls' Dance
Midnight Alley
Feast of Fools
Lord of Misrule
Carpe Corpus
Fade Out
Kiss of Death
Ghost Town. My review of Ghost Town.
Bite Club is due to be released April 2011

OTHERWORLD by Kelley Armstrong
Bitten
Stolen
Dime Store Magic
Industrial Magic
Haunted
Broken
No Humans Involved
Personal Demon
Living with the Dead
Frostbitten
Waking the Witch. My review of Waking the Witch.
Spell Bound is due to be released July/August 2011
Men of the Otherworld is an anthology of shorts all written from the male's perspective.
Tales of the Otherworld is another anthology of shorts. If I remember correctly, Tales and Men were both written to raise money for charity.
Angelic is a novella written for Subterranean Press and was a very limited run. It is no longer available to buy (except from unscrupulous folks on ebay) but is available in audio book format.
Counterfeit Magic is also a novella from Subterranean Press. Just been released so I'm not sure about available copies. However, knowing the want of Kelley fans out there, it is probably no longer available in print.

SHIFTERS by Rachel Vincent
Stray
Rogue
Pride
Prey
Shift
Alpha. My review of Alpha.
Unfortunately, this great series is now finished.

SOOKIE STACKHOUSE SOUTHERN VAMPIRE by Charlaine Harris
Dead Until Dark
Living Dead in Dallas
Club Dead
Dead to the World
Dead as a Doornail
Definitely Dead
All Together Dead
From Dead to Worse
Dead and Gone
Dead in the Family

Ghost Town by Rachel Caine

When Claire is ordered to repair the systems that protect Morganville, it's not just cutting into her study time, it's a life-threatening problem. If there's one thing this vampire-infested town is serious about, it's security.

But achieving the impossible only brings a whole new set of problems, and the upgrades have unexpected consequences: people inside the town are slowly beginning to forget who they are, even the vampires. Soon, the town's little memory problem has turned into a full-on epidemic. Now Claire needs to figure out a way to pull the plug on her experiment - before she forgets how to save Morganville...

This is the latest installment in the Morganville series and Rachel Caine still manages to keep the reader gripped. Even after 9 books, the story keeps flowing and keeps you hooked until the very last page where, upon finishing it, you cannot wait for the next book.

Claire has more responsibility in this book, she must fix the computer that controls a lot of Morganville after Ada was destroyed. But, in typical Morganville fashion, nothing goes according to plan. Myrnin is his usual (slightly schizophrenic) self and this does nothing to help the cause. Claire has grown a lot since Glass Houses and she's now in a serious relationship with Shane. She's matured quickly and I really like her and the group dynamics of the Glass house members.

As usual with the Morganville books, I didn't want to put it down and I'm eagerly awaiting the next book.



Rating
5/5


Book Depository: Ghost Town
Amazon UK: Ghost Town