Morganville's 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 the 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 Review:
Things are changing in Morganville. Shane is openly hostile to Michael's new status as a vampire and Frank is still around ready to cause trouble. Claire is trying to keep it secret from everyone that she now has Amelie's full protection which becomes difficult when Amelie gives her job of assistant to one of her vampires-Myrnin, a literal mad scientist who has eaten all of his previous assistants. With Monica trying to be friendly and dead girls turning up killed by a human, it is even more dangerous in Morganville.
Claire has made a deal to get protection from Amelie which should make the Glass House safer. Knowing that Eve and Shane refused to pledge themselves to a vampire, she is worried about their reaction to what she has done and tries to hide it. Her new status interests Monica who would like to switch her pledge from Oliver to Amelie and hopes that Claire might be able to help. It is going to be strange for Claire to get all the attention that her new bracelet will bring and she is wondering if she did the right thing. She is forced to work in secret as the new assistant to Myrnin, a brilliant minded but crazy psychopathic vampire who has killed all his previous helpers and is caged for Claire's safety. The fact that Sam is worried about this development unnerves Claire.
Eve is very much on edge with her brother Jason recently being released from prison and lurking around town, fixated on Claire. She is also upset at the way Shane has started behaving towards Michael, seeing him as a vampire and not as his friend. Michael is trying to adjust to being a vampire and convince Shane that he is still the same person but their friendship is under threat.
Danger is on the streets too, with missing girls turning up raped and murdered, with one body being planted at the Glass House, which Shane rushes to move. With Eve's brother Jason as the prime suspect, everyone is on edge in case he is prowling around. It becomes clear that Michael is also under threat with his status as a new vampire revealed when Sam is staked outside the Glass House in a case of mistaken identity. It is part of a campaign by anti-vampire groups to kill as many as they can led by Captain Obvious, who is a fanatic. However it is Claire's dumb decision to sabotage Monica's party with gatecrashers as revenge for her bullying that leads to the biggest threat to them all.
I loved Myrnin. You can tell that he is decent for a vampire when he resists the urge to kill Claire when the chance comes to him. He is manic yet brilliant, eccentric and funny, dangerous but endearing and a great new character to add. I very much enjoyed the scenes with him and Claire in his creepy lab. He is the one who is trying to find a cure for the sickness that all Amelie's vampires are suffering from but fears he is getting too sick to finish it, begging Claire to save them. Claire is torn at first but the thought of Sam and Michael catching this disease and going slowly mad helps her decide to help the vampires. She has also learned from Myrnin about portals around town which vampires can travel by, including into the Glass House. These revelations should be an interesting storyline through the book.
The drama continues in this book with the threats from both humans and vampires to our heroes, and the strained relationships in the house. I liked that we are finding out more of the secrets of Morganville through the addition of Myrnin and his research, which adds something extra to the mix. the vampire illness is certainly interesting and I look forwards to more about this in future books. The third book certainly keeps up to the standard of the first two.
Read April 2017.
4 stars
Can't Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted at http://www.wishfulendings.com/ to spotlight and discuss books we're excited about but haven't read, which may not even be released yet.
This week I'm already thinking about THIS beautiful bad boy!!! Seems appropriate with it being the 20th anniversary this week of Harry Potter hitting the book stores!
Lookit! Isn't that cover gorgeous??? You can never have too many versions of Harry Potter to coo over and this big illustrated set is something I love. I really can't wait to see what the illustrations are inside. I'm not sure how I can wait until October to get it!
Top Ten Tuesday
is an original feature/weekly meme created here at The Broke and the
Bookish in June 2010. This feature was created because we are
particularly fond of lists here at The Broke and the Bookish. We'd love
to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your
top ten lists! http://www.brokeandbookish.com/
This week we have Ten Best Books You've Read so far in 2017. Yes I can manage this one. Narrowing it down to ten is going to be impossible!!!
1) George RR Martin-A Game of Thrones
We delve into the Starks v the Lannisters and how it turned bloody, Jon Snow arriving at the Wall to discover what it is really like, Ned trying to investigate Jon Arryn's murder and discovering the secret that will be fatal to his family. Great detail with switching POVs.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20873804-a-game-of-thrones
2) George RR Martin-A Clash of Kings
This book looks at those vying for the Iron Throne with Stannis taking on Renly and Joffrey, Arya being captured, Tyrion's battle plans to save King's Landing, Theon's betrayal and the Battle of the Blackwater. Wonderful detail on all the fighting.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21528380-a-clash-of-kings
3) Glynn James/Michael Stephen Fuchs-Exodus (Arisen #5)
Quite possibly THE greatest zombie book EVER! I love this whole action packed zombiefest series but this book has the amazing battle of men v zombies in the Battle of the JFK. I wanted to give this book ten stars! If you love zombies you must try this series!
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23051999-exodus
4) Kevin Hearne-Hexed (Iron Druid #2)
I love this mythology steeped urban fantasy. There are fighting witches, religious fanatics with psycho beards, inappropriate vampire, long suffering werewolf, Indian goddess/demon, Celtic goddesses and Oberon decides to become a hippy. Funny, crazy, best of the series.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9595650-hexed
5) Rachel Caine-Lord of Misrule (Morganville Vampires #5)
I've enjoyed this series but this is my favourite so far. Claire and her friends join forces with the town vampires to take on a new vampire who wants to take over Morganville. This was high octane and I liked enemies becoming allies.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9595650-hexed
6) Nicholas Sansbury Smith-ExtinctionEdge (Extinction Horizon #2)
This is also one of my favourite series and I gave them all five stars. I liked this one though as it stepped up the madness and we see the zombie like people beginning to mutate into scary creatures. Tons of exciting action. Love it!
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24384184-extinction-edge
7) Hunter Shea-Swamp Monster Massacre
A group of tourists on a swamp tour survive the crash but have killed a young skunk ape. The Sasquatch family are very angry and start to chase the humans through the deadly swamp, determined to kill them all. Good gory fun!
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35150361-swamp-monster-massacre
8) Jack Kilborn-Trapped
Two social workers take their charges on a camping trip to an island that used to be a civil war prison. Now it has a population of hungry cannibals, a mad doctor who experiments on humans and his horrific creations! Fast paced gory torturefest!
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7487212-trapped
9) Sonya Bateman-Wrong Side of Hell
Gideon rescues a werewolf and discovers that he is half Fey, can force the dead to speak to him truthfully and is wanted by a psycho cult that tortures supernaturals. This was a funny, action packed UF with a great mix of characters including a bogeyman.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28683761-wrong-side-of-hell
10) Joe Pike-Project Fear
A look behind the scenes of the warring 'No' campaign during the 2014 Scottish Independence Referendum. This is the kind of political book I enjoy with the chaos, the backstabbing and the bitching as things fall apart!
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26635611-project-fear
Good news, girls: your dates are here!
Claire
Danvers has had her share of challenges - like being a genius in a
school that favours beauty over brains, dealing with the homicidal girls
in her dorm and, above all, finding out that her college town is
overrun with blood-sucking fiends. On the plus side, so far Claire and
her friends have managed to survive getting on the wrong side of some
Morganville VIPs . . . Vampire Important Persons. But their temporary
peace is in danger of collapsing, thanks to the arrival of her new
boyfriend's scary father and his vampire-fighting supporters.
Bad news, girls: they're dead.
My Review:
*this review contains spoiler about the end of book one*
Shane,
Eve and Claire are in shock at what Frank has done to Michael and they
are held captive by Frank's men. It becomes clear that Shane came back
to town on his dad's orders to spy out which vampires to target as they
both wanted revenge for the vampires allegedly killing Shane's mother
for remembering everything after they fled Morganville in the wake of
his sister's death. The house will not let Michael die and he is able to
phone the police to a break-in at the house, causing the men to flee.
Now Shane has to consider where his loyalties lie.
Claire and Eve
are well aware that their fragile protected status from Amelie is under
threat if Frank harms any vampires so it is a shock when Brandon is
found dead with Shane at the scene of the crime. He is sentenced to be
killed by fire unless his friends can prove that he is innocent. Claire
will do anything to get Shane released by her attempts to investigate
are going to be hampered by Monica's determination to make her suffer
for just existing. However Frank is also not prepared to sit back and
let his son be killed without taking a prisoner of his own, and his
choice just ramps up the tension in the town to a whole new level.
With
Michael being such a big player, and being a ghost not a vampire, I was
expecting that he was not really dead. It was still a relief to see he
was ok as I love the group dynamic between the four of them. Michael is
frustrated that he cannot help with anything as Oliver has left him
unable to leave the house, and he is desperate enough to ask Amelie if
she will turn him fully vampire. This is a huge risk for his friendship
with Shane and his relationship with Eve but a big plus for character
development. Shane of course, is a complete dumbass to be doing his
father's dirty jobs when the guy treats him so badly. Shane is desperate
enough for his father's approval to make seriously dangerous choices
and now he might burn for it. I understand his desire for vengeance, of
course I do but calling Frank for help was a very bad idea for Claire,
Eve and Michael's safety.
Claire is persuaded by Eve to go with
her to the frat party and while Eve is looking for Sam, Claire chats to
the frat boy that invited her to the event. She soon discoveres that she
is way to trusting of people as vshe ends up drugged and almost gang
raped. It doesn't help that Frank's group decide to attack the party to
kill vampires but with everyone dressed up, mistakes are being made and
kids start to die. Oh Claire, I could see this coming a mile away! In
this town she is learning to be wary of the vampires but seems to
believe that all humans are safe which isn't true. I hope the spiked
drink storyline here is a warning to the YA readers about how easy it
can happen to you.
It was a massive shock to me to see the
lurking bad guy from Glass Houses suddenly be murdered in this book. I
was expecting him to be a major player in this series. I liked being
surprised though, as it means the author is doing a good job in
storytelling and twists. Michael's dilemma, Shane's stupidity, Claire
being naive and Eve going take charge allows a lot of character
development. I like that the teenagers are complicated and brave when
they need to be, instead of whiny childish idiots like you see in other
YA books. I liked the whole prisoner exchange story which had the book
motoring along at speed to the plot climax, and allowed us to see the
cops on the side of the good guys for once in this town.
An excellent sequel.
Read April 2017.
4 stars.
Today it is TWENTY YEARS since Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone was published and it was actually a book that changed my life. Yeah I know that sounds gushy and over dramatic Drama Queeny but it is actually true.
I loved books as a child. Every summer and weekend I'd be in the library all day and then out playing with my friends, acting out all the cool ideas that I thought of based on the book adventures I'd had. Life was never dull and books were my friend. As I went into secondary school the endless homework left little time to read for fun and the books I had to read for school were the 'classics' like To Kill A Mockingbird, Animal Farm, Pygmalion, Sons and Lovers (*gag*), Death of a Salesman, Catcher in the Rye...I just didn't enjoy them as they did nothing to fire my imagination in the way Enid Blyton and other authors had. Reading was a bit of a chore. Reading became infrequent and then college began. Spare time was spent eating out or in the student union bar and only my Stephen King and Richard Laymon compulsion had me reading anything at that point. Slowly the thirst for reading stirred a bit but it was snuffed out like a candle when I got my first job. I had no time or energy to read and I was stressed all the time. Several jobs followed and my health was declining a bit. Reading was no longer on my agenda.
A month before I had to sign off sick from my job, one of the girls asked if I'd read Harry Potter. I wrinkled my nose and said 'those kids books? Eh, no!' She said they were funny and full of action with great characters and that they were for adults too. I wasn't convinced! I mean WHY would I want to read about kids at a wizard school??? I ended up off sick and every day just felt like a miserable struggle with depression and my dad said I should try to occupy my mind with a bit of reading. I used to be in online book clubs and I thought I'd join again...those joining offers were usually pretty good. I saw that one of the books offered was a box set of the first four Harry Potter books for three or four pounds and I thought 'why not'. The day the books arrived, I started the Philosopher's Stone. I was giggling about Uncle Vernon and the letters and owls...by the end of the week I'd demolished all four!
It wasn't just the characters that drew me in though I loved the humour of Fred and George, the malice of Malfoy, and saw myself in Hermione! (I'm not as clever though but I was a swot!) It was that rich world-building...the shops of Diagon Alley, Harry's back story, a new sport to enjoy, the magical creatures, the classes and spells...it was mind-blowing. I'd have went mad for Harry as a kid and it was the same as an adult. I just wanted to have gone to Hogwarts and all those amazing classes! Wouldn't you rather do charms than maths??? I always figured I'd be sorted into Hufflepuff as I did work hard at school. I was totally swept up in the adventures. I had a very short time to wait for book five (three months) and it was hell waiting for the last two but boy did they deliver! I was a FAN!
That series delivered so much on so many levels that I don't think I'll ever see something that good again that both children and adults can go mad for. You should have seen the way I grabbed The Cursed Child when it came out! (and I loved it too!) But the legacy of Harry Potter for me isn't just great books. It awoke the reading giant who was slumbering within my body. I wanted to read more about werewolves and put it into a search engine and found Goodreads articles about Kelley Armstrong and Patricia Briggs. Then I looked up vampires on the site as I'd loved Buffy and The Lost Boys and I saw Jeaniene Frost and Charlaine Harris. Now I was seeing the term 'urban fantasy' and it launched me into amazing book adventures! Then came zombies, demons, and all kinds of creatures. I've never looked back.
Thank you so much JK Rowling for those amazing books and for bringing me back to reading when it was sort of lost to me. By discovering urban fantasy, I then crashed into dystopia and my beloved apocalypse and prepper fiction. I've found so many amazing books since then and I am so much happier for it. Without getting back to reading the depression could have crippled me, and reading is how I manage it. That's why Harry Potter changed my life.
Still, I'd like some books on James and Sirius at school, the rise of Voldemort and the first war though...pretty please...???!!! Coz that would be, y'know, wizard!!!
