Review-Morganville Vampires ( 1-3) by Rachel Caine

From back cover:
" {Welcome to Morganville, Texas. Don't stay out after dark.}
It's 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 of day.

Claire Danvers has had enough of her nigthmarish dorm situation. The popular girls never let her forget just where she ranks on 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 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..."

This was the first book I've read by Rachel Caine and I can't wait to read the rest of her books.
Glass Houses is an excellent start of an excellent series. I read this book in about 2 hours and immediately started Dead Girls' Dance. Unfortunately my puppy got a hold of it and tore it to pieces. I had to wait forever to get another copy and I was running to get the mail everyday to see if it was there yet.

4/5 stars


"Good news girls: Your dates are here!

Claire Danvers has her share of challenges-like being a genius in a school that favors beauty over brains, dealing with the homicidal girls in her dorm, and above all, finding out that her college is overrun with vampires. On the up side, she has a great roommate (who tends to disappear at sunup) and a new boyfriend named Shane... whose vampire-hunting dad has called in backup: cycle punks who like the idea of killing just about anything.

Bad news girls: They're dead.

Now a fraternity is throwing its annual Dead Girls' Dance and-surprise!-Claire and her equally outcast best friend, Eve, have been invited. When they find out why, all hell is going to break loose. Because this time both the living and the dead are coming out- and everybody is hungry for blood."

(Minor spoilers. I'll make them little so it's easier to skip over)
I really like that Caine had Claire drugged by a seemingly nice guy at the party. Because it shows not to trust seemingly nice guys/people at parties and to always be the to open you're drink. It was subtle and not preachy, which I loved, and still got the point across.

4/5 stars

"Morganville is such a nice place to live...

When Claire Danvers learned that her college town was run by vampires, she did what any intelligent, self-preserving freshman 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.

...And die. If you don't mind that sort of thing.

Now Claire has pledged herself to Amelie, the most powerful vampire in town. The protection her contract secures does little to reassure those closest to Clair. All of a sudden, people are turning up dead, a stalker resurfaces from her past, and an ancient bloodsucker extends a chilling invitation for private lessons in his secluded home. To what end, Claire will soon discover-and it will give a terrifying new meaning to night school."

Once again, great sequel. I loved that we're learning more about the vampires. Myrnin was a very interesting character, but I felt so bad for him. A question about the summary, it says, "a stalker resurfaces from her past" but wouldn't it be Eve's past?

4/5 stars

Overall review:
I love it! All the characters have distinct personalities. Unlike some books, I didn't get confused about who was who and have to back to find out.
The writing is great, written from Claire's point of view is one of the things that makes this series so enthralling. It's kind of like those whodunit games, you're Claire and have to figure out what's going on before it's too late. (I never got it right :) It's a fun, somewhat quick read. Only 247 pages, but what it lacks in size is definitely made up for in the storyline.
I love the shortness of the books and the way it always ends on a cliffhanger. It makes me way too eager for words to get my hands on the next book. Usually, I'd hate that, because by the the time the book comes out I don't want to read it anymore, but with this series I love it.
Some more things I loved: The vampires are the enemies. I mean, I love a good vampire (that doesn't sparkle) as much as the next girl, but it's refreshing to read a story where vamps are bad. Sure, some of them are less evil than the others, but they're all enemies to humans.
These vampires are an enigma. Caine doesn't explain everything as soon as possible. We don't know their weaknesses, strengths, powers, origins, etc. right off the bat. We learn a little bit more in each book.
I could keep going, but I'd end up writing everything from the books.
I think this is my favorite vampire series now, I would recommend these books to anyone who likes vampires.