Kiss of Death by Rachel Caine

Book Summery:
Vampire musician Michael Glass has attracted the attention of a big- time producer who wants to cut a demo and play some gigs-which means Michael will have to enter the human world. For this, he's been assigned escorts that include both a dangerous immortal as well as Micheal's all-too-human friends. And with that mix of personalities, this is going to be a road trip from hell... -goodreads.com
Book Review:
Now, any of you that have followed my blog for the past year or so know how much I LOVE Rachel Caine. She is easily one of my top favorite authors. However, with that in mind, I would have to say that Kiss of Death seemed to be a last ditch effort...like, she needed to write something for her publisher and/or fans, and just slapped something together. It might have been better had she taken more time between books. She has several coming out this year. It didn't seem to fit the storyline that Caine has set up in the rest of the series. Further more, it didn't flow as smoothly as her other books. The relationships between the characters just seemed off, save for Clare and Shane's relationship. Perhaps I'll understand the method to her madness in the upcoming books. Another thing that bothered me was that Caine was trying too hard to identify with "YA readers." She used a lot of slang and emotions, that just seemed overkill and detracted from the overall story. I don't know if she is getting pressure to do this from her editor or what, but I haven't seen this since the beginning of the series. It also could be that I had high expectations going into this one...perhaps a little too high? Either way, I will still continue to read the series, and look forward to the release of Ghost Town in October. Morganville fans will (hopefully) enjoy this book, despite it's downfalls.

Favorite Quote:
"You are kidding."

"Hey, you were the one who had to have ice cream. Look what kind of trouble we got ourselves into. At least this way we're safe in a room with a door that locks. And the sign says they have HBO."

"Which stands for Horrible Bloody Ohmygood," Eve said. "Which is the way they kill you. When you think you're safe." (p. 90)

Cover Art Commentary:
I really love this one. The contrast of black, gray, and pink is just lovely. It took me a while to figure out who is on the cover, but it really is fitting. Curious? Read the book! :P

Overall Rating:

Fade Out by Rachel Caine

Summery:
Things have started to return to normal, well as normal as they can be in Morganville, Texas. Clare is focusing on school, Shane is finally employed, Micheal is working on his musical career, and Eve just got a leading role in the town play. A slight snag develops when Eve becomes close friends with one of her cast-mates, Kim. Kim does not play well with others, which creates friction for the other members in the Glass house. Kim also has bigger sights set than the local theater company. She is working on her own side project, one that will expose Morganville in all it's vampire glory. When Kim goes missing, Micheal, Eve, Shane, and Clare must decide if they should save Kim or hand her over to the Vampires.

Review:
At first, I thought Caine would have a difficult time recovering from the ongoing Bishop-Amelie battle. Caine did a nice job recovering and moving the story along. The only thing that detracted from the story, ever so slightly was a mildly ridiculous attempt to incorporate teenage slang. I kept this distraction in check by reminding myself that this book was indeed written and targeted for a YA audience. It was more prominent at the beginning, but eventually tapered off. Overall, the pages flew by and I found myself wanting more once the book ended. I also like that Caine fleshes out the story of Myrnin and Ada a bit more. It's nice to see Myrnin not a bit more sane than previous books. I have truly enjoyed the Morganville Vampire Series and will continue to read it as long as Caine writes more books for it. As I am at the end of the series (for now), I anticipate that I will be starting Caine's Weather Warden series in the near future! ;)

Cover Art Commentary:
I like this cover, though not as much as previous covers. I believe the character on the front is Eve. I do love the necklace she is wearing!

Overall Rating:




You may also like:
The Morganville Vampire Series by Rachel Caine
The Southern Vampire Mysteries by Charlaine Harris
Once Dead, Twice Shy by Kim Harrison

Carpe Corpus by Rachel Caine

*Warning! Summery may contain mild spoilers! Be aware!*

Summery:
Picking up from Lord of Misrule, Rachel Caine's Carpe Corpus starts off with one foot running. Claire has declared herself to Bishop, and Amelie and her loyal vamps are nowhere to be found. The members of the Glass House have been scattered apart. Eve is alone in the house, Clare is back with her parents, Michael has been sworn to Bishop's side, and Shane is locked away as Bishop's prisoner. Bishop is getting restless and Clare and her friends need to reconcile and find a way to defeat Bishop before they (and their love ones) find themselves dead...or undead.

Review:
Best book in the series yet! The plot is packed full of twists and turns. The end isn't quite the cliff-hanger the previous books have closed with, but I am quite curious as to what happens next!!! I highly recommend the entire series for anyone looking for adventure, supernatural entities, friendship, loyalty and a bit o' romance! ;)

Cover art commentary:
Love the cover art on this one. The dark blue and soft yellow juxtapose nicely. The darkness of the cover foreshadows the dark depths that lie ahead. Lovely, lovely, lovey. I am a bit confused by the bracelet the character, which I assume is Clare, is wearing. In the books, she has a delicate gold bracelet from Amelie and dark tattoo from Bishop. Either way, it doesn't detract from the cover or the story in the least bit.

Overall rating:

Lord of Misrule by Rachel Caine

*Caution! Mild summery spoilers ahead!*

Summery:
Lord of Misrule picks up exactly where Feast of Fools leaves off. The line has been drawn. The Glass household splits up in effort to protect themselves, the town, and even the vampires the once feared. Vamps and humans alike must decide whose side they want to be on. There are of course stray factions thrown in who attempt to rid the town of vampires altogether. Ultimately it comes down to Amelie and Mr. Bishop; and who has more strategy, power, and allegiance. Clare finds herself a pawn in deadly chess game and she must carefully calculate her next move in order to keep herself and her friends alive.

Review:
This book starts full steam ahead and doesn't slow down. Not even at the end. I absolutely can NOT wait to read the next book in the series, Carpe Corpus. Then I must wait in anguish until Caine's next installment comes out in November! I know it's only a month, but trust me, it's going to be one looooong month!!!

Cover art commentary:
Beautiful! Best cover in the series yet! Love the red, black, and gray. The colors play on each other nicely! I would definitely pick up this book solely based on the cover. I am guessing the two characters on the cover are Clare and Shane. :)

Overall rating:

Feast of Fools by Rachel Caine

*Warning! Contains spoilers!!!*

Summery:
Things pick up right where they ended in Midnight Alley. Clare's parents have moved into Morganville, Texas, in an attempt to "protect" her from her mature roommates. Little do they know, they are in more for than they bargained for... That's not all. Amelie's father, Mr. Bishop, is in town as well. Unlike Clare's protective parents, Mr. Bishop isn't interested in looking after Amelie. Instead, he has a taste for revenge, allegiance, and blood. Things really heat up when Amelie holds a formal ball in her father's honor, where every vampire is required to attend with a human in tow to present to Mr. Bishop at his pleasure. In an attempt to save her friends and family, Clare finds herself directly in the middle of the crossfire...

Review:
Best book of the series so far. I love that Caine is able to completely change the elements of each story without messing with the main characters or their love lives too much. For example, in the Sookie series, I found myself getting listless with Sookie's constant stream of ever-changing suitors. It's nice to get invested in the characters and continue to root for them. I also love that Caine's main character Clare, is intelligent, independent, and conscientious. Each of the characters are flawed, which makes them more tangible and believable in my book. A wonderful series. Needless to say, I am incredibly sad that I am running out of books in the series to read.

Cover art commentary:
The cover art is drastically improving book by book. I love the hall behind the character, whom I guessing is Michael. Definitely some foreshadowing on the cover! :)

Overall rating:

Midnight Alley by Rachel Caine

*Warning! Summery may contain mild spoilers!!!*

Summery:
Things heat up in this third installment of The Morganville Vampire Series. Clare has pledged herself to the most ancient of vampires in trade for protection for her and her roommates. Clare is in for more than she bargained for. People are turning up dead at her house and Shane is the prime suspect. Amelie has Clare secretly taking private lessons from one of the most antiquated and lethal vampires alive (more or less). Not to mention a dangerous blast from the past who is now intent on stalking Clare.

Review:
The pages flew by as I read Midnight Alley. It is a nonstop journey from beginning to end, packed full with plot twists. Things -really- heat up at the end. I absolutely can not wait to read the next installment, Feast of Fools.

Cover art commentary:
The covers seem to improve as the series goes on! I love the red, the picture I posted does not do the cover justice. Again, I am not sure who exactly is on the cover, but my guess would be Clare. This is much more how I envisioned her. I would be more apt to pick up this book based solely on the cover, than the first two in the series.

Overall rating:

The Dead Girls' Dance by Rachel Caine

Warning!!!! Summery may contain spoilers!!! Do NOT read below if you plan to read Caine's Glass Houses!

Summery:
Caine goes a little darker in this second installment of the Morganville Vampire Series. At the end of the last book (Glass Houses), Shane, Clare's boyfriend and roommate, makes a phone call to his father as a last-ditch effort to save the Glass house clan. At the beginning of Dead Girl's Dance, Shane's father shows up with a motorcycle gang in tow, who share one thing in common...an undeniable taste for vampire blood. Eventually, things simmer down once the motorcycle gang goes into underground hiding. Unfortunately, nothing in Morganville stays buried for long...

Review:
This is not a book to missed for fans of Rachel Caine or fans of the Morganville Vampire Series. It was a little slow at first, but as the plot thickens, readers will have great difficulty setting the book down. I highly recommend the series if you liked Harris' Southern Vampire Mysteries or Caine's Weather Warden Series.

Cover art commentary:
A much needed improvement from Glass Houses. However, I still think the cover is a bit hokey. Again, I don't know who is supposed to be on the cover. My best guess is Clare, which is highly doubtful, because I believe she is supposed to have dark brown hair?!

Overall rating:

Glass Houses by Rachel Caine

Summery:
At the ripe age of 16, Claire Danvers has successfully graduated high school and started college. At her parents insistence, Claire has enrolled a local in-state university in Morganville, Texas. One fact left out of the college brochure is that Morganville is crawling with vampires. Being human, it doesn't take much to draw attention to oneself. Claire does exactly that when she becomes enemies with one of the most popular girls in school, who happens to have powerful connections to the vampire community. Claire finds temporary solace in an off-campus house with three other roommates, but it doesn't take long before her location is found out, and days in Morganville are limited.

Review:
I first came across Rachel Caine's name in a bookstore when leafing through a collection of short stories, Many Bloody Returns. I read through Caine's story and my interest was peaked. I promptly went over and picked up the first book in the Morganville series. I grabbed a cup of coffee and started reading, and before I knew it, I was on page 20. Needless to say, I picked up the book, along with the rest of the series and have been hooked ever since. This book was a fact-paced, fun read. I look forward to reading the rest of the series.

Cover art commentary
Not so impressed with the cover. Had I not read the story in Many Bloody Returns, the cover would have made me a little more apprehensive to pick up the book. Btw...I have no idea -who- that is supposed to be on the cover. My best guess is some random vampire?!

Overall rating: