Houses by Rachel Caine ☆☆☆☆☆The world of the Morganville Vampires has been on my wish list/reading list for longer than I care to admit to. After finishing Last Sacrifice by Richelle Mead, the final book in the Vampire Academy series, I was having vampire withdrawal from the finale of one of my favorite series' of all time (which I do intend to re-read and review appropriately in the future). Fans of the series encouraged me to bump Morganville up on my reading list. But what really finally pushed me to buy the book was finding a flyer at my local pulic library announcing the author, Rachel Caine, would be doing a book signing THAT weekend! I drove all over town for a copy to no avail and finally the night before the event an amazing B&N employee found me a copy of Volume 1 (which includes books 1 & 2), the last copy, hidden on a shelf behind the information counter.
I managed to get in one chapter that night before her signing the next day, needless to say I was blown away and told her as much. I found out that day that she was from my hometown, making her a true inspiration as someone working in my genre from my hometown that became a New York Times best-seller! Is it possible? Can I be that author someday? "To Elizabeth, With all my best! Rachel Caine" Those words will highlight my shelves for years to come. And the plot bunnies from her mini-lecture on the history of vampires will hopefully find homes on paper soon.
And so in one of the best weekends of my life I discovered the life of Clare Danvers, a 16-year-old freshman in college, and the secrets behind the people of Morganville, Texas. And also my latest and greatest addiction.
This book proved to be a shocking look at the darkest side of humanity. In the opening of the book Clare is nearly killed...and not by vampires. When you think that these attacks on her by humans can't get any worse, they do. And this is all well before the vamps themselves are even introduced. The vamps fit the typical classifications: avoids sunlight, retractable fangs, can't enter without invitations. Their difference is that they function like a mob and that's where it gets interesting.
As Clare is learning that Morganville is more than just a small college town in Texas, the vampire world begins to unfold before her as she fights to save herself from the college mean girls, make new friends, and protect those that she grows to love. And just to add to the drama, it ends with a cliffhanger that leaves you drooling for more.
This book had me not wanting to put it down even once, but I had to get schoolwork done, which was really sad. I ached for these characters, I loved for them, and wished I could be there backing them up. And I have to say, as for me, my favorite scene was midway through the book, and anyone that has read it or is about to, you'll know exactly which scene when you heart stops and beats rapidly all at the same time. Bravo, Rachel Caine! You have won me over.
