A Paranormal Book Review: Rachel Caine’s Glass Houses, Morganville Vampires

When I first heard about the YA series, Rachel Caine’s Glass Houses, Morganville Vampires,I wasn’t sure what to think about it. I always give books a try before I buy with my iKindle sample. And what a sample it was. Just a few short pages in and I was hooked. I guess for me the allure was the intensity at the beginning. Claire Danvers, a brilliant 16 year-old, graduates high school early to go off to a nearby college in a small town (Morganville, TX.) She encounters her first real taste of college life when she’s bullied and nearly killed by the campus mean girl – Monica- who ends up throwing Claire down the stairs. Poor thing. As a reader, you can’t help but feel bad for the girl.

That’s just the opening of the book. What I love best about this series is how dark and creepy it is. The kind of darkness you crave for when reading a vampire novel. Claire is naïve about life, let alone about vampires and now she doesn’t have place to live so she answers an ad for “room available”. And here is where she meets her cohorts: Michael, Eve and Shane.

The fearsome four some have a unique chemistry but Michael’s ghostly self is about the coolest thing I’ve read in a long time. Claire soon finds out about Michael’s mysterious presence and not too long after learns the entire town is run by vampires. As the rabbit hole deepens, humans are “protected” by certain vampires and in some creepy way, are kind of like slaves to the superior undead beings. When you’re an independent like Claire, you’re vulnerable and a target for the vampires. Being new, Claire has to pick a side and do it fast. And in town like Morganville, vampires are always jockeying for power, which makes for some killer storytelling on Caine’s part.

With 8 books total, this series is still hot. I’ve read 5 books within the series are they were riveting. I plan on reviewing the other 4 books, so check back for updated reviews. Caine takes a fresh and delicious approach to vampires which now have left me craving for more.  I promise, I cannot get enough of this series. My only complaint are the cliff hangers. Caine loves to suspend her fans, which pissed me off in most of her books. But, that didn’t stop me from reading at least 5 of her killer books. So what happened to reading books 6, 7 & 8? Simple: money. If anyone wants to let me borrow the last three, I’d be beyond grateful.

On the Mina Burrows KilloMeter I give Rachel Caine’s Glass Houses a 4.

Until next time…read something fangtastic, read the Morganville Vampire series.

Mina B.