This Week's Library Loot (5)

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire from The Captive Reader and Marg from The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library. If you’d like to participate, just write up your post-feel free to steal the button-and link it using the Mr. Linky any time during the week. And of course check out what other participants are getting from their libraries!

 

My Library Loot:

Bitter Blood

by Rachel Caine

The Morganville Vampires, book 13

 

The Dead and Buried

by Kim Harrington

 

This is Not a Drill

by Beck McDowell

 

So, that's what I picked up at my Library this week... did you swing by yours or did the holidays keep you away?? 





Last Breath

Last Breath
by Rachel Caine
Morganville Vampires, book eleven

With her boss preoccupied researching the Founder Houses in Morganville, student Claire Danvers is left to her own devices when she learns that three vampires have vanished without a trace. She soon discovers that the last person seen with one of the missing vampires is someone new to town-a mysterious individual named Magnus. After an uneasy encounter with Morganville's latest resident, Claire is certain Magnus isn't merely human. But is he a vampire-or something else entirely? (description from Amazon.com)

I never, ever fail to rip through the books in this series. Caine just keeps the suspense, danger, and romance coming... <3

This particular addition to the series ripped my heart right out in one spot, and thankfully sewed it back together just pages later. *sigh* It is unbelievable what Caine can do to her characters!

I loved the addition of new mythology in this book. I don't want to ruin the surprise, but let's just say that vampires are no longer the only thing that the humans have to worry about in Morganville...

I cannot wait for Black Dawn, which will be coming out in May!

Bite Club

Bite Club
by Rachel Caine
Morganville Vampires, book ten

After discovering that vampires populate her town, college student Claire Danvers knows that the undead just want to live their lives. But someone else wants them to get ready to rumble.

There's a new extreme sport getting picked up on the Internet: bare- knuckle fights pitting captured vampires against each other-or humans. Tracking the remote signal leads Claire- accompanied by her friends and frenemies-to discover that what started as an online brawl will soon threaten everyone in Morganville... (description from Amazon.com)

I love this series. They are fun, funny, and Claire is one of my all time favorite heroines. She is smart and brave, more brave than a LOT of other characters could ever conceive to be...

Since this is book ten, I don't want to get into a lot of plot stuff. It would be too spoilery. What I will say is that sections of this book are from Shane's point of view. Normally, I'm not a huge fan of books that jump from one character to another...I tend to like one narrator throughout, however, I really liked getting to see inside Shane's head.

Seeing what Shane thought brought a whole new dimension to his relationship with Claire. One of the things I like best about this series is Claire and Shane's relationship. It is romantic and feels meant to be, but it's not unrealistically all sunshine and rainbows. This book truly tested their relationship and what comes out on the other end is truer by far than many other fictional relationships.

If you aren't reading this series, I would recommend you give the first book, Glass Houses a try.

Anxiously Awaiting...

Bite Club
by Rachel Caine
The Morganville Vampires, book 10

Publication Date: May 3, 2011

Absolutely love this series!! Cannot wait for the new book.

Ghost Town

Ghost Town
by Rachel Caine
Morganville Vampires, book nine

While developing a new system to maintain Morganville's defenses, student Claire Danvers discovers a way to amplify vampire mental powers. Through this, she's able to re-establish the field around this vampire-infested Texas college town that protects it from outsiders.

But the new upgrades have an unexpected consequence: people inside the town begin to slowly forget who they are-even the vampires. Soon, the town's little memory problem has turned into a full-on epidemic. Now Claire needs to figure out a way to pull the plug on her experiment- before she forgets how to save Morganville...
(description taken from Amazon.com)

This is a series that I devour. Every time a new book is coming out, I am practically foaming at the mouth to get my hands on it! The best part...every book in the series just seems to get better.

I cannot figure out how Rachel Caine does it. This is one of the best vampire series out there. Period. Claire is one of my favorite heroines ever. She's smart, she's resourceful, she's cute, and she's just...Claire.

For example (as a fellow "smart girl" and a secret zombie lover, I LOVE this quote):
"Well, there are good points about zombie movies. There're usually smart girls in them, for some reason. And the smart girls hardly ever get killed."

Awesome.

Anyway, I could not put Ghost Town down. There were points when I literally considered whether some of the main characters might have to die. I cannot believe how Rachel Caine managed to pull Claire and her friends out of their new(est) dangerous situation. Talk about the suspense...this book is overflowing with it!

If you already read this series, pick Ghost Town up ASAP. If you haven't tried the Morganville Vampires yet, what on Earth are you waiting for? You won't be sorry!

Kiss of Death

Kiss of Death
by Rachel Caine
Morganville Vampires, book 8

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 Michaels all-too-human friends. And with that mix of personalities, this is going to be a roadtrip from hell... (taken from Amazon.com)

First off, I had not realized how much it had unconsciously begun to bother me that every book in this series took place in one town. I know, I know! That's the whole point of the series, but I ended up feeling the same way when I used to watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer on TV. I always wondered how one town was able to contain all that "mess" without just spontaneously combusting?! It helped a little when Buffy went to college...it made a slightly new scene, but I always wondered how no one else in California ever wondered at the huge body count in one small town.

Okay...off the topic a little, I know. I loved that show, but back to the book! I loved that Caine took the gang out of Morganville. Again, I hadn't realized I needed that until she delivered. It was a great choice to move the action to a new location. It put what was going on in the last two books in Morganville into a more worldly perspective.

I loved, also, how each of the characters really grew again in this book. Each, even the one I really disliked earlier in the series, showed new facets to their personalities and Claire especially grew in leaps and bounds in terms of her own self awareness. There was action and revelations galore, but this book was really about character growth, I think.

An excellent addition to the series...I can't wait for Ghost Town!

PS - When I found out who the girl was on the cover, I was "tickled pink!"

Fade Out

Fade Out
The Morganville Vampires: Book 7
By Rachel Caine

Without the evil vampire Bishop ruling over the town of Morganville, the resident vampires have made major concessions to the human population. With their newfound freedoms, Claire Danvers and her friends are almost starting to feel comfortable again...

Now Claire can actually concentrate on her studies, and her friend Eve joins the local theatre company. But when one of Eve's castmates goes missing after starting work on a short documentary, Eve suspects the worst. Claire and Eve soon realize that this film project, whose subject is the vampires themselves, is a whole lot bigger-and way more dangerous-than anyone suspected.

This was a really fun and quick book to read. I love this series! Claire is really developing as a character...growing into her own. I like how Caine manages to make her relationship with Shane very realistic. She's too young to really move in with him and have that intense a relationship, but she feels the same hormonal urges that all teens do and obviously deeply cares for him. The relationships that she is developing with the vampires, especially Myrnin, Oliver and Amelie, are really complex and it's refreshing to see that Caine can make all of her characters flawed, and yet still "lovable," so to speak. I don't want to say anymore for fear that I will spoil the book for other potential readers. Let me just say this book had some good twists and I really enjoyed it!

As usual, I devouring this new book in the series in about 3 hours. I wish they came out more frequently...I know, I know, we all wish that whenever we like a series! There is nothing worse than having to wait an inordinately long time for the next great book.