Thursday, September 8, 2011

Morganville Vampires vol. 2 by Rachel Caine

Title: Morganville Vampires vol. 2: Midnight Alley & Feast of Fools
Author: Rachel Caine
Info: Website | Twitter | Facebook
Release Date: September 28th, 2010
Publisher: NAL Trade
Pages: 448
Format: Paperback
Acquired: Bought
Interest: Series
Others in the Series: Morganville Vampires vol. 1
Age Group: Young Adult
Rating: 5 Stars
Midnight Alley
Claire Danvers has pledged herself to Amelie, the most powerful vampire in town. But her protection doesn't offer much comfort when people start turning up dead and an ancient bloodsucker extends a chilling invitation for private lessons in his secluded home, giving a terrifying new meaning to "night school"...

Feast of Fools
The tenuous good-neighbor policy between the vampires and humans of Morganville is turned on its head with the arrival of bad-to-the-bone Mr. Bishop. What the ancient old-school vampire wants from the town is unthinkably sinister. It's only at a formal ball that Claire realized the elaborately evil trap Bishop has set for the warm-blooded souls of Morganville.

So after the first volume I knew that I had to rush and pick the next book up, sadly I had to wait a little while before rushing out and getting this book, but once I did I have no regrets. I had no idea I was going to enjoy this series so much.

Claire has grown on me so much, and I am personally very proud of Shane, because within the last two books he has grown so much. He still keeps to his Shanish way's, but the fact that he isn't as immature as from the first book I really like that. There were moments I was a little worried about his relationship with Claire, wondering to myself if he's using her or what's going on. And there was a moment in the third book, Midnight Alley, where I'm thinking, "He's showing his true colors now." But at the end of Feast of Fools I realized that he does actually care about her, very deeply. And handling the whole Michael situation is...well, he's working on it.

As for Michael and Eve, I love them. I have no idea what's going on with Michael and what he feels and I wish that Rachel would go away from Claire and let us into Michael's head for a little peek because going from human to a ghost to a vampire it takes out a lot in a guy and I just want to claw into his mind and figure out his demons, basically. Eve, I was slightly disappointed that there wasn't more background with her, especially with her brother, but I do feel like her reaction towards everything he's done - or hasn't done, who knows - is very realistic.

Now for each book: MIDNIGHT ALLEY was a fun ride. We finally get into a little bit about the town history and a little secret about the vampires, which you'd have to read to find out, and even the town itself. Morganville sits in a throne of secrets that you want to peel away by each brick and concrete and tree and house. I found the character of Myrnin a little unnerving and a little scary, because the guy is...colorful. I was a little scared for Claire thinking that Amelie, being a cold hearted vampire, was throwing her out because she has just very little regrade towards humans, but FEAST OF FOOLS explains a lot of things.

Jason gave me goosebumps and not in the good way either. I didn't like him, I just wanted him to go away, and he just got worse and worse as he appeared. Monica, is Monica.

FEAST OF FOOLS had me dropping my jaw in a lot of places. I feel like Rachel is doing a wonderful job with the pace of the novels, with the way things get revealed, and the cliffhangers she leaves. At first the books sound simple, but as you go from one book to the next, from one chapter to the next, you really get that there's a whole mess here. I like the comparison she used with the game of chess, though comparing lives to a game is a little unsettling, she does a good job of explaining things.

Bishop I am curious about, especially with what we find out about him, which leaves me asking so many questions, which leads me to say that Rachel does a great job of answering things, but also an equal great job of leaving us with more questions. She leaves loose ends where they need to be, but ties enough things up at the end of each novel to leave you feeling like, "Okay, we solved one problem, let's move to the next one," which is something I think is important as an author. I'm sure Lauren Kate could pick up a few things from Rachel.

Really, all around great book. Sexy, dark, mayhem, love, action - not enough words. You have to read it to really believe it.

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