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Showing posts with label Rachel Caine. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rachel Caine. Show all posts

Monday, 13 February 2012

A Review for Kiss of Death (Morganville Vampires #8) by Rachel Caine

Posted by Jess
Published Date: May 3rd, 2010
Finished Date: February 10th, 2012
Publishers: Allison and Busby
Source: Bought
Format: Paperback
Pages: 348

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The Blurb from Goodreads: Claire Danvers has a few things on her mind. First of all there is the laundry, which is now an unfortunate shade of pink. Then there is her boyfriend, Shane, who is never too far from her thoughts. Finally there is her best friend Eve’s relationship problems. As if life as a student wasn’t complicated enough, Claire just happens to be studying in Morganville. A town run by vampires. Trouble seems to follow Claire and her friends like a shadow and tonight is no exception to the rule. They must find the most difficult documents for a vampire to acquire; people passes that will allow ‘bad ass’ Morley and his friends to leave Morganville. But it’s proving incredibly difficult, and with the odds seemingly stacked against them, the biggest question of all is…Will they survive?

The Review: “Things that Shane doesn't want on his grave: (1.) I thought it wasn't loaded. (2.) Hand me a match so I can check the gas tank. (3.) Killed over Ice Cream”


Heh. I have two words....ROAD. TRIP! Heh.
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I actually LOVED this one, more than I loved Fade Out. Why you ask? Because this one is all set OUTSIDE of Morganville. Yup. The four end up on a road trip. They head for Dallas so that Michael can go to a recording studio and sing his cute little vampire heart out. Oliver in tow. They don't get there without a hitch. Oh no, that would be too easy...and of course it's the four of them including Oliver. From Morganville. It wouldn't be right if it all went smoothly would it? Nope. Oliver takes them on a little detour to a city called Durram. And all hell breaks loose! I'll say no more, you'll just have to read and find out, but there's lots of fighting, cars burning, sick vampires, Morley and his dudes.
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Anyway, even with the slow start this book got really interesting as soon as they were all in the car and heading for Dallas (with the permission of Amelie...obviously). I'm not even sure how Rachel Caine does it, she just keeps knocking the books out of the park, making them seem like fillers but then turning them into all this excitement and awesomeness that you just can't get enough! And once I got going, I couldn't stop. 
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I don't think I'm ever going to get tired of this series. Although I missed Myrnin and his antics in this one, it was really nice to be able to read something that wasn't taking place inside of Morganville. We meet a few new characters who I loved, except for the bullies in the dinner/truck stop. Oliver has since grown on me, and he's not becoming one of my favourite characters, and to be honest I prefer him to Amelie, although Oliver is a complete cynic and doesn't think highly of humans he does come through for Claire and the others when the time is needed. 
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Yay for Claire growing up a lot more. She even has a crossbow! How cool is that? It was good to see Claire take charge of some of the situations and it was a nice change to listen to her rather than hear Eve moan and whimper...she did a bit of that, and it got annoying. Shane and Michael and their heroics...nom! The series never disappoints and neither do the books as individuals. Caine implements everything in them...love, humor, action, hate, jealousy, deceit. EVERYTHING!
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As I said, I don't think I'm going to get sick of this series. Ever. And I love it, and I want more. This one keeps you turning, and turning. If you haven't already picked up this series, then you really should! 

Tuesday, 7 February 2012

A Review for Fade Out (Morganville Vampires #7) by Rachel Caine


Posted by: Jess
Published Date: November 3rd, 2009
Finished Date: February 5th, 2012
Source: Bought
Format: Paperback
Page: 348

The Blurb from Goodreads: Without the evil vampire Bishop ruling over the town of Morganville, the resident vampires have made major concessions to the human population. With their new found 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.
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The Review: “As she turned to concentrate on the portal, Eve tugged on Claire's shirt. “What?" "Ask him where he got the boots." "You ask." Personally, Claire wanted the vampire bunny slippers.”
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I slugged through this one a little. Not because it wasn't good. It was. I was just in a little lazy mood and didn't feel like reading overly quick. Fade Out isn't the best of them, but it's still good. Fade Out, starts out quite slow until we meet a new character named Kim. I didn't like Kim at all, I had a bad feeling about her from the start. And my feeling was right. Once Kim entered the picture the story took hold and I couldn't get enough. Although not brilliant, it was still good and I ended up giving it 4 stars. Having Ada as the villain as well was a nice little twist although it seemed weird making a hologram/computer-of sorts-the bad guy seemed a little unrealistic at first, you look past it because it's written so well and eventually Ada, in my head was being pictured as a human and not a computer.
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Can I just mention that I love Claire and Shane. Both of them start out quite young in the first few books, but once they go through all the danger, and come together they really grow into themselves and I don't think there's a better couple in Morganville that deserve a good future with each other. 
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There wasn't a lot of bad about this book, I'll admit that Eve annoyed me a little in this one, because of the way she was reacting to Kim, but then when all was revealed about Kim and her secret filming, I felt bad for Eve for being used in such an awful way. This was a great piece of writing from Caine, allowing us to get annoyed with Eve one moment and then the next feeling sorry for her and wishing you could give her a hug. More with the good stuff, Oliver seems to be becoming one of my favourite characters now, I think I prefer him to Amelie, I'm not sure why, but I believe Oliver is just awesome, taking no crap from nobody. Myrnin, well he's sane now...sort of; but still has hints of craziness and I wouldn't have him any other way. 
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We receive even more humor in this one which helps you chug on through some of the duller parts of the book. Overall, Fade Out, seemed like more of a 'filler' than a continuance of the awesomeness that we've had so far, but, it's still worth the read and even though a few questions are raised, some previous ones are answered. There's enough in Fade Out to keep you wanting to read more.

Saturday, 4 February 2012

A Review for Carpe Corpus (Morganville Vampires #6) by Rachel Caine

Posted by Jess
Published Date: October 12, 2008
Finished Date: January 31st, 2012
Source: Bought
Format: Paperback
Pages: 356
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The Blurb from Goodreads: In the small college town of Morganville, vampires and humans lived in (relative) peace - until all the rules got rewritten when the evil vampire Bishop arrived, looking for the lost book of vampire secrets. He's kept a death grip on the town ever since. Now an underground resistance is brewing, and in order to contain it, Bishop must go to even greater lengths. 

He vows to obliterate the town and all its inhabitants - the living and the undead. Claire Danvers and her friends are the only ones who stand in his way. But even if they defeat Bishop, will the vampires ever be content to go back to the old rules, after having such a taste of power?

The Review: "God, I needed you," he murmured. "I can't even tell you how many times I thought about this. The funny thing is, I don't need you any less now. I think I need you more."

Well, that was a fun ride. Undoubtedly my favourite so far. So much Shane action...in more ways than one! ;)

This book was just full of excitement and action, and I can't tell you how much I really hate Bishop. He's so many nasty words that I think whenever he did something unbelievably NOT cool, I screamed at him and wanted to jump into the book and just stake him, stake him right through the heart! But I was glad that the Bishop situation was nicely wrapped up in this book but Caine still managed to leave it open for interpretation. I'm glad that Myrnin finally got some sort of cure and is now fairly sane, or as sane may go. It feels good to have old enemies (Oliver) becoming allies to defeat the bad guy, it's a nice way to say "Morganville originals, stick together." After that hell of a cliffy at the end of Lord of Misrule, I was worried that Claire wouldn't be able to come out of Bishop's control, but she does, and she matures because of it. Claire grows up so much through out the series and now that she's no longer "Almost Seventeen" it really does show.

This series is so incredibly addicted, that I just can't stop reading! This book takes you through a rollercoaster of emotions and Rachel Caine still manages to deliver time after time. I was so sad at the end with what happened to Sam, that I had tears in my eyes. This book is the moment I finally felt something towards Amelie and her ways. She feels genuine loss and becomes vulnerable and it's put across to the reader in such a way that you can't but want to help her get passed it. This book is also the moment (finally) that all the Claire and Shane couple fans have been waiting for. Yep, Shane no longer wants to be a prude and he and Claire finally hop on the good foot and do the bad thing...if you catch my drift. This made me squeel. I was so happy, because I'd been waiting like a smutty b*tch for 6 books for them to do it LOL. So yay for them. And it was just all so perfect, and fitted in nicely with the story. It didn't feel out of place at all. It was just...perfect. Love really does conquer all. 

The plot just keeps getting thicker and thicker as the series goes on. Somehow Caine manages to just constantly pull it out of the bag. I'm not really sure what else there is to say, everything is just so much bigger, so much better, just so full of awesomeness. 

Well, I don't have much else to say. Mostly because I don't want to just gush about how amazing this one was, and just let you find out for yourself.

If you haven't picked up the series. Go do it. Like now!

Sunday, 29 January 2012

A Review for Lord of Misrule (The Morganville Vampires #5) by Rachel Caine

Posted by Jess
Published Date: December 17th, 2008
Finished Date: January 28th, 2012
Publishers: Allison & Busby
Source: Bought
Format: Paperback
Pages: 365
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The Blurb from Goodreads:The feast is over ... and the battle for Morganville has begun. Bishop's on one side, Amelie's on the other, and Claire's status as Amelie's most trusted human ally has just landed her on Morganville's Most Wanted list, along with all of her friends. As a bitter Texas storm bears down on the town, there's nowhere to hide ... from anything.
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The Review: "In this whole screwed up town, you're the only thing that's always been right to me,' he whispered. "I love you, Claire." She saw something that might have just a flash of panic go across his expression, but then he steadied again. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I do. I love you."
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OMG! Did that ending really just happen?!! *Scream* Whoa. Talk about a serious amount of drama for a book. Rachel Caine clearly pulled it out of the bag again other wise I wouldn't have gasped at 11pm last night when I finished. Which brings me to the point of I'm so glad  I had Carpe Corpus right next to me, because, Christ knows how some of you managed to go without the next book after that little ditty at the end. Wow.

More action, more adventure, more love. Return of Frank Collins....blergh! Richard Morrell, suddenly becoming one of my favourite characters. SHANE finally saying 'I love you'! Michael! NOMISH! All the way through. 

Major WIN to Lord of Misrule. I'm so happy I've got all 11 so far, because I seriously can't get enough of this series. It's incredible. And the amazement just keeps coming.

My heart broke at the end with Myrnin, that was harsh, Caine. BUT as I said I'm reading Carpe Corpus (101 pages in) and now I get it. So I forgive you, Myrnin. I didn't think I would, but I do. Bishop is all kinds of nasty! I want to throw so many nasty words out there about him, but I'm going to refrain from doing so. You know...for the kids.

Even though there were some majorly slow bits in the book which had me leaning towards a 4 star rating, the ending to this one just picked it up to 5. There isn't much that can be said about these books separately. I thought it would be easy to review them as separate books, but I think I should have gone for an overall review for all 11. Ah, well. Never mind. Separate  reviews will do, they'll all be pretty much the same. 

Not much more I want to say or express about this one. It was awesome, and that ending is a killer. If you haven't read these books yet, make sure you have them all with you one after the other, you're going to need them!

Monday, 23 January 2012

A Review for Feast of Fools (Morganville Vampires #4) by Rachel Caine

Posted by Jess
Published Date: February 23rd, 2009
Finished Date: January 23rd, 2012
Source: Bought
Format: Paperback
Pages: 365



The Blurb from Goodreads: The wait is over. dig into the feast...

In the town of Morganville, vampires and humans live in relative peace. Student Claire Danvers has never been convinced, though especially with the arrival of Mr. Bishop, an ancient, old-school vampire who cares nothing about harmony. What he wants from the town's living and its dead is unthinkably sinister. It's only at a formal ball, attended by vampires and their human dates, that Claire realizes the elaborately evil trap he's set for Morganville.

The Review: Will you swear?" And Myrnin said, shockingly "I will." And he proceeded to, a string of swear words that made Claire blink. He ended with, '-frothy fool-born apple-john! Cheater of vandals and defiler of dead dogs!" and did another twirl and a bow.

Well Feast of Fools, definitely isn't a filler book. Although slow in the middle, it was probably the best one yet! Do these just keep getting better? Hmm...interesting.

I loved every minute of this one. I think it's safe to say I love Myrnin more now, and I know my love for him is going to keep growing. He's so incredibly scary, but fascinating, I think he's one of the most intriguing characters in this series so far.

Rachel Caine just keeps it coming. It's all constant, doesn't lack action; and is just incredible. Rachel Caine, manages to keep the back story up at the start of the book if people decide to just join in in the middle (not that you would), or if you need a refresher of after an MV break. So it doesn't lack information. She manages to make twists and turns through out, shocks, and cries. Swoons, and loves. Feast of Fools has it all, even a mega cliffhanger!

As I said at the beginning, this book isn't a filler. It's a continuance of an epically good vampire series, and one I've needed to read for a while now. I'm so glad that I am. I just want more and more.

All my favourite characters return, and some of the non so favourite characters, but that's what makes the story great. The one big thing I loved about this book was the way every Morganville vampire came together in their time of need to try and overthrow Master Bishop (unsuccessfully I might add). Vampire nemesis like Amelie and Oliver come together for the sake of the town, and I love the strength that Caine showed us in this book. Bringing everyone together for the sake of the town and it's residents.

Anyway, this book was great. That cliffy at the end was a killer! But, luckily for me, I had Lord of Misrule right at my side and ready to begin. And I've begun and I can't wait to get more, and more, and more! Because there are, more, and more!

Amazeballs!

Thursday, 19 January 2012

A Review for Midnight Alley (The Morganville Vampires #3) by Rachel Caine


Posted by Jess
Published Date: October 7th, 2007
Finished Date: January 18th, 2012
Source: Bought
Format: Paperback
Pages: 356

The Blurb: Morganville’s such a nice place to live… And die. If you don’t mind that sort of thing.

When Claire Danvers learnt that her college town was run by vampires, she did what any intelligent, self-preserving student would do: she applied for a transfer and stocked up on garlic. The transfer is no longer an option, but the garlic may come in handy.
Now Claire has pledged herself to Amelie, the most powerful vampire in town. The protection her contract secures does little to reassure her friends. All of a sudden people are turning up dead, a stalker resurfaces from Claire’s past, and an ancient bloodsucker extends a chilling invitation for private lessons in his secluded home.

The Review: "Claire dropped her backpack at the bottom of the stairs--where it was easy to grab in midrun--and spotted a new addition to the lab: a cage. And Myrnin was inside it."

Well, doesn't this series just get better and better as you go on? I'm really enjoying this, I put it off for so long but now that I'm finally reading them I can't get enough! 

I've been whizzing through these books, and I enjoyed this one a lot more than the previous two. It seems they get better and better as they go on (like I said). I love that this was all fast paced and constant action that left me wanting more and keep turning the pages. I'm not going to talk about the characters that much, because I already established in my last reviews for 1&2 that I love Claire, because she's just so strong and kick-ass, I love Shane because he's all hot and swoony, I love Michael because he's all sexy and authoritive and I love Eve, because she's just kick-ass-take-no-crap-from-anybody. What I will say is that the character Myrnin is starting to grow on me, I find him scary, but completely intriguing, and I hope Claire can find a cure for the vampire sickness (yes vampires are getting sick in Morganville). Amelie, eh, I'm still in two minds about her, there are some moments where I think, she's cool, there are other moments where I just wish she'd die; I don't know she just annoys me a little and I don't like that she thinks she just owns everything. Even though she does... =/ 

Everything about this book was amazing, I could never seem to put it down and I just kept wanting more! The amount of times I wanted to get angry, or cry, the amount of times I laughed (thanks to Shane and Michael), that's always a good sign if a book makes you do all these things all at once. I compliment Rachel Caine for being able to keep up all this book after book. Every book is going to be different, but better than it's previous and I love that. I like to know that I'm going to enjoy every book in a series. The only other series that made me feel like this was Vampire Academy. 

Well, yeah I don't have much else to say except that I rally enjoyed this one and I can't wait to read more. Yay for Morganville! 

Monday, 16 January 2012

A Review for Glass Houses & Dead Girl's Dance (Morganville Vampires #1 & #2)


Posted by Jess
Published Date: October 3rd, 2006
Finished Date: January 5th, 2012
Publishers: Allison & Busby
Source: Bought
Format: Paperback
Pages: 256


Posted by Jess
Published Date: April 3rd, 2007
Finished Date: January 14th, 2012
Publishers: Allison & Busby
Source: Bought
Format: Paperback
Pages: 380

The Review: It's taken me a while to get around to writing this. I went back and forth between either reviewing them separately, or together. So I thought I'd do it in a way to review 2 books at the same time.

It's taken me a long time to get to this series. The only reason I kept putting it off was because I didn't have the full set (currently published ones of course); because I'd heard that once I started, I wouldn't be able to stop. And I haven't. I can't get enough. I haven't read anything remotely vampire-ish in a while and what better way to start it again by reading these. Although I'm only on book 3, I'm totally hooked, I've loved every single damn minute of it and I crave more and more!

I'm not really sure what to say, those of you that have read this series will, I'm sure love it so there isn't a lot I can say. I'm in love with all the characters (except maybe Amelie and Oliver, they'll take some getting use to). Claire is kick-ass, and I love her. Eve, is too awesome for words, Michael is like...all authoritive and sexy, and Shane...ahh Shane, he's totally swoony and I'm in love with him. His and Claire's relationship was a nice slow build which I liked but, damn  it if I wasn't getting annoyed with their tension and neither one of them kissing the other...and then it happened and I was all yaaaayyyy!

Both books were so different in their own way. I loved that Rachel kept the back stories in both books. There's never a dull moment in Morganville. The world building is great I can always picture myself right there with Claire and her friends (with Shane especially...sigh).

Anyway these books haven't been without action, with out laughs, with out gasps, without little cliffy's at the end (nothing major yet), but I've loved every minute of these books and I'm so glad I'm finally reading them! Yay!

Wednesday, 14 December 2011

A Review for Enthralled: Paranormal Diverisons by Rachel Caine, Claudia Gray and several others.


Posted by Donna 
Published Date: September 20th, 2011
Finished Date: December 5th, 2011
Publishers: HarperCollins
Source: Finished Copy for Review
Format: Paperback
Pages: 443
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The Blurb from Goodreads: A journey may take hundreds of miles, or it may cover the distance between duty and desire.
Sixteen of today’s hottest writers of paranormal tales weave stories on a common theme of journeying. Authors such as Kelley Armstrong, Rachel Caine, and Melissa Marr return to the beloved worlds of their bestselling series, while others, like Claudia Gray, Kami Garcia, and Margaret Stohl, create new land-scapes and characters. But whether they’re writing about vampires, faeries, angels, or other magical beings, each author explores the strength and resilience of the human heart.Suspenseful, funny, or romantic, the stories in Enthralled will leave you moved.

The Review: I’ll be honest I’m kind of on the fence about short stories, I like them but sometimes I don’t have time to connect with them especially if there brand new characters to me. However, when I heard about Enthralled I knew I wanted to read, mainly because some of my favourite authors are involved and it really enjoyed it.

Overall it took me about 3 weeks to get through this book and admittedly I didn’t read them all just because I wasn’t familiar with some of the authors. I did however read stories from Rachel Caine, Kelley Armstrong, Claudia Gray, Kimberly Derting & Melissa Marr.

My favourite one was Rachel Caine’s, I loved being back with Michael and Eve and I’m even more excited to pick up book 8 – 11 in her Morganville series now. My second favourite was Claudia Gray’s story, I just loved how we were thrown into an exciting world within seconds and just proves that Claudia can write just about anything and I will automatically love it.

Now there were some stories I didn’t read like Rachel Vincent’s story featuring Sabine and Emma. I didn’t read this because I’m yet to meet Sabine in the Soul Screamers series because I haven’t read it yet so I didn’t want to spoil anything for myself. When I do read the fourth book, I’ll be sure to go back and read it because I love Rachel’s work.

Overall, Enthralled is a book that I would recommend to people who love short stories and are fans of the authors featured in this book.

Thank you to HarperCollins for providing me with a copy for review.

Thursday, 10 November 2011

A Review for Working Stiff (Revivalist #1) by Rachel Caine

Working Stiff (Revivalist #1)Posted by Donna
Published Date: October 15th, 2011
Finished Date: November 3rd, 2011
Publishers: Allison & Busby 
Source: For Review
Format: Paperback
Pages: 473
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The Blurb from Goodreads: Bryn Davis knows working at Fairview Mortuary isn't the most glamorous career choice, but at least it offers stable employment--until she discovers her bosses using a drug that resurrects the clientele as part of an extortion racket. Now, Bryn faces being terminated--literally, and with extreme prejudice. 

Wit the help of corporate double-agent Patrick McCallister, Bryn has a chance to take down the bigger problem--pharmaceutical company Pharmadene, which treats death as the ultimate corporate loyalty program. She'd better do it fast, before she becomes a zombie slave--a real working stiff. She'd be better off dead...


The Review: I have always been a fan of Rachel Caine’s work ever since I read her Morganville Vampire Series, so to hear she was writing a new book was great and I couldn’t wait to get started. But after reading it, I have to say….nothing beats her Morganville Series.

Working Stiff follows the life of a girl called Bryn who accidently gets mixed up with a company called Pharmadene and is being manipulated by them.  Luckily enough for Bryn, with the help of double agent Patrick, she ends up getting the chance to take down pharmaceutical company.

Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed Working Stiff but not as much as I would of liked. I personally felt like it started off quite slowly and it wasn’t until the middle of the book, that things started to pick up.
When they did pick up I found myself enjoying the story line and looking forward to what would come next. I loved the action towards the end and of course, the twists and turn was a great addition.

I loved all the characters and I really enjoyed watching Bryn and Patrick’s relationship develop. Although I would have liked a little bit more of development between them rather than it being quiet slow, but I still really enjoyed it. I also loved how they were together and Patrick is a totally swoon worthy guy. Honestly, he is not one you want to miss out on.

Overall, Rachel Caine has done a good job with Working Stiff and yes, I do prefer her Morganville Series but it shows that Rachel has the talent to create other good series and I can’t wait to see what she does next.

Thank you to Allison & Busby for giving me a chance to review this book. 
 
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