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4.17 AVERAGE
4.17 AVERAGE
The Morganville Vampires, Volume 3 RATING: 3 stars, almost 3.5 except I was really annoyed in some parts.
This book (which is actually two books, "Lord of Misrule" and "Carpe Corpus") neatly wraps up the current story 'arc' in the Morganville vampire series.In book 4 (or if you want to be technical, at the end of book 3), Mr. Bishop, Amelie's vampire (and apparently real as well) father appeared in Morganville for reasons mostly unknown (still) and promptly started to create havoc. He dethroned Amelie and turned Morganville into a mini-dictatorship.
These books, just like the first four are consistently ok-ish. Which should be a deterrent for me to keep buying the rest of the series. But somehow it isn't. That is mostly because while Caine likes to make readers think they have bought a full novel when in fact they've bought a short-story, she does know how to write a book in a way that will keep you hooked. She has, for the lack of a better word or expression, a great sense of pacing. Her books may lack content, proper character, story and world development but they are very (and I mean very) well paced.
That is the series' strongest point. As for characters? Still mostly walking clichés and not nearly as well developed as they should be by book 6 in a series. Some of them were so stereotypical I just had to roll my eyes at them... like Mr Bishop... he was a "mwahaha, I'm so evil" sort of villain. No depth.The story was stretched by six books when it could have been told in two (or for marketing reasons... make it a trilogy).The world building is weak at best, with many questions still unanswered and some inconsistencies popping up from book to book. Like, at first Amelie was the oldest vampire in the book/world and then Mr Bishop appeared out of nowhere and he is possibly the oldest... the justification for this was murky at best but mostly, just plain unbelievable.
Overall, this series is, as I said before, consistently mediocre. Which isn't very flattering. But! But it's one of those series that will keep you reading because the pacing is great, the writing is good enough and the core idea is interesting... and you're always hoping the author finally develops her world and explains things. Recommended for light, beach reading. Not the best YA series ever, but I've read worse. It's... ok.
This book (which is actually two books, "Lord of Misrule" and "Carpe Corpus") neatly wraps up the current story 'arc' in the Morganville vampire series.In book 4 (or if you want to be technical, at the end of book 3), Mr. Bishop, Amelie's vampire (and apparently real as well) father appeared in Morganville for reasons mostly unknown (still) and promptly started to create havoc. He dethroned Amelie and turned Morganville into a mini-dictatorship.
These books, just like the first four are consistently ok-ish. Which should be a deterrent for me to keep buying the rest of the series. But somehow it isn't. That is mostly because while Caine likes to make readers think they have bought a full novel when in fact they've bought a short-story, she does know how to write a book in a way that will keep you hooked. She has, for the lack of a better word or expression, a great sense of pacing. Her books may lack content, proper character, story and world development but they are very (and I mean very) well paced.
That is the series' strongest point. As for characters? Still mostly walking clichés and not nearly as well developed as they should be by book 6 in a series. Some of them were so stereotypical I just had to roll my eyes at them... like Mr Bishop... he was a "mwahaha, I'm so evil" sort of villain. No depth.The story was stretched by six books when it could have been told in two (or for marketing reasons... make it a trilogy).The world building is weak at best, with many questions still unanswered and some inconsistencies popping up from book to book. Like, at first Amelie was the oldest vampire in the book/world and then Mr Bishop appeared out of nowhere and he is possibly the oldest... the justification for this was murky at best but mostly, just plain unbelievable.
Overall, this series is, as I said before, consistently mediocre. Which isn't very flattering. But! But it's one of those series that will keep you reading because the pacing is great, the writing is good enough and the core idea is interesting... and you're always hoping the author finally develops her world and explains things. Recommended for light, beach reading. Not the best YA series ever, but I've read worse. It's... ok.
So much love for this series. This has to be the fourth time through and I still get the same tingles and intense gut clenches. I've said it once and I'll say it again, Bishop is one of the greatest villains of this series. So brilliant and evil and hits right at the core of the town and its residents and leaders. unapologetic and merciless, I truly get some major chills with this vamp. He'd be a big bad for even Buffy if she rolled into this town.
Claire, as always, is brave courageous and while it can make her seem stupid, she's not alone. I love that. She's got some of the most amazing friends that always have her back and she theirs. This aside from Vol. 2 was action and emotional-packed. Left me holding my breath quite a few times. Utterly original and always on my reread list.
Full Review:
https://thescarletreaderreviews.wordpress.com/2020/03/23/yovo-you-only-vamp-once-the-morganville-vampires-vol-3-a-book-review/
Claire, as always, is brave courageous and while it can make her seem stupid, she's not alone. I love that. She's got some of the most amazing friends that always have her back and she theirs. This aside from Vol. 2 was action and emotional-packed. Left me holding my breath quite a few times. Utterly original and always on my reread list.
Full Review:
https://thescarletreaderreviews.wordpress.com/2020/03/23/yovo-you-only-vamp-once-the-morganville-vampires-vol-3-a-book-review/
I just love this series, it's fantastic I just love Claire, Shane, Michael and Eve those four I could read about them forever.
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
#5. "Lords of Misrule" ⭐⭐⭐
#6. "Carpe Corpus" ⭐⭐⭐⭐
~~~~Review of Series, books 1-6 (Volumes 1-3)~~~~
I love Rachel Caine's adult UF Weather Wardens series and its spin-off, Outcast Season. Her writing is snappy, thrilling fast-moving and completely compelling. So I was expecting a bad-ass lioness like WW's Joanne Baldwin, but the heroine of The Morganville Vampires, Claire Danvers, is a mouse who doesn't realize she's actually a kitten. Thankfully, by the end of book 6, she finally wises up to the fact that she is really a feline with claws and takes a few swipes with them. If the rest of the books continue to improve her character, she might end up, at best, a housecat. Hopefully an outdoor one who isn't scared of her own shadow 🙄
Like Jo, Claire does have a protective personality and will go to any lengths to save her friends, her loved ones, and the odd town in which she lives. But unlike Jo, she's essentially helpless in the usual way, lacking physical prowess or any magical talents. Although super book smart, she's not at all street smart and she continually makes well meaning but stupid decisions, often trusting the wrong people and not following her own instincts or asking enough questions.
I don't usually read YA, but picked this up because I love Rachel Caine's writing and because it was set on a college campus, not in a high school. But it might as well be. Claire is so smart that she's two years younger than everybody else; 16 going on 17 for the first five books, and only turning 17 in the 6th. She is also petite and fragile looking and gets bullied by the popular clique, led by nemesis Monica Morrell and her minions, and is constantly underestimated by everyone around her, especially the ancient vampires that run the town, as Patrons to the humans.
If I were 15 years younger reading this 10 years ago when it was first published and Twilight was all the rage, I'm sure I would have connected with it better. My major problem is that although Caine's writing is competent and compelling, the story is very slow to move along. It's a mindless read that I kept picking up and putting down but at the end of it all there seemed little substance.
Six books in and there's still no clear explanation of why Morganville is the way it is or where the vampires came from, and I expect that these revelations are being saved for the dramatic, multi-character perspective ending but it is hard to stay interested or feel invested in the power dynamics in the meantime, not knowing any of the background between the vampires.
The highlights of this series so far:
1. The strong friendships between the four residents of the Glass House: Michael Glass, Eve Rosser, Shane Collins and Claire Danvers, and the protective house itself;
2. The sweet, believable relationship between Claire and Shane, and the way that their feelings grow steadily stronger amid the chaos of Morganville, and
3. The vampire Myrnin. Introduced in book 3, Midnight Alley, it is no spoiler to say that his character is the best thing in Morganville and he steals nearly every scene he's in. If I keep reading this story, it will mostly be to discover who Myrnin truly is and how he fares.
Unfortunately, I have not warmed to Claire. She is too passive. While it is refreshing to follow a truly nice girl who finds herself unexpectedly in a supernatural world, there is a difference between being a good girl and being a doormat. Her interactions with Monica are especially problematic. Since book 6, Carpe Corpus appears to be a turning point in the series, I find Claire's new sass and confidence appealing and I hope that she continues to turn into the woman she wants to be, which will have to include finally standing up to her ridiculously overprotective parents.
Also, the other characters are lacking in depth as well. Eve, Claire's insta-best-friend, is a Goth pixie with a tragic past that is not discussed. Michael is a handsome, musically gifted enigma. And Shane, who has enough Daddy issues to keep him in therapy for life, is sitting on a deep (but merited) rage that constantly threatens to erupt. Claire loves science. And Shane. That's about it.
And the vampires? The vampires are more annoying than scary.
Overall, I am disappointed that this was not the snappy, fast-paced story that I was expecting. But I may try to find the rest of the series to see how it all ends, and if all these wild goose chases that mire the characters deeper in bizarre vamp politics and history they don't understand actually leads somewhere meaningful.
Overall rating so far, books 1-6: ⭐⭐⭐
#6. "Carpe Corpus" ⭐⭐⭐⭐
~~~~Review of Series, books 1-6 (Volumes 1-3)~~~~
I love Rachel Caine's adult UF Weather Wardens series and its spin-off, Outcast Season. Her writing is snappy, thrilling fast-moving and completely compelling. So I was expecting a bad-ass lioness like WW's Joanne Baldwin, but the heroine of The Morganville Vampires, Claire Danvers, is a mouse who doesn't realize she's actually a kitten. Thankfully, by the end of book 6, she finally wises up to the fact that she is really a feline with claws and takes a few swipes with them. If the rest of the books continue to improve her character, she might end up, at best, a housecat. Hopefully an outdoor one who isn't scared of her own shadow 🙄
Like Jo, Claire does have a protective personality and will go to any lengths to save her friends, her loved ones, and the odd town in which she lives. But unlike Jo, she's essentially helpless in the usual way, lacking physical prowess or any magical talents. Although super book smart, she's not at all street smart and she continually makes well meaning but stupid decisions, often trusting the wrong people and not following her own instincts or asking enough questions.
I don't usually read YA, but picked this up because I love Rachel Caine's writing and because it was set on a college campus, not in a high school. But it might as well be. Claire is so smart that she's two years younger than everybody else; 16 going on 17 for the first five books, and only turning 17 in the 6th. She is also petite and fragile looking and gets bullied by the popular clique, led by nemesis Monica Morrell and her minions, and is constantly underestimated by everyone around her, especially the ancient vampires that run the town, as Patrons to the humans.
If I were 15 years younger reading this 10 years ago when it was first published and Twilight was all the rage, I'm sure I would have connected with it better. My major problem is that although Caine's writing is competent and compelling, the story is very slow to move along. It's a mindless read that I kept picking up and putting down but at the end of it all there seemed little substance.
Six books in and there's still no clear explanation of why Morganville is the way it is or where the vampires came from, and I expect that these revelations are being saved for the dramatic, multi-character perspective ending but it is hard to stay interested or feel invested in the power dynamics in the meantime, not knowing any of the background between the vampires.
The highlights of this series so far:
1. The strong friendships between the four residents of the Glass House: Michael Glass, Eve Rosser, Shane Collins and Claire Danvers, and the protective house itself;
2. The sweet, believable relationship between Claire and Shane, and the way that their feelings grow steadily stronger amid the chaos of Morganville, and
3. The vampire Myrnin. Introduced in book 3, Midnight Alley, it is no spoiler to say that his character is the best thing in Morganville and he steals nearly every scene he's in. If I keep reading this story, it will mostly be to discover who Myrnin truly is and how he fares.
Unfortunately, I have not warmed to Claire. She is too passive. While it is refreshing to follow a truly nice girl who finds herself unexpectedly in a supernatural world, there is a difference between being a good girl and being a doormat. Her interactions with Monica are especially problematic. Since book 6, Carpe Corpus appears to be a turning point in the series, I find Claire's new sass and confidence appealing and I hope that she continues to turn into the woman she wants to be, which will have to include finally standing up to her ridiculously overprotective parents.
Also, the other characters are lacking in depth as well. Eve, Claire's insta-best-friend, is a Goth pixie with a tragic past that is not discussed. Michael is a handsome, musically gifted enigma. And Shane, who has enough Daddy issues to keep him in therapy for life, is sitting on a deep (but merited) rage that constantly threatens to erupt. Claire loves science. And Shane. That's about it.
And the vampires? The vampires are more annoying than scary.
Overall, I am disappointed that this was not the snappy, fast-paced story that I was expecting. But I may try to find the rest of the series to see how it all ends, and if all these wild goose chases that mire the characters deeper in bizarre vamp politics and history they don't understand actually leads somewhere meaningful.
Overall rating so far, books 1-6: ⭐⭐⭐
review on my blog link below:
http://thedairyofabookholic.blogspot.com/2014/03/book-review-morganville-vol-3-part-2.html
http://thedairyofabookholic.blogspot.com/2014/03/book-review-morganville-vol-3-part-2.html
The plotline stays strong as the series continues on, and it introduces new elements and people with a gradual smoothness, not shoving a bunch of new stuff at your face.