(RabidReads.com)Another day, another Morganville Vampire book. Or I should say, another day in the life of Morganville and Claire. And the vampires. What a series this has been, and I am not even close to the end yet!
Out of the blue, a gym has opened up in Morganville. Not just any gym, but one that is run by vampires. Shane is all about working out and learning new ways to fight the vampires, and if he can learn to fight from an actual vampire, then even better. Since nothing much fun happens in Morganville, the four housemates, Claire, Shane, Eve, and Michael, don’t waste any time checking out the gym. Shane immediately gets sucked into a secret fight club, one that puts him up against vampire fighters. He tells no one, but when he starts acting weird and aggressive, especially to vampire Michael, the rest of the foursome are immediately concerned. I do have to say that fight clubs are not my favorite thing to read about, but since this was Morganville, it was okay. Meanwhile, Claire is up to her eyeballs with the mysterious murder of one of her classmates, one whose body she finds, along with her friends. If any of that sounds like a simple premise, not even close.
Claire is eighteen now and a genius. Her dream is to go to MIT, and she only ended up in Morganville to go to college because she was underage at the time and her parents wanted her closer to home. What a horrible decision that ultimately was! Claire has gone through a lifetime and then some, of horrible situations, and near death more times than she can count, and she still bounces back. She’s spunky as they come and totally fearless at times. Or seems that way anyway, as she usually is scared to death, but she hangs in there and perseveres. She is the perfect YA heroine for this excellent urban fantasy. Although now the book is veering a bit into new adult territory because of her relationship with Shane, one of her housemates. There’s sex going on, but not shown. They’ve had a very sweet romance starting from book one. Shane has always had aggression tendencies thanks to the father from hell and a childhood to match. None of this has ever touched Claire directly though. Until now. And of course Michael and Eve are in a loving and sexual relationship as well, and are older than Claire. It’s for this reason I have never understood why these books are suggested for 7th grade and up. Really?
As usual with these books, this one was a page turner from almost page one. Nothing is ever simple in a town ran by vampires. Myrnin, the mad scientist vampire and Claire’s boss, is of course involved in everything, as well as Amelie, the founder of Morganville and Claire’s vampire protector. An old enemy is back in town and stirring up even more trouble. And a new enemy with special abilities also comes in, front and center. Is it any wonder that I continue to read these books and enjoy each just as much as the previous one?
Feisty main character, swoon worthy boyfriend, great, completely realized secondary characters, a town full of vampires, plenty of action, and a new, intricate, as usual, premise, all make for a fun read by an author that hasn’t failed to entertain me yet. I recommend this whole series to teens 15+ to adult.