Glass Houses

The Morganville Vampires #1

by Rachel Caine

From the author of the popular Weather Warden series. Welcome to Morganville, Texas. Just don't stay out after dark. College freshman Claire Danvers has had enough of her nightmarish dorm situation, where the popular girls never let her forget just where she ranks in the school's social somewhere less than zero. When Claire heads off-campus, the imposing old house where she finds a room may not be much better. Her new roommates don't show many signs of life. But they'll have Claire's back when the town's deepest secrets come crawling out, hungry for fresh blood.

Genres: Vampires, Young Adult, Fantasy, Paranormal, Urban Fantasy, Romance, Supernatural

260 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 3, 2006

About the author

Rachel Caine was a pen name of Roxanne Longstreet Conrad.

She has also published as:
Roxanne Longstreet
Roxanne Conrad
Julie Fortune
Ian Hammell

Her Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/rachelcainef...

Her Instagram page:
https://www.instagram.com/rachelcaine...

Reviews

[Emily May · Rating 1 out of 5]

pg 15:

"What normal girl loved physics? Abnormal ones. Ones who were not ever going to be hot. And face it, being hot? That was what life was all about."



Yeah, well, no thanks. Abandoned.

[Tatiana · Rating 1 out of 5]

OK, I tried reading it, I just can't buy into the premise

Claire Danvers is a prodigy student. At 16, she is a university freshman and having awful dorm problems. In fact, in the first chapter, she is beaten by a group of mean girls, thrown down the stairs, and warned that she would be killed next time she is seen around the campus. She is unconscious for a while, and when she is found by another student, nobody calls the police. Even the campus doctor who checks Claire's many bruises, split lip and sprained ankle, doesn't ask any questions. Claire's solution to this life-threatening problem is to find another place to live, off campus. She finds an ad in a local paper in which 3 students are looking for a roommate. The 3 are nice people and they agree to take in Claire at least temporarily. In the new house she is told that the town they all live - Morganville - is run by vampires. The next day a cop comes to Claire's new residence, looking for her. Apparently, this cop is send by the mean girls who just the other day abused Claire and she is in a big-big trouble (what?), therefore, Claire's roommates tell her, nobody can know where she is, she can't get outside or go to school, or she will be caught and killed!

You know, a reasonable person would ask, why wouldn't Claire go back home if her life is in such an immediate danger (please, don't bother telling me - "But she is such a dedicated student! She wants to prove her independence to her parents!" - I am not buying it)? And why people agree to live in this backward, vampire-run town at all? But nobody in this book does. At this point all I could do was throw by hands up in the air and give up on this drivel.

However, I am guessing, if you can tolerate this dumbness, you might end up enjoying the book. Many people I know did. I personally have a very low tolerance for stupid.

[Megan · Rating 1 out of 5]

Alright, so let's do this hmm? Please excuse my language. -___-


Oh my ▬ How is ▬ I mean what?! Claire, Claire dear child WHY THE HELL ARE YOU SO STUPID?! I'm sorry let me explain.

- Girl goes to school, encounters psycho ass bullies. they make fun of her.
- Girl gets punched and pushed down the stairs; suffers injuries. She meets up with them again in class, THEY POUR SOME FUCKING ACID CRAP ON HER BACK!
Friends tell her TO STAY AWAY. Girl thinks she's fucking invincible and ignores.

- Girl encounters bullies YET AGAIN. And, they proceed to beat the crap out of her. Once again, friends tells her to stay in the house that will protect her, DO NOT GO BACK TO SCHOOL. Girl ignores AGAIN and says "you can't tell me what to do"

- Girl encounters bullies (AGAINNNNNNNNNNNNN) They throw her in a van, tries TO BURN HER ALIVE!

Can you see where I'm going with this? I think you can. Ms. Caine, you made Claire sooo intolerable. Arrgh! I wanted to chuck my NOOK across the room, at the fucking idiocy I kept reading from Claire. Ugh, like I can't even care enough about the damn storyline, because Claire irked me way too much. She kept repeating "I'm not a kid, I'm sixteen! I'm not a kid" BLAH BLAH BLEH. You proved yourself a kid by making so many obvious and dumbass decisions. Supposedly a chick with brains, she sure doesn't use it.

I gave this one star for two reasons only and they are : MICHAEL AND SHANE. Boom.

[Chelsea ✨Arielle’s Nebular Ally and Team Acrux✨ · Rating 4 out of 5]

So. I've always been a lovey dovey vampire lover as opposed to the GRR, I'M AN EVIL BASTARD kind. But, as it turns out....I fell really hard for this book. And, instead of sexy bites shared between vampire lovers (or, rather, a human AND vamp), we had the scary as shit psycho vampires. Honestly, I was disappointed at first. I mean, really. Who doesn't like a little neck biting action? WHO I ASK, WHO?! But as the story progressed, it gave me something....a little more.

-and Dad, who was glowering at Shane in the background, was as tall and twice as broad. “Is it him?” Dad asked. “Did he get you into trouble?”
“Not me,” Shane said. “I’ve just got that kind of face.”

I won't say it wouldn't be a cool future twist (I'm looking at you, book two *wink*), but, for now, I'm satisfied. Why am I satisfied, you ask? Well, I'll tell you. Instead of sexy neck play between two lovahs, we have a million other things: Mean girls who are actually VERY mean, evil vampires that cause a lot of heroic romantic suspense, not one, but TWO sexy boys, and a cast of four characters that live in a house together, doing everything they can to protect one another. Oh, and there's an EPIC twist somewhere in this story-I like. I approve.

For me to love books that are....well....paranormal, the author better be hella creative. In this case?? She was. And I even thought it was a BIT more addictive than my other vamp series I'm reading...but only by a hair! To me, that's amazing. I LOVE Evernight-I love the atmosphere, the boy, the main girl (most of the time), but sometimes it's a bit lighter and not as intense in the writing area. I love that, but starting this series certainly made my heart pound in ways that are completely out of this world.

This book was creepy as shit, but it doesn't really kick up the scary SCARINESS until book two. Oh yeah, I'm running through these vamp series like candy, so, yeah, I'm extremely behind on reviews FYI. These poor books aren't getting NEAR the reviews they deserve, I realize. But, I digress, my point is this: These books are a lot more adult. They aren't really......mature, per se, but they do border that fine line where you're like, shit, are they really going to burn this guy alive? And are they honestly going to kill off one of my favorite characters brutally? I really can't say....and I kind of dig it.

Now, okay, I wouldn't be me if I didn't defend my darling males. You've got Shane and Michael. Michael is who everyone seems to like. I guess I did, too? But that's only because I let reviews influence me. From the very beginning it's clear that Shane is totally into Claire and he is going to be uber protective of her. I love this. So, in essence, I LOVE Shane. He is nothing but sweet and kind and funny from the very beginning-And when things get serious, so does he. So...what's not to like? I swear, people lol. Who cares!!! But. Anyway. Moving on. Michael is great, too, but....I don't see the large hype for him??? Other than loving him as a main character-I do, too. I guess I'm just still trying to figure that one out. Not trying to dwell on it.

She didn’t look up.
He came a step closer, and his bare feet and sweatpants came into her vision. “Claire. You’ve got to promise me.”
“I can’t,” she said. “I’m not some little kid. And I’m not your sister.”
He laughed, low in his throat. “Oh, yeah. That, I know. But I don’t want to see you get hurt again.”

OH OH OH!!!! And, okay, I must say-these might be some of my favorite kissing scenes EVER. Or, at least, in a long long time. I just am extremely enamored with how she writes the exchanges-sexy, sweet, swoony, and then there's how she explains the body? I don't know...I just was very attracted to the way she described something as beautifully simple as kissing. It's like authors forget how to, you know?? I have very high hopes for, ahem, future endeavors hehe.

God this review is so weird. I'm sorry guys-I'm sitting at work and going back and forth between work and writing this sad excuse for a review, so that's likely it. I'd rather post something rather than nothing at all so, well....here you go. All I can really say is I adore this series very much and I am EXTREMELY excited to see what's next for my darling Claire and Shane-I love Eve and Michael, too, but babies first!!! I think a lot of people are missing out on this-Yes, it's silly. Yes, they get into some crazy situations....but it never once felt cheesy. So. Um. SCORE. That is all.



**************

Shockingly..I ABSOLUTELY LOVED THIS BOOK!! I've been waiting FOREVER to try and I am so glad I waited until my comeback (from being sick) for my month of vampires....Though, these vamps are pretty mean lol And I ADORE Shane. EEPS.


RTC!!


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[Keryl Raist · Rating 1 out of 5]

So let's talk a little about young adult paranormal fiction. Let's talk a little about suspension of disbelief.

For the fantasy writer, suspension of disbelief is your best friend. Your job as an author is to do such a good job creating your world so your reader thinks, "Vampires, werewolves, things that go bump in the night, sure, I buy it!"

There are lots of ways to go about doing this, but part of the bedrock of a good set up is that it's completely believable. Part of what makes good horror and good fantasy so compelling is that the non-fantastic parts feel real.

To do this the introduction to your world has to have an internal and consistent logic. It has to make sense. If you toss the reader out of the reality of your world before you even get to the fantastic/spooky stuff, you've achieved EPIC FAIL.

For example: try to imagine the first episode of the X-files with a twenty-two-year-old, gum snapping, blonde in five inch heels and a tiny tank top instead of the lovely Gillian Anderson in the role of Scully. Most of us would stop watching there, because we can't suspend our disbelief far enough to wrap our minds around the idea of that woman as a doctor/FBI agent.

And now to tie this to Glass House. Claire, our main character, is a sixteen-year-old wunderkind, who whipped through high school in two years (Although she tells us she got there a year early and ended a year soon, which adds up to three years of high school and two years of middle school, but hey, who's counting? Oh yeah, Claire, who told us she did it in two years... How smart is this girl again?) and is now in college.

Alas, because her parents are criminally stupid (and apparently enjoy setting fire to money) they sent her to Texas Prairie University, after allowing her to apply to MIT, Yale, Harvard, (and a slew of other high power schools) and getting her acceptance letters to said schools. Apparently they want to keep their sixteen-year-old baby close to home, but living in the dorm of a notorious party school.

See at this point I'm already out of the story. I did finish high school a year early. Guess what? You can't do that without mommy and daddy's help, which means mom and dad have to be on board with this whole getting a good education thing. Here's another thing, Mom and Dad are not going to pay the money ($75 for an application to Harvard alone) to apply to all those schools if they have no intention of letting their little girl attend those schools. And lets wrap this up with this idea: if you want your baby to be close because you're feeling protective of her, you are not going to let her live in the dorms of a party school!

In the modern world, if mom and dad want you close after you've graduated high school, they can do this wonderful thing known as let you live at home and take courses online. The entire MIT catalog is available online. I'm sure some sort of situation could have been worked out that didn't involve dropping their child in fratland because it's closer to home than MIT.

Here's where the discussion of YA comes into play. There's a problem almost all YA books have to deal with: how to get a young person into situations of danger and adventure without Mom and Dad jumping into play to keep them safe. In real life, most kids have the sort of parents who are actually trying to do well by them. In the YA world there are gobs of orphans, boarding schools, and criminally absent parents because they're needed to make the plot work.

So, the author wants a plot where Claire has to deal with human adversaries and supernatural ones. For whatever reason the author wants Claire to be sixteen. Sending her off to college early was an interesting twist on boarding school, and opens the potential for living off campus and getting into more contact with the supernatural baddies. She made Claire super smart because that increases friction with the human baddies.

This book was written around 2008. It appears to be set around 2008 as well. The level of bullying Claire takes at both high school and college would easily get both institutions sued into bankruptcy. And in the post Columbine/Virginia Tech world, one might think that possibly, if you are being assaulted by the other students, the kind of violence that involves being tossed down a flight of stairs and left unconscious, that possibly someone would call the cops. Just maybe.

But of course, no one does anything like that, giving Claire the motivation to move out of the dorm, and into her new home with her new roommates.

We didn't even get to the vampires, and I already don't believe this story. In fact, unless they're pink and sparkly (which I've heard isn't true about this book) I believe the vampires more than I do the set up for this book. The entire set up is a series of glowing neon plot devices for the purpose of putting the main character into the situation author wants her in. There is nothing subtle or elegant about the first few chapters of this book. Nothing that shows any real desire to engage in serious world building on the part of the author. In short, it's lazy, and has done nothing to make me want to learn more about what comes next.

And so, Congratulations Glass House! Welcome to your shiny new spot on my Did Not Finish List.

[Tawfek · Rating 2 out of 5]

Where do we start with this one?
First of all i was warned that this part wasn't even good, and that the series picks up in book 2.
the final rating for this was going to be 2 stars, if i didn't have a bone to pick with the series.
But after doing my research i have no bone to pick with the series anymore.
And yes i research this shit.
So my big issue was Claire 16 kissing Shane 18, even after her parents were suspecting the boys and the boys claimed innocent, which they were, till the parents left.
But since Rachel Caine is from Texas, and the Romeo and Juliet laws in Texas, allow even a sexual relationship happening between the two, which didn't happen, but it probably will in the next books, since Claire probably didn't even age a month in the entirety of the first novel.

Now we come to the romance Grinch part AKA Me!
I always see on goodreads this sentence "Why Novel Male Main characters are not in real life QQ"
I won't generalize, but i ll tell you why this is the case in Glass Houses.
First of all, Shane jumping of off the stairs to land at the bottom, Grown up guys don't do that, But Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles do!
Second of all, Shane and Michael elbowing each other while playing X Box in a competitive match, Again Guys don't do that, But! Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Do!
Third of all, Guys inhaling their food and eating 4 times what the girls eat?!
Guys don't really do that, Hell my sister eats 3x what i eat on daily basis, But Surprise surprise! Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Do!
Last but not least even a lazy guy like me know how to make way more than 1 fucking meal, and my family takes care of the food most of the time, so imagine if i was 18 and had to live by myself like Youth in other countries.
But Teenage Mutant Ninja turtles do! Maybe that's where Rachel was getting inspiration for writing Shane And Michael?
So really you are looking for real novel Mc's in the wrong place, They are in the sewers of New York City with Master Splinter.

Then the romance part, i didn't like how much of a perv Claire was, i swear even as a guy i only ever look to a female i am talking with straight at her face, i don't look at her body when she leaves, I seriously hate objectifying real people, i consider looking to be rude, and not my right.
But Claire was ogling these guys all novel!
She being the FMC puts her in a bad spot too, because the writer wants to tell the female readers how hot these guys are, so you either go in as a narrator, or just make Claire a perv.
Also she is super lightweight and weird, so here she is standing next to the guy she kissed last night, and is supposed to be interested in, And Michael kisses Eve in front of them, and her knees go weak?! Seriously now?

Anyway i finished this annoyed by the entire minor thing before doing the research, it's hard to get out from that state, i will be reading another book next not from this series, And i am not sure when will i return to this series again.
Even though the ending was exciting, i am not sure the novel in it's entirety would be all that exciting, and while Brandi my friend who recommended this, was inhaling these novels i sadly and with a broken heart didn't i really wanted to pull off an insane sprint through these books like she did, i read this in 8 days though.

Goodbye for now and wait for me i ll eventually read another romance to be a Grinch about it.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am absolutely in love with this series! For me, it is a really big shame that i did not find it sooner.
There is a lot that i could say about this first book in the series, and believe me i would if i could, but i would probably never stop talking and i would go over the word limit for reviews.
First of all the story kicked off to a really good start. It was a thrilling and exciting first chapter. When i opened the book i saw that the chapters were like 20-30 pages long. For me, i was really worried. It seems that all the books i read that have really long chapters, end up being really long, dull, boring books. It's like a jinx to me. But this book seems to of broken that pattern. But although they seems long, they were very fast to read. The is a lot going on in the book, and something excting happens in every chapter...it made me keep on reading.
Secondly the character's. How many books have i read and not liked the main character?- To many, but there are also ones i hate. But in all honesty, Claire is a likable character. They all are really. Sure, she can be stupid at times, but that's just who she is, and it is that, that makes her so realistic and interesting character.
I can see there is going to be a romance somewhere along the line, but it's not in the book as much as some book do. When it's in your face all the time. This book has the romance, but it is off to the side, keeping up with the storyline alongside. It's more about the problem rather then the romance, which don't get me wrong, i love a good romance book as much as the next person, it's just not made a big deal of

The storyline is great, the style of writing is wonderful and the characters are loveable! What's not to love?

It ended on a cliffhanger which is really annoying as i don't have the next book(s) yet, but i will soon .
Happy reading...

[Jim · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some might really like the story, but there were too many times the plot read as if it was tossed together like a bad salad & cheap tricks were used to get our heroine in & out of trouble. Worse, new issues & fixes magically appear/disappear, while parents conveniently do the same. Worst of all, the end is a super cliff hanger, the kind that screams "Read my next book or you're doomed to never know how it turns out."

It's a shame. The book had some redeeming features & could have been a good story. It just wasn't constructed or told very well. Some of the trimmings were truly imaginative, but I doubt I'll look to hard for any other books by her. I was hoping this was an early book, but it seems that she's prolific enough that this is a pen name. Her forte seems to be YA novels, so maybe that's why I don't care for this as much. If I run across another, I'll probably read it to see if I like it any better, so she didn't completely turn me off.

[Jo ★The Book Sloth★ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Good To Be Different Stars



I first read the Morganville Vampires series about four years ago, at the beginning of my experience with Paranormal and Urban-Fantasy. At the time I though Twilight and The House of Night were THE SHIT so this wasn't my favorite because it's much darker. But now, 4 years later, I still like this when I can't even stand to read the first book of the other two series.

The Morganville Vampires series has its problems. The writing needs a little effort to like and Claire is annoying as hell at the beginning and the 4 main characters are all a kind of immature, hormonal, wrecking ball.

At the first 30% of the book you can clearly see that intelligence isn't always accompanied by mature and smart decisions. Claire is supposed to be this uber-intelligent kid who got accepted in colleges like MIT and Yale at 16 but since her parents wouldn't allow her so far from home she ended up in a "Party-College" in Texas. All that is good but then Claire starts making all the bad decisions her parents worried about. When she gets bullied and pushed down a flied of stairs(which could have left her with a broken neck) instead of calling her parents, or going to the police(not that it would have done her much good in Morganville but she didn't know that yet), she tries to find somewhere off campus to live. When she goes to the Glass House to interview for the room she meets a bunch of crazy kids and instead of running as fast as she can and calling her parents, she spends the night.And then despite the fact that a crazy girl actually tried to kill her she goes to school and isn't even particularly careful. TSTL doesn't begin to describe it. But things get better after a point...

What makes this book special:

In a time when vampires are the best thing after Brad Pitt and David Beckam, Rachel Caine avoids the cliche and tried methods and she doesn't romanticize her vampires. Vampires in Morganville are the bad guys, the monsters lurking in the dark. And you know what? That's freaking GREAT! Vampires see humans as food and the cattle isn't supposed to fall in love with the wolf. Don't get me wrong, I love a good Vampire Love Story as much as the next girl but it's nice to have something different once in a while.

We have a group of four friends that haven't all slept, kissed, made out with one another and they don't want to. Who everyone is attracted to becomes clear fast and for once not every guy in the neighborhoof is in love with the heroine. Eve, the actually cool friend, has her guy. Yes, the friend isn't some irrelevant character that isn't as awesome as the heroine. She is just as important and just as awesome.

There is no slut-shaming. We have the mean-girls, AKA Monica and her friends, and there is much hate going on between them but it has nothing to do with how many guys Monica has been with or how short her skirt is or if she wears too much make-up at school. Claire hates Monica because Monica is a psychopathic bitch who actually tries to kill her, not steal her boyfriend or mock her clothing.

So all in all this book is really good. I though of upping the rating to 4 but I know some of the next books deserve it more so I won't.

[Ashley · Rating 2 out of 5]

For anyone looking for good, brainless, PG-13 rated vampire fun, this is probably the book for you. The author has a straightforward writing style and tells a straightforward story about an unpopular girl who gets the short end of the stick in a town ruled by vampires, until she makes some oh my god like totally cool and hottt friends. (Yes, "hot" needs three t's--one for each friend.)

The book has a slightly juvenile tone, which is ironic since the main character--a brainiac who is sixteen years old and in college--spends much of the book insisting that she's not a little kid. I feel like a lot of the events weren't really thought out and were there to move the story along without really considering the repercussions. It's kind of like how, in Harry Potter, Harry always managed to get away scot-free--and sometimes even with a congratulatory pat on the head--in spite of all the times he ignored rules or authority to save the world/his friends/stuff. Except that this book doesn't even go that far. Eventually, I kind of just gave up all hope for at least some bit of realism.

Long story short, not all that great for a first book, but I've been told the series gets better, so I'll give the second book a try.

[Amber · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow! I really, really liked this book! I don't know why it took me so long to start reading them, but I can tell you that once you start....you don't want to stop!

If you want an action packed vampire/ghost read with a couple of HOT roommates(Shane and Michael) than this book is it. I also need to mention the other roommate, Eve, who likes the whole Goth thing.

Claire Danvers is enrolled in college rearly due to her academic achievements. She's 16, nearly 17 which she likes to remind people. Her first day of school and she already has gotten herself on the bad side of a nasty, mean girl named Morgan (and let me tell you, her character is so well written it makes you want to jump in the book and kick her butt yourself!).

Claire decides she can't live in the dorms for fear Morgan and her posse will end up killing her so she seeks out a roommate add. Upon her arrival at the Glass House, she meets her said roommates Shane, Michael and Eve.

Life starts to get real complicated being in Morganville and the people in the town are on the creapy side. Our protag. Claire, is a smart and determined little thing and she finds that life is nothing what it seems. She is faced with the ugly truth about life in Morganville and with the help of her new roommates they battle together to stay alive.

The writing was easy to follow and didn't lead you astray. It keeps you in suspense and the story line flows so you get pulled into it. I just love the characters, even the secondary characters. Claire is awesome but I have to say, her two male roommates keep your toes warm... in a very good way.

Maybe it's a good thing I jumped on the Morganville band wagon late...now I get to read them consecutively!!

[Glire · Rating 1 out of 5]

¿Qué acabo de leer?



Juro que comencé este libro con las mejores intenciones. Sabía que trataba de una chica de 16 años y vampiros, así que el hecho de que sería juvenil estaba sobreentendido. Esperaba lo juvenil, disfruto lo juvenil. Pero esto, esto... just no.

Desde la primera página nos hacen saber que Claire, la protagonista, es una genia. Es tan inteligente que a pesar de tener solo 16 años ya está en la universidad. Es tan inteligente que ve clases avanzadas de física, química y bioquímica. Es tan inteligente que te lo van a recordar a todo lo largo de libro... mientras Claire hace una estupidez tras otra.

No sólo logra enemistarse con las mean girls de la universidad, si no que enfurece a todos los vampiros del pueblo. La amenazan de muerte una y otra vez, la persiguen, la lastiman, amenazan a sus amigos, a sus padres. Y aún así NO. PUEDE. QUEDARSE. CALLADA. JAMÁS.

“You’re just a walking organ donor. So take my advice, Claire. Don’t get in my face, because if you do, you won’t have one for long. Are we clear?”
Claire nodded slowly. “We’re clear,” she said. “You’re kind of a psycho. I get that.”
“I might be,” Monica agreed, and gave her a slow, strange smile. “You’re one smart little freak. Now run away, smart little freak, before I change my mind and stick you in one of these old suitcases for some architect to find a hundred years from now.”
Claire blinked. “Archaeologist.”
Monica’s eyes turned winter cold. “Oh, you’d better start running away now.”

Quería darle un oportunidad justa y tenía la esperanza de que mejorara en algún momento, por lo que me obligué a terminar de leerlo. Spoiler: no mejora jamás. De hecho va de mal en peor, con una escritura repetitiva, un romance que surge de la nada (y de igual manera desaparece), y una trama que se sale de control hasta llegar a un final que impacta sólo por la cantidad de cosas inverosímiles que se reúnen en tan pocas páginas.

No sabía si reír o llorar, así que tomé la tercera opción y entre a Goodreads a buscar consuelo en las reseñas de los siguientes libros sólo para enterarme que es una serie de ¡15 libros!

Quince libros de Claire.

Y no. Lo siento, pero no. Me han perdido para siempre.

[Emily W. · Rating 4 out of 5]

That was so much fun, I seriously loved it. If you're a fan of The Vampire Diaries (the show, not sure about the books since I haven't read them) I think you will love this because it has a lot of the same elements:
vampires? OBVIOUSLY.
hot guys? CHECK.
action-packed ass-kicking? LOTS.
crazy twists and turns? YUP.
I seriously want to start a campaign to get this series made into a show. I'm really excited to start the next book in the series.

[Heather G Gentle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this one quite entertaining and engaging. More so than I expected to. I thought the story was an interesting concept and I love that the ending left me wanting to delve right into the next one-- literally ending in the middle of an action scene.

I really like Claire, Eve, Shane and Michael as characters and I'm eager to see what happens to them next! I wish Claire wasn't quite so young-- I think that would be a little easier to swallow although nothing unsavory happened.

There were quite a few things left hanging so I'm interested and looking forward to the next in the series.

[Brittany McCann · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the first book in a long-running series, and as such, it is a bit slow at scene-setting. The strength lies in the lore of the town and the other characters. Claire Danvers is the weakest and most annoying character in the entire book. Having her narrate does a bit of a disservice to the story, but I read this many years ago and remember that it picks up in the next book, and the development of the characters is worth reading about in the series.

I look forward to more about the rest of the housemates and the other characters lurking in the town.

3 Stars this time around.

[kwesi 章英狮 · Rating 2 out of 5]

After reading Twilight, I can't forgive myself of buying the expensive hardback set and for the punishment I won't read any paranormal books or vampire related books. But after I met this girl in Goodreads she recommended a lot of young adult paranormal books and I was like Huh?, no idea of the books she mentioned.

I met her last December, face-to-face, and I'm glad she include one of her vampire books. No doubt I grab it and hide it, I know nobody is interested in reading the book except me, the girl and the other girl. Yes, both girls, I don't know why they liked to read this kind of books.

This is better than Twilight, in my own opinion. First (1) I find it more realistic, I want the old tradition of vampires not the sparkling vampires. Although the author added some additional new formed vampire facts that I find it ridiculous. (Can't remember it anymore.) Second, (2) She included a ghost in the story, it's kinda weird but I find it interesting. Third, (3) No hardcore romance. Lastly, (4) I can relate to the protagonist of the book always being bullied by others. Don't pity me and I don't like somebody will look at me that I have major major problem in life.

Claire Danver a first year student of TPU been bullied by bad girls called the Moniketes. (Almost the books that I've read bout college thing, they always have this protagonist that always been bullied, a nerd or something. Have they ever think of changing that concept?) They are the queen bee of the school, like a bitch modeling there ugly bellies in the hallway as if they looked beautiful.

So Claire, decided to find a new place, rules are rules, students who are below 18 or 20 are not allowed to find a new apartment or room outside campus. But Claire can't take it anymore, so she entered this weird house called Glass' House and met Eve, Shane and Michael. Eve, is a gothic girl who works in a bar and had this mysterious co-worker, Oliver. Shane, an experiment vampire who had a crush on Claire. While Michale, the owner of the house and a ghost, he usually the one who protects the place and he works as the Protector.

They have been chased by the ugly vampires and the ugly Moniketes who are unbearable because of there spoiled attitude because of the lost book which contained the secrets of the vampires. Glass Houses.

The things I hate about this books is that the author always makes the character mysterious until the middle end of the story and it makes you busy thinking of the characters than reading the story. Like Shane and Oliver, you thought both of them are just simple characters or supporting ones but they had big roles in the ending.


I thought the Glass' house looks like the house above. It was walled with mirror and windows. Don't blame me guys, but it was the author's fault, I don't know that it was Michael's surname. But I want to have one of those glass houses.

Rating - Glass Houses by Rachel Caine, 2 Sweets and wishing those vampires with prosperous days of garlic and chili. (Not bad for those people who really likes to try books that are far from there normal reading list. I recommend this to people who likes to read urban fanstasy, swear you wont regret it. Grabbed from Joyzi of Goodreads - Filipinos )

Challenged:
Book #7 for 2011
Book #5 for Off the Shelf!

[Lissa Smith Reads'~A Bookaholics Bookshelf · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 Stars:
I know my reviews are usually non-descriptive this one may obtain spoilers in my rant. However, do not get me wrong I enjoyed the book and the colorful cast of Claire, Shane, Michael and Eve and the turmoil that seems to find them.

It took me forever to locate this series. I was shocked to find this series in the YA section of my local library. Everyone that had recommended the series to me was adult. I was expecting something completely different. After reading the first Chapter, I was shocked; I just cannot get over how they treat this young woman in the first 10 pages alone. This goes way beyond playground bulling. It is awful. Moreover, this poor 16-year-old child has to face this abuse alone.

I was disappointed in the narrative style of the book. It bugs me when it is a third person’s point of view then moves to a firsthand recollection. All while thinking about this was the fact that the doctors at the clinic just let Claire’s injuries go without a second thought. Then, Claire parents. What was the deal with them not wanting to believe that she was hurt? Hell I am a mother, I am sure I would have hit the roof and that bitch being over 18… I would have reacted first thought second. Yet, her parents…what the hell? It reminds me of people who have a killer dog and it attacks their child and then they say ‘but they love each other, he has never bitten before except in playful matter.’ They are just the type who does not deserve to be parents and neither do Claire’s parents. At least Michael, Shane and Eve offered her an outlet away from Monica. Where her dumbass parents want to thrust her back.

Oh my I need to stop ranting before everyone thinks I did not enjoy the book. I did however. I almost gave up on it until Claire’s hand went straight through Michael and he disappeared. I had to keep reading just to find out what Michael was and how the others would take it. Curiosity was what drew me into the story. The plot was not a dramatic and elusive. Therefore, I enjoyed a mindless entertaining read. I look forward to the series.

My absolute favorite and will read again and again. I strongly recommend! It has outstanding qualities. The characters are wonderful and surprising and multi-dimensional. The writing is luring, engaging, and well-crafted enough to keep me interested from cover to cover and beyond. The plot is astonishing with twists and turns weaved into a well thought and planned story. There’s no pretense and romance was well balanced and done entirely correctly with properly distributed amounts of hints, behaviors and incredible, undeniable chemistry. Predictability is at an all-time low. With the exception of series based books that follow the same path but are just as good. Overall, Favorite, must read again, recommend!!!

[Alkyoni · Rating 3 out of 5]

Claire is a sixteen year old brainiac, already in College. She got accepted to MIT and Yale, but her parents didn’t let her go because they were too far from home (huh?), so she ended up in Morganville, Texas.

Being a brainiac means of course that she’s abnormal. She likes physics. What normal girl likes physics? (huh?)

She gets badly beaten by a group of mean girls at campus who threaten to kill her. However, that doesn’t mean that she’ll call her parents and request a school change, because a quitter she is not (huh?)

Looking for alternative accommodation, she goes to a house where three roommates are looking for a fourth one. Once there, she learns that there are dangerous vampires in Morganville, and that they basically run the city. Claire still doesn’t call her parents to request a school change, because of the reason mentioned above (huh?)

Her roommates take her in after she promises not to cause any trouble for them. They warn her not to leave the house, but she has to go to… you know, to class and all, so she doesn’t take their warning to heart. Once in campus, the mean girls grab her again, and so Claire calls her roommates to come to her rescue (HUH?)

I so much wanted to drop this book after the first few chapters. I would have, if I didn’t have a friend who is a die-hard fan of the series and was swearing up and down that it gets better. She was right, it does. There wasn’t much room to get any worse, but that’s another story.

As much as I hated the initial setting, there were quite a few things that I appreciated later on. First of all, and you probably won’t believe this but, THERE IS NO LOVE TRIANGLE (in this first book, I don’t know if that will change in the later instalments). Happy day!

Claire’s three roommates are cool and, again, you might not believe this but, one of them is a GIRL and she’s still cool. Happier day!

After getting past the lame excuses of how Claire found herself in Morganville (and remained there as for that matter), the plot became interesting, atmospheric and surprisingly dark with lots of action and some twists that I didn’t see coming.

There’s a sweet love story in there (maybe two) and I really liked the way it was developed.

Took me a while to get into the writing. As soon as the plot took shape though I had no problem with it.

Overall, there were elements that I liked and parts that I didn’t. That's 3 stars.

[Maria V. Snyder · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this YA vamp tale - although the ending was mean for the poor reader. However Rachel assures me it wasn't her idea - I can understand that!

[Fiona Knight · Rating 4 out of 5]

I originally read this book about 10 years ago, when the various pitfalls that ffrequently accompany YA didn't bother me as long as the story had something that could capture me - and this book, with it's absolute sanctuary of the Glass House, had exactly what I was looking for. I'm still very susceptible to a safe base/cosy home/preferably some sort of combo, but it was harder to overlook some issues this time. There's a touch of insta-love, the writing isn't what Rachel Caine is usually capable of, and - bad sin - a cliffhanger end. So it's fair to say that at least one of my stars is made purely of nostalgia.

However, though I don't really enjoy Burger King any more, sometimes I just want to eat my daily calories in a single, glorious, greasy sitting. And this book is the enjoyable junk food of my bookshelf - though definitely less harmful. But it's fun, it's inoffensive, and it features a female protagonist who's actually strongly into science, school, and academics in general (even if it is initially handled in an omg-what-a-freak-I-am way).

[Victoria · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow, what a beginning. This story, these characters; they've totally hooked me.

It is another vampire story, but it doesn't seem rehashed to me at all. Maybe it was the characters, the creepy twists, or just the fantastic narrative voice.

Claire Danvers is having a heck of a time at her crummy dorm. A smart, ordinary girl trying to rough it at her Texas college away from home, she is constantly harassed, sometimes to the point of serious injury, by the vicious cliques of popular girls. So when she finds an ad for three housemates seeking a fourth, she is desperate for any way out of her situation.

The three teenage residents of Glass House quickly welcome Claire into their small circle; friendly Goth Eve, sarcastic and bold Shane, and mysteriously intense guitar player Michael. But they are about to become far more than housemates; by stepping into Glass House, Claire has entered into the secret world that seethes beneath the town of Morganville...a world owned by vampires. Luckily, none of her new friends are vampires...but they're also much more than they seem.

Navigating a breathtakingly dangerous and suspenseful maze of danger, intrigue, and secrets, Claire has found a brave and loyal set of people to ally with. But will the four of them be enough to face the terrifying world bent on keeping them from causing any more trouble, no matter what the cost?

This book was simple and fast-paced, and the main characters caught and held me immediately with their quirks, kindness, humor, loyalty, and realism. I can't wait to see them again in the next book.

[Kadi P · Rating 5 out of 5]

A deeply engaging and entertaining read that had just the right amount of vampire drama and romance to make you reminisce on the good old days of the early 2000s.

It was set in the eerie town of Morganville, a place where secrets lurked in every corner—and the best secrets weren't even that vampires were real or that they ruled the town. Truly, every character had a secret and so the reveals and twists came like a barrage of truths at the end and it was spectacular. The foreshadowing in the plot was delightful and the cliffhanger ending left me gasping for more.

There were aspects that felt repetitive, like the way every outing ended with Clare being harangued by someone which would result in her returning home with that persistent fear and apologise to everyone for going, but then she’d continue to make the same mistakes by going out again the next day. And whilst that was annoying, arguably you couldn't blame her for doing so because the alternative was that she stayed in the Glass House the whole time and then the plot would be boringly stagnant. And this plot was anything but boring as it was jam-packed with vampires, budding new friendships, slices of romance, and unexpected turns at every corner.

[Sara (sarawithoutanH) · Rating 2 out of 5]

October 2023

2/5

Miss 2019 Sara was feeling generous. Reread this again for a vlog this time and I'm so sorry but it's not good.

featured vlog: reading books i liked in high school

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January 2019

3/5

Honestly... Not mad at this book. Is it cheesy? Sure. But is it also kind of a good time? Yes. I would compare the caliber of writing to most adult urban fantasy series. I didn't expect much going in so I was surprised by how much I was into it. It reminded me a lot of Vampire Diaries, which I'm always down for. I might even read the next book in the series. Way to go picking out books, high school me.

Booktube | Instagram

[Jade · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a fun book. I first read this 6 years ago and I enjoyed it now as much as I did then. The story is interesting and the characters are brilliant. Reading the character's banter is so much fun and makes you feel like you're a part of their friendship group. Looking forward to starting the second book.

[Abigail · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm addicted. It's official... I LOVE THE MORGANVILLE VAMPIRES. I need to admit something though.. I am awful at sticking to series... But I truly believe that I will read all of the books in this one. I loved the characters, plot, and everything else involved in this delicious book.

[Maya ︎☁︎︎]

“You know," Shane said twenty minutes later, "I'd feel a whole lot better about the two of us if you didn't think I was the go-to guy for breaking and entering.”

After seeing the news yesterday that Rachel Caine had passed away, I couldn’t shake the uncontrollable urge to pick up Glass Houses, which is the book that convinced 11-year-old Maya that reading is one of the greatest joys in life. Whilst I know this isn’t the best book in the entire world (and, be warned, it’s mostly nostalgia fuelling this entire review), it is the one that fundamentally changed me as a human being, and because of that, I have nothing but pure, unadulterated love for it.

I’m about to biased, y’all, and I’m about to love every second of it.

“On the day Claire became a member of the Glass House, somebody stole her laundry.”

The second I read that opening line — that silly, innocuous sentence — I felt like someone had draped a warm blanket around my shoulders. I’d fallen back in time, and it was comforting, and familiar, and bright. I imagined every scene the same way I did all those years ago, and I honestly felt like I was greeting old friends and nemeses. It was exhilarating, and even though I knew what was going to happen, I still felt my heart trying to claw its way up my throat a few times. Re-reading books is something I do so rarely, but I had such a fun time re-living all those moments I loved as a pre-teen, and I wished I’d picked this book up again early, under less distressing circumstances.

I really can’t thank Rachel Caine enough for turning me into the young woman I am today. If it weren’t for her awe-inspiring creativity, witty rejoinders, and kick-ass characters, I’d still think reading was nothing but an inescapable chore, used maliciously by teachers as a way to legally torture young children (and me in particular!). This book, however, changed everything for me. Once I’d finished Glass Houses, I begged my mum to buy me all the other books in the series (and, ecstatic that I was finally interested in something besides TV and running around for hours outdoors like a wild thing, she agreed!); and once I’d finished all of them, I devoured every other YA book I found in my library.

And then I never stopped reading.

I also have Rachel to thank for nudging me towards the sciences. Claire Danvers is a huge reason why I decided to start taking an interest in biology, chemistry, and maths, if only to be a little like her. (Which is to say, I wanted to be a badass who could use liquid nitrogen to destroy locks AND kill vampires. And I will be that person at some point!) Rachel opened so many doors for me when she published this series, and I’m still a little bewildered that I can trace so many of my hobbies and interests back to these books.

Thank you for gifting the world with your phenomenal stories, Rachel, and I hope I can live up to them one day.

[Kogiopsis · Rating 2 out of 5]

There's math to these stars.
Here goes:
+1 for being written by Rachel Caine, right off the bat. I genuinely enjoyed Ill Wind; it was a creative, rip-roaring five-chapter venture into a new kind of urban fanatasy, and it was cool. I didn't even mind the hot tub scenes, and the ending was acceptable. I've also read one of Ms. Caine's short stories set in Morganville, in an anthology, and thought it was interesting and that I'd like to know more about the series.
+1 for rendering fairly logical vampires. Can't go out in daylight, have to be invited into a house, etc; it rings true with most of the older vamp mythos I've encountered, and any deviations (AMELIE, I'm looking at you) were explained in ways that, while they do seem a little deus ex machina, I can deal with. (I should mention here that no, I'm not an expert on vampire mythology, but I have read Dracula.)
+1 for the interesting housemates, though Michael was a little bit too perfect at times. Shane I saw coming a long way off, though that's probably thanks to that short story, but for a while I thought Caine was going to draw it out over a few books and just give him a protector complex in this one. Oh well. Eve was pretty cool- I think she was my favorite, just because she was abnormal but she was so much more normal in terms of how she functioned in society than Shane or Michael. And she seems to have some pretty big insecurities and worries, making her a bit motherly/responsible towards the others.
+1 for being easy to read. Okay, so I know it sounds dumb, but it's a small book and it took me about half a day, all told- actually considerably less, now that I think about it. And given the minuses, this is a very good thing.

-1 for Claire in general, and the first two chapters in particular. We are told from the beginning that she is OMGubersmart. We are told that she finished highschool in two years (which, by the way, means a lot of summer classes if her school is anything like mine) and that Ivy League colleges were practically begging at her feet. Her parents- including her dad, who she later thinks of in a way that convinced me he's very focused on her academics- wouldn't let her go there because she was 'too young'. And this is where I interject: "NO SHIT SHE'S TOO YOUNG. SHE CAN STAY IN HIGHSCHOOL AND TAKE AP CLASSES AND GET COLLEGE CREDIT FOR TWO MORE YEARS AND THEN ENROLL AS A FRIGGIN' JUNIOR OR SOMETHING. And because she is OMGubersmart, she'll see this financially wise option/way to placate the 'rents, right? Umm... actually, not right. Not right at all. Instead, her parents ignore the fact that prestigious colleges will probably do whatever they ask to get their daughter there, up to and including any special supervision they might want to feel she's safe, and decide to enroll her in the idiotically named Texas Prarie University. There, instead of being, say, in some sort of small Honors-only housing complex, she's on the top floor in the worst rooms of the worst dorms.
Um, yeah. Way to go, protective parents; you've put your daughter in StupidSchool and, moreover, the rattiest part of it. So, how'd that one work out?
BADLY. Claire corrects one of the popular girls on the nature of WWII, who turns out to be one of those oddly common mean girls who haunt the pages of fiction, existing solely to make life a misery for the protagonist- not just to, say, ruin their social reputation or knock them down in the halls, but to ACTIVELY AND AGGRESSIVELY go after the harmless lowlife who has offended them so. In this case, this would be up to and including stealing Claire's laundry and pushing the girl down several flights of stairs. And absolutely no one will stand up to this mean girl- Monica- from the other students to the administration to the town police. Frankly, this is ridiculous. If people like this were as common as books about highschool and college make them seem, no one would make it out alive.
I mentioned that the town police won't stand up to Monica. We know this because later they show up on her side- not because Claire calls them. Ms. OMGubersmart isn't nearly smart enough to call 911, it seems, or her parents. I mean, at the point that you're being pushed down a flight of stairs, it's time to suck it up and GO THE HELL HOME, no matter what. Worst they can do is make you wait a few years to go to one of the Ivies. Take online courses, get a job, or something.
And by the way, if her parents were looking for a place where their little girl would be safe, why did they pick Morganville? Even from the descriptions Claire gives in passing, it sounds like a nasty place, certainly not somewhere an overprotective parent would want their sixteen year-old. I call BS. I call BS on Claire and I call it on Monica and I call it on both Danvers parents.
(Also, Claire does not seem to be taking English courses. Odd, for someone who claims to be well-versed in the classics. And that's another thing- she's casually arrogant about being smart. 'Not everyone is up on the classics- except freaks like me.' 'I corrected Monica on the fact that WWII wasn't about China, but the people around her probably didn't know what it was anyway.' Ms. Caine, are we supposed to believe Claire is smart because she puts down all these other people? Are we supposed to accept that just because she thinks- thinks, and has no real reason to know- they don't know something, they actually don't? She's not even snooty, which I could live with- she's just utterly convinced of her own superiority, and it comes out in annoying little moments.)
-1 for the ending. (Rant follows.) WHAT in the WORLD makes an author think they can get away with this? There was a nice denoument, and then another chapter. Thinking this would continue the nice denoument, I walked into this backhanded trap blindly. NEVER under any circumstances is there a reason to introduce a NEW PROBLEM AND/OR ENTIRE NEW PLOT AT THE END OF THE GODDAMN BOOK! This is worse than leaving the action at a critical point (Phillip Pullman and Bruce Coville are both guilty)- both are shameless ways to make sure you read the next book, but at least leaving the action doesn't feel grasping. This 'Big battle is over, all is well, OH SHIT NEW CRISIS' business hangs a sign around the author's neck. Know what it says? "I want money, and I don't think the book itself was good enough to get you to buy the next one- in fact, maybe I know it was crap- and so I tacked this on at the end and put a critical character's life in question so you'll buy the sequel and my publisher and I will make bank."
AAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRGH.

Will I read the series? @&$# NO. That ending pissed me off too much, and when the last impression I have of a book is anger, I have no reason to continue.

[Rachel L · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 It was cute stars

So, I'm not sure if I've ever divulged this on Goodreads, but my career goal is to one day become a Young Adult Librarian. Because of this I try to read a wide range of YA so I know what to recommend to teens. Glass Houses is one of the books that I normally wouldn't read, but decided to anyway. You know, for the teens ;-)

Glass Houses is about Claire, a teenage genius who finds herself in college at the young age of sixteen. Claire is being bullied in the dorms by some fairly sociopathic girls that made me glad my dorm experience wasn't at all like this book. Bitches were scary, like they pushed Claire down a flight of stairs and that was just the warning . In fear for her life, Claire looks for another place to live off campus, and finds herself at the Glass House. In the Glass House, a cross between Gone with the Wind's Tara and The Munsters design, Claire makes new roommates and friends with Eve, Shane and Michael. As time goes by, weird stuff begins to happen and the four of them must band together in order to survive.

I ended up liking this a lot more than I thought I would. It's a fun read that I would recommend to the younger spectrum of teens. I had issues with a few of the concepts/plot points. One of which being that if Claire was such a genius, why wasn't she smarter with her actions? I feel like there was something missing there...
Also I felt Claire and Michael had more of a romantic connection than Claire and Shane, but I guess I'll see where this series goes

So while I didn't love the book, it was fun and cute, and I'm probably going to continue the series just to see where things go.

Happy reading everyone!

[Marija *Why you mad, why you sad* · Rating 5 out of 5]

Actual rating: 4.5 stars.

It seems I read a lot of vampire books these days. In fact, I'm going through my TBR pile in order so it's not my fault I had three vampire books one after another. I really liked two and third is currently being read, so we'll see.

I liked this book very much. Claire wasn't annoying like I expected, though she seemed like it when I first started reading. I liked most of the characters and everything went smoothly. Though it did end on a major cliffhanger, which I really don't like. Don't kill my sweety, please. I liked world building and the whole story of vampires running the whole city. What I didn't like is how the author made some characters seem complitely irrational. Take Monica for example. She wants to kill Claire just because she made her look stupid in front of her crowd. I get that her pride was crushed, but really? To kill a girl just because of it? And not to mention she set fire to Shane's house, which unintentionally (I hope) killed his little sister? She just seemed really ridiculous sometimes and I really laughed one or two times when she said something stupid.

The romance is nothing like I wanted it to be. I wanted Claire to be with Michael, for god's sake! I don't like Shane, okay?! I don't feel anything towards him and I find him rather boring. Eve is really a sweetheart and I'm happy she found her happiness, but just not with the guy I wanted her to be!!!!!!!

I really want to know what happens next. I hope Shane's dad won't do much damage on new-found truce between vampires and Glass Housers.

[Colleen Houck]

I really like the whole idea of the glass house and the protection it offers. I think I'm pretty much Team Michael. Love the head vampire lady. The scenes she was in were really riveting!