Review: Bitter Blood by Rachel Caine

Title: Bitter Blood

Author: Rachel Caine

Publisher: NAL

Publication Date: 11.6.2012

Pages: 404

Genre: Paranormal, Vampires, Romance

Series: Morganville Vampires #13

Source: Finished copy from publisher

Rating: A-

Summary (from Goodreads):

For years, the human and vampire residents of Morganville, Texas, have managed to co-exist in peace. But now that the threat to the vampires has been defeated, the human residents are learning that the gravest danger they face is the enemy within…

Thanks to the eradication of the parasitic creatures known as the draug, the vampires of Morganville have been freed of their usual constraints. With the vampires indulging their every whim, the town’s human population is determined to hold on to their lives by taking up arms. But college student Claire Danvers isn’t about to take sides, considering she has ties to both the humans and the vampires. 

To make matters worse, a television show comes to Morganville looking for ghosts, just as vampire and human politics collide. Now, Claire and her friends have to figure out how to keep the peace without ending up on the nightly news… or worse.

Review:

Thirteen books into a series you would think the author would show signs of fatigue or plot repetition, but once again Rachel Caine blows me away. Bitter Blood is the most recent in the long-running Morganville Vampires series, and it is a series that is very near and dear to my heart. It’s remarkable to look back of the last thirteen books and see how much character growth everyone has endured under the masterful hand of Caine.

Claire is still our heroine but as the series has progressed we’ve gotten more narrators. It took me a while to adjust (I was happy just hearing Claire’s side of things), but I feel like Bitter Blood is where it finally started clicking for me. This whole book just kept ratcheting up the tension, making it thick and palpable, and setting up a climax that left me stunned and reeling.

13 books later and Caine still surprises the hell out of me.

I’ve always been a fan of Team Glass House (Claire, Michael, Eve, and Shane—oh, God, yes Shane), but this book really delved into Myrnin’s character as well and I loved learning more about him than the emotionally and psychologically damaged but brilliant vampire. Maybe Myrnin isn’t the holy terror I believed him to be.

This far into a series it’s so hard to discuss plot points without giving away a lot of back story that unfolded in previous books and there are a lot of plots twists that would be huge spoilers to people who haven’t read this series. Fans of paranormal novels (especially of the vampire variety) need to get on board with this series.

Buy: Amazon | The Book Depository

Review & Giveaway: The Farm by Emily McKay

Title: The Farm

Author: Emily McKay

Publisher: Berkley Trade

Publication Date: 12.4.12

Pages: 420

Genre: Horror, Dystopian

Series: Yes (The Farm #1)

Source: Finished copy from publisher

Rating: A

Summary (from Goodreads):

Life was different in the Before: before vampires began devouring humans in a swarm across America; before the surviving young people were rounded up and quarantined. These days, we know what those quarantines are—holding pens where human blood is turned into more food for the undead monsters, known as Ticks. Surrounded by electrical fences, most kids try to survive the Farms by turning on each other…

And when trust is a thing of the past, escape is nearly impossible.

Lily and her twin sister Mel have a plan. Though Mel can barely communicate, her autism helps her notice things no one else notices—like the portion of electrical fence that gets turned off every night. Getting across won’t be easy, but as Lily gathers what they need to escape, a familiar face appears out of nowhere, offering to help…

Carter was a schoolmate of Lily’s in the Before. Managing to evade capture until now, he has valuable knowledge of the outside world. But like everyone on the Farm, Carter has his own agenda, and he knows that behind the Ticks is an even more dangerous threat to the human race...

Review:

Breathtaking, pulse-pounding, and relentless, The Farm grabs you from page one and doesn’t let up. Emily McKay masterfully redefines the vampire genre in this stunning tale. Instead of keeping vampires hidden in the shadows, they surge to the forefront, toppling society and taking over everything.

There could be a few similarities drawn between The Farm and Julie Kagawa’s The Immortal Rules. Yes, both take place in a dystopian society where vampires have taken over and regularly use humans for food, but what separates them (and I freely admit to loving both) are the characters.

For starters, McKay uses alternates between three points of view. Now this could often confuse and alienate a reader, but let me say that Lily is by far the dominant narrator. Carter and Mel seem like they are there (storytelling-wise) to enhance Lily’s story. They give a fresh, alternate perspective that keeps the reader on their toes.

I truly understood Lily on a level that surprised me. Maybe it’s because we both share a sibling with autism, so I could really put myself in her shoes and wonder how I would react if I were in her situation. I loved her fight and drive and the way she never gave up. Sometimes she was calculating, sometimes she was reckless, but all the time she was enjoyable.

As if this novel wasn’t awesome enough with the dual horror and dystopian genres, McKay threw me for several loops with all the twists and turns. This book is just as much a mystery as it is anything else, and I loved that there was simply so much going on. I never once felt bored or disinterested. McKay did a fantastic job of holding my attention throughout the entirety of the novel. This is a book you definitely need to grab!

Buy: Amazon | The Book Depository

GIVEAWAY:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

US Residents only
Must be over 13
Winner will have 48 hours to respond to winning email before a new winner is selected

Review: The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa

Title: The Immortal Rules

Author: Julie Kagawa

Publisher:  Harlequin Teen

Publication Date: 4.24.2012

Pages: 504

Genre: Paranormal - Vampires

Series: Yes (Blood of Eden #1)

Source: ARC from a friend

Rating: A+

Summary (from Goodreads):

Allison Sekemoto survives in the Fringe, the outermost circle of a vampire city. By day, she and her crew scavenge for food. By night, any one of them could be eaten.

Some days, all that drives Allie is her hatred of them. The vampires who keep humans as blood cattle. Until the night Allie herself is attacked—and given the ultimate choice. Die… or become one of the monsters.

Faced with her own mortality, Allie becomes what she despises most. To survive, she must learn the rules of being immortal, including the most important: go long enough without human blood, and you will go mad.

Then Allie is forced to flee into the unknown, outside her city walls. There she joins a ragged band of humans who are seeking a legend—a possible cure to the disease that killed off most of humankind and created the rabids, the mindless creatures who threaten humans and vampires alike.

But it isn't easy to pass for human. Especially not around Zeke, who might see past the monster inside her. And Allie soon must decide what—and who—is worth dying for.

Review:

I swear I feel like I have been waiting years for Julie Kagawa to write a book for me. OK, maybe not for me per se, but I never read The Iron Fey series and always felt like I was missing something. I tried reading The Iron King awhile ago, and anyone who knows me knows that I’m not a fan of the fae in novels. Needless to say, I couldn’t get into it, but I knew Kagawa was a gifted storyteller from what I did read. I just needed to bide my time until she wrote something I could sink my teeth into (pun fully intended).

The Immortal Rules is everything I could crave in a book. It has romance, action, suspense, and humor in spades. Allie has earned her own special place as one of my favorite YA heroines of all time. The girl is epic, but on a believable scale. I love how she struggles to maintain her humanity after being turned. The way she forces herself to live and the way she protects people she cares about is truly moving. Kagawa did a phenomenal job with this character.

I’m a fan of vampire novels, but I always worry the genre is becoming too saturated. Post-Twilight it seemed there was a vampire book coming out every other week and plots and characters started to blur and overlap. Kagawa has come up with a spin that is refreshingly unique, and I cannot applaud her enough for it.

The Immortal Rules is dark and twisted in all the right ways. I was immediately transported into this post-apocalyptic world where vampires reigned supreme. Despite the 500+ pages, this book ended way too soon for my liking. I can’t wait to crawl back into it as soon as possible.

Buy: Amazon | The Book Depository

Review & Giveaway: Vampire's Kiss by Veronica Wolff

Title: Vampire’s Kiss

Author: Veronica Wolff

Publisher:  NAL

Publication Date: 3.6.2012

Pages: 320

Genre: Paranormal

Series: Yes (The Watchers #2)

Source: ARC from publisher

Rating: B+

Summary (from Goodreads):

By her wits, blood, and sacrifice, so far Drew has survived the intensive training on the Isle of Night. As a second-year Acari, her ultimate goal is to become a Watcher, and now she has a shot at her first mission. Except nothing is as it seems. The vampire Alcántara is as sinister as he is sexy, Ronan is more distant than ever, and it turns out there are other vampires out there. Bad ones.

Ancient, bloodthirsty, and powerful, these undead are really old school. They’ve captured one of the Watcher vamps and are torturing him for information. The only chance to save him is to infiltrate a major summit the baddies are holding on their own island. There will be mortals there, serving as butlers, maids, and various hired help. Drew had better brush up on her skills as a serving girl, because she’s about to go undercover…

But, when their vampire prisoner turns out to be a gorgeous bad boy, Drew’s first mission quickly turns into more than she bargained for…

Review:

I so love Veronica Wolff and her brilliant new spin on vampires. The second book in her Watchers series is full of the same heart-pounding action and seductive drama I came to love in Isle of Night. Vampire’s Kiss is a wonderful follow up.

Drew is just amazing. I love her wit and sarcasm; it really adds flavor to her narrative. She has this fantastic self-deprecating nature that keeps the story from getting too dark or too intense. Her inner monologues had me cracking up at several points, and she seems like the kind of girl I would really get along with.

The only drawback (and I don’t even know if one would call it that) is the fact that by the conclusion of book 2, Drew has four possible suitors. Four. I get the romantic triangles that seem to be necessary in books nowadays, but four? A love pentagon? For the record, I think I’m going Team Alcantara this time. I love their vibes, and they have this insane sexual chemistry that really jumps of the pages.

If you read Isle of Night, then you have a good idea of what’s in store for you in Vampire’s Kiss. Wolff is a solid storyteller with fresh new ideas and a knack for writing great action sequences. If you haven’t started this series, then what are you waiting for? Consider this your written invitation if that’s what you need.

Buy: Amazon | The Book Depository

*****

Want to win your own copy of Vampire's Kiss? Comment below with your email address by Feb. 27, 2012! US and Canda only please!