BITE CLUB
Morganville Vampires #10
Author: Rachel Caine
Source: Author
*I received this book free of charge in exchange for an honest review*

Reading level: Young Adult
Hardcover: 352 pages
Publisher: NAL Hardcover (May 3, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0451233182
ISBN-13: 978-0451233189

SUMMARY:

After discovering that vampires populate her town, college student Claire Danvers knows that the undead just want to live their lives. But someone else wants them to get ready to rumble.

There’s a new extreme sport getting picked up on the Internet: bare- knuckle fights pitting captured vampires against each other-or humans. Tracking the remote signal leads Claire- accompanied by her friends and frenemies-to discover that what started as an online brawl will soon threaten everyone in Morganville…

MY THOUGHTS:

After my excitement of receiving this book in the mail died down from an extreme happy dance,  I quickly started devouring the latest installment in the Morganville Vampire series.  I wanted — no needed— more of the cast of characters and their constant struggle of vampires and humans coexisting together in one town. 


In Bite Club,  we get to see previous characters reappear, a new setting for the characters to immerse themselves in, and more obstacles for them to overcome.  What I absolutely loved more than anything in this book is how the author took a chance and changed the POV through out the book.  This series has been in Claire’s POV the entire ride, and in Bite Club we get to peek into Shane’s head as well.  Not only is Shane sexy, sweet, funny and charming at times, but now we actually get to read about his feelings and past events that shaped him into the guy he is. 


When Shane joins a new self defense class taught by a vampire, Claire starts to notice Shane changing.  He is angry at everything, starting to pick fights with Michael, and even goes as far as hurting Claire emotionally.  What he does to Claire was not only heartbreaking and had me mad, but it was torture now knowing if Claire was going to be able to pull him back from the dark place he was in mentally. 


Moving on to my next favorite character of the series, we get to see a lot more of Myrnin in this book.  I just love this crazy vampire!  The scenes where he is driving Claire and Eve around town was one of my favorites parts of the book.  Even though Myrnin is in typical better-than-humans form, I felt the author showed more of his compassion and fondness for Claire in this book. 


Then as the ending approached and previous enemies were dealt with, Shane finds out the secret that Claire has been hiding from him about his Father.  His reaction was perfect and fit with what has happened through out the entire book.  Plus we even get a few surprises involving Eve and Michael that I have been waiting forever for!


Not only do I love this series and adore the wonderful author, but I must say that Bite Club is probably one of my favorites of the whole series!  If you are a fan of the Morganville Vampire series, this is going to be one book you are going to want to read!  


MY RATING:

Outstanding Book That Will Stay On My Bookshelf
For Rereading! 5 STARS

TRUTH OR DEMON
New Orleans Vampires #5
Author: Kathy Love
Source: Publisher
*I received this book free of charge in exchange for an honest review*

Paperback: 320 pages
Publisher: Brava (March 1, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0758231970
ISBN-13: 978-0758231970

SUMMARY:

If you ask Killian O’Brien, Hell gets a bad rap. True, he’s a demon, so he’s bound to be a little biased. But he’s got great job security, all the women he can handle, a body to die for–literally–and free reign to do as he likes. Or he did, until teenager Daisy Reed and her two friends got hold of a book of spells and summoned him to do their bidding. Their demand: find Daisy’s older sister, Poppy, a boyfriend. Can’t be that difficult, right? It’s not like the woman is unattractive. Truth be told, Poppy is irresistible–and mind-blowingly sexy. Which is exactly why finishing this simple little assignment so he can be sent back where he came from is turning out to be the hardest thing Killian’s ever done. . . 

MY THOUGHTS:

Poppy has had to grow up fast when her parents die.  She has to take care of her younger sister, Daisy, and pushes her own dreams aside to raise her.  After a bad break-up, she has also given up on ever finding love.  So Daisy decides to take matters into her own hands and summon a Demon to find Poppy’s soul mate.  Little did Daisy and her fellow teen friends know,  Killian O’Brien could be just what they are looking for instead of just a Demon to do their bidding.


I absolutely adored this book!  The characters were fun, amusing and felt real.  Killian was so much more than a Demon in this book.  You almost forget that he is actually a Demon from Hell!  He has charm, when he attempts to use it,  sexiness, and the patience to deal with young teens that believe in true love.  The only problem I had with this book was how naive Poppy was.  She believed everything that the young teens told her without much questioning.  


I loved how Poppy had self esteem issues to work through after her previous boyfriend ditched her.  What woman doesn’t feel frumpy and mousy at some point?  While Poppy knows she could never be supermodel gorgeous, she does want someone to love her as is.  At first Killian doesn’t know how he is going to find a soul mate for such a mousy and plain human, but he eventually realizes that there is so much beauty in Poppy that he wants her for himself.  The only problem is Killian is a Demon from Hell with no chance of being with a human. 


Personally, I can’t wait for the next book in this series by this author.  I loved everything about this book and who wouldn’t want a man like Killian? Perfect to read as part of the series, but can easily be read as a stand alone book.  Sexy, fun and full of spunk! A great read from a great author!


MY RATING:

Outstanding Book That Will Stay On My Bookshelf
For Rereading! 5 STARS

AWAKENED
House of Night #8
Author(s): P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast
Source: Zeitghost Media
*I received this book free of charge in exchange for an honest review*

Reading level: Young Adult
Hardcover: 304 pages
Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin; First Edition edition (January 4, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0312650248
ISBN-13: 978-0312650247

SUMMARY:


Exonerated by the Vampyre High Council and returned to her position of High Priestess at Tulsa’s House of Night, Neferet has sworn vengeance on Zoey.  Dominion over Kalona is only one of the weapons she plans to use against Z.  But Zoey has found sanctuary on the Isle of Skye and is being groomed by Queen Sgiach to take over for her there.  Being Queen would be cool, wouldn’t it?  Why should she return to Tulsa? After losing her human consort, Heath, she will never be the same – and her relationship with her super-hot-warrior, Stark, may never be the same either…

And what about Stevie Rae and Rephaim?  The Raven Mocker refuses to be used against Stevie Rae, but what choice does he have when no one in the entire world, including Zoey, would be okay with their relationship?  Does he betray his father or his heart?

In the pulse-pounding 8th book in the bestselling House of Night series, how far will the bonds of friendship stretch and how strong are the ties that bind one girl’s heart?

MY THOUGHTS:

As a regular  reader of this series, I have been having trouble with it.  The first couple of books were okay with just enough thrill to keep you coming back for more.  As you get to this book in the series though, you find yourself wondering if anything is ever going to get resolved and wrapped up.  Some series can go the mile in running past the 6th or so book, but those books at least have some resolution at the end of some plot points.

In the 8th book in the series, there are still several plot points that leave you hanging and in my opinion, could have been resolved by now.  I understand how the author wants to keep the reader hanging so that they will come back for more, but at some point the author needs to realize that enough is enough.  You can solve some plots and still create some intense scenes in future books.

I also had a hard time moving with the flow of this book.  The writing was the typical descriptive dialogue when reading a series to keep a new reader to the series in the know of what has happened, but for a majority of the book– nothing really happened.  I felt that it was stalled and needed a little push.  While fans of the series have found this to be the norm for the last few books,  I still wanted it to hurry up and get past this part.

While I still will continue reading this series since I have already made it this far,  I am secretly hoping that the author(s) will bring more closure on certain relationships and plots in the next book to refresh our love of the series.  While it is not a bad book,  it felt more like a filler book.

MY RATING:

 
  If the library doesn’t have it, don’t worry about reading it! 2 STARS