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Monday, January 17, 2011

The Dead Girls' Dance by Rachel Caine

Author: Rachel Caine
Pages: 256
Publisher: NAL Jam
Series or Standalone: 2nd in series
Genre: Paranormal YA
Reading Level: Teens 14+
Significant Themes: Vampires
Claire Danvers has her share of challenges---like being a genius in a school that favors beauty over brains, dealing with the homicidal girls in her dorm, and above all, finding out that her college town is overrun with vampires. On the up side, she has a great roommate (who tends to disappear at sunup) and a new boyfriend named Shane, whose vampire-hunting dad has called in backup: cycle punks who like the idea of killing just about anything.

Now a fraternity is throwing its annual Dead Girls' Dance and---surprise!---Claire and her equally outcast best friend, Eve, have been invited. When they find out why, all hell is going to break loose. Because this time both the living and the dead are coming out---and everybody's hungry for blood.
When I finished Glass Houses, I immediately scooped up The Dead Girls’ Dance and retreated back into Morganville. Rachel Caine has this was of seamlessly tying together each of her novels that makes it feel as if it’s all one giant book. Each one begins where the other ends, which is great, because that eliminates the needless recaps most other books seem to have.

Claire is still that smart girl that goes around trying-- and most of the time succeeding-- to save everyone she cares about. The entire novel she maintains a mixture of courage and fear, which really made it easy for me to sympathize with her. She gets closer to her roommates Eve and Michael, too, and the three of them are working together to keep each other alive. I also loved where Claire and Shane were heading in this novel. They really are perfect for each other.

Which brings me to Shane. This is really his novel. His psychotic dad comes into the picture, hell-bent on killing every vampire in Morganville because of what happened to Shane’s mother. The whole ordeal gives us some more insight into Shane’s past, and also who he is as a person. His loyalties are also tested, when he’s forced to choose between his abusive, insane father, or saving his friends. Shane is most definitely my favorite character out of them all. He seems to be the most complex…. And the fact that he’s completely hot and a total badass doesn’t hurt either.

New characters are introduced, like Shane’s father and the Vamp Hunting Biker Gang o’ Doom. And then you have even more creeps like Eve’s brother Jason, who is equally as insane as Vigilante Vamp Dad, except in a much weirder, he’s-gonna-rape-me-omg way. Needless to say, I didn’t like Jason. Then there are total sweetheart like Sam Glass, who is Michael’s grandfather and also a vampire. I really want to see more of Sam.

And while we’re on the subject of Michael… LOVED him. The whole story around him, and his sun-rise disappearing act was so unique and interesting. It definitely added to the plot and even saved their butts at one point. Michael and Eve are quite possibly the cutest thing in the world. Another favorite aspect of this story.

Rachel Caine is easily my favorite author. I find that her novels get less recognition than they deserve. Every single page of The Dead Girls’ Dance had action and mystery, and since it’s such a small novel, I finished it in about 2 hours flat. The Morganville Vampires series is definitely one of my favorites and one of the first vampire books I recommend to anyone wanting a fresh, unique, and all-round awesome take on vampires. I give this novel 4 out of 5 stars.

8 comments:

  1. Thank you so much for this review! I've been meaning to start the Morganville vampire series but now I really really want too! This is going to go on my to buy list. Thank you!

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  2. I've never really read anymore vampire books after Twilight. The hype just killed it for me. Now, I think I'm ready to discover some new vampire series so I'm eager to check this one out! Any other suggestions?

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  3. I would absolutely suggest this entire Morganville series to start off with. The Vampire Diaries series by LJ Smith is amazing, and it actually came YEARS before Twilight. The Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead is phenomenal.

    That should keep you busy for quite some time. :)

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  4. I'll be honest, I was reading the synopsis and it didn't really sound like something I'd read. See, this is what I love about blogging! You come across a book that you wouldn't normally read and read a review that totally changes your mind! How can I resist reading about characters that rate 6/5?? Having a likable character makes a huge difference for me. I have officially added this one to my tbr pile. :)

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  5. I loved the first book in the series and I hope I can get back into the series....again

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  6. Have yet to read this series, but it seems to be getting a lot of love. Always a good sign. Thanks for the review!

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  7. Morganville Vampires RULE! :D
    Hey, I don't know if you've gotten this award before or not, but it's the Stylish Blogger Award! I love your blog, especially your reviews!
    Follow the link to my blog to learn more about the award!
    http://yabookfreak.blogspot.com/2011/01/stylish-blogger-award.html

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  8. I've heard such good things about the Morganville vampires, but I've never picked it up. Not sure why. I guess I'm just lazy, and I see how many books there are. Then again, I might get mad if I DO pick it up. If I like it, I'll get mad for not having picked it up sooner. :P Anywhoo, great review ♥

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