Title: Glass Houses: The Morganville Vampires #01
Author: Rachel Caine
ISBN: 9780451219947
No. of Pages: 256
Genre: Young Adult; Horror
Origins: Mine. All mine.
Release Date: 3 October 2006
Synopsis:
“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 scene: 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.”
My daughter blew threw the Morganville Vampire series and loved every minute of it. I read this first one and knew I would not continue reading the rest of the series. I suspect this is one young adult series that does not cross over into the adult realm very well.
One probably should not describe any vampire story as cute, but that is the first word that comes to mind when reflecting on this first book of the Morganville Vampire series. It has its moments of drama, horror, and gore, but at its heart is a coming-of-age story that never really develops the gravitas that life-and-death peril should have. The pacing is too rapid to allow for proper development, and there is heavy usage of convenient plot points that makes certain intense scenes decidedly less so. Perhaps it is a case of expectations being too high, but there are much better vampire novels out there that make more sense and do not come across quite as trivial as this one does.