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4.15 AVERAGE
4.15 AVERAGE
I started this book only to have to put it maybe 15 pages into it and picked up again tonight to read a chapter or two then couldn't put down.. I can't wait for book 13.
The threat that was Bishop is now gone, so Morganville should be back to normal, right? Well, as “normal” as Morganville gets, anyway. You’d think so. So do Claire and gang, and it seems, Amelie and the town’s leadership too. So normal, in fact, that Michael and Eve start planning a wedding — which riles up humans and vampires alike. Because they just can’t seem to get along, even after surviving something as evil as Bishop. *sigh*
Then a note is delivered to Morganville, and you can almost smell the vampires’ fear. When they start disappearing, Claire starts worrying… Not that she knows why, because nobody is talking — not Amelie, not Oliver, and not even Myrnin.
Claire looks for new allies, but doesn’t find a lot of options. And then the big bad comes after Claire.
This one’s got a bit of hope and romance, followed by anger, then a lot of fear. There’s death and danger aplenty, and courage and bravery as well. The action is evenly paced with drama, and at the end of the day, we learn a bit more about where the vampires came from. Overall, though, Last Breath doesn’t tell us much more than we knew before picking it up, which is the only complaint I have. I’ll still pick up Black Dawn, because I’m always hopeful that we’ll get somewhere with Claire’s relationships — with Shane and with the town’s leaders.
drey’s rating: Pick it up!
Then a note is delivered to Morganville, and you can almost smell the vampires’ fear. When they start disappearing, Claire starts worrying… Not that she knows why, because nobody is talking — not Amelie, not Oliver, and not even Myrnin.
Claire looks for new allies, but doesn’t find a lot of options. And then the big bad comes after Claire.
This one’s got a bit of hope and romance, followed by anger, then a lot of fear. There’s death and danger aplenty, and courage and bravery as well. The action is evenly paced with drama, and at the end of the day, we learn a bit more about where the vampires came from. Overall, though, Last Breath doesn’t tell us much more than we knew before picking it up, which is the only complaint I have. I’ll still pick up Black Dawn, because I’m always hopeful that we’ll get somewhere with Claire’s relationships — with Shane and with the town’s leaders.
drey’s rating: Pick it up!
I am so surprised by this book. The series so far has been patchy, inconsistent and I've found it pretty easy to mock as I went along - however this installment is astonishingly well plotted and genuinely surprising.
We once again are experiencing the goings on of Morganville through varied view points which was a fun experiment in Bite Club but in Last Breath it is very much necessary as our usual narrator is......a little bit....unavailable. Shane's point of view was so whiny and annoying in Bite Club but my god the boy has pulled himself together in this book, he is focused and adult in a way he has never been before.
The plotline was supposed to be that Eve and Micheal's wedding plans have gone awry and there is a new Big Bad for the gang to defeat so I thought it would be another fun story and they'd all be eating brisket in the kitchen by the end of the week. Instead we got closer to the Morganville apocalypse than even Bishop managed to take us. The Big Bad turns out to be the Biggest Bad as far as vampires are concerned and answers the curious question of why a species that is allergic to sunlight lives in a sunny place like Texas. The Draug are a genuinely inventive villain and I like the way they were tied to mermaids and sirens. I do wish they had been hinted at further back in the series - perhaps a little mention of Amelie dreading water? Because I KNOW this isn't the first time it's rained in the course of the series. But then these books never seem to do foreshadowing, it's never felt like there was much of a plan for the series as a whole.
There is a main character death that drives the plot away from wedding woes and town drama so suddenly and shockingly that I was overwhelmed. I had to put the book down for a moment to process what I just read because I was so very much not expecting it.This death seemed so sudden, so final, so catastrophic to the series that I had to double check this wasn't the last book in the series! I just didn't know where we were going to go from there.
Where we went was into battle against the Draug because the alternative was Amelie's plan to end the experiment of Morganville. Turns out Amelie was planning to evacuate the vampires and mass slaughter the human lab subjects if her experiment failed.
This book was so much more intense, more carefully plotted than any previous books. It feels like the characters grow up very fast between the last book and this one. Eve is less snappy, Shane more stable, Micheal is making a stand for love and Claire is having tough conversations. The Draug expand the world of the supernatural beyond Morganville. The realisation that Amelie will simply execute the entire town if her experiment doesn't work out feels like a layer of comfort being stripped away. There's no walking away from this unscathed for any of them. They're not just fighting for their lives or the vampires they have allied themselves with but for the safety of the townspeople. Previously one of my biggest criticisms of this series has been that Claire is helping the vampires control the humans. Now we find out for sure what happens if the vampires lose control and it's not going to be a win for anyone.
Nitpickery
I do wish the Draug had been foreshadowed - it feels odd to have such a huge existential threat just come completely out of nowhere.
Why and How did Morley send that dramatic message via a runner who doesn't seem to know or care what the message is? What is happening in Blacke that Morley is having to warn Morganville of the danger but the messenger has no idea? Has Blacke evacuated?
How come Amelie makes such a big fuss about how NO ONE attacks her and lives? Cos Jason stabbed her and he's still around. Did we all forget about that? She's now been attacked by BOTH Rosser siblings.
Could Oliver and Amelie just...not? I'm not on board with their weird potential romance. She's not over Sam, he's creepy and their power struggles are a toxic relationship in the making. They'd burn the town every argument once they started getting emotional about each other. No. Stop it.
Amelie clearly makes bad decisions under pressure as we see in her point of view when she flip flops on killing Shane and causes a whole load of unnecessary trouble. How did someone that impulsive and indecisive rule in olden times? Never mind now when she's ruling this town.
Eve and Micheal are rushing to the altar too fast for my liking though the storytelling of this book moved me from 'absolutely not' to 'aww it's kind of nice'. Though they are like 19-20 and have only been together about a year.
However I HATED the romantic Claire and Shane ending. Their relationship is not there yet. I dislike their engagement nearly as much as I disliked Claire turning down MIT for him.
We once again are experiencing the goings on of Morganville through varied view points which was a fun experiment in Bite Club but in Last Breath it is very much necessary as our usual narrator is......a little bit....unavailable. Shane's point of view was so whiny and annoying in Bite Club but my god the boy has pulled himself together in this book, he is focused and adult in a way he has never been before.
The plotline was supposed to be that Eve and Micheal's wedding plans have gone awry and there is a new Big Bad for the gang to defeat so I thought it would be another fun story and they'd all be eating brisket in the kitchen by the end of the week. Instead we got closer to the Morganville apocalypse than even Bishop managed to take us. The Big Bad turns out to be the Biggest Bad as far as vampires are concerned and answers the curious question of why a species that is allergic to sunlight lives in a sunny place like Texas. The Draug are a genuinely inventive villain and I like the way they were tied to mermaids and sirens. I do wish they had been hinted at further back in the series - perhaps a little mention of Amelie dreading water? Because I KNOW this isn't the first time it's rained in the course of the series. But then these books never seem to do foreshadowing, it's never felt like there was much of a plan for the series as a whole.
There is a main character death that drives the plot away from wedding woes and town drama so suddenly and shockingly that I was overwhelmed. I had to put the book down for a moment to process what I just read because I was so very much not expecting it.This death seemed so sudden, so final, so catastrophic to the series that I had to double check this wasn't the last book in the series! I just didn't know where we were going to go from there.
Where we went was into battle against the Draug because the alternative was Amelie's plan to end the experiment of Morganville. Turns out Amelie was planning to evacuate the vampires and mass slaughter the human lab subjects if her experiment failed.
This book was so much more intense, more carefully plotted than any previous books. It feels like the characters grow up very fast between the last book and this one. Eve is less snappy, Shane more stable, Micheal is making a stand for love and Claire is having tough conversations. The Draug expand the world of the supernatural beyond Morganville. The realisation that Amelie will simply execute the entire town if her experiment doesn't work out feels like a layer of comfort being stripped away. There's no walking away from this unscathed for any of them. They're not just fighting for their lives or the vampires they have allied themselves with but for the safety of the townspeople. Previously one of my biggest criticisms of this series has been that Claire is helping the vampires control the humans. Now we find out for sure what happens if the vampires lose control and it's not going to be a win for anyone.
Nitpickery
I do wish the Draug had been foreshadowed - it feels odd to have such a huge existential threat just come completely out of nowhere.
Why and How did Morley send that dramatic message via a runner who doesn't seem to know or care what the message is? What is happening in Blacke that Morley is having to warn Morganville of the danger but the messenger has no idea? Has Blacke evacuated?
How come Amelie makes such a big fuss about how NO ONE attacks her and lives? Cos Jason stabbed her and he's still around. Did we all forget about that? She's now been attacked by BOTH Rosser siblings.
Could Oliver and Amelie just...not? I'm not on board with their weird potential romance. She's not over Sam, he's creepy and their power struggles are a toxic relationship in the making. They'd burn the town every argument once they started getting emotional about each other. No. Stop it.
Amelie clearly makes bad decisions under pressure as we see in her point of view when she flip flops on killing Shane and causes a whole load of unnecessary trouble. How did someone that impulsive and indecisive rule in olden times? Never mind now when she's ruling this town.
Eve and Micheal are rushing to the altar too fast for my liking though the storytelling of this book moved me from 'absolutely not' to 'aww it's kind of nice'. Though they are like 19-20 and have only been together about a year.
However I HATED the romantic Claire and Shane ending. Their relationship is not there yet. I dislike their engagement nearly as much as I disliked Claire turning down MIT for him.
I loved this book! Read it in a day thats how good this book was....i couldnt put the book down from page 1 and it kept me crying for about three chapters....but what aloved the most was Myrnin, he's my fav character in the series and this book made love him even more...but thats all im goin to say because i dont want to spoil the book before its official realease....
DAMN YOU MS CAINE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This series just keeps getting better and better!! My god, I have goosebumps!
Anyway, let me explain some of the highlights of the story for me and some of the things that annoyed me:
1. Shane: he's finally himself again; he's back to his goofy, sarcastic self and I love him for that. Its nice to see him and Eve mature in this book.
2. Draug: i love the vampires in this series, don't get me wrong, but its nice for a change to have a different enemy. The Draug are technically vamps but the really WEIRD kind (sirens). I also like the fact that at the end of the novel it seems like the humans and the vamps will finally work together to destroy a common enemy.
3. Captain Obvious: I really like his name :)
4. Myrnin: Myrnin's love for Claire is getting deeper, I can sense it. Even though Caine and the characters REFUSE to say it out loud, there are hints Caine gives the reader. However, I really think Myrnin and Claire relationship needs to be taken to the next level. (I am going to get so much shit for saying this but....) I know Shane and Claire are meant to be together, that much is a given (especially at the end *girly squeal*), I really want Myrnin and Claire to kiss. THat's it: one kiss - but they have to mean it. I know Claire would never take it any further because she loves Shane, but if Myrnin and Claire kiss I swear I will go to my grave in 80 years a happy old fart.
5. Proposal: Shane FINALLY proposes to Claire. Nothing official, no ring, he just says "Promise me you'll marry me. Not now. Someday. Because I need to know." AND OF COURSE SHE SAYS YES!!! That bit had me tearing up heaps :)
6. Claire's death: When Claire died, I threw the book to the corner of the room. I could'nt believe what I had just read. How can Caine do this to us, her faithful readers? But then, Myrnin discovered that she was still alive, as a ghost, just like Michael had been in the very first book! Then I was all like: YAY!!!!!!!!!!! That Hirum person was a shit though; i wanted to punch him. Anyway, the descriptions of when her friends find Claire dead had me balling my eyes out. It really shows how far Claire has come since the first novel: she is the glue that holds together the group. And Shane's attempted suicide??? HOLY CHRIST ON A BICYCLE! I know its so wierd to say, but I got a little exicted when he raised the gun to his head. It shows how much he (and the group) need Claire in their lives. I knew he would'nt have killed himself, so no judgement on me being happy with his almost-suicide.
7. Claire's resurrection: This was an epic scene. I myself am not very intuned with physics but futurism is my middle name and their was lots of that flying around in that scene: the glass wall, flying realities.... it was so epic. And Myrnin's voice calling out to her, Shane's face making her want to live human: so sweet. I thought it very noble of Myrnin to let Claire choose whether she wanted to be human or vamp when she came back. He desperatley wanted to turn her into a vamp so they could be together, but in the end her let her make the choice to come back human.
8. Amelie: I was really annoyed and a bit awed by Amelie in this book, as I have been in the past few as well. First of all, her decision to kill all the humans in town is despicable. When I read that I just "no, she would'nt" and then went "yeah, she would." I hate how in a time of crisis, she becomes unstable. No leader-like qualities at all. However, saying that, I'm going to contradict myself by saying I thought she was very brave at the end when she and Myrnin were faccing down the Draug at the pool. And when she got bitten!!!! AHHHH!!! I hope Myrnin does some mad, crazy scientist magic thing and finds a cure. Moving on to another point about Amelie, let me just say I KNEW IT!!!!! I KNEW IT!!!! I KNEW THERE WAS SOMETHING BETWEEN HER AND OLIVER!!!! And when they kissed I screamed (not easy to do when one is sick and loosing their voice). It was very sweet and their shocked expressions and smiles when it was over was charming. I really hope she doesn't die so they can be together!!! :(
Anyway, this book was amazing - one of my favourite in the series so far. And I have a feeling Book 12 is going to be even better!!!
This series just keeps getting better and better!! My god, I have goosebumps!
Anyway, let me explain some of the highlights of the story for me and some of the things that annoyed me:
1. Shane: he's finally himself again; he's back to his goofy, sarcastic self and I love him for that. Its nice to see him and Eve mature in this book.
2. Draug: i love the vampires in this series, don't get me wrong, but its nice for a change to have a different enemy. The Draug are technically vamps but the really WEIRD kind (sirens). I also like the fact that at the end of the novel it seems like the humans and the vamps will finally work together to destroy a common enemy.
3. Captain Obvious: I really like his name :)
4. Myrnin: Myrnin's love for Claire is getting deeper, I can sense it. Even though Caine and the characters REFUSE to say it out loud, there are hints Caine gives the reader. However, I really think Myrnin and Claire relationship needs to be taken to the next level. (I am going to get so much shit for saying this but....) I know Shane and Claire are meant to be together, that much is a given (especially at the end *girly squeal*), I really want Myrnin and Claire to kiss. THat's it: one kiss - but they have to mean it. I know Claire would never take it any further because she loves Shane, but if Myrnin and Claire kiss I swear I will go to my grave in 80 years a happy old fart.
5. Proposal: Shane FINALLY proposes to Claire. Nothing official, no ring, he just says "Promise me you'll marry me. Not now. Someday. Because I need to know." AND OF COURSE SHE SAYS YES!!! That bit had me tearing up heaps :)
6. Claire's death: When Claire died, I threw the book to the corner of the room. I could'nt believe what I had just read. How can Caine do this to us, her faithful readers? But then, Myrnin discovered that she was still alive, as a ghost, just like Michael had been in the very first book! Then I was all like: YAY!!!!!!!!!!! That Hirum person was a shit though; i wanted to punch him. Anyway, the descriptions of when her friends find Claire dead had me balling my eyes out. It really shows how far Claire has come since the first novel: she is the glue that holds together the group. And Shane's attempted suicide??? HOLY CHRIST ON A BICYCLE! I know its so wierd to say, but I got a little exicted when he raised the gun to his head. It shows how much he (and the group) need Claire in their lives. I knew he would'nt have killed himself, so no judgement on me being happy with his almost-suicide.
7. Claire's resurrection: This was an epic scene. I myself am not very intuned with physics but futurism is my middle name and their was lots of that flying around in that scene: the glass wall, flying realities.... it was so epic. And Myrnin's voice calling out to her, Shane's face making her want to live human: so sweet. I thought it very noble of Myrnin to let Claire choose whether she wanted to be human or vamp when she came back. He desperatley wanted to turn her into a vamp so they could be together, but in the end her let her make the choice to come back human.
8. Amelie: I was really annoyed and a bit awed by Amelie in this book, as I have been in the past few as well. First of all, her decision to kill all the humans in town is despicable. When I read that I just "no, she would'nt" and then went "yeah, she would." I hate how in a time of crisis, she becomes unstable. No leader-like qualities at all. However, saying that, I'm going to contradict myself by saying I thought she was very brave at the end when she and Myrnin were faccing down the Draug at the pool. And when she got bitten!!!! AHHHH!!! I hope Myrnin does some mad, crazy scientist magic thing and finds a cure. Moving on to another point about Amelie, let me just say I KNEW IT!!!!! I KNEW IT!!!! I KNEW THERE WAS SOMETHING BETWEEN HER AND OLIVER!!!! And when they kissed I screamed (not easy to do when one is sick and loosing their voice). It was very sweet and their shocked expressions and smiles when it was over was charming. I really hope she doesn't die so they can be together!!! :(
Anyway, this book was amazing - one of my favourite in the series so far. And I have a feeling Book 12 is going to be even better!!!
Definitely, in my opinion, one of the most heart-wrenching books in the series. Once I started reading, I couldn't put it down. Action-packed and never boring, I absolutely loved this book. I can't wait for the next!
Enjoyed these books! Morganville is a series I've been reading for years - a classic YA vampire story I love.
This one is both infuriating and amazing like ffs, can they have a moment of PEACE??? CAN WE LET SHANE RELAX A LITTLE?
But like also… it’s all the drama mick, I just love it x
But like also… it’s all the drama mick, I just love it x
70 pages in - Oh thank God the second narrator isn't Shane. I am pleasantly surprised she decided to give Amelie a voice. This will be very interesting
135 pages in - OH HO HO SNAP!!! You go girl.
149 pages in - Dear Lord, why is Claire such a hypocrite? Poor Myrnin. I really hate Shane and Claire. I really do.
STUPID CLIFF HANGERS! Well played, Ms. Caine. Introduce the new bad guys and new mythology and then leave us hanging.
135 pages in - OH HO HO SNAP!!! You go girl.
149 pages in - Dear Lord, why is Claire such a hypocrite? Poor Myrnin. I really hate Shane and Claire. I really do.
STUPID CLIFF HANGERS! Well played, Ms. Caine. Introduce the new bad guys and new mythology and then leave us hanging.
I always crack open the next Morganville book knowing that I will love it before I read a single word. Rachel Caine is a writer I can depend on. In this book, she takes the concept that she used in the previous book of sharing the P.O.V. with another character and multiplies it. In other words, while Claire still gets the most narration, the reader also gets to read a bit of narration by Amelie, Shane, Michael, and Eve. Shane's thought process is familiar from the previous book, and Eve's reminds me of her diary entries from the early books in the series. Michael's are interesting because I got to see some of the darkness that he struggles with on a daily basis, while trying to hide it from the other members of the Glass House. I enjoy Amelie's P.O.V. the most because she obviously has the most secrets and history to reveal. Caine could easily make Amelie the main character of a prequel series about the founding of Morganville (how I wish!).
Claire is in top form as usual, as she has the unique -- and unexplained -- ability to see Magnus before anyone else, or before Magnus even wants to be seen. Magnus is quite the horror-movie creature, the draug, whom even the local vamps fear. Reading the detailed descriptions of what he can do with water gives me goosebumps. As for how Magnus retaliates against Claire, I simply refused to believe that Claire's state was permanent -- she is simply too essential to the series. Now I am wondering, though, how the series would fare if Claire went vamp -- but that's all up to Rachel Caine.
The one thing I really disliked, of course, was how the book ended -- the first cliff-hanger of the series. There was just way too big of a loose end hanging to leave me feeling satisfied. The rest of the book was still fabulous, though, and I can't wait for Black Dawn to hit the shelves.
Claire is in top form as usual, as she has the unique -- and unexplained -- ability to see Magnus before anyone else, or before Magnus even wants to be seen. Magnus is quite the horror-movie creature, the draug, whom even the local vamps fear. Reading the detailed descriptions of what he can do with water gives me goosebumps. As for how Magnus retaliates against Claire, I simply refused to believe that Claire's state was permanent -- she is simply too essential to the series. Now I am wondering, though, how the series would fare if Claire went vamp -- but that's all up to Rachel Caine.
The one thing I really disliked, of course, was how the book ended -- the first cliff-hanger of the series. There was just way too big of a loose end hanging to leave me feeling satisfied. The rest of the book was still fabulous, though, and I can't wait for Black Dawn to hit the shelves.