Review: Glass Houses (Morganville Vampires #1)

Title: Glass Houses (Morganville Vampires #1)
Author: Rachel Caine
Publisher: NAL Jam
Pages: 248
Challenge: YA Series


My Rating:

It's a small college town filled with quirky characters. But when the sun goes down, the bad comes out. Because in Morganville, there is an evil that lurks in the darkest shadows - one that will spill out into the bright light of day. Claire Danvers has had enough of her nightmarish dorm situation. The popular girls never let her forget just where she ranks on the school's social scene: somewhere less than zero. And Claire really doesn't have the right connections - to the undead who run the town. When Claire heads off campus, the imposing old house where she finds a room may not be much better. Hew 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. -summary from goodreads.com

Oh boy, where to start? I picked this book up late one night, and the story was so good I didn’t stop reading till 3 or 4 am. The beginning of this book was actually kind of frightening for me. Let me explain; the main protagonist, Claire Danvers, is having a hard time at school, not with her classes (this girl is a genius) but with some of the other girls in her dorm. This girl named Monica beats Claire and pushes her down a flight of stairs with a promise that Claire will get “what’s coming to her”.... And all because Claire corrected her in front of her friends, thus making her look bad... Yeah, Monica is one CRAZY chick! I don’t know about y’all but had I been in Claire’s shoes, I would have packed my things and gone home! Yes, I know, I’m a coward! But wouldn’t that seem like the logical next step?.... But noooo! Claire stays.

It’s stated many times that Claire has led a very sheltered life and that’s why she doesn’t want to go home. She wants to prove to her parents that she’s independent, even at such a young age. Her parents didn’t want her going to college far from home (for her own safety). Too bad they didn’t take a closer look at Morganville before Claire applied. It turns out that Morganville is actually a town that’s run by vampires, and unless you’re under “protection” you could easily become your neighbor’s midnight snack... creepy, right? I kid you not; throughout the first couple of chapters I would stop reading and take a glance around my room, out the windows, under my bed… etc. This happened several times, I was very paranoid. 

But don’t get me wrong, Glass houses was still a kick ass book; I loved it! Once Clair finally left the university dorm rooms and moved into the Glass House, things start to look better…. Especially since Shane’s always hanging around ;) I loved Michael, and Eve as well. All characters in this novel all seemed 3-dimensional, very real. Even Michael, with his secret and all..... Although I thought Claire was a bit "wimpy" it was nice to see her stand up for herself towards the end of the book. The story, although at times was a tiny bit unbelievable, was action packed and had me sitting at the edge of my seat... eh, bed.

This is a quick read, full of suspense and romance. Luckily for me, the second book, Dead Girl’s Dance is sitting in my TBR pile right now… Must read now! Especially since Glass Houses ends with a major cliffhanger ending.