Midnight Alley (The Morganville Vamprires Bk3) - Rachel Caine

Midnight Alley is the third book in The Morganville Vampires series by Rachel Caine.

Here is what has happened so far
Claire Danvers moved to Morganville to go to college early at age 16. After a lot of hassle from popular Monica and her friends, including death threats, Claire moves into Glass House with Michael, Shane and Eve. Shane is now Claire's boyfriend, Eve is her best friend and Michael the musician was a ghost but is now a vampire (A lot can happen in two books). Shane's Dad came to town to take out all of the vampires which ended up landing Shane in jail and being sentences to death but Claire worked out a deal with Amelie to save everyone.

Midnight Alley
After signing to Amelie, Claire must now do pretty much whatever she wants without question. What Amelie wants Claire to do is work with a crazy scientist vampire who is quite insane as well as take some advanced classes, which come complete with a scholarship. Myrnin, the scientist is crazy because he has a disease, one that will slowly infect all of the vampires in Morganville sooner or later. It is Claire's job to learn all that she can from Myrnin in order to find a cure before the disease can wipe out the vampires but Myrnin isn't helping matters by forgetting things and trying to bite Claire.
There's also news that Eve's brother is out of jail and back in Morganville but as soon as this happens, dead girls start appearing and they don't seem to have been killed by vampires. Was it Jason? Claire, Shane and Eve are all trying to deal with the fact that Michael is now a vampire and they are unsure of how to live with him and how to act around him. Life in Morganville is never a walk in the park.

What I thought
After knowing that Claire had signed herself over to Amelie, I was very curious to see what she would be getting her to do. The idea of sending Claire off to some vampire losing his mind to help with research into saving their race was very interesting. Amelie obviously knows that Claire wouldn't really want to save the vampires, should she have the chance but it seems as though Claire is the only one able to do the job, seeing as she is so clever, a quick learner and always wants a challenge.

Claire seems to change a lot in this book compared to the previous two. Everyone is telling her not to trust Myrnin but she refuses to listen, doing whatever she thinks is best instead. She knows that Myrnin can be dangerous but is also able to see the good, which she does with a lot of people. What I love about Claire as a whole is that she is quite normal, apart from her intelligence. She has emotions and problems just like any other normal teenager but hers just involve vampires. There are a lot of people who try to tell her what is best for her and what she should/ shouldn't be doing but Claire is turning into a strong young woman who can think and act for herself. She's always ready to face the consequences for what she does but always believes in what she is doing.

Myrnin is one of the best written characters in this whole series so far because he is so complex. He's a very old vampire with a lot of life experience and is extremely clever. He was anyway until he began to get sick and lose his mind. Myrnin is quite a funny character because he has been stuck inside for such a long time that he doesn't have any real sense of what is going on in the outside world and he is very much stuck in whatever time it was when he left the real world. Due to how much time Claire spends with Myrnin, her understanding of the vampires on a whole grows and she begins to show some signs of compassion for certain people. Claire's time with Myrnin also gives us a little more insight into the history of the vampires, Amelie especially.

In the first two books in the series, the vampires have all been bad guys (as they should be really) but in Midnight Alley, things are beginning to change. A couple of vampires are beginning to show emotions and more of a human side than I thought was possible for those in Morganville. I'm glad it was only a couple of characters because one of the biggest things that I love about these books is that vampires are as bad as they're supposed to be. Also, even though the humans were shown as the good guys to begin with, slowly more and more are showing their true feelings about the vampires and living in Morganville. Having good guys on the bad guys side and vice versa spices up the story a bit, making me unsure of who is really on either side. I liked this aspect because it really kept me guessing about what was happening.

While Michael and Eve's relationship progresses (well as much as it possibly can with him being a vampire now), Claire and Shane don't seem to be going anywhere. As I explained in my previous review of The Dead Girls' Dance, Shane refuses to have sex until Claire is 17, no matter what she does to try to tempt him. I was hoping that something different was going to happen with this aspect of the story but can completely understand why they are at a standstill. I guess I thought that Shane was going to give in and be weaker than he is.

Overall, this has been the most interesting in the series so far, due to the background of the vampires more than anything else. There is, of course, a lot of action packed into the story which flows well with other events surround all four main characters. I felt like this was a more well rounded book compared to the others because of the mixing of action and complex plot instead of mostly being about the action. I read this in one sitting because I just couldn't put it down. Luckily work didn't get in the way of me reading this one.

Waiting On Wednesday (#4)

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking The Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week's pick is Raised By Wolves by Jennifer Lynn Barnes and will be released on 2nd September 2010 in the UK.

Adopted by the Alpha of a werewolf pack after a rogue wolf brutally killed her parents right before her eyes, fifteen-year-old Bryn knows only pack life, and the rigid social hierarchy that controls it. That doesn't mean that she's averse to breaking a rule or two.

But when her curiosity gets the better of her and she discovers Chase, a new teen locked in a cage in her guardian's basement, and witnesses him turn into a wolf before her eyes, the horrific memories of her parents' murders return. Bryn becomes obsessed with getting her questions answered, and Chase is the only one who can provide the information she needs.

But in her drive to find the truth, will Bryn push too far beyond the constraints of the pack, forcing her to leave behind her friends, her family, and the identity that she's shaped? (Taken from Raised By Wolves).  

Wintercraft - Jenna Burtenshaw

Wintercraft is the debut novel by Jenna Burtenshaw and it was published in May 2010.

In Morvane, while getting ready to open her Uncle Artemis’ bookstore on the busiest day of the year, Kate Winters doesn’t realise that her whole life is about to change. Wardens from the High Council raid the town, lead by Silas Dane, a notorious killer, in order to find something that they want. One of the Skilled, someone who can see between the veil of life and death. Morvane has been left alone for a long time but now, the Wardens and Silas know exactly who they want. Kate.

When Kate and Artemis realise that she is one of the Skilled, Artemis takes a drastic move in order to save his niece. He’s taken away by the Wardens just Kate’s parents were 10 years earlier. Kate must try to hide what she is in order to save herself and to help her Uncle but Silas isn’t someone who can be fooled. He wants Kate to help him but he isn’t the only one with a need for her power.

Kate wants nothing to do with her newfound powers and abilities but she isn’t given much of a choice concerning what she must do. There is only one thing standing between her and helping Silas in his mission…the book of Wintercraft.

What I thought
Wintercraft is exactly what a young adult fantasy book should be. Jenna Burtenshaw, in her debut novel, has created a gothic world full of mystery, magic and mayhem. The cover of the book is very well fitting and will give you an idea of the world that you are about to be transported to. The descriptions of the different settings were so vivid that I truly felt like I was a part of the story and it was actually pretty scary. There is no way that I would want to be Kate, having to deal with everything that she does throughout the story. Each setting has a history all of its own and one that made me want to know more. It was very interesting just how different some of the places were. Morvane and Fume couldn’t be more different yet they still have some similarities due to what is happening.

Wintercraft is a very well paced story. Although it was quite slow at times, there was also a fair amount of fast paced action scenes. While I like action in the books that I read, I don’t want it to happen on every single page. Having the slower parts of the story gave me time to catch my breath and reflect on what had just happened. I felt like the plot picked up exactly where it need to in order to keep readers hooked, which is exactly how I felt. I do think that Wintercraft is very much a ‘build up’ book and that the second in the series is going to reveal a lot of what I wanted to find out.

Kate was wonderful as the main character. What made me like her so much was that she’s a mix of everything that I both love and hate in female characters in this genre. There were times when I thought she was incredibly strong and brave to do some of the things that she does but then it was counterbalanced with a softness and vulnerability. While Kate wants to get away from Silas and save her Uncle, she also understands that she has to make some sacrifices to get what she wants and that means not doing what she thinks is right. Kate’s personality is very mixed and because of this, I never really knew what she was going to do, making everything an exciting mystery. It did take me a little while to warm to her though but I think that was mainly down to the story being told in 3rd person. I really like knowing what’s going on in a character’s head so maybe if it had been written in 1st person, I would have liked her more earlier on in the story.

Silas Dane is the ultimate bad guy but I loved him anyway. As a man who doesn’t give a thought to killing people and doing what he has to, I should have hated him because he was horrible and selfish. But I didn’t. There’s something about Silas that drew me to him and I think that was not knowing his full story. A lot of what has happened to him is explained in Wintercraft but I definitely think that there is more to come. Even though he is the bad guy, I was also able to see and understand his reasons for being the way that he is and I think that is one of the biggest things that made me not hate him.

There is no romance in Wintercraft which was such a welcome change for me. As much as I enjoy the love triangles and usually routing for the other guy, it was nice to read a book that was ALL about the story for a change. I do have a feeling that romance is going to come for Kate in the second book and I have a few guesses already about what might happen. As Wintercraft is so unpredictable in its plot (in a good way), I fear that I am going to be completely wrong and something totally different will happen.

Wintercraft is something different from a lot of YA novels that are being released at the minute and an amazing first release from Jenna Burtenshaw. Book 2 in this series, Wintercraft: Blackwatch is due to be released in April 2011 which is way too far away for my liking.

Thanks to Headline for providing me with a copy of Wintercraft for review. You can head over to the website for the book here: http://www.wintercraft.co.uk

Wings - Aprilynne Pike

Laurel is a 15 year old girl just starting her sophomore year in high school. In fact, she's just starting school altogether as she has been home schooled her whole life at her old home in a different town. Her first day isn't as bad as she thought though because she meets David who quickly becomes her best friend. Luckily for Laurel, she trusts David more than anyone else. What she thinks is just a zit quickly turns into a massive lump and then blooms into flowers which make her look as though she has wings. David is really into science and Laurel knows that he will be able to figure out what is going on. After some careful experiments, they figure out that Laurel isn't actually human and that she needs answers.

When Laurel heads off to her old house, able to sit with her bloom not hidden, Tamani appears. Tamani explains to Laurel that she is a faerie and has much to learn about her origins but the news sounds like a dream to her. Laurel doesn't realise that along with a whole new race/ family to learn about, there are also enemies that want to destroy everything to do with faeries. Will she start believing in herself before it's too late?

What I thought
What I love about this genre is that so many authors have different views and ideas about mythical creatures. The front cover states that this is a new kind of faerie tale and it most certainly is, for many reasons.

To begin with, faerie's wings in this story are made of flowers and called 'blooms' which come out once a year. The faeries themselves are plants and unlike humans in any way apart from looks. This was a concept that was completely new to me and one that I found very interesting. For Laurel and David, believing in faeries to begin with was hard enough but then to realise that Laurel wasn't anywhere close to human was a bit of the top for the both of them.

I love to know the background of a topic such as this and Aprilynne Pike didn't disappoint. Tamani explains a lot about the faerie world, Avalon and the involvement of historical characters such as Merlin and Shakespeare. Although Wings is set in America, Pike brings in faerie origins similar to others in this genre and links them with her own, new ideas.

Laurel was a likable character from the start. I felt sorry for her on the first day of high school as she didn't know anyone or what to expect. Even though she is gorgeous, she doesn't flaunt it or doesn't love herself and this makes her seem very down to earth. As the story got going, I began to feel even more sorry for her. Who wants to be 15 with huge flower wings growing out of their backs? Not me, that's for sure. Laurel is terrified of what is happening to her but she is also quite strong at the same time. Overall, what I liked most about her was how balanced she is. She doesn't whinge and cry the whole time, nor does she think she's indestructible. For lack of a better saying, she's human and that was due to her upbringing by human parents. I wonder if the same could be said had she grown up in Avalon with others of her own kind.

As sweet as David was, I just didn't/ couldn't love him. I found it quite hard to believe that a 15 year old boy wouldn't completely freak out when Laurel revealed her 'bloom', no matter how much of a science geek he is. I guess David was a bit too bland for my liking but also that might be due to Tamani. I don't think that I could ever pick the normal, slightly boring guy over the hot, charismatic faerie sentry with green hair. I loved Tamani as soon as he appeared in the story. He was cheeky, a little cocky and full of himself but in a funny way. Why is it that I always go for the third party of a love triangle?

I really thought that the story was just going to be about Laurel discovering who and what she is but there was a lot more to it. There's magic, romance, mystery, action and excitement so something for everyone. The plot was well balanced between each different aspect which made the story flow at a steady pace. There were enough twists and turns throughout to keep me guessing and Wings had an ending which left me wanting more without being disappointed.

Once I had started Wings, I didn't want to put it down but work got in the way. It's safe to say that I loved this book, so much that I started the sequel, Spells the very same night.

In My Mailbox (#4)

In My Mailbox is hosted by The Story Siren to show what everyone has been recieving or buying each week.

For Review

Wintercraft - Jenna Burtenshaw (Released 13th May 2010)

A big thanks to Headline Publishing for sending Wintercraft to get me started.

When Kate Winters' Uncle is taken by the wardens of war-torn Albion, just as her parents were ten years earlier, she is determined to rescue him.

But Kate is being hunted by a far more dangerous enemy. Silas Dane - a killer with a haunted past - has recognised Kate as one of the Skilled who have the rare ability to see through the veil between life and death. He's determined that she'll help end his own personal nightmare; unfortunately, he isn't the only one with plans for her...

As te Night of Souls approaches, a secret hidden deep beneath a graveyard city holds the key to the fate of Kate, those she loves and even Albion itself... the lost book of Wintercraft.

Bought

Hourglass - Claudia Gray

Bestselling author Claudia Gray’s Evernight series continues. In Hourglass, Bianca and Lucas have found a way to be together. But it means lying to the people who care about them the most.

After escaping from Evernight Academy, the vampire boarding school, Bianca and Lucas seek refuge with Black Cross, the elite group of vampire hunters led by Lucas’s stepfather. When Bianca’s close friend—the vampire Balthazar—is captured by Black Cross, Bianca knows she has to do whatever it takes to save him. But at what cost? (From GoodReads)

Bite Me! - Melissa Francis

AJ Ashe isn't your typical seventeen-year-old vampire—as if there is such a thing! She's stuck in the middle of a huge fight between her two BFFs. Her ex-boyfriend—whom she's still totally in love with, by the way—is now her stepbrother. A former classmate—who, um, she may or may not have turned into a vampire—is stalking her. And now, apparently, the fate of humankind lies in her little undead hands. What ever happened to the good old days, when all a vampire girl had to worry about was the occasional zit and hiding her taste for blood? (From GoodReads)

The other books that I bought this week were:

Dracula - Bram Stoker (For University)
The French Lieutenant's Woman - John Fowles (For University)
The Brazen Bride - Stephanie Laurens (Although I love YA, I still have a thing for romance novels. That's the girly girl in me coming out)

What did everyone else get and what do you think of this weeks IMM?

Book Blogger Hop (#4 - 2nd July)

Hey everyone. It's Friday so you know what time it is. It's time to do the hop again.

The Book Blogger Hop is a weekly event hosted by Jennifer at Crazy For Books and runs from Friday to Sunday. The Hop is a fantastic way to get your blog noticed more and visit some other cool blogs that you didn't know about before. Head over and sign up and see what you can find!
 
Each week a different twist will be added to the hop so that everyone gets to know each other better so here's my little bit of information this week.
 
My name is Lyndsey and I started blogging about a month ago. I also write reviews on Dooyoo.co.uk and a couple of friends on there have their own blogs. After checking them out, I realised that it couldn't be as hard as I had first imagined so I thought I would give having my own blog a shot. I love to know what other people are reading and what they though and often find some of the best books from recommendations. I guess I just wanted to the world to know about all of the fantastic books that I've been reading over the past year and my new addiction with YA novels.
 
Thanks for stopping by, leave a comment and I'll come over and visit your blog!

Della Says: OMG - Keris Stainton

17 year old Della has liked Dan Bailey since forever. At her sister's going away party, he finally takes some notice of her and asks her out. The morning after the best night of her life, Della realises that her diary has gone missing, ruining her good mood.

Whoever took her diary is using it against her, revealing some of her deepest secret thoughts on facebook and through notes. Dan was the only other one in her room that night but surely it can't be him can it? He seems genuine enough but what does he really see in Della? The things that have been revealed about Della's life have been pretty embarrassing so far but will she be able to figure out who's doing it before it gets much, much worse?

What I thought
This is one of the first YA novels that I have read that hasn't been in the fantasy or paranormal genres so I was slightly worried about what I was going to think of it. Thanks to Rhiana Reads... who passed on a copy of this book to me.

I was actually really surprised at how much I enjoyed reading this book. It is told completely in first person through Della's point of view which really made me connect with her quickly and feel for her because of what she was going through. Della is quite the average teenager with many hang ups about herself and she is far from confident and beautiful. Finally, someone has written a normal teenager. I do hate those teenagers in books who are beautiful and popular but still find something to whinge and moan about. In this book, Della has every reason to feel insecure, not because she isn't pretty, but because her mother and sister get so much more attention than her. This was a part of her character that I could relate to as my sister was always prettier than me and everyone always seemed to like her a lot more.

The relationship between Della and Dan was lovely to discover. I was so happy that Della finally got her chance at happiness and having something that she had wanted for such a long time. The way the two acted around each other, going from awkward to slowly getting more comfortable, really brought back some memories for me. Going out with someone for the first time is nerve wracking, no matter what age you are and I can remember feeling very much like Della did. I can only imagine how scared she was about going out with Dan considering how long she had been obsessed with him for.

Everything about the way that the teenagers in this book were written makes them so believable. There is a fair amount of swearing and as much as some people will moan about this, I think it is a common occurrence in teens in the UK and not using this kind of language would only have made the characters seem like they were in a fairytale. I probably wouldn't recommend this book to anyone under the age of 14/15 though due to some of topics regarding sex as they are somewhat explicit. Again though, normal behaviour when I was 17.

There was a fair amount of comedy throughout the story, especially with Della's parents. Both best friend Maddy and Dan totally loved her Dad and so did I. He wasn't your average teenagers Dad which was what made me love him immediately. At least he wasn't one of those Dads in these kinds of books that think his daughter/s are little angels that don't drink, don't fool around with boys and don't swear. Della's Dad was very realistic.

As for the mystery aspect of the story, I thought I had guessed who was using the diary against Della quite early on but I was wrong. There wasn't many people that it could have been and who I thought it could be was never even mentioned but something about them stuck in the back of my head. I love being kept guessing and being proved wrong because normally I am right about these aspects of a story. Some of the things that were used against Della were so embarrassing that I know I wouldn't have been able to handle it as well as she did. I think if that had been me, I would have demanded to move schools or something.

I was a little disappointed at how quickly the book ended after everything had been figured out. I would have liked for it to have been drawn out a little more or something extra added to the end instead of the way that it was done. This is the only slight problem that I had with the book overall.

Della says: OMG is a must read for older teenage girls and I think that a lot of adults will be able to relate to it in someway. There are quite a few important lessons to be learnt from this book, like not caring what other people think of you and learning to respect yourself which is something I wish I had been like at 17. I will certainly be putting Keris Stainton n my list of authors to read from now on.