Fall of Night

Fall of Night by Rachel Caine

Book Synopsis:

Thanks to its unique combination of human and vampire residents, Morganville, Texas, is a small college town with big-time problems. When student Claire Danvers gets the chance to experience life on the outside, she takes it. But Morganville isn’t the only town with vampire trouble...

Claire never thought she’d leave Morganville, but when she gets accepted into the graduate program at MIT, she can’t pass up the opportunity. Saying good-bye to her friends is bittersweet, especially since things are still raw and unsettled between Claire and her boyfriend, Shane.

Her new life at MIT is scary and exciting, but Morganville is never really far from Claire’s mind. Enrolled in a special advanced study program with Professor Irene Anderson, a former Morganville native, Claire is able to work on her machine, which is designed to cancel the mental abilities of vampires.

But when she begins testing her machine on live subjects, things quickly spiral out of control, and Claire starts to wonder whether leaving Morganville was the last mistake she’ll ever make..

Shona's review 5 of 5 stars

I have been following The Morganville Vampires for quite some time. Given that there are 14 books in the series so far you'd be forgiven for thinking that they would be getting boring, or the whole premise of the books would be getting old. Far from it. Somehow Caine has managed to keep the story alive and keep the characters from getting stagnant. And surprising her readers!

I have always enjoyed the previous books in the series, I have laughed and cried with the characters. In so many ways these people feel like real friends.. I am invested in their well-being and happiness, and as much as I know it's a little crazy I have real life reactions to certain aspects of the story.. like last night; I was sitting up late reading and I realised it was getting ever closer to 1am and I had to be up early to get the kids ready for school so I agreed (with  myself) that I would read to the end of THIS chapter and then go to bed. Well then Claire did something that was so unlike Claire and the chapter ended. Just like that. For a second I was in shock and then I was really angry because the thing that she did was so horrible and it affected one of my most favourite characters ever.... Myrnin. I actually slammed my book down on the sofa and ranted... (my husband already knows I'm crazy so it doesn't matter that he was witness to this)... How dare she do that! How on earth could she do that? A small part of me rationalised that she did what she did for a very good reason.... the rest of me wanted to punch her in the face! (I promise I'm not usually the violent type but I think I was channelling Shane).

I thought I may have been down with the shouting at the book once I moved past the next chapter but the ending sucker punched me. I shouted at the book again, for the way the book ended and for the fact that I need to wait until November for the very last instalment in the series.  As an author, if you elicit this kind of reaction from a constant reader, then you have written your story and your characters well. Or rather, bloody brilliantly.

Before I finish up my review I need to just tell you about Myrnin...  he may well be my most favourite of Vampires ever! He has so  many quirky qualities I couldn't even begin to list them. If you've read the series you will know what I mean.. From the clothes that he wears, to his vampire bunny slippers (I totally want a pair of my own), to  his relationship with Claire. I don't know of ANY character who has made me laugh as much as he has. So I'm including a small quote from a part of the book that made me laugh out loud whilst reading last night.

Oliver says to Myrnin "And you look as weak as a kitten."

"Do I?" Myrnin asked, and smiled slowly. It had a sharp edge of lunacy to it. He made a purring sound low in his throat. "Do try and pet me then. You can report back how sharp my claws might be, once your throat grows back."

I know some people are already dreading reading the last in the series because then it will be over... I look forward to reading the whole series back to back and fully immersing myself in Morganville and her characters. Again and again.