Review: Glass Houses by Rachel Caine

Glass Houses (Morganville Vampires, #1) by Rachel Caine
Publisher: Penguin Austtalia
Publication date: May 26th, 2008
Number of pages: 348 pgs
Format: Paperback
Purchase: Amazon | The Book Depository

From the author of the popular Weather Warden series comes the debut of an exciting new series set in Morganville, Texas, where you would be well advised to avoid being out after dark.

College freshman Claire Danvers has had enough of her nightmarish dorm situation. 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. Will she be able to face the town's terror or will she drown like everyone else?

In the first novel of Rachel Caine's YA series comes, Glass Houses it begin sixteen year old, college freshman, Claire Davers. After having graduated early from high school and because her parents wouldn't let her move too far away from home at such a young age, Claire starts at the university in Morganville, Texas.
But this town, and this college is much different than everywhere else in the country. This town is populated and run by vampires.
Yes. Believe or not. It's true.
Claire hasn't had the best experience in Morganville.She gets beat up by the Queen B. The bitchy girl of the school and fears for her life if she comes back.
Everything starts to change when she moves into an off campus house with two guys and a girl who begin to help her see the town differently than she ever felt possible.

This was a really great start to the series. There was lots of action, a potential romance, or two and a mystery which you want to know more of.

The characters: Claire. While she might just think she was some small, innocent and naive young teenager who is over her head, and while in the beginning you might be right. But as the book gears toward the end, Claire becomes such a strong young woman who will go deep into trouble if it means doing what is right.
She adores her friends and will do anything to them, and won't back down to her enemies even if it means it could end up costing her life.

Shane, Michael and Eve: Who doesn't love these three? I loved Shane right away, and his growing friendship/relationship with Claire. I love the progress these two had. While we might have thought his concern over her was just to do with his sister and being protective of her like that, but the more they got to know each other.. things changed, into something else.
Michael and Eve. Such great characters, and while we don't see them as much as we might have liked, it's enough to come to adore them. Michael has a secret that he is keeping from them all, and Eve.. for a goth chic who is an outsider in the town, she is not afraid of anything.. or almost anything.

The villians.. end up not being who you might think. I love the mystery and intrigue in the book and really looking forward to book 2, especially on the cliffhanger at the end.

Rating: 5/5