165) Bitter Blood by Rachel Caine

The Blurb :

For years, the human and vampire residents of Morganville, Texas, have managed to co-exist in peace. But now that the threat to the vampires has been defeated, the human residents are learning that the gravest danger they face is the enemy within…

Thanks to the eradication of the parasitic creatures known as the draug, the vampires of Morganville have been freed of their usual constraints. With the vampires indulging their every whim, the town’s human population is determined to hold on to their lives by taking up arms. But college student Claire Danvers isn’t about to take sides, considering she has ties to both the humans and the vampires.

To make matters worse, a television show comes to Morganville looking for ghosts, just as vampire and human politics collide. Now, Claire and her friends have to figure out how to keep the peace without ending up on the nightly news… or worse.

My Thoughts :

The Morganville Vampire series is something you are reading or not reading. After 13 books it is easy to decide if you are a fan of the series or not. If you haven't yet tried this series or gotten around to it then don't bother reading this review. I fear it may include some spoilers.

So the Draug are gone but there is something weird going on in Morganville. Yeah, yeah! there is always something weird going on in Morganville. However this time around it is a mixture of smaller problems which amass into one last huge problem. The story tries to keep some of the twists and turns a secret from the reader but parts slip out when the story is told from any perspective other than Claire's. Things come together and you aren't left alone in the dark like Claire and in this way the author does a good job of keeping things, as always, exciting and interesting.

The plot flows nicely like all the Morganville stories do. After all this time the town feels like home and all the characters are either friend or foe and need no introductions. The ghost aspect of the series takes a few new turns this time around and some outsiders making a ghost reality show come off really bad in the process. Amelie's family is still haunting her and Oliver's motives are even harder to understand than before. So nothing too new.

Micheal and Eve are now happily married but of course the story adds some ups and downs for the newlyweds. Which author wouldn't take up the opportunity to make the honeymoon a little bumpy outside of the bedroom as well as inside it? Myrnin is crazy but somehow the saniest person around this time. I can't get enough of his character and would love to know more about his Welsh roots.

The stars of the book are, as always, Claire and Shane. I don't feel that Shane makes a huge impact on much of the book but he does have a huge influence on everything Claire says and does. While he is cool and Claire loves him I am sure she would be better off without him. At the end of this book it looks like it could go that way but with everything they have been through together I think they are in for the long haul.

Once again I find myself finishing another book where Morganville and it's main residents get into trouble with the vampires and win. It is a process that has been repeated over and over again but the content between the oncoming crisis and the final fight is always entertaining and thrilling. Great characters help make this series special and I find myself enjoying every new addition to the series. After all this author writes an amazing story everytime.

The end of Bitter Blood could have actually been the end of the series. I haven't gone off to check if it is and will let myself be surprise. It was a nice ending, left some questions unanswered and Morganville still full with Vampires but it wouldn't bother me if it was left like that. Claire is tired and I know I am. I want to see the characters get their happy end. It will be sad to see them go but it has to end sometime.

Read this series and check out all of Rachel Caine's books. She is a fabulous writer and has come up with some extremely special concepts that always test the limits of the genre and pull it into a new cool shape.