by Kay | Apr 15, 2014 | Reviews |
Bite Club by Rachel Caine
Series: Morganville Vampires #10
Published by Allison & Busby
Genres: Paranormal YA, Young Adult
Source: Purchased myself
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Also in this series: Glass Houses, The Dead Girls' Dance, Midnight Alley, Kiss of Death, Ghost TownAfter discovering that vampires populate her town, college student Claire Danvers knows that the undead just want to live their lives. But someone else wants them to get ready to rumble.
There's a new extreme sport getting picked up on the Internet: bare—knuckle fights pitting captured vampires against each other—or humans. Tracking the remote signal leads Claire—accompanied by her friends and frenemies—to discover that what started as an online brawl will soon threaten everyone in Morganville...
Thoughts: Just a warning: this review is more of a rant than anything else.
My dislike of Shane/Claire has morphed into a burning hatred. He is turning her into a wimpy, cowing version of Bella Swan (sorry, Bella) – and it is so much worse because I KNOW Claire can stand up for herself. But when it comes to Shane, she is happy to roll over and let him call all the shots. In Bite Club, it went from bad to abuse.
While I understand that Shane was “damaged” during this book, I felt like a lot of his behavior was his “natural” behavior. It was like seeing Shane drunk: his inhibitions lowered and he turns violent. I am having the same Nash/Kaylee (Soul Screamers Series) problems with their relationship – but unlike that one, I know Shane/Claire one won’t end as happily for me. Loathe loathe loathe loathe.
In a way, it all comes down to Myrnin. I love is Claire and Myrnin’s mutual appreciation for each other’s intellect, and I think their partnership is fantastic. Midnight Alley remains my favourite book in the Morganville series almost entirely because it is a Myrnin/Claire book. That Claire has continued to work for him despite Shane acting like a nutcase is my only source of hope. Whenever Shane would start to rant about Claire working for Myrnin, I felt like I was witnessing a 1950s husband telling his wife to quit her job: it’s unfair, selfish and reflective of his own insecurities.
And I really don’t know where everything went wrong. I used to adore Shane and Claire together – he was protective, but not psychotic. I really thought I could “trust” Shane with Claire; that he would value her intellect and respect her choices. I am really starting to doubt that now.
So why am I still giving this book 3 stars? Well, unlike the last Morganville installment, this book certainly inspired emotion. That’s a step forward in the right direction… that they were negative emotions? Not so good.
Bottom line? Bite Club is a horrifically frustrating book. I keep reading on based on the strength of previous installments and in the (vain) hope of improvement.
by Kay | Apr 8, 2014 | News |
So, in case you’ve been hiding under a rock, let me share the news: the Morganville series by Rachel Caine is coming to the small screen! Can I get an amen?* This series was an awesome kickstarter project that made its money over the summer (yours truly forked over cash – and has the bunny slippers to prove it). Needless to say I get excited whenever I see updates from Rachel Caine in my inbox, explaining how the project is progressing. And at last, we have the cast list!
To be completely frank, I don’t really mind who plays any of the characters. I think this series is really execution-dependant. That being said, I took a nosey through the list to see what was up… Amber Bensen as Amelie is awesome, but kinda what I was expecting given her support of the project… but then I spotted….
Robert Picardo!
Robert will be playing Oliver and… OMG I CANNOT WAIT. He is just the most amazing actor and can deliver ANYTHING. Of course, I know him from his so-fantastic-I-can’t-even role in Star Trek: Voyager, where he played the Doctor. For those of you not born in the 80s, the series is a total must (if only just for him!). Only yesterday I was talking to someone about his awesome portrayal of that part, and low-and-behold he turns up in my inbox.
I really can’t wait to see this project come together. While I may not be the biggest fan of the later Morganville books, it still remains one of my favourite YA series… and I am now 1000% convinced that the live-action adaptation is going to be brilliant!
I leave you now with the Doctor. 😉
by Kay | Jun 11, 2013 | News |
Myrnin’s Famous Vampire Bunny Slippers are SIGNED by the author for Pledges over $65! Go get some!!
As anyone who reads this blog will know, I am a big fan of the Morganville Vampires Series by Rachel Caine. It is absolutely, positively brilliant and is 1000% worth your time and energy. It has teenagers that actually think things out, properly terrifying adults, and cliffhangers that make you want to KILL for the next book.
Over on Kickstarter, the author and a bunch of other amazing human beings are trying to make the series into a web-tv series!! It is going to be stellar. Amber Benson (yes, from Buffy, but also a great author in her own right) has signed on to play the leading vampire Amelie in the series and, just, GUH. IT WILL BE AWESOME.
Here, let’s let Rachel Caine pitch it to you herself:
Problem: they need is $75,000 to get it done and they only have 5 days left to get to that number. And for some reason that is completely and utterly BEYOND ME, they aren’t there yet.
It will be a TRAGEDY OF EPIC PROPORTIONS if this series isn’t made. I’ve made my pledge (which comes with signed vampire bunny slippers, top that!) and you need to make yours!! Go. Now.
I mean it.
Shoo!
by Kay | Apr 19, 2013 | News |
Book Notes is a regular feature at Dead Book Darling highlighting bookish news, curiosities and gossip spotted across the blogosphere. May the drama be with you…
Upcoming Author Events – UK/Ireland
Spring seems to have brought with it a whole host of authors here for their tours. Of the many that are making the rounds, I thought I’d highlight the brilliant Michael Grant and Rachel Caine!
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Michael Grant
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Rachel Caine
Michael Grant is the author of the Gone series and co-creator of the Animorphs and Everworld series. Those latter two series absolutely ruled my childhood/early teens – I even wrote a long love-letter-esque post to the Everworld series on the blog. When I heard he would be in the UK I could not contain my excitement!! He will be here next week – take a look at his schedule and see if you can make any of the events!
- Wednesday 24 April 6.30pm – Waterstones Piccadilly: In conversation with journalist Lucy Mangan
- Saturday 27 April 4pm- 5pm – Signing at Muswell Hill bookshop [I am going to try to make this one! Send me a tweet if you’ll be there!]
- Monday 29 April 6.30 to 7.30pm – Talk at Waterstones Plymouth
- Thursday 2 May 6pm – Talk and Q & A at Eason O’Connell, Dublin
- Friday 3 May 4pm – Public signing at Eason Dundrum, Dublin
Rachel Caine (who I’m a huge fan of, in case the zillion reviews of her books I’ve posted hasn’t given me away) will also be coming! She’s got a lot of events scheduled, but the one I really want to highlight is the Foyles event – which OMG AMAZING. Why? Well, she’ll be in conversation with Sarah Rees Brennan, that’s why! It breaks my blooming heart that I won’t be able to make it, but I strongly urge you all to go!
Tuesday 14 May 2013 6:30pm – 7:30pm
Venue: the Gallery at Foyles, 113 – 119 Charing Cross Road, London WC2H 0JG
The adventures of Claire Danvers, a teenage girl who finds herself fighting for her life in the vampire-infested town of Morganville, Texas, are known and loved by young readers around the world. In fact, the first of Rachel Caine’s Morganville novels was recently voted number one in a national poll of children’s favourite books. Fresh from publishing Fall of Night, the 14th (and, we’re sad to say, penultimate) in the series, the teen horror sensation joins us for a special London event, to give her fans a glimpse behind the scenes of these wildly popular novels.
Rachel will be in conversation with Sarah Rees Brennan, author of the bestselling Demon’s Lexicon trilogy.
Tickets: £3, redeemable against cover price of Fall of Night on the evening.
Here’s the full list of her UK Tour events (you’ll find additional info about the signings here):
- May 10: Waterstones Bristol Gallery
- May 11: Waterstones Southampton West Quay
- May 11: Waterstones Bournemouth Arcade
- May 12 : WH Smith Exeter
- May 14: Foyle’s Charing Cross Road (London)
- May 15: Talk, Q&A and Signing at Waterstones Leeds
- May 17: Talk, Q&A and signing at Waterstones Nottingham
- May 18: WH Smith Darlington
- May 18: WH Smith Stockton-on-Tees
- May 19: Waterstones Finchley Road O2 Centre (London)
by Kay | Oct 19, 2011 | News |
Book Notes is a regular feature at Dead Book Darling highlighting bookish news, curiosities and gossip spotted across the blogosphere. May the drama be with you…
New Book Deals
- Little, Brown Books for Young Readers has acquired two books (Arcanum and an untitled novel) by Ransom Riggs, the New York Times bestselling author of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. Arcanum, a new young adult novel, begins in the attic of an old, forgotten rural museum, where secret objects from the distant past lie in dust and in wait. When a group of teens discover this cache of sinister curiosities, they unsuspectingly unleash hell in their sleepy town. Magic, mystery, and evil intertwine in this dark, creepy, and frightening story, which is set for a spring 2014 publication. I haven’t had the chance to read Ransom’s first book yet, but it is on my TBR pile!
- Vicki Pettersson, Sign of the Zodiac series author and one-time showgirl, sold a new series to Harper Voyager/Morrow. The three book deal begins with The Taken, and is scheduled as a paperback original for June 2012.
- Rachel Caine has sold a stand-alone novel to NAL built around the character of Benvolio, from Romeo and Juliet. She’s also sold 3 new books in her YA Morganville Vampires series to NAL. I’m starting to wonder when these books will ever end.
- Bloomsbury/Walker Books for Young Readers bought a new trilogy by recent Columbia-grad Yelena Black; book one is called Diabolical. The book is a tale of a 15-year-old who starts witnessing spooky goings-on at her prestigious ballet school. When she becomes suspicious of the controlling choreographer at her academy, she stumbles upon the fact that he is staging a performance in which the school’s dancers become pawns in a world of demons. The first book in the series will be published internationally in English—in the U.S., U.K., and Australia—in winter 2013.
UK signings and events
- Jeffrey Eugenides. Jeffrey – bloody – Eugenides. Be still my heart. In case you’ve been hiding under a rock, Jeffrey is the world-renowned, Pulitzer Prize winning author of Middlesex (which is one of my favourite novels). He is going to be at Waterstone’s Picadilly, London, on Friday, 4 November 2011, 7:00PM. This is a proper meet-and-greet event, so you do have to buy tickets. They are £5 (or £3 for Waterstones card holders). You can buy them online here.
New Book Covers
- Blue-Blooded Vamp by Jaye Wells – This is the final book in the fantastic Sabina Kane series. In case you somehow missed it, I am a BIG Jaye Wells fan. She epitomises everything that is brilliant about the Urban Fantasy genre and, in short, rocks.
- Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore – There is a reason bloggers everywhere dedicated posts to the release of this book. Because OMGSDFSHKFHS BITTERBLUE!
- Darkness Falls by Cate Tiernan – This is the gorgeous US cover to the next book in Cate’s Immortal Beloved series. I liked the first book but I LOVE this cover!
- Partials by Dan Wells – I had heard nothing about this book until the cover came out… and what a cover! Now it’s way up on my 2012 wishlist!
- Revived by Cat Patrick – Cat’s novel, Forgotten, has gotten nothing but brilliant reviews. Although I haven’t read her work yet, this cover is making me want to run out and buy her work. I just adore the cover of Revived – it’s actually pretty damn original!
- Hemlock by Kathleen Peacock – I found this book on goodreads way back when, and was very excited when it finally got a cover (even one I’m not too keen on!).
See your art on a book cover!
Faber and Faber and The Guardian are hosting a fantastic initiative for artists aged 13 to 16… putting their cover art on seminal novel The Lord of the Flies by William Golding. It’s a terrifying novel, and I can’t wait to see what scary images contestants come up with. Here’s some more detail about the competition (and info about how to enter!):
Faber and Faber and Guardian News & Media are calling on young artists to create a brand new look for one of the world’s most famous books: Lord of the Flies by William Golding. One talented artist will be selected by a team of expert judges and will have the chance to watch as their work is transformed by the Faber design team into a cover for the new educational edition of Lord of the Flies.
The winning illustration will be unveiled at a special exhibition showcasing the best of the entries. The winner and other featured entrants will be invited to the opening of the exhibition at the Guardian’s offices in London in February 2012.
The competition is open to young artists aged 13 to 16, and submissions are welcome in any medium. The closing date for entries is 20 January 2012. The competition is hosted on its own site, which also features exciting additional content for aspiring illustrators. Please visit: http://lordofthefliescover.com/
