Book #42 - Glass Houses (Morganville Vampires #1)

Glass Houses (Morganville Vampires #1), Rachel Caine
239 pages
paranormal romance, urban fantasy
Started 4/5/12
Finished 4/10/12
3.5 STARS

I don't have much to say about Glass Houses. Not exactly a good thing when I am writing a book review blog. First off, it's a super short book - about half the length of the books I usually eat for breakfast. Yet, it took me several days to get through it. Remember this post from January? The Meh Factor strikes again.

Claire Danvers is a prodigy, starting her freshman year of college at age 16. Even though she was accepted to prestigious schools like MIT and Yale, her parents would rather have her go to the rinky dink Texas Prairie University just so she stays in the same state. This is my first problem with this book. Does Caine really expect me to believe that any parent would force their child to go to a crap school when she is obviously brilliant? Even though she's only 16, I don't buy that any parent would deny their child an opportunity to go to MIT.

Moving on. Claire is an outcast and draws the ire of the popular girls. Have we heard this story before? This mean girl almost kills Claire, which causes her to seek out off-campus housing. Which she finds in an old house with new roommates Eve, Michael and Shane. Eve is a sweet goth chick, Michael is guarded but kind, and Shane is moody and protective of Claire. They are a motley crew, but they all appear to form a bond to protect and stand up for each other. And when the crap hits the fan and the secrets come out, that protection is a life saver.

There were aspects of this story that I did appreciate. I like the three roomies. They're all different, but they all seem to mesh well together. I think the town's secret is a different twist on the same old vampire story. And, I like how determined Claire becomes in the face of fear and adversity. I also like the tentative romance between she and Shane. For ones, the two that get involved aren't sucking face halfway into the book.

All that aside, though. the writing is rather juvenile, and I found many plot points to be totally unbelievable (you know - besides the vampire part). Caine could've done better.