Paranormal Book Club: Glass Houses

For the newcomers: Alexa, DJ, Kristin and I unofficially formed the Paranormal Book Club and the goal is to re-read (or in some cases, read for the first time) old YA paranormal books. The plan is to read a book/series per season (which I'm tracking here) and after, we'll answer five questions.

So far we've read The Iron Fey, Beautiful Creatures, Sweet Evil, Daughter of Smoke and Bone, Born Wicked, Tiger's Curse, Altered, and Unearthly together and today I'll be talking about our latest read: Glass Houses (The Morganville Vampires) by Rachel Caine.

Here are my thoughts:

1. What were your initial thoughts about the book? Were you excited to read it?
   The Morganville Vampires series was one that I heard of but had never gotten around to reading so it was new-to-me and I was excited about that. The first book, Glass Houses, though just wasn't very good in my humble opinion. There were aspects that I liked, mainly the vampire lore and hierarchies between them which was actually very interesting, and this idea of a motley group of college students thrown together to survive and fight back against the evil ongoings of their insane town (it's reminiscent of Buffy, except bad). But the execution was terrible, no character development, and there was just no organic progress to the story either. It was just a whole lot of things randomly happening (I kept thinking wtf with each reveal). And I didn't particularly care for any of the characters either, although again I saw the potential in them if they just had been more fleshed out (I admittedly did kinda like Shane though). What ultimately was frustrating for me was that this story could've been really, really good and it just never got there. 
   
   
2. What was your favorite quote or passage, and why did it resonate with you? 
   I wouldn't quite say this is a favorite but Shane had some funny quips that did make me chuckle so here's one I liked (although it may not seem as funny without knowing the characters!). 
   “Is it him?” Dad asked. “Did he get you into trouble?”
   “Not me,” Shane said. “I’ve just got that kind of face.”
   
   
3. Which character did you relate to the most, and what was it about them that you connected with?
   This is a very difficult question because the answer is honestly none. That being said, I related to Claire's need for independence and how she worked really hard at school. But that's about it. This girl was making poor decisions left and right and truly needed to get her priorities straight (ie. if someone is trying to kill you, I'm pretty sure it's okay to miss class). 
   
   
4. Was there anything you wanted to see more of in the book, like more page time for a secondary character or a plot point you wish was explored more?
   I wanted more Shane! There was a certain charm to him. But really, all the characters (and the plot) could've used a ton more time for more development in general.  
   
   
5. What are your final thoughts? Would you read this book again and/or continue with the series? Would you read another book written by the same author?
   Needless to say, I was not a fan of this book and I don't plan to continue reading the series. But I would be willing to give Rachel Caine another chance though, like maybe her Great Library series since it's a lot more recent. 

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Don't forget to check out what Alexa, and DJ 

had to say about Glass Houses!

And if you want to learn more about 

Paranormal Book club and our past reads, go here.