On This Page
Description
When Claire Danvers learned that her college town was run by vampires, she did what any intelligent, self-preserving freshman would do: She applied for a transfer and stocked up on garlic. The transfer is no longer an option, but that garlic may come in handy.Now Claire has pledged herself to Amelie, the most powerful vampire in town. The protection her contract secures does little to reassure those closest to Claire. All of a sudden, people are turning up dead, a stalker resurfaces from show more her past, and an ancient bloodsucker extends a chilling invitation for private lessons in his secluded home. To what end, Claire will soon discover---and it will give a terrifying new meaning to night school.
. show less
Tags
Recommendations
Member Recommendations
Member Reviews
Review posted here: http://offbeatvagabond.blogspot.com/2011/06/review-midnight-alley-morganville.ht...
Midnight Alley is the third installment to the wildly popular Morganville Vampire series and just like the last book, it was pretty amazing. With the way The Dead Girls’ Dance ended, I knew I was going to be in for quite an adventure in this book and I was right. This book was full of everything we love about the series, fun characters, lots of action and crazy vampires.
We start off a little after where book 2 ended. Since there was quite a bit of sacrificing in The Dead Girls’ Dance, everyone is still trying to adjusting most to Michael’s change. After getting tired of being trapped in a house he couldn’t escape and not show more being able to save his friends, Michael becomes Morganville’s newest vampire. So the housemates are all trying to be comfortable with having a vampire under their roof. But most of all, Shane is trying to deal with it. He knows it is Michael, but he only sees the vampire and this puts quite the strain in the Glass House. But with that going on, Claire doesn’t think it best to tell them of her secret. She has signed on to become Amelie’s “patron”. Amelie is the founder of Morganville, the oldest vampire, and she is crazy scary. Things really kick off when Amelie contacts Claire for her first mission and it is something that could help the city of Morganville, but could destroy those around Claire.
I really loved this book. The more I go, the better these books seem to be. You know these guys will get into trouble. But it gets more and more intense by the page. This book was full of surprises. But one surprise that I actually didn’t like was Monica’s ass kissing. Since Claire is attached to Morganville’s most powerful vampire, Amelie, Monica does her best to kiss up to Claire which in turn will get into Amelie’s good favor. But I love that this book shows Claire maturing more and she doesn’t immediately fall for Monica’s bullshit. Although I must admit, she had me going. But I love that Claire gives Monica a little taste of medicine more than once in this book.
One thing that made me upset was Shane attitude towards Michael. They have been best friends forever and Michael hasn’t done anything wrong. Yet Shane is determined to hate Michael. He has a hard accepting he is still his best friend; he is nothing like the vampires who helped kill his mom and sister. There was a bit of suspense here because it made Shane even more unpredictable. Out of all the housemates, he is the one who does things before he thinks about them. So it was interesting to see if what he would do now that Michael is the new vampire in town.
But my favorite and the most important character in this book was Myrnin. Myrnin is the mission Amelie wants Claire to understand. There is a secret about the vampires in Morganville, that only the vampires know about and now Claire. Due to Claire’s smarts, Amelie has chosen Claire to help Myrnin with a problem that will affect them all. Myrnin is a very old vampire who was turned at a young age. This was another audiobook I got from the library and we know Myrnin was young, but Ms. Halloway did a great job at making him sound cultured. He may look young, but he has been around so long, he is defined. It was a nice contrast, he is young, but yet he is old. Thing is Myrnin is a bit schizophrenic. He has moments of lucidity and that is when he and Claire get the most done and actually begin some sort of a friendship. But when he loses himself, he can be very frightening and angry. He tries his best to keep away from others when he knows he is slipping (has his own cage), but it doesn’t always work that way. This is something we find out when we learn about his other assistants (shivers). But out of this entire book, the most interesting parts of this book were them together and the things they learn from each other. We find that Claire is actually trying to help Myrnin get his mind back which has some interesting turnouts for them both and others outside of their lab.
We get another appearance from Eve’s gross and scary wannabe vampire brother Jason. At first I thought he was starved for attention, but this book really got into his madness. At Monica’s “Exclusive Only” party, things take quite a turn. It was from here, I was really on the edge of my seat. Things take place that lead to some drastic events that left my mouth hanging wide open.
Overall, my review will not do this book justice. It was just amazing. So much going on with all these great characters and the situations they always seem to be in the middle of. I love how Caine has a knack for endings that leave me in a state between awe and “Holy Shit!” I have one more chapter to go in book 4, Feast of Fools. I started it the moment I finished this. I couldn’t wait, not with an ending like that. If you haven’t started this series yet, again I urge you to pick it up. But please don’t start it in the middle, you can’t pick up just any one. You will be lost quickly. Great characters, great plots and WTF endings, how can you resist? show less
Midnight Alley is the third installment to the wildly popular Morganville Vampire series and just like the last book, it was pretty amazing. With the way The Dead Girls’ Dance ended, I knew I was going to be in for quite an adventure in this book and I was right. This book was full of everything we love about the series, fun characters, lots of action and crazy vampires.
We start off a little after where book 2 ended. Since there was quite a bit of sacrificing in The Dead Girls’ Dance, everyone is still trying to adjusting most to Michael’s change. After getting tired of being trapped in a house he couldn’t escape and not show more being able to save his friends, Michael becomes Morganville’s newest vampire. So the housemates are all trying to be comfortable with having a vampire under their roof. But most of all, Shane is trying to deal with it. He knows it is Michael, but he only sees the vampire and this puts quite the strain in the Glass House. But with that going on, Claire doesn’t think it best to tell them of her secret. She has signed on to become Amelie’s “patron”. Amelie is the founder of Morganville, the oldest vampire, and she is crazy scary. Things really kick off when Amelie contacts Claire for her first mission and it is something that could help the city of Morganville, but could destroy those around Claire.
I really loved this book. The more I go, the better these books seem to be. You know these guys will get into trouble. But it gets more and more intense by the page. This book was full of surprises. But one surprise that I actually didn’t like was Monica’s ass kissing. Since Claire is attached to Morganville’s most powerful vampire, Amelie, Monica does her best to kiss up to Claire which in turn will get into Amelie’s good favor. But I love that this book shows Claire maturing more and she doesn’t immediately fall for Monica’s bullshit. Although I must admit, she had me going. But I love that Claire gives Monica a little taste of medicine more than once in this book.
One thing that made me upset was Shane attitude towards Michael. They have been best friends forever and Michael hasn’t done anything wrong. Yet Shane is determined to hate Michael. He has a hard accepting he is still his best friend; he is nothing like the vampires who helped kill his mom and sister. There was a bit of suspense here because it made Shane even more unpredictable. Out of all the housemates, he is the one who does things before he thinks about them. So it was interesting to see if what he would do now that Michael is the new vampire in town.
But my favorite and the most important character in this book was Myrnin. Myrnin is the mission Amelie wants Claire to understand. There is a secret about the vampires in Morganville, that only the vampires know about and now Claire. Due to Claire’s smarts, Amelie has chosen Claire to help Myrnin with a problem that will affect them all. Myrnin is a very old vampire who was turned at a young age. This was another audiobook I got from the library and we know Myrnin was young, but Ms. Halloway did a great job at making him sound cultured. He may look young, but he has been around so long, he is defined. It was a nice contrast, he is young, but yet he is old. Thing is Myrnin is a bit schizophrenic. He has moments of lucidity and that is when he and Claire get the most done and actually begin some sort of a friendship. But when he loses himself, he can be very frightening and angry. He tries his best to keep away from others when he knows he is slipping (has his own cage), but it doesn’t always work that way. This is something we find out when we learn about his other assistants (shivers). But out of this entire book, the most interesting parts of this book were them together and the things they learn from each other. We find that Claire is actually trying to help Myrnin get his mind back which has some interesting turnouts for them both and others outside of their lab.
We get another appearance from Eve’s gross and scary wannabe vampire brother Jason. At first I thought he was starved for attention, but this book really got into his madness. At Monica’s “Exclusive Only” party, things take quite a turn. It was from here, I was really on the edge of my seat. Things take place that lead to some drastic events that left my mouth hanging wide open.
Overall, my review will not do this book justice. It was just amazing. So much going on with all these great characters and the situations they always seem to be in the middle of. I love how Caine has a knack for endings that leave me in a state between awe and “Holy Shit!” I have one more chapter to go in book 4, Feast of Fools. I started it the moment I finished this. I couldn’t wait, not with an ending like that. If you haven’t started this series yet, again I urge you to pick it up. But please don’t start it in the middle, you can’t pick up just any one. You will be lost quickly. Great characters, great plots and WTF endings, how can you resist? show less
Spoilers for book 1 (Glass Houses) and book 2 (Dead Girl's Dance).
Since I'm assuming y'all read Book 2 by now I can freely say that I hated how Shane acted throughout much of the book. I understand that he was under pressure and that he was mentally, physically and emotionally beaten down by his dad, but I'm not sure that excuses all of his jackass behavior. Unfortunately if I thought he would improve in this book I was obviously mental. His attitude in general is horrific for much of the book and his attitude towards Michael in particular is worthy of a quick slap upside his head with a frying pan. I wish I was joking.
The troubles for Claire and Co. just keeps coming. Yes they successfully saved Shane and stopped his dad from making a show more mondo-mistake...but the trade off was Michael is now a full fledged Vamp, Claire is pledged to Amelie and the part of the town that didn't already distrust and dislike Shane now has joined the other side. Not to mention Eve's brother Jason is still creeping (literally) around the town, Oliver has a score to settle, Amelie's independent study for Claire is this side of crazed and oh yeah Monica seems to think that Claire is the newest coolest toy in the whole wide world.
I still contend that Michael and Claire's chemistry is better then either Eve/Michael or Claire/Shane. They just...get one and other, understand almost immediately if something is wrong. True that was hampered by Michael going vamp (though a more gorgeous vamp you'll never meet apparently), but the two connect. Its hard for me not to see that romantically (especially as Claire seems apt to calling him gorgeous every little while).
Amelie proves to be more then her mettle in this book. Cracks appear in her demeanor and Claire is quick (unfortunately) to pick up on those cracks. Despite what is said I think Amelie does have a sort of fondness for Claire, though I fear its the sort that one feels for their pet goldfish. Two new characters are introduced in this book, well technically one because the other sort of showed up in Book 2, and both are dangerous. On different levels however and both are connected to Amelie. Oh and the reappearance of two other characters is less welcome.
I think the most interesting addition is Myrnin, a very old vampire friend of Amelie who studies alchemy and is losing his mind. Has been for years upon years. A well guarded secret even amongst those she trusts, Myrnin alternates between utterly charming (in a crazed manic sort of way) to cruel, dangerous and manipulative. He's a wonderful character though! He's never completely sane quite frankly and even when he's mostly sane he's really not. A true mad genius.
The end, as usual, leaves us with a tasty predicament for the Glass House residents specifically and Morganville in general. Its ends like these that make me happy I waited till I had a good chunk of the series to read at once. I don't know if I would like having to wait. show less
Since I'm assuming y'all read Book 2 by now I can freely say that I hated how Shane acted throughout much of the book. I understand that he was under pressure and that he was mentally, physically and emotionally beaten down by his dad, but I'm not sure that excuses all of his jackass behavior. Unfortunately if I thought he would improve in this book I was obviously mental. His attitude in general is horrific for much of the book and his attitude towards Michael in particular is worthy of a quick slap upside his head with a frying pan. I wish I was joking.
The troubles for Claire and Co. just keeps coming. Yes they successfully saved Shane and stopped his dad from making a show more mondo-mistake...but the trade off was Michael is now a full fledged Vamp, Claire is pledged to Amelie and the part of the town that didn't already distrust and dislike Shane now has joined the other side. Not to mention Eve's brother Jason is still creeping (literally) around the town, Oliver has a score to settle, Amelie's independent study for Claire is this side of crazed and oh yeah Monica seems to think that Claire is the newest coolest toy in the whole wide world.
I still contend that Michael and Claire's chemistry is better then either Eve/Michael or Claire/Shane. They just...get one and other, understand almost immediately if something is wrong. True that was hampered by Michael going vamp (though a more gorgeous vamp you'll never meet apparently), but the two connect. Its hard for me not to see that romantically (especially as Claire seems apt to calling him gorgeous every little while).
Amelie proves to be more then her mettle in this book. Cracks appear in her demeanor and Claire is quick (unfortunately) to pick up on those cracks. Despite what is said I think Amelie does have a sort of fondness for Claire, though I fear its the sort that one feels for their pet goldfish. Two new characters are introduced in this book, well technically one because the other sort of showed up in Book 2, and both are dangerous. On different levels however and both are connected to Amelie. Oh and the reappearance of two other characters is less welcome.
I think the most interesting addition is Myrnin, a very old vampire friend of Amelie who studies alchemy and is losing his mind. Has been for years upon years. A well guarded secret even amongst those she trusts, Myrnin alternates between utterly charming (in a crazed manic sort of way) to cruel, dangerous and manipulative. He's a wonderful character though! He's never completely sane quite frankly and even when he's mostly sane he's really not. A true mad genius.
The end, as usual, leaves us with a tasty predicament for the Glass House residents specifically and Morganville in general. Its ends like these that make me happy I waited till I had a good chunk of the series to read at once. I don't know if I would like having to wait. show less
Anche con questo terzo volume, Rachel Caine si riconferma senza il minimo dubbio un'autrice di talento e in grado di creare una saga urban fantasy per giovani adulti (young adult) di tutto rispetto. Godibilissima anche per chi, come la sottoscritta, adolescente non lo è più da un pezzo, Il Vicolo dei Segreti continua ad affascinare e intrigare il lettore senza sosta.
Vecchi e nuovi personaggi si amalgamano alla perfezione e anzi, se è possibile, i vecchi riescono ad acquisire sempre maggiore maturità e equilibrio, se ovviamente escludiamo le crisi iniziali di Shane per la nuova natura di Michael. Michael, da sempre il controllore e protettore degli abitanti della casa, riveste perfettamente il ruolo di baby vampiro, con il suo show more carattere pacato, riflessivo ma sicuro di sé. Non perde mai la calma e raramente lascia trasparire le proprie emozioni, celate dietro una leggera indolenza che affascina e tiene sul chi vive il lettore per tutto il romanzo come la dolcezza con la quale tratta Claire, l'amore per Eve e gli sprazzi di insicurezza che mostra nei confronti dell'astioso Shane, che non ha nessuna intenzione di accettare la sua nuova esistenza.
Personaggio principale come sempre è Claire che, questa volta, ha la supremazia assoluta rispetto agli altri 3 co-protagonisti che ricoprono tutti ruoli marginali ma comunque non dimenticati nè superficiali. Claire, infatti, si ritrova ad essere proprietà di Amelie, con la quale nel precedente libro ha stipulato un contratto (per una vita, la sua vita) in cambio della protezione dei suoi tre migliori ed unici amici. La maturità sfoggiata da Claire in questo terzo romanzo è tutt'altro che da sottovalutare visto che Amelie, come prima cosa, la spedisce dritta drittra fra le braccia - metaforicamente parlando - dell'essere più instabile e pericoloso di Morganville: Myrnin.
Myrnin è infatti il nuovo personaggio della saga che finisce immediatamente per monopolizzare l'attenzione di Claire e del lettore che si ritrova a partecipare alle lezioni private di alchimia che Myrnin è stato incaricato di dare a Claire da Amelie. Myrnin, però, è un vampiro un po' particolare, la sua psiche è molto labile e la sua mente continua a giocargli brutti scherzi; ecco perchè ha bisogno della brillante e sagace mente di Claire. Sarà compito suo scoprire come salvare Morganville ma la domanda è: vorrà Claire salvare la città che la tiene, che LI tiene tutti prigionieri?
Come sempre la capacità di Rachel Caine di mostrarci la natura di un personaggio, per poi ribaltarla completamente fra un colpo di scena e l'altro, è grande. Prima fra tutti è Amelie che suscita sospetto e sconcerto: ma a questa vampira interessa minimamente di qualcuno? Perchè sembra serbare dell'interesse per Claire e poi, dopo pochi istanti, muta completamente il suo comportamento?
Un romanzo scritto, come sempre, con uno stile semplice, intrigante e molto "veloce". Le scene si susseguono con un ritmo serrato al punto che l'autrice sembra preferire l'azione immediata a qualunque forma di descrizione. I suoi personaggi non ci "dicono" mai cosa hanno intenzione di fare, essi si buttano a capofitto nelle situazione e noi con loro.
Fra i misteri svelati di Morganville, gli intrecci sentimentali di amore/amicizia dei nostri protagonisti, i nuovi personaggi dall'aria poco raccomandabile e i nuovi misteri che si stringono intorno a Claire e la sua famosa "missione", Il Vicolo Segreto sembra essere uno dei romanzi più importarti dell'intera saga, una sorta di colpo di boa. A questo punto non ci resta che attendere, con ansia crescente, il seguito e cosa, alla fine, Claire ha deciso di fare. Salverà Morganville? show less
Vecchi e nuovi personaggi si amalgamano alla perfezione e anzi, se è possibile, i vecchi riescono ad acquisire sempre maggiore maturità e equilibrio, se ovviamente escludiamo le crisi iniziali di Shane per la nuova natura di Michael. Michael, da sempre il controllore e protettore degli abitanti della casa, riveste perfettamente il ruolo di baby vampiro, con il suo show more carattere pacato, riflessivo ma sicuro di sé. Non perde mai la calma e raramente lascia trasparire le proprie emozioni, celate dietro una leggera indolenza che affascina e tiene sul chi vive il lettore per tutto il romanzo come la dolcezza con la quale tratta Claire, l'amore per Eve e gli sprazzi di insicurezza che mostra nei confronti dell'astioso Shane, che non ha nessuna intenzione di accettare la sua nuova esistenza.
Personaggio principale come sempre è Claire che, questa volta, ha la supremazia assoluta rispetto agli altri 3 co-protagonisti che ricoprono tutti ruoli marginali ma comunque non dimenticati nè superficiali. Claire, infatti, si ritrova ad essere proprietà di Amelie, con la quale nel precedente libro ha stipulato un contratto (per una vita, la sua vita) in cambio della protezione dei suoi tre migliori ed unici amici. La maturità sfoggiata da Claire in questo terzo romanzo è tutt'altro che da sottovalutare visto che Amelie, come prima cosa, la spedisce dritta drittra fra le braccia - metaforicamente parlando - dell'essere più instabile e pericoloso di Morganville: Myrnin.
Myrnin è infatti il nuovo personaggio della saga che finisce immediatamente per monopolizzare l'attenzione di Claire e del lettore che si ritrova a partecipare alle lezioni private di alchimia che Myrnin è stato incaricato di dare a Claire da Amelie. Myrnin, però, è un vampiro un po' particolare, la sua psiche è molto labile e la sua mente continua a giocargli brutti scherzi; ecco perchè ha bisogno della brillante e sagace mente di Claire. Sarà compito suo scoprire come salvare Morganville ma la domanda è: vorrà Claire salvare la città che la tiene, che LI tiene tutti prigionieri?
Come sempre la capacità di Rachel Caine di mostrarci la natura di un personaggio, per poi ribaltarla completamente fra un colpo di scena e l'altro, è grande. Prima fra tutti è Amelie che suscita sospetto e sconcerto: ma a questa vampira interessa minimamente di qualcuno? Perchè sembra serbare dell'interesse per Claire e poi, dopo pochi istanti, muta completamente il suo comportamento?
Un romanzo scritto, come sempre, con uno stile semplice, intrigante e molto "veloce". Le scene si susseguono con un ritmo serrato al punto che l'autrice sembra preferire l'azione immediata a qualunque forma di descrizione. I suoi personaggi non ci "dicono" mai cosa hanno intenzione di fare, essi si buttano a capofitto nelle situazione e noi con loro.
Fra i misteri svelati di Morganville, gli intrecci sentimentali di amore/amicizia dei nostri protagonisti, i nuovi personaggi dall'aria poco raccomandabile e i nuovi misteri che si stringono intorno a Claire e la sua famosa "missione", Il Vicolo Segreto sembra essere uno dei romanzi più importarti dell'intera saga, una sorta di colpo di boa. A questo punto non ci resta che attendere, con ansia crescente, il seguito e cosa, alla fine, Claire ha deciso di fare. Salverà Morganville? show less
First published on Booking in Heels.
I hadn't bothered to refresh my memory of the first two Morganville books before I picked this one up, but fortunately it wasn't that much of a problem. I think it may have been slightly better if I had, but I soon remembered the events of Glass Houses and Dead Girl's Dance. Luckily, Rachel Caine is fairly good at recapping - it's terrible when the next in a series doesn't gently poke your memory back into action. I thought Insurgent was a good (or should that be bad?) example of that - the lack of recapping the first novel spoilt this book a little for me. That said, I definitely wouldn't start the series with Midnight Alley, as I'm pretty sure it'd make absolutely no sense.
For me, this series show more wouldn't be half what it is if it wasn't for Claire, the protagonist. She kind of reminds me of myself, and not necessarily in a good way. She's a tiny bit useless, but at least she knows it and she's academically clever. She's polite 100% of the time, even when it's more than justified not to be, and tends to just... flail, when problems turn up. Maybe it's because of her slightly flawed (but not overly so) personality, but she does seem like a believable character.
It's a shame the rest of the characters aren't as well rounded though.They seem to be somewhat plastic - characters that have a mold (the Goth one, the manly man, the artistic nice guy) but unfortunately just aren't filled out enough. However, the introduction of Myrnin (whose name has wormed its way into my head as 'Miffin,' unfortunately) is wonderful. He's a gifted vampire holed away in a dusty laboratory, trying to uncover the secrets of vampire lore. I hope he features in the rest of the series, as he's a fascinating new character. I also liked learning more about the creation of Morganville itself - it's an aspect that needed rounding out, and Rachel Caine has started along that line with this book.
Midnight Alley ends on a cliff-hanger, but not one that really makes me want to read on. Instead of frantically grabbing the fourth Morganville book, I don't really want to touch it ever. It's not a bad plot development at all, it just the story headed in a direction I personally didn't want it to. I've been assured that it's worthwhile, but I guess I'll just have to wait and see.
I read this in just a few hours as I was so engrossed I just didn't want to leave it alone. It's just that much better written than normal YA and there's no inappropriate content for teens. The author makes a point of there being no sex because Claire's under-age and no drugs feature either. There's a little violence, but nothing inappropriate for over 13s. Hell, I'm 22 and even I appreciate a young adult book where the main character lives with her boyfriend and there's still no sexual content.
Although I didn't like the ending, I'll definitely be reading on. The introduction of Miffin Myrnin and more explanation about Morganville's existence hooked me - I can't understand why it took me this long to pick up the third book. show less
I hadn't bothered to refresh my memory of the first two Morganville books before I picked this one up, but fortunately it wasn't that much of a problem. I think it may have been slightly better if I had, but I soon remembered the events of Glass Houses and Dead Girl's Dance. Luckily, Rachel Caine is fairly good at recapping - it's terrible when the next in a series doesn't gently poke your memory back into action. I thought Insurgent was a good (or should that be bad?) example of that - the lack of recapping the first novel spoilt this book a little for me. That said, I definitely wouldn't start the series with Midnight Alley, as I'm pretty sure it'd make absolutely no sense.
For me, this series show more wouldn't be half what it is if it wasn't for Claire, the protagonist. She kind of reminds me of myself, and not necessarily in a good way. She's a tiny bit useless, but at least she knows it and she's academically clever. She's polite 100% of the time, even when it's more than justified not to be, and tends to just... flail, when problems turn up. Maybe it's because of her slightly flawed (but not overly so) personality, but she does seem like a believable character.
It's a shame the rest of the characters aren't as well rounded though.They seem to be somewhat plastic - characters that have a mold (the Goth one, the manly man, the artistic nice guy) but unfortunately just aren't filled out enough. However, the introduction of Myrnin (whose name has wormed its way into my head as 'Miffin,' unfortunately) is wonderful. He's a gifted vampire holed away in a dusty laboratory, trying to uncover the secrets of vampire lore. I hope he features in the rest of the series, as he's a fascinating new character. I also liked learning more about the creation of Morganville itself - it's an aspect that needed rounding out, and Rachel Caine has started along that line with this book.
Midnight Alley ends on a cliff-hanger, but not one that really makes me want to read on. Instead of frantically grabbing the fourth Morganville book, I don't really want to touch it ever. It's not a bad plot development at all, it just the story headed in a direction I personally didn't want it to. I've been assured that it's worthwhile, but I guess I'll just have to wait and see.
I read this in just a few hours as I was so engrossed I just didn't want to leave it alone. It's just that much better written than normal YA and there's no inappropriate content for teens. The author makes a point of there being no sex because Claire's under-age and no drugs feature either. There's a little violence, but nothing inappropriate for over 13s. Hell, I'm 22 and even I appreciate a young adult book where the main character lives with her boyfriend and there's still no sexual content.
Although I didn't like the ending, I'll definitely be reading on. The introduction of Miffin Myrnin and more explanation about Morganville's existence hooked me - I can't understand why it took me this long to pick up the third book. show less
This is my favorite book in the series so far because the plot FINALLY focuses on Claire's schooling. When her schedule got replaced with harder classes, I went just a bit green with envy - I'm a nerd at heart, even though I haven't been to school in years. I also love that we get more background information about the town of Morganville, such as its purpose and an explanation of the more mystical aspects of the town. Myrnin was quite a fascinating character, and I would not have minded if the text spent more time on Claire's studies with him, as well as her advanced class studies. (And yes, my favorite parts of the Harry Potter series was the classroom stuff.)
I didn't like that this book did not have Eve's journal entries at the end show more like previous books have done. Those previously gave me clues into her mind and her relationship with Michael, as well as a taste of what happens in the next book, so I was rather disappointed when I realized it was missing.
I'm hoping that future books go into more detail about what the journals cover as well as what exactly the red crystals are and how they affected Claire. I'm hoping that the drama with Eve's brother Jason gets resolved quickly as I find him just plain annoying and obnoxious. The ending had me exclaiming out loud, and I can't wait to get my hands on the next book in the series, Feast of Fools (Morganville Vampires, Book 4). show less
I didn't like that this book did not have Eve's journal entries at the end show more like previous books have done. Those previously gave me clues into her mind and her relationship with Michael, as well as a taste of what happens in the next book, so I was rather disappointed when I realized it was missing.
I'm hoping that future books go into more detail about what the journals cover as well as what exactly the red crystals are and how they affected Claire. I'm hoping that the drama with Eve's brother Jason gets resolved quickly as I find him just plain annoying and obnoxious. The ending had me exclaiming out loud, and I can't wait to get my hands on the next book in the series, Feast of Fools (Morganville Vampires, Book 4). show less
I read books 1 and 2 in this series out of guilt because they were a gift from a student. Midnight Alley, however, was no guilt trip at all. This is the first book I truly enjoyed in the series, and it left me wanting more. The book begins with Claire who has accepted Amelie's protection. Now, we see what Amelie demands in return. She wants Claire to study with an aging (pysically and mentally) vampire who knows deep, dark secrets that could destroy the vampires in Morganville. They need Claire's help to survive, and she's torn. On one hand, how can she help monsters like Oliver and Brandon? On the other hand, she cannot allow Michael and Sam to be harmed. The more she learns about vampires and ancient sciences (including alchemy), the show more more confused Claire becomes.
Myrnin is the most exciting character so far. One minute, he's a brilliant instructor, and the next he's a crazed madman. Claire never knows what to expect, and neither does the reader. Myrnin keeps you on your toes and demands that you continue reading until the last page. I hope to see more of him in the other books. He's a keeper! show less
Myrnin is the most exciting character so far. One minute, he's a brilliant instructor, and the next he's a crazed madman. Claire never knows what to expect, and neither does the reader. Myrnin keeps you on your toes and demands that you continue reading until the last page. I hope to see more of him in the other books. He's a keeper! show less
Midnight Alley starts of where Dead Girl's Dance ends; Claire had pledged herself to Amelie to save her friends, however, she soon realises it's not what she expected it to be. As always Claire Danvers finds herself in more danger than ever before.
Amelie introduces Claire to an ancient vampire called Myrnin and instructs her to study alchemy with him. The frenzied Myrnin soon reveals to Claire a secret that could change the future of vampires and humans alike.
I'm delighted with how Claire and the rest of the gang are developing throughout the series so far. Claire is growing up in more ways that one, Michael is more responsible than ever and yet has loosened up a bit. Also, Eve has become a tad more serious and answerable (probably show more because of Michael).
The one problem I have with this book, however, is Shane. I feel Shane has gone backwards in his development rather than forwards. Shane is easily provoked and now he has a 'thing' against Michael for reasons I'm not going to give away (just in case you haven't read the last book in the series). I still love Shane though; he's most girl's dream guy.
Once again, I have to mention the pace of these books. They really do engage you completely with the plot, action and all sorts of problems between each character that have to be overcome.
All in all, Midnight Alley is a huge improvement to the last book and is full of creative, captivating plot-lines that leave you breathless in anticipation. Yet again, the book ends with a HUGE cliffhanger that kind of comes out of nowhere and would leave any reader shocked. show less
Amelie introduces Claire to an ancient vampire called Myrnin and instructs her to study alchemy with him. The frenzied Myrnin soon reveals to Claire a secret that could change the future of vampires and humans alike.
I'm delighted with how Claire and the rest of the gang are developing throughout the series so far. Claire is growing up in more ways that one, Michael is more responsible than ever and yet has loosened up a bit. Also, Eve has become a tad more serious and answerable (probably show more because of Michael).
The one problem I have with this book, however, is Shane. I feel Shane has gone backwards in his development rather than forwards. Shane is easily provoked and now he has a 'thing' against Michael for reasons I'm not going to give away (just in case you haven't read the last book in the series). I still love Shane though; he's most girl's dream guy.
Once again, I have to mention the pace of these books. They really do engage you completely with the plot, action and all sorts of problems between each character that have to be overcome.
All in all, Midnight Alley is a huge improvement to the last book and is full of creative, captivating plot-lines that leave you breathless in anticipation. Yet again, the book ends with a HUGE cliffhanger that kind of comes out of nowhere and would leave any reader shocked. show less
Members
- Recently Added By
Lists
Best Urban Fantasy
632 works; 78 members
Bloody Good Vampire Books
394 works; 28 members
The Best Vampires, Werebeasts, Witches Books
192 works; 12 members
favorite reads
23 works; 1 member
Best BRUTAL of Urban Fantasy
244 works; 1 member
Author Information
160+ Works 51,040 Members
Rachel Caine was born Roxanne Conrad in White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico. She received a bachelor's degree in business administration from Texas Tech University. Before becoming a full time author in 2010, she worked in corporate communications. She has written more than 40 novels including the Morganville Vampires series, the Weather Warden show more series, the Outcast Season series, the Great Library series, Prince of Shadows, and the Revivalist series. She has written under the names Julie Fortune, Roxanne Longstreet and Roxanne Conrad. She received a Paranormal Pearl Award, an RT Booklovers Award, and a Career Achievement Award from Romantic Times. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Some Editions
Series
Work Relationships
Is contained in
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- Midnight Alley
- Original publication date
- 2007-10-02
- People/Characters
- Claire Danvers; Eve Rosser; Shane Collins; Michael Glass; Jason Rosser; Monica Morrell (show all 11); Richard Morrell; Amelie; Oliver; Myrnin; Miranda
- Important places
- Morganville, Texas, USA
- Dedication
- For the people who got me through my own personal Morganville years: Elizabeth Sandlin, Andy Sealy, Mona Fluitt, Bruce Tinsley, Luis Hernandez, Gary Wiley, Scott Chase, Marsha McNeill, Rachel Scarborough, and many more who ma... (show all)de the days bright. Also to the memory of sitting next to Stevie Ray Vaughn, hearing him make magic when few people were even listening. Fot the people who are getting me through these Morganville years: Cat Conrad, Kelley Walters, Maria Stair, Katy Hendricks, Claire Wilkins and Baby Griff, Becky Rocha, Laurie Andrews, and her lovely girls, PN Elrod, Jackie Leaf, Bill Leaf, Joanne Madge, Irene Ferris, Ter Matthies, the Alphas, ORAC, Douglas Joseph, Sharon Sams and her son Boardman, Ann Jackson and her son Trey, and literally too many LiveJournal and MySpace friends to even list. Every one of them a special, undeserved gift. And to Charles Armitage and Kevin Cleary, for making Morganville an even more exciting place.
- First words
- The instant the phone rang at the Glass House, Claire knew with a psychic flash that it had to be her mother.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)'Aren't family reunions nice?'
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 2,199
- Popularity
- 9,195
- Reviews
- 60
- Rating
- (3.94)
- Languages
- 8 — English, French, German, Italian, Polish, Romanian, Spanish, Swedish
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 34
- ASINs
- 5