Mini-Reviews: Midnight Alley and Give up the Ghost

Title: Midnight Alley
Author: Rachel Caine
Series: Morganville Vampires, #3
Format: Paperback, owned
My rating: 3 / 5

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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.

-- As seen on Goodreads

My Thoughts

Midnight Alley is the third book in the Morganville Vampire series, and I’ll admit I’m starting to like this series despite its flaws. They’re quick and entertaining reads, and I really enjoy that the vampires are more blood thirsty than some of their YA counter parts of recent years.

I really liked that we got to learn more about why Morganville exists, and how the vampires came to inhabit the town. But this is the height of what I can take away from the book, and I can’t get away from feeling that Midnight Alley was all over the place. We have lots of Shane and Claire together. Roommate problems. A sprinkling of Amelie drama. Myrnin. Monica being… nice? Lots of random little things happened, but I don’t really see how they collectively came together to move the story forward.

While I like Claire, Shane, Michael and Eve in general, I don’t feel they’ve progressed or developed a whole lot since the beginning of the series. Claire, the genius that got into college at sixteen, continually makes stupid and irrational decisions. Shane is getting even more hot-headed and in honestly, it’s getting very frustrating to read. He needs to cop onto himself already! Both Eve and Michael sort of faded into the background despite having pretty big roles in the book, and it’s a shame as I felt they were two of the more memorable characters from the first two books. I don’t know what it is that’s addicting me to this series, but I need to know what happens next. Yes, maybe the cliff-hanger ending has a little something to do with it, but it’s more than that… that certain something I can’t put my finger on, but it’s got me hooked! I know it’s a long series and I’m really, really late starting it, so I think I’ll take it book-by-book, and see how far I get.

Title: Give up the Ghost
Author: Megan Crewe
Series: Standalone
Format: Paperback, owned
My rating: DNF

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Cass McKenna much prefers ghosts over “breathers.” Ghosts are uncomplicated and dependable, and they know the dirt on everybody…and Cass loves dirt. She’s on a mission to expose the dirty secrets of the poseurs in her school.

But when the vice president of the student council discovers her secret, Cass’s whole scheme hangs in the balance. Tim wants her to help him contact his recently deceased mother, and Cass reluctantly agrees.

As Cass becomes increasingly entwined in Tim’s life, she’s surprised to realize he’s not so bad—and he needs help more desperately than anyone else suspects. Maybe it’s time to give the living another chance….

-- As seen on Goodreads

My Thoughts

DNF’d @ page 51

I might come back to Give up the Ghost at some stage in the future, but for now, it’s a DNF. I was under the impression that it was something along the lines of The Ghost and the Goth by Stacey Kade – which I absolutely adored – but this wasn’t the case. I tried to stick it out as it’s a short read, but from the first chapter I could tell the book wasn’t for me. I didn’t click with the writing style, and I didn’t feel any sympathy or connection toward Cass. She came across as vengeful and bitchy and it became off-putting very quickly. Not my cuppa, unfortunately.