Glass Houses

Morganville Vampires, Book 1

By: Rachel Caine

Narrated by: Cynthia Holloway

Length: 8 hrs and 43 mins

Publisher's summary

Morganville, Texas, is a small college town filled with quirky characters. But when the sun goes down, the bad come out. Because in Morganville, there is an evil that lurks in the darkest shadows---one that will spill out into the bright light of day.

Claire Danvers has had enough of her nightmarish dorm situation. The popular girls never let her forget just where she ranks on the school's social scene: somewhere less than zero. And Claire really doesn't have the right connections---to the undead who run the town. When Claire heads off campus, the imposing old house where she finds a room may not be much better. Her new roommates don't show many signs of life. But they'll have Claire's back when the town's deepest secrets come crawling out, hungry for fresh blood.

Bite into another Morganville Vampires novel.

©2006 Roxanne Longstreet Conrad (P)2009 Tantor

Be Aware..

The other book offered on this site is not the second book. Here is a list of the books for this series. "I wish Audible would label them better."

Glass Houses (Morganville Vampires, Book 1)

The Dead Girls' Dance (Morganville Vampires, Book 2)

Midnight Alley (Morganville Vampires, Book 3)

Feast of Fools (Morganville Vampires, Book 4)

Lord of Misrule (Morganville Vampires, Book 5)

Carpe Corpus (Morganville Vampires, Book 6)

Fade Out (Morganville Vampires, Book 7)

Interesting plot!

I am enjoying this series! This is is the first of many books in the Morganville Vampire series. After listening to Glass House, I found that Audible does not currently have books 2-4, so I read them (paperbacks), before downloading Lord of Misrule (book 5). Rachel Caine has put together a very interesting story, and many entertaining characters. When I finished Glass House, I couldn't wait to go on and find out what would happen next. These are listed as YA, and they are, but I am mid-30's and have enjoyed the plot and story very much. :) If you like vampire stories, give Glass House a try!

The Start to a Really Really Long Series

I picked up (clicked, I suppose) this audiobook because 1) I'm on a vampire kick and 2) it was on sale for $7. Was it worth $7? Yes. Is it worth a credit or anything above $7? No.

A Few Good Things:
The vampire-theme is different than usual. I appreciate that their vampire world is centered around one town, and anyone who leaves said town loses their memories about vampire business. This was a unique aspect to spice up the story a bit.

The characters of Shane and Eve were enjoyable. I found myself smiling at a few of their jokes.

The Bad Things:
While I was amused by some of the characters (two to be exact), I did not care about the rest - including the protagonist! There are a few seriously suspenseful scenes, I just didn't care one way or another if the characters died! I hate that.

Claire's situation is too unbelievable. She is a super-smart 16 year old in college who is seriously bullied. She was literally pushed down a flight of stairs, and no one did anything about it. I understand this because the town is terrified of the vampires, but what I can't understand is WHY she would choose to remain in the town?! The author attempted to clarify it by saying Claire never gives up on her education, but it was ridiculous.
1. She didn't want to go to the college in the first place; she wanted to go to an Ivy League.
2. Her parents practically begged her to come home.
3. Her life was literally in danger.

It seriously annoyed me.

Other than that, the rest of the story was enjoyable. It wasn't enough for me to continue to purchase the rest of the series; even though the ending is COMPLETELY cliff-hangered. Just saying.

Read this series

I read the series and thought my husband might like to hear the story on road trips. Not so. He can't get past the narration. I knew the story was about teenagers, but when I read it I was able to make them more mature in my head. Well, with the narration it just isn't possible to get past the teen attitude.

Not That Great

Is there anything you would change about this book?

This book is really meant for older YA readers. Adults trying to listen to this book will likely struggle with the gaping plot holes. The characters themselves tend to be a little too one dimensional. I was interested in the series based on an a short story written about Eve but the series appears to be weak.

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

The narrator's voice is unfortunately grating. It's high-pitched, slightly mechanical, and really, really distracting. The males all sound the same.

Was Glass Houses worth the listening time?

No, unfortunately, it wasn't.

Move over Twilight & HON, Rachel Caine is in town!

I have heard of this series for a while now and don't really know why I didn't give it a try. It just so happens that I found paperback copies of books 3-8, new at a used book store so I bought them (I like to read along while I listen). I downloaded and listened to Glass Houses and fell in love. If you are a lover of the Twilight Saga, the House of Night series by P.C and Kristen Cast, you should love this series too.I mean who wouldn't love a story about a 16 year old genius,Claire who is a freshman in Collage, threatened by bully Monica and her gang, so Claire decides to move out of the dorm and into a house off campus, with 2 guys, Michael and Shane, and another girl, Eve, who is Goth all the way!!! Only thing is Claire doesn't know that the town is run by vampires and since she no longer lives on campus, she is no longer on protected ground and has to learn real fast the rules for living in Morganville.

I did find a few inconsistencies in the series,ie hair color that wasn't supposed to be changed (not Monica's), a knife vs gun, little mistakes like that, and though things like that really bug me, usually, I was hooked into the story so I didn't really care.....too much.

The narrator, Cynthia Holloway, did a pretty good job, had a little trouble with accents but otherwise she wasn't hard to listen to. She has a pleasant voice. All in all, this book, Ghost Town and Bite Club, were my favorites in the series to date and can't wait for the next one to come out.

Rachel Caine is now a member of my Favorite Author Club!!!!

Not for Kids, but for Teens 17 ond over

Good read/listen - but is for older minds not kids. I plan to listen to the entire series

Perfect for 17 +

I have been looking for a series that is for older teens/ early twenties. This series is written in a way that stays true to the first years of adulthood. I recommend this series if you want something a little more 'grown up'.

OK...Is this girl a VICTIM or what?

I found this book very slow and odd. In what life does a kid go to college at 16 in a scary town where there is no one policing things. The whole premise was silly. Really----sending your 16 year old off to college where there is no real supervision???? In moving in, the heroine makes more discoveries about the room mates secrets than they have told each other. In addition, she is scared, but then she is angry? Claire had no sense of priorities or self-preservation. She seemed to act like a victim when she had acid thrown on her. This girl, who passes out, can make the town bully back off her when, clearly, the bully had the upper hand.

I didn't sympathize with her because she was so inconsistent in developing a backbone. Honestly, it was so boring that I kept yelling at the slow movement of the book. I could stop listening and think, "I don't need to go back." The missing book as a plot twist does not make sense. Sorry, save a credit and/or a few dollars.

Not your typical vampire story

I really enjoyed this book. It was definitely character driven. I enjoyed all of the characters. The pace was wonderful. My interest was kept and the build-up was A+. I can't wait to get to the next book since Rachel left me hanging.