Before you go any further please know that this is book three in a series so there may be book one (Glass Houses) and two (The Dead Girls' Dance) spoilers ahead.
A Bit of the Blurb
Now Claire has pledged herself to Amelie, the most powerful vampire in town. The protection her contract secures does little to reassure her friends. All of a sudden people are turning up dead, a stalker resurfaces from Claire's past, and an ancient bloodsucker extends a chilling invitation for private lessons in his secluded home.
My Review
I knew that overall I would enjoy reading this book because I enjoyed books one and two back in 2012 when I read them on the recommendation of my A'level English teacher - of all people. I was thrown into Midnight Alley a little rusty but it didn't take long to remember what was going on. The characters are so lively that I recognised them all and Caine was kind enough to only remind me of the most important plot points which I was glad for. I hate it when books give a detailed summary of the previous one, it gets on my nerves.
I went in knowing - as I always do with the Morganville books - that it wasn't going to be by any means a 'literary' piece. Caine isn't trying to make a point or wow you with ideas, she's just out to entertain you. And she's pretty damn good at that. One of the reasons I like these books so much is that they're so easy to read. At times I felt guilty for not picking up something that makes me look a little more intelligent but hey, you like what you like. Caine's taught me to enjoy whatever it is I like to read. It's not a big secret that vampire fiction is a guilty pleasure of mine and these books do a good job of quenching my thirst.
Another reason I love the Morganville books is that I've invested quite a lot into these characters at this point and I want to find out where they end up. Not to mention they're all different and relatable in bizarre ways. Their personality traits are louder in this universe than in real life so sometimes it felt a little caricature but that just made me smile. I'm sure Caine knew exactly what she was doing.
I've blabbed on enough about why I love these books but now I should take a moment to explain they're not perfect. Far from it. First of all, there was a lot of unnecessary description of people's clothes and actions for my liking. I don't care that so-and-so picked this up before sitting on this very specific part of the sofa. It felt as though Caine was trying to get as much out of her chapters as possible. I think I was correct in saying that because the weird unnecessary description disappeared as the plot fired up.
Adverbs! Yes, I know, I know, I won't go on. But seriously(!)? There were a lot more than I expected but I suppose I'm much better at spotting them now. These irritating words didn't annoy me back in 2012 and I'm sure books one and two are riddled with them also.
But the most painful thing about Midnight Alley was one huge mistake I found. Caine wrote 'Michael' when she meant 'Shane' in a super important scene and confused the hell out of me! I love these books but that's pretty unforgivable. How many people did that mistake go through before confusing me? I just couldn't believe it hadn't been spotted.
Overall though, Midnight Alley was a delight to read. I laughed out loud more than I usually do because the tone and narration are just spot on. The Morganville Vampire books will remain a guilty pleasure for a long time yet.
Evaluation
Overall 7/10
Would I recommend it? Yes. I thoroughly enjoy the Morganville Vampire books when I pick them up.
Would I look up the author? No. This one series is enough for me.
Midnight Alley was just as I expected. A familiar, entertaining read.
Molly Looby
Author / Ghostwriter / Editor / Blogger / Reviewer / Wrimo / Movellian / ZA Ready
molly.looby@hotmail.com
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