Kiss of Death (The Morganville Vampires, #8)

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Kiss of Death (The Morganville Vampires #8)

4.25 of 5 stars 4.25 · rating details · 19,406 ratings · 722 reviews

A new chapter in the New York Times bestselling Morganville Vampires saga.

Vampire musician Michael Glass has attracted the attention of a big- time producer who wants to cut a demo and play some gigs-which means Michael will have to enter the human world. For this, he's been assigned escorts that include both a dangerous immortal as well as Michael's all-too-human friend...more

Paperback, 241 pages

Published April 27th 2010 by Signet

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Nov 05, 2012 Stacia ~ Mistress of Mediocrity rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult

Needs more ~~cowbell~~ vampire bunny slippers.

I wanted more of my favorite mad scientist Myrnin and his awesome slippers. Alas, my heart was fractured just a tiny little bit.

This installment of Morganville has us headed out of town for a crazy and dangerous road trip. The book was full of peril and bizarre happenings as usual, but I have to admit that I prefer our little disfunctional family when they're actually raising hell in their own town.

I was happy that it was easy enough for me to come back to this series after a year plus break (I read the first 7 so close together that I overdosed for a while) and be able to pick right up where I left off. Rarely, can I do this with series without having some memory lapse issues. This was not the case and I'm glad for it.

Part of me got to thinking as I was reading this book that Claire has really grown up. I almost feel guilty for giving book 1 such a low rating because I hated Claire back when I first read about her. It's easy to see now that the author intended for our lead to transform herself with time and experience, to which she has - in spades. The girl who started out as a mousy pushover is now smart, cunning, sweet, loyal and strong. Claire's growth as a character has been slow, steady and impressive. I should probably reward that by going back and raising my rating on book 1. Maybe I will at some point, but not today.

Why do I like the series? Because no one is pining away for the cool kid vampires. Oh no...people are SCARED of the controlling vampires. Oppression kind of sucks for our crew of friends. And in Morganville, you don't get to run far because you'll get caught. In a way, I get why the road trip was a nice little break from being inside of town, but honestly, I never felt stifled by having to stay in Morganville. Half the fun of the series is watching these young adults try to outwit the vampires who watch their every move. Plus, Ms. Caine only adds to the dynamic by adding in some awesome dark humor. I have yet to make it through a book without finding several moments which make me crack a grin.

She thought of all the times she'd seen Myrnin go off the rails - the times he'd begged her to put him out of his misery. The time he'd actually given her samples of his own brain - in a Tupperware container.

Nothing else to say other than this...I'm hard pressed to believe that you can kill a vamp with a pencil. That must be one sturdy pencil.

Random comment to the MV fans : I know everyone is a huge Shane fan, but for whatever reason, there is something about Michael's protective nature which makes me like him best right now. Please don't send hate mail, I should be free to love as I choose!

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Apr 18, 2010 Ashley marked it as to-read

Shelves: asap, fav, morganville, paranormal, series, vampire, own

YOU GUYS!!!!! IT'S APRIL 27TH THAT IT'S COMING OUT!!!!!

5 likes · like · see review

Apr 27, 2010 Amy or "Ames" rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, vampires, read-in-2010

Road trip, baby! This one takes us out of Morganville and into the "real" world but perhaps the real world is scarier than Morganville. The road trip is innocent enough until the group are given a chaperone who insists on stopping in a small town in the middle of nowhere. Queue bad luck and horror movie action.

I love Morganville so leaving was new, for about 5 minutes when I began to miss Myrnin's quirkiness, Amelie's smooth self-control and damn even Monica's bitchiness. The entire first half o...more Road trip, baby! This one takes us out of Morganville and into the "real" world but perhaps the real world is scarier than Morganville. The road trip is innocent enough until the group are given a chaperone who insists on stopping in a small town in the middle of nowhere. Queue bad luck and horror movie action.

I love Morganville so leaving was new, for about 5 minutes when I began to miss Myrnin's quirkiness, Amelie's smooth self-control and damn even Monica's bitchiness. The entire first half of the book was very teen-in-love tongue-in-cheek, too sickly sweet for me.

The real action doesn't start until well in to the book, perhaps this was to give the characters a rest, a well-earned vacation from the upheaval of the last 7 books but I love that upheaval, the action and the politics and as a result this felt like a filler book to me. I didn't truly enjoy it until the last 100 pages and then it ended.

The ring scene was VERY Buffy & Angel but I can overlook this for the significance of the ring to Shane. He's serious about Claire and that's what matters but I'm wondering when their happiness is going to be shattered. Is Myrnin going to make a move on Claire? Is Shane going to become too overbearing and protective? Which brings me to Eve and Michael, is it going to last? I have a feeling Michael may break it off in order for Eve to have normal things like children which he can't provide.

Claire makes progress with her parents, she gets to move back into the Glass House again. Plus, she turns vampire slayer with a crossbow to a stunned Oliver which spawns a hilarious scene ending with Claire promising she won't hurt him!

Shane's changed too, in Michael's own words "The universe explodes, hell freezes, and Shane does something reasonable." In fact, Shane does quite a few reasonable things, he doesn't move first and pick himself off the floor later any more. He's learned to restrain himself in dangerous situations, I'm impressed.

***Spoiler***

There was one thing I didn't understand - the reason for the diseased rogues. Bishop was clean, he didn't suffer from the vampire virus which is why his blood helped cure it so how come he infected the vampires he made?

Overall, there were some great lines but this was probably the weakest of the series so far though I am rubbing my hands together in anticipation of Ghost Town set back in Morganville for more mysteries and conspiracies.(less)

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May 27, 2011 Amber rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: vampires, favorites

Well, once again Rachel Caine did not disappoint! I love how she can throw you for loops and make unexpected turns and then conclude in such a strong way! Every book seems to end with you longing for more! (SHANE!!)

Kiss of Death was another fantastic tribute to The Morganville Vampire series. If anything stands out that makes me just love this series even more is the bantering between the characters. I mean, the stuff they say and the come-backs are pure awesomeness! I think it really makes the...more

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Dec 17, 2012 Olivia rated it 5 of 5 stars

The Morganville Vampires has slowly become one of my favorite series. This past year I read them non-stop, so I read Kiss of Death sparingly until deciding to finish it yesterday.

First of all, it was great to see Michael, Eve, Shane, and Claire out of Morganville. After books 6 and 7, it was time to have some happy thoughts. Knowing Rachel Caine, however, I knew it would not last long (and I love her for that). One thing I have to say about the Morganville Vamps series is that it never, ever st...more

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Feb 22, 2013 Char rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2013-pnr-challenge, 2013tbrchallenge, read-in-2013, morganville-vampires, rachel-caine, vampires, young-adult

For the rest of this review plus more please visit my blog :)

So, the ending is dark. The climax of the action lets you know that this is definitely a series that you’d be better off reading close together. These are good things. They keep you interested. However I bring bad news, fellow Myrnin fans: he’s not in this one much. *grabs tissue and sobs into it*I’m now in withdrawal!! Anyway, back to the book, overall I still liked it. A lot. It has some dark elements, a stack of adventure, a dash o...more For the rest of this review plus more please visit my blog :)

So, the ending is dark. The climax of the action lets you know that this is definitely a series that you’d be better off reading close together. These are good things. They keep you interested. However I bring bad news, fellow Myrnin fans: he’s not in this one much. *grabs tissue and sobs into it*I’m now in withdrawal!! Anyway, back to the book, overall I still liked it. A lot. It has some dark elements, a stack of adventure, a dash of romance and ROAD TRIP!!! *packs bags* (What?! I’m only small, they won’t know I’m there!)

So the characters. I love good characters with depth and Morganville has them with spades. However with the action being away from town I’m having a hard time coming up with relevant people/vamps.

Oliver – Vampire 2nd in command, half good, half evil with just a dash of hippie about him. He’s got so many layers to him that we’re now eight books in and I still don’t know where I stand with him. He’s a puzzle but that’s definitely one of the things I like about him. Possibly the only thing actually. I hate being to guess the motives of a character but there’s no chance of that with Oliver.

Morley – Morley’s been doing a bit of creepy, evil loitering with intent for a while now but this is his climax, I think, it felt like it to me anyway. He’s not a likeable character but I understand his frustrations and that makes him slightly less of an idiot, but only slightly. His actions have consequences and I’m not sure that he realises that. (I wanted to call him something stronger than an idiot but all the words I could think of were rude.)

Claire, Shane, Eve & Michael – Our heroes and heroines have such banter and the chemistry between them all makes reading this such a pleasure. With some books I’ve read books with characters sniping at each other and those were the MC only cares about their eternal love leaving the rest of the world out in the cold which really does grate on me. This bunch feel real and that’s part of what keeps me coming back for more.

This is another great book in this series. Not as good as ‘Fade Out’ but I’m missing my favourite character so I was always going to say that. Rachel Caine has weaved another exceptional tale and proved that you can take the guys and gals out of Morganville but even in the real world there’s danger. I think that in some sense this story is kind of pulling you in ready for the big guns. It feels filler-ish but good filler... like chicken mayo. I love chicken mayo... okay getting distracted again.
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Dec 19, 2010 Lora rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: lib-read, fluff-in-its-best-form

Well, since this was released back in April, I think I'm just going to keep this review short.

I didn't start reading the Morganville Vampires until just last month, but I read them all in a row with barely any interruptions, and I loved them all. This one was no exception. "Kiss of Death" starts off awesome and doesn't let up.

I'm a huge fan of Shane, and Shane and Claire's relationship: which is basically a perfect mix of sweet delicious moments and hot chemistry. Claire's actually one of my fa...more

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May 29, 2012 J.Elle rated it 2 of 5 stars

It’s very sad. I am 14 books behind on my reviews. I just finished the September books last week and I haven’t even started reviewing the October books and here we are at the end of November. So, I’ve decided to try something new to get myself caught up. I’ve reviewing from the most recent back. Since I remember the most recent books with more clarity, I think this will go much faster. Then, I’ll simply post in the correct order. So, if you’re reading this, you probably just read the reviews I s...more

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Nov 06, 2012 Jennifer Wardrip rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: trt-posted-reviews

Reviewed by Jennifer Rummel for TeensReadToo.com

Claire just made a deal to save her life, but before she can meet her end of the bargain, she and her friends gain passes out of town. Record producers want to hear Michael perform. Claire, Eve, and Shane will accompany him to Dallas. They can't believe their good luck, until they learn they will be escorted and supervised by Oliver.

First, Oliver disappears on business. Then they offend people at a truck stop. They find a nearby motel to crash for...more

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May 09, 2012 Kristi (The Story Siren) rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-i-own, signed-books

Oh how I have missed Claire, Shane, Eve and Michael. Perhaps even Oliver and Myrnin, although he wasn’t in the book as much as I would have liked!

If you haven’t read the Morganville Vampire series, you are missing out! They are fun, quick and entertaining reads. Claire is an imperfect, flawed but lovable main character. She never ceases to amaze me. I absolutely devoured this book. Picked it up and didn’t put it down. I don’t want to get into the plot of the book a whole lot since this is book 8...more

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Jun 06, 2010 H.orses rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites

I'd die for this series I love it so much! Once again, Rachel Caine has out done herself and the book was great. In this edition they're finally free! But not for long, all field trips need chaperons, no matter how bloodthirsty. The vacation will be cut short and the fearless group faces the worst they have so far, and a mystery that needs to be uncovered and helped. Of course, though out all hell relationships continue to hold strong. Claire also discovers a new bravery that was completely hila...more

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Apr 15, 2010 Xxcarolinexx added it

okkk seriousley i cant wait for this to come out i have read all 7 other morganville books and cant wait until may i love this series and thats pretty shocking since my fav series are the mortal instruments and vampire academy but this is above vampire academy love itttt and love shane hes sexy man my fav characters are shane and myrininnn love him as well

this series s way better then twilight to be honest i think twilight is pretty small copared to all the other series such as what i just ment...more

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Mar 04, 2013 Kathy Davie rated it 5 of 5 stars

Eighth in the Morganville Vampires urban fantasy series for young adults. This particular installment is about Michael and a potential recording contract!

My Take
Whoa...I never thought to see the day that Amelie would allow Michael, Shane, Eve, or Claire to leave town! Although Oliver's presence puts a bit of a damper on things. But not for long, and certainly not when they hit that one-horse town.

One particular key element occurs in this one: Eve finds her signature car.

Snicker...Juluglar, Texa...more

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Jan 14, 2013 Lynn ಠ_ಠ rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult, vampires, page-turner, books-i-really-liked, paranormal, romance, favorite-characters

Woohoo, I'm still on a Morganville Vampire roll here. Was supposed to stop 2 books ago but I couldn't resist!

Kiss of Death was a great read although I didn't like it as much as the previous 2 books, which in my opinion were the best MV books so far. Rachel took a different approach with this book and the absence of the usual sort mayhem made it feel a little like a filler but is still highly enjoyable.

It started with a normal day, as normal as a day in Morganville can get, without some great tro...more Woohoo, I'm still on a Morganville Vampire roll here. Was supposed to stop 2 books ago but I couldn't resist!

Kiss of Death was a great read although I didn't like it as much as the previous 2 books, which in my opinion were the best MV books so far. Rachel took a different approach with this book and the absence of the usual sort mayhem made it feel a little like a filler but is still highly enjoyable.

It started with a normal day, as normal as a day in Morganville can get, without some great trouble brewing for our Glass House residents. Claire and the gang are finally able to take a breather after the stretch of problems they've been running into. Witty banter as usual, really sweet moments between the couples and a parent talk. I thought the talk Claire had with her dad was incredibly well written and realistic. I don't blame her parents for being worried and it's nice to know what they are thinking. And Myrnin...what to say about him? I think he's a really intriguing character and look forward to his future role in the story.

Then that's when things take a different turn. Micheal has to leave Morganville (temporarily) to record a music demo in Dallas and the other 3 + 1 vampire escort tag along. Of course the fun road trip turned out to be more than they bargained for...

It was eye-opening in a way to see the Morganville gang out in the regular human world. Claire, Shane, Eve and especially Micheal are so used to the rules and setup of Morganville that they forget that things out different out there. The gang makes mistakes but they learn from it. I've never disliked Shane but I didn't swoon over him before but I really appreciated how level headed he was. We also get to know Oliver better and I find myself warming to this complex character even more. There were a few bittersweet moments as well, like Micheal voicing he could never be a regular boyfriend for Eve and that scene after Amelie's phone call at the end.

So many things could have gone wrong with this but Rachel plotted it out wonderfully.

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Nov 23, 2012 Becky {Somewhere Between The Pages} rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, 5-stars, review, fantasy-or-urban-fantasy, purchased

Kiss Of Death is different to the other books in this series, but I can't quite decide whether it's a better-different or not. On the one hand, getting the characters out of Morganville was a stroke of pure genius on Caine's part, but on the other, no Morganville meant no Myrnin. I know, I'm such a fangirl, but reading about Myrnin's wacky antics are a huge part of these books for me. I even kind of missed Amelie, to be perfectly honest! Fortunately, I didn't get the chance to miss Oliver. Why?...more Kiss Of Death is different to the other books in this series, but I can't quite decide whether it's a better-different or not. On the one hand, getting the characters out of Morganville was a stroke of pure genius on Caine's part, but on the other, no Morganville meant no Myrnin. I know, I'm such a fangirl, but reading about Myrnin's wacky antics are a huge part of these books for me. I even kind of missed Amelie, to be perfectly honest! Fortunately, I didn't get the chance to miss Oliver. Why? Because he actually went on the road trip with our favourite foursome. Shocking, huh? Of course, Oliver going was the reason Claire and co. almost got killed (again), so I don't think I should be too happy he was there to chaperone.

Since I'm already talking about the characters, I want to take a moment to talk about Morley. Introduced in the previous book as a rogue vampire hellbent on breaking Amelie's rules, Morley was a bit of a villain. Okay, scratch that, there's no "bit" about it. He was perceived as a total villain, going so far as to threaten Eve and Shane if Claire didn't get he and his entourage passes out of Morganville. However, even though he was still a douchebag, Kiss Of Death showed us a new side of him. A side that actually reminded me a lot of Myrnin. I know, that sounds crazy, but the way Rachel wrote him was wacky. The only major difference between Morley and Myrnin was that Morley is bad to the core. I get that Myrnin isn't exactly fluffy - bunny slippers aside - but there's something fundamentally good about him that Morley lacks.

So, the plot. I was kind of disappointed, to be honest. Carpe Corpus saw Bishop "defeated", right? Well, Kiss Of Death brought his story back front and center, even though he wasn't actually in the book. The main focus of the last third(ish) of the book was because of him, and I just didn't like the connection. I'm ready to move on, you know? However, even with that said and done, this was still a great book. I've said it before and I'll say it again: if you haven't yet started this incredible series, what the hell are you waiting for?

For more reviews, check out my blog at Somewhere Between The Pages.(less)

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Aug 30, 2012 Fangs for the Fantasy rated it 3 of 5 stars

Michael has a made a deal with a recording studio to finally get his music out there. It’s exciting, unique – and involves them leaving Morganville. This is also a useful opportunity for Claire and co since it allows them to avoid a deal Claire made that could get them all eaten.

On the road, they quickly raise the chance of finally escaping Morganville for good. But Oliver has been sent as chaperone and what about the loved ones they left behind? More, it’s clear that Even and Michael, residents...more Michael has a made a deal with a recording studio to finally get his music out there. It’s exciting, unique – and involves them leaving Morganville. This is also a useful opportunity for Claire and co since it allows them to avoid a deal Claire made that could get them all eaten.

On the road, they quickly raise the chance of finally escaping Morganville for good. But Oliver has been sent as chaperone and what about the loved ones they left behind? More, it’s clear that Even and Michael, residents of Morganville all their lives, have little idea of the outside world and how to behave in it.

Then there’s the problem of the vampire rebels. With the Morganville security network down, the only thing holding the vampires in Morganville is Amelie’s word. And some are not accepting that. Leaving the town, these wild vampires are looking for a new place to take over, one without the rules and restrictions of Amelie. Their travel makes them cross paths disastrously with Claire & Co – and when they reach their destination, they find things are not what they expected.

I’ve always had mixed feelings about this series. I’ve felt that the world that has been built and some of the background characters have been fascinating and have a lot of potential. Unfortunately the main characters don’t appeal to me and I often find Claire, the protagonist to be an outsider in her own story. In short, I was coming close to giving up on the series, it’s just not for me.

This was my “last chance” book, the last book I’d read before I shelved the Morganville vampires and didn’t open another one.

And I enjoyed it.

By taking the story out of Morganville, we introduced a lot of new contexts and themes. We got to see how the very insular life the Morganville residents had lived. How they were so used to the supernatural dangers of the vampires and how they are used to negotiating the dangers of Morganville, that they were utterly lacking in the social skills necessary to survive in small towns with close minded, dangerous people without vampires lurking around to keep order. It was a really well done twist that added a lot to the world, the characters and the story.

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Jun 30, 2012 Rae Gee rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012-reads

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Thankfully the books in this series are a nice easy read. I was hoping for a really cool road trip story. I was hoping to read about the bright lights of Dallas. I was hoping something cool would happen there.

Did I get it? Of course not.

The story lands you in a town which is smaller than Morganville and has suddenly been over run by vampires. Everyone from the town is either dead, a vampire or locked up in the local library trying to keep away from the vampires. Cue the Morganville gang coming i...more

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Feb 28, 2012 Ivonne Guevara rated it 5 of 5 stars

WAO solo puedo decir WAO estuvo impresionante en verdad me ha gustado bastante y creo que este ha sido el mejor que he leido, como se desarrollaron las cosas, como un simple viaje cambio todo, como todo lo planeado se fue al traste y como todo lo que nunca se hubieran imaginado paso.
el libro fue increible, desde el comienzo del viaje, de los problemas, del misterio y definitivamente de cada cosa que paso me llevo en un hilo que no podia respirar.
confiar o no confiar, unirse o no unirse, que es l...more

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Sep 11, 2011 Abdal rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

For the record, I lied. Fade Out wasn't enough. It doesn't help that I have this and Ghost Town on my shelf. I started immediately after finishing Fade Out XD. I can't help myself. I just love how reading the Morganville's are like getting reacquainted with an old friend. And how they're fast paced. And doesn't take itself too seriously. Lots of fun :D

Anyways, rambling much?

So, Kiss of Death, we had a love-hate relationship.

First, YAY ROAD TRIPS!! I love books with road trips (read: Paper Town...more

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Jul 27, 2011 Maggie added it

So...let's just say I absolutely love this series!! There is a new twist every time I read the next book. In this one, it should have been obvious that their road trip would be anything but normal. However, I didn't expect half of what happened!! For them to be able to leave Morganville must have been a dream come true. Having Oliver along at first seemed like a complete bad thing. It turns into being a very good thing as they encounter vampires that were changed by Bishop and left to get sick....more

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Jun 16, 2011 Daisy warren rated it 5 of 5 stars

AAAAAAA!!! briliant:)5/5 stars. at first i didnt think i was going to like it that much but OMG my mind was blown away i absolutely adored these books and i dont really know what to write about them but i have read them all and because i read them a little while ago i cant remember the exact details about each book so im just going to have this as my review for all of them and has it as a sort of collective review. these books are a really easy read and have some very interesting characters in t...more

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Mar 27, 2011 BBBTerri rated it 1 of 5 stars

How the heck did I get sucked into the Morganville Vampires?? This is teenage, brainless vampire smut at it's finest. Seriously! I'll tell you how it happened to me.

It was such a mindless easy read...I flew through the the first book in a day. I must give credit to the author, Ms. Caine. She lead me into a clever trap at the endings of the first few books. I couldn't walk away without knowing what happened to these stupid, annoying teenagers in the Glass House. I went straight to my ipad Amazon...more

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Jan 14, 2011 Rachael rated it 4 of 5 stars

Life in Morganville is looking up. A big music producer wants to work with vampire Michael Glass, and that means that he will be granted the previously unattainable—a brief vacation from Morganville. But this respite isn’t without strings attached; though Michael can take his friends Claire, Eve, and Shane, he also has to take a vampire escort, Oliver. Before any of them even leave, all can tell this combination is not going to be fun. They figure if they can just survive the road trip, then the...more

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Dec 02, 2010 Robin rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: vampires

I admit I have a soft spot for the Morganville Vampires. Mostly because a lot of the characters are vampires who could be classified as 'evil' by most other trashy vampire writers, but were spared that humiliation by Caine because she's actually about 3/4ths decent. Amelie's a frigid bitch but she is still a good guy, Myrnin's a nutter but he's still a good guy, and even Oliver is blatantly a complete asshole but stays a sometimes-good guy. The plot develops every book, and looking at Claire in...more I admit I have a soft spot for the Morganville Vampires. Mostly because a lot of the characters are vampires who could be classified as 'evil' by most other trashy vampire writers, but were spared that humiliation by Caine because she's actually about 3/4ths decent. Amelie's a frigid bitch but she is still a good guy, Myrnin's a nutter but he's still a good guy, and even Oliver is blatantly a complete asshole but stays a sometimes-good guy. The plot develops every book, and looking at Claire in Glass Houses and Kiss of Death is looking at two completely different girls, which is really refreshing. And a goth girl who isn't a complete bitch or minor character! Eve (who also has a relatively normal name) manages to be funny while not mocking goth culture. However her boyfriend, Michael, is a boring, uber-perfect, stereotypical control freak vampire moron. His only redeeming quality is that he is Eve's boyfriend, not Claire's. Claire's boyfriend is even more annoying. Does he have to be so unwashed and annoying constantly?! Monica is the character I can almost force myself to like (besides the vampires, who are all pretty cool) because of her sociopathic bitchyness. However, her change from petty antagonist to occasionally helpful not-quite-protagonist annoyed me.

Amelie is a character I'd really like to see developed more. Yes, yes, we know she's tortured by Sam's death and we know she's antagonised by her evil father, but I'd like to see her blossom into the interesting character she really should be. There comes a point where being a frigid bitch won't cut it anymore, and that time is coming soon. Either do something useful or get killed off. Myrnin is a character who has a little too much wacky and a little too little realism. I get that he's supposed to be excentric, but it's starting to get annoying. I just want him to go a bit nuts, almost kill Claire, then realise what he's done and turn her into a vampire so they can actually do some proper work for once without the constant unnecessary threat of Claire's imminent painful death. Oliver should get off his ass and do something evil or grow up a bit. And lose the evil hippy aura.

Regarding the plot, 'Kiss of Death' had a plot so obvious that my dog could probably have figured it out - but then, that's part of it's charm. It leaves it to the writing and the characters to make the book interesting, and if you've stuck with it for 9 installments you probably like them (or are just too annoyed to leave, like me).

Passable plot, but interesting characters.(less)

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Nov 30, 2010 Jessica rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: on-my-shelf

Oh man, this series never disappoints! This book starts with Michael getting the deal to record a CD in Dallas, so everybody at Glass House is excited to go on a road trip, especially Eve after having some uncertainties about her and Michael’s future together. We also get some “awww “moments between Claire and Shane (you’ll know what I’m talking about as soon as you read the end of chapter 2 ;)), but before leaving, the gang finds out that Oliver is going with them. It’s the beginning of one hel...more

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Oct 27, 2010 Kt from A Book Obsession.. rated it 5 of 5 stars

When Claire gets passes for the four of them to leave town for Michael's audition at a major studio, She is super excited to be able to leave Morganville, even if it is only for a few days. Considering their track record, they should have known things just couldn't go smoothly. To start off the crazy train trip their least favorite vampire is coming along as a chaperone. When he makes then stop in a one horse town with a order to stay put until he can get back, the gang gets extremely annoyed, a...more When Claire gets passes for the four of them to leave town for Michael's audition at a major studio, She is super excited to be able to leave Morganville, even if it is only for a few days. Considering their track record, they should have known things just couldn't go smoothly. To start off the crazy train trip their least favorite vampire is coming along as a chaperone. When he makes then stop in a one horse town with a order to stay put until he can get back, the gang gets extremely annoyed, and then wind up getting themselves into major trouble. However, that is nothing compared to the trouble and danger they get into when the vampire's agenda is revealed. It may just be the worst situation they have been in yet, and that is really saying something.

The four of them really didn't seem to understand just how different things are outside of Morganville. They are used to being tough, and well known in the town, basically near the top of the "food chain." Eve continued right along with her loud attitude. When it got her into trouble Michael of course steps up all "tough vampire" to protect her, putting himself and the rest at a major risk. Claire as always is able to keep her wits about her and figures out how to get them out of that first mess, and proceeds to give them a lecture on their behavior. I love how she is described as tiny little non-threatening thing, but she always surprises those who try to stand against her and her friends.

While outside of Morganville, the four of them seriously entertain running off and never coming back. As much as they might want to leave the town, I think they are actually better off staying put. Call me crazy, but it might just be safer for them. Morganville changed all of them and they would really have a hard time fitting in on the outside. At least in Morganville they have earned some status that protect them. Besides, they know it is only a recipe for disaster to try and leave as Amelie would do everything she could to hunt them down. At least by staying they will be on her "good" side, if you can call it that.

The action dialed right back up in this book. The stakes were incredibly high, and I found it amusing to see just how much trouble the four of them could get into outside of Morganville. It kinda follows along with the saying "You can take the girl out of the city, but you can't take the city out of the girl." They are stuck in this life, and I hope to see them starting on the road to acceptance in the next book. I've always been the type of person to try and make the best of things and I think that's what they need to do as well. I'm eager to see how they take this renewed idea of being trapped in the next book. It should be interesting to say the least.(less)

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Oct 19, 2010 drey rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2010-reads, ya

You know how it gets when you're really into a series, and the number of books in that series starts inching closer to the double-digits, and you get that itty-bitty niggle of worry that this book will not be as good as you're expecting?

Boy, was that a run-on or what? Anyway. I practically inhaled Kiss of Death. Seriously. Yeah, yeah, I know I normally read fast. And this one wasn't a big book to start with. But still. Inhaled.

The gang--Michael, Eve, Shane, and Claire--goes on a road-trip to Dal...more

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Oct 02, 2010 Ashley rated it 4 of 5 stars

Author: Rachel Caine

Book type: Paperback

Vampire musician Michael Glass has attracted the attention of a big- time producer who wants to cut a demo and play some gigs-which means Michael will have to enter the human world. For this, he's been assigned escorts that include both a dangerous immortal as well as Michael's all-too-human friends. And with that mix of personalities, this is going to be a road trip from hell…

It takes a very skilled author took keep a book series going over 8 books (soon...more

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Sep 25, 2010 Natshane rated it 5 of 5 stars

What I gotta say, I'm glad I picked it out, on my third visit to the bookshop on the third consecutive day I went, I decided to check this book out, having doubts about it and whether or not it's worth my dime. And I couldn't get enough of it in any sense. Rachel Caine has a very good sense of humour, not so serious all the time, and eventhough when the situation is serious, there is always someone who made it seemed funny, okay, to narrow it down perhaps Shane and Eve, gotta love em! I want to...more

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Sep 10, 2010 Kay rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: series-i-read

I remember reading that Rachel Caine had had a 6-book plan set out for the Morganville series when she started out. Kiss of Death is book 8 – and her lack-of-overarching-plan is kinda starting to show.

Don’t get me wrong, I really enjoyed Kiss of Death. Caine’s verse is as addictive as ever. I love these characters and their angst – so, really, how could I not enjoy another visit into their world? But Kiss of Death was definitely a step down from some of the other Morganville books. If I weren’t...more

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About Rachel Caine

Rachel Caine is a pen name of Roxanne Longstreet Conrad.

She has also published as:
Roxanne Longstreet
Roxanne Conrad
Julie Fortune
Ian Hammell

Her Facebook page:
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Books by Rachel Caine

Glass Houses (The Morganville Vampires, #1)

Feast of Fools (The Morganville Vampires, #4)

Midnight Alley (The Morganville Vampires, #3)

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

Carpe Corpus (The Morganville Vampires, #6)

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Trivia About Kiss of Death

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Quotes from Kiss of Death

“Another thing I don't want on my tombstone," Shane said.

You have others?" Claire asked.

He held up one finger. "I thought it wasn't loaded," Shane said. Second finger. "Hand me a match so I can check the gas tank." Third finger. "Killed over ice cream. Basically, any death that requires me to be stupid first.” — 372 people liked it

“Shane looked down at the staked vamp at his feet. “Claire?”
Yes?”
You staked a vampire with a number two pencil.”
I didn’t actually check the number.”
Have I told you lately how freaking awesome you are?”
She tried to smile, but her heart was fluttering in her chest now, and not in a good way. “Compliments later.
We really need to get out of here and get to the car. Any ideas?”
Find another pencil and I’ll pin this one down, too,” Michael said.
You know how weird that sounds, right?” Shane said. “Right, never mind. Number two pencil, coming up.
Why do I feel like we’re taking a test?” — 366 people liked it

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Kiss of Death (The Morganville Vampires #8)

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