Bitter Blood (Morganville Vampires #13) by Rachel Caine

Bitter Blood by Rachel Caine

Bitter Blood (release date November 6, 2012) is Book 13 in The Morganville Vampire Series

Blurb:

For years, the human and vampire residents of Morganville, Texas, have managed to co-exist in peace. But now that the threat to the vampires has been defeated, the human residents are learning that the gravest danger they face is the enemy within…

Thanks to the eradication of the parasitic creatures known as the draug, the vampires of Morganville have been freed of their usual constraints. With the vampires indulging their every whim, the town’s human population is determined to hold on to their lives by taking up arms. But college student Claire Danvers isn’t about to take sides, considering she has ties to both the humans and the vampires.

To make matters worse, a television show comes to Morganville looking for ghosts, just as vampire and human politics collide. Now, Claire and her friends have to figure out how to keep the peace without ending up on the nightly news… or worse.

Review:

Bitter Blood picks up a few months after the draug were defeated in Black Dawn. Michael and Eve are married, much to everyone’s dismay, human and vampire alike. The only support they get are from their best friends and housemates, Claire and Shane.

Rules are changing in Morganville. Oliver seems to have become inseparable with Amelie, the Founder. And his influence is showing. And Claire is not happy about it. Upon receiving their new “registration” cards in the mail, Claire, Shane and Eve discover that they now have to carry an I.D. card that gives all of their vital information. They are not excited about the cards, but when Eve opens Michael’s and they discover the new rules for the vampires, it hits the fan. Seems the vampires have some new rules as well, namely, they can now legally “hunt” one time a year. And that goes over like a lead balloon.

Claire and Shane go to Amelie to try and dissuade her from allowing the vampires to hunt, but Oliver is there and his influence over Amelie is undeniable. And, seemingly, ironclad. Everyone in Morganville seems on edge. Myrnin comes to Claire to tell her to get out while she can, but she refuses to leave her friends. (Due to Claire’s saving the vampires several times, the Founder has told her she can leave any time she chooses)

The Glass House, where Claire, Shane, Michael (Glass) and Eve live, is attacked by people who are NOT happy about the marriage between Michael and Eve. Both sides, vampires and humans, say it’s not natural. And the tension just keeps getting worse. To add to the tension, a television show crew shows up wanting to see if they can find some paranormal activity. Ironic, right? Well, let’s just say things aren’t always as they appear.
Things go from bad to worse quickly in Morganville. Eve is brutally attacked. Myrnin is missing. Michael is not himself, nor, for that matter, is Oliver. And, some folks just won’t stay dead. There is a play for power. Can Amelie survive this latest move? Will our fab four survive all of the fallout? What about Myrnin? Did he just up and leave Morganville and Claire? You’ll have to read and find out.

Everyone knows how much I looooove this series. And, I hate to say it, but this one fell just a little short for me. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a good book, but I expect more from the residents of Morganville. This one wasn’t action packed like the previous few books. Oh, there are revelations, some attacks and a few surprises, but just not what I was expecting. We do finally get to hear a few things from Myrnin’s POV and it made me love him even more. Two of the fab four (Claire, Shane, Michael & Eve) disappointed me to the point where I wanted to climb into the book and hit them on their heads. I know, I know!! It is YA, but dang!! All in all, a good story. I just expected more.

LINKS TO ORDER:  Barnes and Noble / The Book Depository / Amazon

Reviewed by Vickie M.