Another read in two nights.
Has a new element I haven't read in other books. I enjoyed the characters. Not overly exciting-- I can put it down. I will read more of the series though.

I enjoyed this book. Did I love it? That's not the word I would use. Did I like it? Yes, I did. It's about Clare, a young super-smart girl that falls under attack of the "popular" girls of the university she attends. (She's sixteen; however, since she's super-smart she graduated early and now attends a college "close to home"). She gets pushed down the stairs of her dorm and hastily tries to find another place to live so she doesn't have to get beat up (again) by the popular girls. Welcome to the Glass House. Oh yeah, and the town of Morganville is run and owned by vampires and if you aren't under their protection you're, well, food...or a snack. Needless to say Clare and her newfound friends aren't under the protection and pretty soon Clare has more enemies than she can count and a newfound attraction to one of the older boys she lives with. I enjoyed this book and look forward to seeing where Clare's story leads.

Received this quickly and my daughter loved the book. She's sharing it with her friends and plans on buying more from this author.

I bought the first two volumes of The Morganville Vampires with absolutely no knowledge of Rachel Caine or the contents of the books. Color me pleasantly surprised. Admittedly light fare, Glass Houses was a quick read that completely caught me up in the world of Morganville, TX. I found myself really wrapped up in the four main characters, caring about them and "what happens next". So much so that as soon as I read the last page of Glass Houses, I *had* to pick up Dead Girls' Dance and start reading. :-) Another great thing about Rachel Caine's stories are the many "what if"'s contained within. What if this had happened instead of that? What if Claire had done this instead of that? Terribly rich fodder fan and springboard fictions alike. Great job, Rachel!

I love the Weather Warden series so picked up Glass Houses, despite it being a YA novel. Like the Weather Warden series, it is fast-paced, tautly written, with excellent characters you care about. Rachel Caine is an amazing writer. The only reason I didn't give this 5 stars is the explanation for Claire's sticking in Morganville. If any real young girl were violently attacked in her dorm - and had parents that were still around - she would have called her parents immediately and LEFT. If Caine had said that Claire didn't have parents or anyone to really turn to, or even if there were some invisible force keeping her in the town (a vampire power of some sort) I would have believed it more. Throughout the whole book I kept wondering, why don't they just LEAVE? Again, a simple vampire ability to keep people in the town would have been more satisfying than the weak reasons given in the book. That said, it was a terrific read with great characters and I'm definitely getting the rest of the series.

I liked this book, I was expecting to find it okay and to not be drawn in, but instead I found myself being taken in by the characters. The style of the book made me think of a cross between Buffy and Twilight and yet it still contained some of it's own uniqueness. It is not the sort of book that would be considered a literary classic or one that is a heavy read, but it was still fun to read and I intend on reading the rest in the series.

Clair Danvers is a genuis. No, really. She is 16 and going to a college in a desert town. Bullies to hide from, cute guys to drool over, coffee to drink, all pretty normal. Execpt with the said bullies trying to kill/do some very serious damage to her person.

The story looks like it's going to be another girl-meets-boy/ girl-uses-her-incredible-brains-n-saves-everyone-and-they-all-love-her until she goes to live in the Glass House and discovers that the entire town is run by vampires!

Anything can happen in this plot. The series is addictive and is a very satisfying read. Although, I do hate cliffhangers...

Rachel Caine doesn't get enough attention as an author.

While I tried to keep in mind the fact that this book is indeed intended for a YA audience, I was still dismayed by several factors:

1) Young Claire is, indeed, very young, and pretty much so annoying in her bull-headed quest to foolishly die that I, like another reviewer, finally began to wish she just would kick the bucket already. The phrase TSTL (too stupid to live) kept ringing in my head with each dumb decision this character made;
2)Too much expository writing, which did not keep the book as fast-paced as both I was hoping and as seemed prudent for such exciting subject matter. Dialogue can be a wonderful tool;
3)The two main male characters, Michael and Shane, came off as very flat and interchangeable, and I failed to see what was attractive about either aside from simply being *told* they were hot;
4)The vampires were indeed also very flat, and made sweeping statements such as "I am the baddest of the bad in the entire world," which always tends to annoy me, although that's a personal quirk. (I mean, come one. The baddest of the bad lives in Morganville, Texas?)
5) How young is this YA audience supposed to be? The writing seemed a little too dumbed-down. Remember, a YA audience usually means middle-schoolers, but kids these days are savvy.

I will not be buying the continuing Morganville books, although I may still pursue the Weather Warden series. It seems as if everyone lately is jumping onto the highly lucrative YA bandwagon (everyone hoping to be the next JK Rowling or Stephenie Meyer, perhaps), but it really does not need to be so. I appreciate writers who find their niche(s) and then stay in it. Diversifying tends to water down the quality, which is unfortunate.

Claire Danvers is perhaps the smartest and most picked on university student in Morganville. Terrorized by the popular girl and her entourage, Claire seeks housing and safety off campus. Moving in with Michael, Shane and Eve seemed like a good idea, but now she's not so sure. Because Morganville's undead population seems to have it out for the four of them and Claire isn't sure how long they can protect themselves.

This is the first novel by Rachel Caine that I have read, and I have to say it was quite addictive. The first book in the Morganville Vampires Series, Caine does an excellent job of introducing us to the main characters, while at the same time giving then enough mystery to keep you reading. While at first Claire, the heroine, comes off as being a bit annoying and somewhat of a cry baby, as the book goes on you get to see some of her inner strength.

The plot moves along at a fast pace and my only complaint was that there was conflict after conflict without a lot of down time in between. I am hoping that this does not continue throughout the series and was only used to hook young readers who may not have the desire for deep character development.

Overall I really enjoyed this book and I know that I will continue reading the rest of the series.

I don't know what everone's complaining about! I really liked this book! But just to let you know, it really is a young adults book. I, like all the other Twilight fans, was depressed that the series was over, but now I think I've found something else to get into (a.k.a this book). I really recomend this book.

This is a better YA vampire novel than Twilight in my opinion. The characters I actually came to really care about. There is Claire, the sixteen year old genius, in college too early and getting bullied every step of the way. Unfortunately these bullies intend to see Claire dead. This forces Claire out of the dorms and into a shared rental house. The Glass house is owned by Michael Glass a 19 year old with some crazy secrets of his own. The other roommates are Eve, a Gothic girl with a heart and Shane, a young man who is grieving for his sister and mother. With them, Claire finds safety but she also becomes more aware that the entire college town of Morganville is home for vampires. Anyone without the Vampire's trademark "Protection" is fair 'prey'. Claire's already managed to tick off the vampire community multiple times. Logical Claire is now faced with unlogical things and people all around her. Her choices can lead herself and friends to safety or have dire consequences. The action is packed, and the characters are great. I'm a 30-something and I have to say that I didn't have the problems other reviewers had with not really feeling the target age for readers of this series. I had no problem feeling these characters just the way I can feel the Harry Potter character's and as I already said I much preferred this group to Meyer's Twilight characters. My four star review is a actually more like 4 1/2 (Yes, I did enjoy the book THAT much) and I have to take 1/2 star off solely because this ended on a seriously disappointing cliffhanger. I've said in other reviews that I enjoy and anticipate stories that have dangling threads that make me eager for the next volume of the series but ending in the middle of action just isn't cool.

Fun to read. I already ordered the next one in the series. Can't wait to get it.

Set for a younger audience (about college age kids) though some adults seem to enjoy it too.
Follows a young college girl, who is being bullied in her dorm, as she sets out to find a new place to call home, while uncovering what's really going on in town, and who or what is behind the curtain (vampires).
I thought it was a great read..kept my attention..

Have never read Rachel Caine before. Great writing style. A real page turner. Must start with the first book though or you will get lost. The second book starts exactly where the last book left you and there is little or no explanation to set it up. If you are a Twilight fan, it's a sure bet this is a series for you.

I read all types of book in all genres and when I was in my local book store over the weekend in the romance section I happened upon this book which was on an end cap of one of the isles. I thought it looked interesting. What I did NOT know, but found out after reading and racing back to the local book store to pick up the rest of the series was that it was a yound adult novel. (The bookstore admitted they placed it where they did on purpose to get people to pick it up when I went back to get the rest of the series and was fumbling around in the yound adult section looking for it.)

Ok, so I admit it, I liked this book. It was fun, the characters were interesting and it kept me wanting more. I am on the 3rd book out of the 4 in the series so far and truly enjoyed this book. It was a refresshing change from what I normally read.

This series definitely takes a unique twist on the concept of vampires, but I like it pretty well. Glass Houses wasn't as amazing as some vampire books I've read, but this was a good start to the Morganville series. It doesn't have too many slow parts, and it certainly leaves plenty of room for further character development. I'm looking forward to reading the next one!

I am so hooked. I am not a young adult by far. But I am just discovering fantasy books. I loved this book. Yes, Claire acts immature at times.......but she is only a teenager who is thrust into college life much earlier than is the norm. I personally couldn't wait to read the next installments and am passing them on to my daughter.

"Glass Houses" offers a unique twist on the classic "us vs. them" anti-vamp scene. Marketed as a young adult read, it certainly does play to its suggested reader-base, but it's a fun enough romp on the light side of dark that the non-teen can enjoy it.

Oddball geek-girl Claire Danvers is stuck in popular bitch-queen's dorm -- which sounds to YA readers like fodder for a horror novel right there. But her crummy college town manages to take things a step futher -- the small city is also home base for legions of bloodsucker evil vampires, which sets a scene for an adrenaline-packed thrill ride of a book -- the thrills hitting when you're least expecting them.

Luckily, Claire manages to team up with three "rebels" -- human teenagers who, like herself, shun the vamps' control on the town. What ensues? Chaos, naturally, and chaos of the good kind we love in the horror genre.

Caine creates an all-out fun world for her average-but-really-not characters to play and suffer in, and those same characters' personalities are believable. In the process of creating "new and original" vampire lore (so difficult in this day and age to find), the author manages to make her settings -- both on and off campus -- feel alive and realistic.

I would warn readers that it ends on a cliffhanger, but otherwise, it's an enjoyable romp on the paranormal side of college.

Glass houses is an awesome vampire book, and I recommend it for anyone who loves reading these kind of books. I can say that I enjoyed it a lot. In the beginning, I kind of felt ticked off by what had taken place at her dorms and was wondering if I would be comfortable with reading something like that. However, I continued it and ended up finishing it in one day. Personally, I like the third book in this series the best so far because of the plot twist. The only con I have about this book is that everything took place in a matter of days...it wasn't like time went by, it was very choppy, but other than that, I loved it. It is a short book and I believed that it could have been combined with books 2, but to each is own...
Anyways, i highly recommend this book.

I've been into reading vampire novels lately and this one was ok. My only problem with this book is that at times it can be a bit hard to follow. The author seems to switch back and forth between point of views and I had to go back and reread a few sections in order to figure out who was talking. Overall it was good. I recommend you check it out from the library over buying it, as it's not the kind of book you read more than once. Also could've done without the cliffhanger ending.

I've been in love with Vampire Novels lately. This book is definately worth the read, read all three in less than three days.

It is a series you can't put down and I am very upset that I have another six months to see the next book.

I dont know why everyone says its a YA read. There's no sex but it's not without physical tension between the main characters. Otherwise I dont think it had any obvious YA characteristics other than the age of the characters. Certainly one of the best books I've read in months!!

A little scarey and charmingly tender with fabulous characters, a strong plot and some convincingly nasty vamps (evocative of LKH's).

The cliffhanger ending rocked me but I love it when a book leaves me gulping on the last page.

Worth noting - the first 20 pages are a bit slow.

I liked this book as much as any of the Weather Warden books. Great urban fantasy - at this point, the author could write a Cookbook and I'd buy it!!!!!!

Claire Danvers just wanted to get her education. As an exceptionally smart sixteen year old, Claire is trying to adapt to college life in the town of Morganville, Texas. Unfortunately, there is a little secret about Morganville... it is run by vampires! When Claire runs afoul of one of the girls on campus, the vampires' attention becomes focused on her. The only sanctuary is Glass House. But is it truly a sanctuary?

Rachel Caine can write in any genre and exceed; she is just that talented! GLASS HOUSES is marketed for young adult, but adults will enjoy this interesting twist on the vampire theme as well. A note of caution for younger readers is in store, however, as some of the language is a bit mature and perhaps even unnecessary.

GLASS HOUSES introduces the reader to four characters, Claire Danvers, Eve Rosser, Michael Glass, and Shane Collins. Having already read The First Day of the Rest of Your Life in MANY BLOODY RETURNS, I felt as if I already knew Eve. The other characters are gradually developing as the story progresses but it is very obvious that this book is meant to be read in the context of the series. The ending in particular, leaves the reader dangling without any full resolution which may bother some readers. Needless to say, I am anxiously awaiting my order of the second book to see where in the heck Rachel Caine is taking us next in Morganville!

COURTESY OF CK2S KWIPS AND KRITIQUES

This is one of the best vampire noels, despite the fact the vampires are evil. This shocking book will keep readers madly flipping pages and wanting more!

It's the usual storyline where the new quiet student manages to inadvertently antagonize the richest, most popular and feared girl at school and opens the gates to a flood of potentially homicidal behavior directed towards her.
This time there's a twist though, and Claire Danvers soon realises that there is more to Morganville than spoilt princesses and a university. Say, hmm a town run by vampires where humans fall into two basic categories: servants or prey. Claire has no intention of being either, and so, fleeing the college dorms in fear of her life she stumbles upon the one house where she just might be able to see out her education. But then again, just how much does she really know about her new roommates? There's David, the landlord who never seems to be around during the day, Eve, the girl who hates everything and Shane who makes her wish she wasn't quite so young. And after years of reading we all know that the hotter you find a guy, the more secrets he's likely to be keeping.
This is fab stuff, tense and chilling and you'll find yourself hunched over, heart pounding, eagerly scanning ahead on more than one occasion.

I was very excited to get this book, because, though I state otherwise, I love vampires books, and I love young adult novels. Perhaps I'm learning that I should not mix the two, however. The main character was an idiotic "smart-girl". Her incessent need to go to college in the face of death made me dislike her and wish her all the trouble she got.

There were some highlights to the book such as the characters of Eve and Shane, but other aspects of the book detract too much from these characters to make it worth it. I didn't find Claire's parents to be believable characters, nor did I find theirs or her actions reasonable. The romance in the book felt forced and silly. I think I would have thought more of the book as a whole without the romantic angle.

The worst part of it all was that there was some climactic resolution, but no end. It was clearly set up to go to the next book. When I buy a book, I'm not buying a plot hook for the second book. I'm buying it for the story in the first.

Overall, I give this a borrow from the library recommendation if you really want to read it.

I'm 51 years old and I LOVED this book! Sure, the main characters act a little immature now and then, but THEY'RE KIDS.

This is my first book by this author and I could only put it down with difficulty (as opposed to the second book in the series, which I absolutely could not put down at all). The background of the town and vamps has been intricately built, with fascinating characters on all sides. Claire, the lead, is especially interesting and multi-dimensional (and I hope someone points her towards birth control real soon because she's gonna need it).

There is a real fear factor in the scary parts, real humor in the funny parts, and the guys are hilarious when they're being guys. The pace is get-up-and-go (2nd book even more so). All in all, tremendously entertaining.

The only sore spot was the sudden cliffhanger at the end, which (disregard the "look ahead" excerpt at the end of the book) is speedily dealt with in ch. 1 of Part 2. It almost made me NOT buy volume 2 after I'd determined that I wanted more of this author, but I bought it and am darned glad I did. Beware: volume 2 also has its own cliffhanger as well as numerous plot threads that need to be resolved fairly quickly. But that's what series are all about, right?

Buy this book! I don't like many vampire books, but this one is a winner.

Claire Danvers thinks studying and learning are fun. It is no wonder she ends up going to college early. She is only sixteen, so her parents do not want her to live in a dorm too far away for them to drive to. Therefore, Claire ends up at Texas Prairie University (TPU). Claire plans to remain at TPU until she is eighteen and then transfer to a much bigger and better college. Since Claire is sixteen, she expects that the other students would treat her a bit harsh. After all, Claire is much younger than anyone else and prefers to study instead of party. However, she never expects to find out that she is the ONLY normal or sane student in town. It does not take long for Claire to honestly believe that she is the only sane person in TOWN!

Monica Morrell is the most popular girl. She is also the biggest bully. When Claire, accidently, makes Monica look stupid, she becomes Monica's personal punching bag. Worse, after being given a black eye and shoved down some steep stairs, Claire knows that Monica wants nothing less than to see her dead. Claire's only real choice is to find some sort of cheap housing off campus...TODAY!

Claire ends up at Glass House. It a blend of Tara from "Gone with the Wind" and the home of "The Munsters". Within twenty-four more hours, Claire learns why the town is odd. Vampires run the town! Humans who are under Protection from a vampire always wear their bracelets identifying them as such. These humans swear their entire lives to their Protector. They live, serve, and die at their Protector's whim. And anyone without a bracelet, such as Clair, is meat!

Claire now has three house mates. Eve works at the local coffee shop named Common Grounds. It is the only neutral territory around. Shane can only cook one thing, chili. He hates Monica even more than Claire does. (Monica returns his hateful feelings.) But the strangest is David. The house belongs to David. But David is never seen during the day, only at night. He is not a vampire though. He is one big mystery. The trio may seem almost as strange as the Morganville, but when the town's deepest secrets come crawling out at night for fresh blood, these three have Claire's back.

***** The only thing that I do not like about this novel is that it ends in the middle of a murder involving one of Claire's three house mates. Talk about a frustrating cliff hanger! So do NOT begin this novel until you purchase book two (The Dead Girls' Dance). If this book had ended three pages earlier, I would have given it the full five stars. Otherwise, this book is stellar! *****

Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.

I first found Rachel Caine through an introduction by Jim Butcher Storm Front (The Dresden Files, Book 1). Loved Rachel's Weather Warden books Ill Wind (Weather Warden, Book 1) so I decided to give this a try as I was Jonezing for more books to read. Low and behold I came upon this series and thought "I'll try it." Boy am I glad I did. Not just your regular vampire book. You can really kin to this girl who is not the most popular girl in school, just a nobody like the rest of us were. (I was afraid I was not going to relate being an older person and not real in touch with my old school days ya know? No problamo here)I can relate to all the characters and even feel good when some of them get whatz coming to um and even that happens in an unexpected way. OK I am jazzed about picking up this new series and Man I realy love Rachel Caine, nice to see she is versatile and can separate her stories. This does not feel like a Warden book, it stands on it own and I bet you can't put it down! Thanks MS Caine for the ride, I am ready for the next one please.

The book was okay, a bit slow to start, but finally picked up closer to the end. I may read the next one, however it is not on the top of my list...

Claire Danvers is a genius. Instead of sending her to Caltech or any of the other faraway schools that have professed an interest in her, her folks send her to Texas Prairie University or TPEwwwww in Morganville, TX.

Our smart young heroine quickly learns that the town isn't quite what it seems. A gang of bullies in the dorm can harm her with impunity, it's not safe to go out at night...

Turns out, the town is run by vampires and unless you have Protection, you're food. It's up to our smart heroine to find a way to protect herself and her friends.

This is definitely a novel I'd recommend to a young adult reader who's interested in dark fantasy. The book's well-written with good characters and plot. I'm surprised a novel written for young adults has college age protagonists, but no way am I knocking anything that will get a younger audience reading is wonderful.

I even enjoyed the book as an adult reader, but I've been a fan of Rachel Caine since the beginning of the "Weather Warden" novels.

This book was for my step-daughter who loves it.She finished this book in two days and is ready for book two.She let a friend borrow the book and so far she loves it too.Anything my step-daughter likes when it comes to books i like as well so i will read the book next and pick up book two for her.

I could not put this book down. I reas it in two days. When I wasn't at work I did nothing else but read this book.

I really liked this book a lot. A lot of exciting adventure. It has a real cliffhanger ending, so I'm anxious to get the second book in the serious right away.

Premise: Claire Danvers is one of the youngest students at the Morganville College. Her over protective parents fear she is too young to go to the large schools out of state. Unknown by them, however, is the fact that Claire is being picked on by the bullies of the dorm. When things get out of hand, Claire decides she needs to move out before they kill her. And so she ends up at Glass House, and meets the current tenants Michael, Shane, and Eve. Through them she realizes the town has a BIG secret, and that the people targeting her have a lot of power in town.

Review: This book was a blast! Claire is a genius and in college but still all teenager. As she is thrown into the complexities of Morganville and its darker denizens, she also has to deal with growing feelings for boys, how to get around the bullies, and figure out how to stay in school! A lot of questions get answered by the end, but she still leaves us in a nasty cliffhanger! (Rachel Caine must die! Okay, maybe not, but can I choke her a little?) Fast paced and loads of fun!

I didn't realize that this book was for the YA market, but I read it anyway. It was a good read for a YA book and I was ready to give it 4 stars but then I read the ending! It ends on a cliff-hanger!! I HATE books that end on cliff-hangers!! That being the case, it only rates 2 stars.

I thougt it was great. It was obviously meant as a young adult novel, though. The main character is sixteen--a sixteen year old genius in her first year of college. Claire had always got picked on or ignored, but the girls in her dorm have taken it to the extreme, especially when they punched her then threw her down a flight of stairs. She leaves the dorm and picks up the latest want ads to find a new place to stay when she is drawn to a strange house with three equal strange roommates. With them she learns the true nature of the town and just how dangerous her life has become.

I thought it was great. I don't think most of Caine's normal readers will be as satisfied, since this is a bit softer and sweet as far as the romance goes, unless they also happen to read that sort of stuff like I do. The action is also not as extreme, but I think this series has promise and with the cliff-hanger at the end, I think it will deliver a more solid punch in April when the second in the series will come out.

What a wonderful book! I don't think I've ever anticipated a sequel more than I am anticipating the sequel to Glass Houses, which hits stores April 3rd and is called Dead Girls Dance. Anyway, everyone should give this novel a try. It's definitely not for the 9 to 12 year old range, as Amazon states in their item specifics(it's got dirty language). I don't believe it's just for young adults either, as it is classified. I'm way beyond the young adult stage of my life and found this novel very refreshing, fast paced and extremely easy to read. Probably in the top 10 best novels I've read in the last year. The basic premise of the novel is a very bright 16 year old girl named Claire Danvers has just started her first semester at Texas Prarie University(about 6 wks in and lives in a dorm) and is finding out in a hurry that she isn't fitting in because she's a braniac. To make things worse, she made one of the most popular girls at the university look stupid. After this popular girl and her sidekicks threaten to kill her she decides to quickly look for another place to live(her parents didn't want her going to a school far away so young....hence her being about 2 or 3 hrs away from them). Enter the Glass House. There are 3 people she will share rent with at the Glass House. Shane, Michael and Eve. They are not much older than her. They make a great cast of characters. Michael has a bit of a surprise for everyone. Once she finds out the town is controlled by vampires and has been for a long time, things start to get hectic and take a turn for the worse. Lots of cool stuff happens in the novel, so I don't want to give too much away. Just know that you should order this book now through Amazon. It's not very much and worth every cent. The ending of the book will leave you on a cliffhanger. So be sure you can wait from now until the sequel releases to find out what happens. It's already driving me crazy. Maybe I can find an advanced readers copy of it. It's been a while since I've read a book so refreshing and original. Great vampire stuff, too. I read it in about 6 hrs. Check it out!

OK, it's my fault for not realizing this was a "young adult" book. I've read many of Rachel Caine's adult books and thoroughly enjoy them. This is not high literature, of course, but it's very entertaining and despite my initial reservations about content, I couldn't stop reading it. I found that the author's attitude was somewhat condescending to her readers, a quality missing from her adult work, and I imagine that even if I were still in my teens I might have been a bit offended. Also, this book contains an unresolved cliffhanger, so be warned. You may be condemning yourself to buying future books in the series.

I agree with the other reviews. It was an easy read, but it wasn't what I expected having read the Warden series. It was just okay...

I loved Rachel Caine's Weather Warden series and so was interested in her take on Vampires. While I am sure it would be a better story for a young adult I had a very hard time relating to the characters. I have read other young adult books and not felt so disconnected from the thoughts and emotions of the characters but for whatever reason I just didn't empathize with them enough. She had some very interesting scenarios and ideas but the book was very short and I think that overall it could have benefited from some serious fleshing out. I doubt I will pick up others in the series but I will continue to buy her adult series.

This book surprised me. I really thought, since it is a high school aged read, I wouldn't like it. That it would not hold my attention. Well, I am here to tell you I was wrong. It grabbed me right off and kept me untillthe last page. My only disaapointment was that it ended! I wanted MORE! I cannot wait until the next book comes out! This is -for sure-going on my keeper shelf. Andmoms and dads out there, tho,there is some bad language in the book, it is a good read for kids in 11-12th grade, I think. Especailly if you have a child that doesn't always like to read. This might get your daughter (a son may not like this as much) to get into reading with this series. We all know how important it is to get our kids reading!!!! Again-a KEEPER

This book has is based on an interesting and novel idea of vampires running a town filled with either compliant Protected humans or ignorant "cattle". Maybe it has too many ideas for the book length, since the author would introduce one, and I would think what? But then we'd be on to the next topic/event. And the main character, a 16 year old genius, seems to be a little too immature and lacking in common sense - I would have bought her character better as a 13 or 14 year old. It was an interesting and entertaining book, with some intriguing secondary characters, but the development througout just fell a little short of what I had hoped for.

All Claire Danvers wanted was a normal college experience. Preferably somewhere far away, but when her parents send her to Morganville, Texas, she's still glad to be going to college, even if she is, at sixteen, the youngest college student around. Morganville is a small college town, and Claire's prepared to make the best of her fresh start. Unfortunately, things don't turn out the way anyone expected or wanted them to.

At first, Claire's existence is made miserable by a few girls in her dorm who torment her. Dorm life, for Claire, is not all it's cracked up to be--in fact, it's pretty much as miserable as she thinks it can get, so Claire decides to move out and find a place off-campus. Luck is with her; she ends up at a spooky-looking mansion with a room she can actually afford, and three roommates who actually turn out to be pretty cool, even if they have reservations about letting her move in at first. Michael,
Shane, and Eve are all eighteen, and Claire's a couple of years younger.

If Claire thought being harassed in her dorm was bad, she didn't know Morganville's secrets. When she moves out of the dorm, however, she learns that there's more to Morganville than there seems to be. The town is run by vampires. Yes, actual vampires that can't go out in the daytime and drink human blood at night. If Claire's not careful, it could end up being her blood they're drinking...

GLASS HOUSES is a great book for fans of vampire novels. Claire and her roommates are quite likeable as characters, and, perhaps making the book even better, the bad guys are just as easy to hate as the inhabitants of the Glass House are to like. In Morganville, Rachel Caine has created a mysterious, intriguing, and spooky town run by the undead (I was a bit
reminded of Buffy's hometown of Sunnydale). The writing is great, and there are few flaws in this awesome book.

Claire doesn't ask nearly as many questions as might be expected of someone who had just been let in on the secret that she's living in a town run by vampires; it seems like that might be a way of keeping some questions and suspense in the story, but it struck me as a bit unrealistic while reading. Even with its minor flaws, though, this is a book that will have readers hooked and ready for more in this series!

Reviewed by: Jocelyn Pearce

I first stumbled across Rachel Caine in her Weather Warden series. I've enjoyed most of her work so far. Glass Houses is a fast, fun vampire read. Reminiscent of Charlaine Harris, but thankfully the characters have a bigger vocabulary. If you're a fan of the Weather Warden series, you'll probably still enjoy this work, just be aware the style of writing is different.

I just read this entire book last night. I really liked it except for one thing which I will mention in a moment.

Glass Houses is the story of 16 year old genius Claire. Claire has just started college and instead of sending her to the Ivy League colleges of the East Coast, Claire's parents decide she needs to stay closer to home and enroll her in Texas Prairie University. Claire is used to hostility because of being so different, but the animosity that greets her at Howard Hall is beyond anything she has ever experienced before. In fact, its downright deadly. When she is beaten and shoved down a flight of stairs Claire knows she needs to do something fast. Unwilling to quit school she answers an ad for a roommate at the Glass House. There she meets gothic Eve, slacker Shane and the nocturnal musician, Michael Glass, owner of the house. At first Michael doesn't want Claire to stay because she is underage and the three roommates are all 18 years old. But when he learns of Claire's plight he takes pity on her. Soon Claire learns things about Morganville, the college and its residents, which are better suited to nightmares than the real world. Marked for death and running scared Claire has to use her genius to save not only herself, but her new found friends as well.

This book was very engrossing. Filled with action, mysteries and a bit of romance it compelled me to finish the whole book in one sitting. I really enjoyed all of the characters and Michael's prediciment was especially intriguing. However, there is one thing I really didn't like. To me books should have beginnings, middles and ENDINGS. I realize that this book is (obviously) the first in a prospective series but ending it in the middle of an action scene is frustrating to the reader. Endings should have resolution of a story. You can still hold readers' interests and have them anxious for the next book without resorting to cutting it off cold.

Without a doubt I will be waiting for the next book to come out but I truly hope that the next story is complete in itself.

Under attack by an upperclassman and her cronies, Claire Danvers, a young college freshman, moves into off campus housing with a group of teens that clue her in on the realities of life - and unlife - in Morganville.

Glass Houses had strengths and weaknesses. When a clique of psychotic popular girls is decidedly scarier and far more vicious than the vampires controlling the city, something doesn't seem right. In this, the first installment of a series, the vampires were, unfortunately, very much one dimensional, and aside from Amelie, uninteresting.

Caine did a better job with the heroes. Claire, Eve, Michael and Shane had distinct personalities, a good mixture of maturity and immaturity and enough quirks to make them seem real and likeable. I cared about them, and that drew me into the story.

This was the first book I've read by Rachel Caine, and while I had problems with a few of the characterizations, I found enough to like in this story to want to check out some of her other books.

Rachel Caine fans are in for another rockin' ride in this new series!

Some may be tempted to compare this one to her Weather Wardens books, but that's a big mistake. Each should be read on its own merits, keeping in mind it IS a whole different world and the rules are different. Were I in the right age group for this book I'd likely go nuts over it and be craving another one ASAP. As an adult I'm still nuts over it, but for different reasons.

The characters, especially the brainy, courageous Claire, are very well drawn and likeable for their quirks and shortcomings. Each has a history, baggage, and a unique way of dealing with problems. Young Claire is scary smart in some things, inexperienced in others, and attending college in Morganville, Texas, which has nasty goings on under the surface. Psychotic classmates, sinister cops, and other threats abound in a town where vampires make the rules and unwary humans are there for the taking.

Caine has gone all out on the "What if vampires (the e-vul, bloodsucking, barely controlled fiend kind) designed and ran a town?" It ain't a pretty sight, but it's a page-turning read as Claire and her housemates figure out how to survive. As if classes, term papers, and after school jobs weren't enough on a freshman's plate, the freshman could end up being the meal on that plate!

Think Veronica Mars crossed with Buffy, throw in a gallon of espresso shots to pitch things into high gear and that's what you'll find in Glass Houses. Just like the real world, this one isn't a fair place, and it can get very dark indeed, but you can get past that and thrive if you want it enough and have the support of good friends.

The other plus is the swift, effortless pace of well-executed writing. This is a book you can finish, turn to the front, and read again. That was my favorite kind of book as a teen and still is now. High school and college are long behind me, but Claire's fortune's, tribulations, and will to survive into adulthood take me right back to what it was like when I was her age. She doesn't deal with ordinary bullies, hers are certifiably insane, never mind the vampires and other things lurking about. Caine's characters are pushed to the limit, and just when you think things can't get any worse, they do, but the heroes ARE heroic and do their thing to the best of their ability.

I can't wait for the next one!

I love Rachel Caine's Weather Warden series and was keen to read this, the first in a new series subtitled "The Morganville Vampires". However, this book is VERY different from the Weather Warden series - our heroine is a 16 year old girl going off to College. As an English woman the American college system seems very bizarre at the best of times but Claire's experiences in her first six weeks at her new college in Morganville are even stranger. She's a bit of a brainy nerd and pretty soon falls foul of Monica, the 'cool but dim' girl who, with her acolytes, virtually runs the college. They gang up against Claire and, in order to escape various attempts to harm her, some successful, Claire moves out and starts living in an old house with two young men, Shane and Michael, and a goth girl, Eve. Once there she begins to find out some very strange things about the town of Morganville, its residents and the rules that she needs to know to be protected from the evil things out there.

Claire's discoveries of the strange events that take place in Morganville unfold through the course of the book - she discovers vampires, ghosts, a long-lost secret book - whilst having to deal with injuries, a crush on one of the young men in her house and her parents' protectiveness.

The book moves along fairly swiftly and it's interesting and well-written but I can't give it more than three stars because, for me, it was unsatisfying as it was more a book for teenagers. I'm over twice Claire's age and I just can't identify with her - or even with the setting of the college and the events taking place there. Probably it's great fun for young adults who are interested in the vampire genre but don't want anything too gory or too full of sex. I expected another novel like the Weather Warden series for adults and the information on the book's cover didn't warn me otherwise.

I'm not exactly sure what age group Ms. Caine was writing for with this novel. The main action takes place in a college town, but I can easily see college students passing this one by, the immaturity of the characters is hard to stomach. High School students might also be looking for something a little more mature (sorry to say, the few in my family prefer a little adult interaction with their violence - how shocking!). This could be considered a few age bumps up in fantasy from Harry Potter, but grade school children are too young for this book, its scary enough for nightmares. Junior High? Maybe, I have no current reference. As for those in my age group (well over 30 and then some), I left college years ago, and have no desire to revisit those times, I barely got out, sanity relatively intact, without the added complication of vampires. Who's left?

I have come to the conclusion that Rachel Caine is incapable of writing a bad book, she's more than talented, and this book does show that gift. I am obviously just the wrong reader. No matter how well written this was, I never became fully captivated with the characters, the plot, or the premise. Others, however, may love it, hence the three stars. When Glass Houses does find its audience, I truly believe she will have another successful series on her hands, I just won't be following along on this particular adventure.

I really would like to recommend this book, I'm just not sure who to recommend it to...