I received this book for free from the library in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Source: the library
Daylighters
by
Rachel Caine
urban fantasy in Hardcover edition that was published by Allison & Busby on November 5, 2013 and has 354 pages.
Explore it on Goodreads or Amazon
Other books by this author which I have reviewed include Undone, Unknown, Ghost Town, Rachel Caine, Bite Club, Dark and Stormy Knights, Devil's Bargain, Devil's Due, Last Breath, Unseen, Hex Appeal, Unbroken, Black Dawn, Working Stiff, Two Weeks' Notice, Bitter Blood, Kiss of Death, Fall of Night, Kicking It, Prince of Shadows, Ink and Bone, Paper and Fire, Ash and Quill, Killman Creek, Honor Among Thieves, Smoke and Iron, Honor Bound, Honor Lost
Fifteenth and last (wahhh) in the Morganville Vampires urban fantasy series for Young Adults and revolving around Claire Danvers and her friends in Morganville, Texas.
You really should read Fall of Night , 14, before you read this one as Caine doesn’t provide much background on what happened in that story that would help explain the Glass Team’s attitudes towards the Daylighters in this story.
My Take
Oh, wow. What a way to end a series. Caine started out where she left off in Fall of Night, 14, with the vampire arrests and total foreboding as to what will happen to both humans and vampires.
Actually, foreboding is too small a word for what I felt as I read. Terrifying. Heart in my mouth. I was unable to read fast enough and part of me wanted to set the book aside as I was so worried about what would happen. Trust me though. You do want to read on to see what happens. Just be sure to monitor that heart rate as you read!
Caine keeps the suspense going and going and going. I’ve learned that I do love a storyline that keeps me wondering, tense, hopeful, worried, yes, all of it. I tend to fall into a story and believe in the characters, so when an author does it right, sigh, I’m right there. Of course, the opposite is true as well.
In this, Caine works it very well, keeping in touch with the characters’ various personalities, working our emotions, hauling in parallels with Hitler and his own style of cleansing. It’s the totalitarian feel that really amps up the fear.
It’s a little scary as I did like some of what the Daylighters did for Morganville. Only, it’s not enough. I guess I really don’t care for rulers who need concentration camps and false arrests that require prison breaks… Who knew?
It probably is time to end it. And it’s going out on a high note: I still love the characters, the stories (for the most part) have been excellent, and yes, I think Caine ended it well in keeping with the characters and overall tone of the series. It doesn’t mean I like that it’s ended, and I’m going to be upbeat and assume that Caine has already started work on another series with which I’ll fall in love as well.
The Story
Rhys Fallon is determined to remove vampires from existence. In any way necessary. Nor does he intend to stop with simply the vampires. Anything that’s sentient and non-human will be destroyed. Including the Glass House.
The Characters
Claire Danvers, Myrnin’s brilliant yet human assistant, has returned from MIT with her boyfriend, the vampire-hater, Shane Collins, along with his best friend, Michael Glass, a vampire married to the Goth-loving Eve Rosser Glass (Black Dawn, 12) who drives a hearse and works as a barista. Miranda is the new resident ghost of Glass House. She’s lucky in her psychic abilities as they, combined with the Glass House, allow her to assume a physical form and leave the House for short periods.
Myrnin is a brilliant mad-scientist vampire with no clue as to proper dress. Bob the Spider is one of his pets. Jesse is a vampire and was Lady Jane Gray in her human life. She was a bartender back in Cambridge in Fall of Night and was supposed to be keeping an eye on Dr. Anderson for Amelie.
Jenna is a human psychic who stayed in Morganville after events in Bitter Blood, 13, and has become friends with Miranda. Monica Morrell is the daughter and sister of the late mayors of Morganville. She was the lead mean girl in her time, and time has not mellowed her. Wait’ll you read about her apartment, LOL. Channing is her teacup Chihuahua.
Amelie was the Founder of Morganville. Oliver has been Amelie’s nemesis in the past, and he was banished from Morganville for his actions in Bitter Blood, 13. Ayesha was rescued with Oliver. Jason Rosser, Eve’s evil brother, is being groomed as Oliver’s second-in-command.
Morley, the leader of the vampires, shares power with Mrs. Grant, the town librarian, in the town of Blacke, Texas.
Hannah Moses is back to being the chief of police (perfect with her military background). Gramma Day is Hannah’s grandmother, a very smart lady; Lisa joined the Daylighters. Hal is one of the cops who knows how to wrangle these strange new “dogs”. Bud, Friendly seems a bit short in the head, Charlie Kentworth, Valerie Halling seems more fanatical, and Detective Simonds are some of the cops.
Father Joe, the priest who married Michael and Eve, warns Miranda. Rad runs the motorcycle shop/mechanic’s garage where Shane stores his car.
The Daylight Foundation is an anti-vampire organization that won’t let anything stand in their way to clear the vamps out; their members are referred to as Daylighters. Rhys Fallon has a very chequered career: human to vampire to human again. He started the Daylight Foundation and is determined with a Nazi-like obsession. VLAD is the Vampire Leveling Adjustment Device Claire invented, and Dr. Irene Anderson continued to work on. Dr. Anderson was supposed to have been one of Amelie’s most trusted agents, Claire’s mentor at MIT, only…she’s a traitor to the vampires. The hellhounds are part of Fallon’s advance team. Amanda is one of the lab attendants.
Mrs. Doreen Hodgson is a neighbor of the kids on Lot Street, who seems to be caught in the 1950s. Flora Ramos is the new anti-vampire mayor.
The Cover and Title
The cover is Claire staring out at us from in front of a cloud-laden sky.
The title is the enemy, the Daylighters.
