Kiss of Death by Rachel Caine

 4 out of 5 Robots!

My Review:
Kiss of Death by Rachel Caine was the 8th fun, action packed installment for the Morganville Vampires. Things are tame in Morganville, no one is on the verge of losing a life- and that's not fun is it? Nope, so it's time for a road trip! Michael has been made an offer from a record label in Dallas, so the group receives permission from Amelie to take a trip... under one condition. Oliver gets to chaperon. And just like a normal day in Morganville- their much anticipated road trip becomes the trip from hell. They stop at a town a couple hours outside of Dallas and everything starts spiraling out of control. Eve angers some locals, Oliver disappears, their car is destroyed and then they're arrested for murder. Talk about it all hitting the fan at once. Do these kids ever get a break?

Kiss of Death took place outside of Morganville for the entirety of the book and I was just as refreshed as Claire and the crew to get out of town. It is a little depressing that they're all so excited to leave town, but end up having one crisis after another. This made me roll my eyes a little, I mean, come ON. I know things are like this in Morganville, but everywhere? Just like in Fade Out, the action didn't start until about 100 pages in. Then it unfolded like a typical (and awesome) horror flick. I can deal with a few slow chapters if the end really kills it for me! Spoiler. Eve gets a new car! A hearse! I loved this, it is about time that girl gets a hearse!

So our little Claire is finally growing up, she's beginning to really look and act like the strong woman she is and Shane notices. As their relationship grows stronger, Michael and Eve struggle to keep theirs together. Eve is increasingly insecure with Michael as a vampire and musician. Eve drives me a little nuts, less Eve more Myrnin! Yes, I was upset because our eccentric vampire Myrnin did not make much of an appearance in this book. But it was nice to see Oliver as such an involved character- still didn't make up for the void that Myrnin once filled... and Monica too. Did not think I would miss her dreadfully selfish attitude.

Even though this wasn't an incredibly enthusiastic review, this book was great. Not my favorite in the series, but I really enjoyed myself and I can't wait to see what the next installment, Ghost Town, has in store for us! I have so many unanswered questions- Will Myrnin make a move for Claire? Will Claire and Shane's too-perfect-for-words relationship become lackluster?! Why does Claire's scar ache! If you haven't read any Morganville book yet, I suggest starting with the first one and if you have- you will love this book just as much as the first seven. :)

Book Details:
Mass Market Paperback: 256 pages
Publisher: Signet; Original edition (April 27, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0451229738
ISBN-13: 978-0451229731
Source: B&N

 Other books in this series in the order that they should be read:
1. Glass Houses
2. Dead Girl's Dance
3. Midnight Alley
4. Feast of Fools
5. Lord of Misrule
6. Carpe Corpus
7. Fade Out
8. Kiss of Death
9. Ghost Town (Not yet released)