Lord of Misrule by Rachel Caine

Title: Lord of Misrule

Author: Rachel Caine
Publisher: Allison & Busby
ISBN: 978-0-7490-0757-7
Pages: 348
Series: The Morganville Vampires #5
Type: Young Adult Paranormal
Source: Purchased
Goodreads



In the small Texas town of Morganville a balance had been found between its vampire and human residents, until Bishop came to town. Now Morganville is a battle ground as the evil Bishop battles with his daughter, the town leader, Amelie. The humans are caught in the crossfire and as skirmishes erupt all over town, Claire Danvers and her friends are forced to take sides. But amongst the chaos Morganville's vampire residents begin to disappear...and an external threat arrives in the form of a massive deadly storm.

This is the fifth book in the Morganville vampires series (after Glass Houses, The Dead Girls' Dance, Midnight Alley and Feast of Fools) and picks up exactly where the last book left off. Although there is a quick "the story so far" section at the start, at this point I'd recommend starting with the first book and reading in order otherwise you will miss a lot of backstory on the characters. That section appears to be more for fans of the series who haven't read them in a while than those new to the series.

The story cleverly written, but at times this does feel like the set-up for a full on war in the next book. Characters seem to appear in the story briefly and then disappear again quickly after fulfilling their purpose which is disappointing as I'd be interested in knowing more about them. That said the action included is really well written and helps keep you glued to the page while the pace of the book manages to sustain a steady level of tension throughout.

The main four characters don't really get much character growth in this book, and nor do the recurring supporting characters. Claire annoyed me quite a bit during this book as she spends a lot of time focusing on romance and wondering whether her boyfriend loves her. It is a bit out of place with the rest of the story and I found it distracting at times. Eve and Michael remain pretty much the same, although it was great to see that the conflicts of this book helped Shane to deal with his issues and accept Michael's vampire nature.

The ending of the book is outstanding and the best kind of cliffhanger, neatly concluding this book and leaving the reader desperate for the sequel. There are also some shocking major twists which I didn't see coming and left me totally stunned.

All in all this was a great read and I can't wait to read Carpe Corpus.

Plot: 9/10
Characters: 9/10
Ending: 9/10
Enjoyment: 9/10
Cover: 10/10

Overall: 46/50