Feast of Fools: The Morganville Vampires, Book 4

4.5/5 stars(RabidReads.com) If I thought the going got tough in book three of this series, Midnight Alley, I sure didn’t have any idea how even more tough things were going to get in the fourth book of this totally addicting series. Claire is still sixteen-almost seventeen-and has just found out that her parents have moved to Morganville, something that really horrifies Claire. Here she thought they were safe in another part of Texas, only to have them move to what has to be the scariest place on earth. Scary due to the vampires that own the town, and pretty much everyone in it. As a freshman in college, Claire should have been exempt from learning anything about what is really going on in the town, just like any of the students that attend college there. Early on she learned way too much, and now is attached for the rest of her life to Amelie, queen of the vampires. And she’s got the gold bracelet that doesn’t come off, to prove it. It’s all about trying to keep her boyfriend Shane, and her friends and fellow housemates Eve and Michael safe. But even scarier than that, is the arrival of her parents along with Bishop and his entourage of vampires to Glass House, Claire’s home. Bishop and his friends don’t have a drop of good or humanity in them. All he wants is to find Amelie-his daughter-and take Morganville from her. And he wants to use Claire to do it. As with all of these book so far, I was totally drawn into the story and not let go of until I pretty much finished it. They are all novel length, but for me a really quick read. And that is due to the wonderfully realized characters, and of course the fascinating premise. Claire is such a good character, so loyal and giving, but at the same time a spitfire to say the least. Her snarky mouth gets her in trouble more often than not. Shane, her boyfriend, is hot headed to the extreme, with a mouth to match at times. He is also totally wrapped up in Claire and sweet to her, not to mention that he would protect her with his life if need be. Eve is Claire’s snarky best friend-goth to the extreme-almost(probably) as a send up to all the vampires in town. Michael is a wonderful guitarist and owns the house that they all live in. He and Eve are a couple now. And oh yes, Michael’s a new vampire. Myrnin, the ancient (and pretty insane)vampire that Claire is working with, is quickly becoming a main character and is quite the interesting character! In addition, Oliver, owner of the local coffee shop, and also a vampire, has a big part in all of these books. You never know if he is going to be good or bad at any given moment. Well written, these books always have an event that each one is built around, at least so far. As the title suggests, there’s going to be quite the feast and Bishop is the one doing the inviting. Not someone you would ever want to break bread with, to say the least-of course it wouldn’t be bread in Bishop’s case! That’s not to say that other events don’t happen, they do, but there’s always a major one. Now that Claire’s parents live in Morganville, Claire is trying to juggle life with them versus her life at Glass House with her friends, and all the vampires that keep showing up there. As of this writing, I am half way through book 7, and I am still enjoying every minute of the reads. Exciting premise’s, fast paced writing, wonderful characters, and of course all the snark involved, makes this a must read for me. They are just so much fun to read. Highly recommended to people at least age 15+.

Feast of Fools starts off where Midnight Alley left off. The Glass house has been taken over by a vampire, Mr. Bishop, who claims to be Amelie's father. He has big plans for the humans and vampires of Morganville, and he, along with his evil cronies, will do whatever it takes to put them into motion. It all comes down to the masked ball where the vampires bring human dates. Who will pledge loyalty to Mr. Bishop, and who will stick with Amelie? I really enjoy anything that Rachel Caine writes. All of her characters have an interesting past, and the development of them has been great over the course of four books. I think Claire is finally learning when she needs to back off, and let other people take care of things; especially with the addition of her parents in Morganville, because one wrong move could put them on the chopping block. Claire and Shane's relationship is growing, and they both want to take things to the next level. But Shane continues to be the good guy and stick to his guns (unfortunately for the reader). This only makes Shane more likeable in my opinion. He knows what he wants, but he knows that he can't have it...yet. My favorite character is still Myrnin. The addition of him in Midnight Alley added a whole new level of intrigue to the story. With the new serum Claire has been working on to help him, and the other vampires, he's able to stay out of his cage for longer. This had me on edge because I was just waiting for him to attack Claire at any minute. Monica is still as evil as ever! She is the biggest bully for a college gal. I wish she would get what was coming to her, because it seems that several near death experiences aren't cutting it! How many times does Claire have to save her before she leaves her alone? There is one scene that had me fuming. I felt so bad for Claire. This series always ends on a cliff hanger, which I've gotten used to now that this is the fourth book. It's kind of nice because the story keeps continuing instead of jumping to a new problem/plot. It's like one long book if you piece them together. Feast of Fools was quick and enjoyable, and I look forward to reading the fifth in the series, Lord of Misrule.

3.75 Stars. While I'm loving this series and plan to continue with it, this book didn't have quite the fast pace that the first three did. The way these stories create this never ending link makes them feel like a TV show where each episode always ends in "To Be Continued," and the first few pages that explain "The Story So Far," only reiterate this feeling. On that same note this book has so much back-story. I feel like the author took too much time reminding us of things that happened in the first three books. It really slowed down the pace and made this book drag some in the middle. Also there were lots of annoying inconsistencies. For example Monica had black hair in the first book, but in this one it says she's blond. I would have sworn Eve and Michael already had sex in an earlier book, or at least that was eluded to, but in this book it's suggested that they do it for the first time. And, I'd swear Myrin had brown hair in the last book, but it's black in this one. These weren't big things, but they were distracting. On the plus side I did really like Claire and Shane and seeing more of their relationship. They had some new challenges in this book, as did Eve and Michael and all of it was really enjoyable to read. Despite any pet-peeves I may have had with the plot of this book, the characters continue to be well rounded and likeable. I also liked that Claire's parents are finally a little less clueless by the end, but I wished she had visited them just once during the course of the story. They were still annoyingly overprotective, but they did feel more real in this book than the ones preceding it. I liked Myrin, and Claire's relationship with him. They make a really interesting pair. But, one thing I didn't like was how little of a plan they'd had for the party, it felt rushed and thrown together. Also, Miranda and Jason felt a little underdeveloped, as if their only purpose was to move the plot forward. One thing I was really excited to see was the book that caused so much drama in Glass Houses came back into play. One of the things I've loved about these books is how little threads of plot manage to be woven through the entire series. The end of this book, while leaving yet another cliff hanger, did leave all of the characters in a really interesting position. There is a divide of power that seems likely to split the entire town in half, and I'm interested to see how this affects all of Morganville in the next book. While this hasn't been my favorite book of this series, I truly enjoy the series as a whole and plan to continue with it.

In the town of Morganville, vampires and humans live in relative peace. Student Claire Danvers has never been convinced, though--especially with the arrival of Mr. Bishop, an ancient, old-school vampire who cares nothing about harmony. What he wants from the town's living and its dead is unthinkably sinister. It's only at a formal ball, attended by vampires and their human dates, that Claire realizes the elaborately evil trap he's set for Morganville. For any of you who were frustrated or disappointed with Midnight Alley, Book Three, you're in for a treat with Feast of Fools. Feast of Fools takes all that we learned or thought we learned from Midnight Alley and puts it all together in a very entertaining package. I could not put Feast of Fools down, and there aren't a lot of books that I've read lately that I can say that about. There is a level of tension in the Morganville books that keeps you on the edge of your seat, even in the background scenes you're waiting for the other shoe to drop. And it always does. Rachel Caine abuses her characters like a pro, and she doesn't shirk because these are YA books. Claire and her friends go through hell just trying to survive in Morganville. Her characters are young, Claire is about to turn seventeen, but she is no Mary Sue. She's smarter than the average bear, but it's not rubbed into the readers face. Claire's roommates make up the rest of the main characters in the series, and they are pretty normal, or as normal as they can be after growing up in a town run by vampires. But above it all, each book stresses how important friendship is to these characters. You know without a doubt that they are willing to die for each other. My only complaint is the cliffhanger endings in the series. I need to remind myself that Morganville reads like a TV series not like a movie. There really is no self contained storyline in each book, just a long arc that is being told throughout them all. In other words you cannot pick up Feast of Fools without reading the three books that preceded it.

Love the book. It was my favorite series as a kid. It's in great condition, too, especially for the age.

I had been reading the Morganville series when I realized I was missing this book. I rushed to Amazon and quickly got a copy. It is so good to be able to continue the series because I just love the plot and characters.

Oh this one is full of surprises. The date with the dancing was heartwarming. The town pulling together is great but they have a big baddie to face still.

Sixteen-year-old (seventeen in a week, thank you very much) Clair Danvers is an "employee" of Amelie, one of Morganville's Founders. At the moment, Amelie is the head vampire of the town. Clair's parents arrive in town. Unfortunately, they are moving into the area. Of course, this is NOT something good since Morganville, Texas, is run by vampires and people outside of town do not know that vampires even exist. Even worse, her parents are not the only new people in town. Amelie's father, Mr. Bishop, has arrived along with two vampire companions, François (mail) and Ysandre (female). Records show that five hundred years ago Mr. Bishop had been killing off his enemies within the vampire community to make himself ruler of the world. And then something happened, and he dropped out of sight - until now. Amelie and Michael have been meeting about the new vampires, but refuse to inform Clair, Eve, or Shane what is going on. Shane, Claire's boyfriend, expresses his worries that the powerful trio have come for some type of revenge and/or to destroy the town. Though Shane detests vampires, except Michael, Ysandre sends him a formal invitation to escort her to an upcoming masked ball in honor of Mr. Bishop. And when one receives an invitation, one dares not refuse. At the same time, Amelie has Claire and a doctor working to increase the effectiveness of some red crystals. If successful, the crystals will help the vampires ward off the effects of a degenerative disease. However, it is beginning to sound as though the vampires will not be the only ones in trouble should they fail. **** If you have not read the previous titles you may find yourself lost quite often. The author does give a quick "The story so far" just before beginning the story; however, in my opinion it is not detailed enough for new readers to really understand what is going on. Therefore, I recommend that readers seriously consider reading all three previous titles. This story does not add much in the way of character development for secondary characters or for the characters for the bad boys/girls in the previous tales. However, it does give more depth to the vampire hierarchy, as well as to the differences in the way many of them think about humans and rules. The main focus of prior stories were on Clair, but this time Shane steals most of the spot light. All-in-all, this is terrific for those keeping up with the series and I look forward to the next installment. **** Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.

Aïe aïe aïe ! Vampire City est en train de devenir une des mes séries préférées ! Ce quatrième tome est juste fabuleux, magique, intense, prenant, génial... Ai-je dis fabuleux ? Bon ok, je pense qu'on peut le dire : je suis accro à cette magnifique saga. D'ailleurs, comme vous avez pu le remarquer, je poursuis la série en anglais... Au moins je n'aurai pas d'attente et je ne regrette pas du tout cela ! Les romans sont de plus en plus captivants, donc plus vite je les ai, mieux c'est ! Ce tome reprend directement après le tome 3. Mr Bishop est arrivé à Morganville et compte bien y semer le chaos. Dans ce roman, on sent bien que les choses changent à cause du retour de ce très vieux vampire. De choses terribles se préparent, et les habitants de Morganville n'auront pas d'autres choix que de les affronter. Enfin, ce sont surtout Michael, Eve, Shane et Claire qui vont jouer un rôle décisif dans l'histoire. D'ailleurs en parlant d'eux, je les aime de plus en plus ! Mon dieu qu'ils sont adorables ! A la fois courageux, humains, drôles et toujours là pour s'aider, ils forment réellement une très belle bande. Mais c'est toujours Claire qui nous intéresse le plus. Maintenant qu'elle est sous la Protection d'Amélie et qu'elle a ainsi rencontré Myrnin, rien ne va plus... Surtout depuis l'arrivé de ses parents à Morganville ! Haaaa que j'ai aimé cet aspect de l'histoire ! Pour une fois que les parents ne sont pas mis en arrière plan mais sont au contraire très bien utilisés, je ne peux qu'accrocher ! Certaines scènes entre eux, Claire et Shane sont justes à mourir de rire ! Évidemment, eux ignorent tout de se qui se trame autour de leur maison. Ils ne sont ni au courant pour les vampires, ni pour le fait qu'ils sont des proies très faciles pour ces derniers. Mais passons sur ce sujet, il y en a beaucoup d'autres plus intéressants. Comme je l'ai dis plus haut, Mr Bishop est de retour, et va ordonner d'être accueilli à Morganville comme il se le doit. En présence de sa fille, Amélie, bien sûr. Il va organiser un banquet auquel tous les vampires seront conviés. Chacun d'entre eux va devoir emmener avec lui l'humain de son choix. En apprenant cela, rapidement, quasiment tout le monde va décider de se révolter. C'est là que le roman détient son pouvoir ! Il nous emporte dès les premières pages ! Le suspense, l'angoisse et la tension s'emparent de nous au début et ne nous quittent qu'à la dernière ligne ! On sent bien que le temps où personne ne disait rien est derrière nous. Là, secrets, mensonges et stratégies se mêlent pour créer des zones d'ombres palpitantes, qui nous entraînent au cœur d'une intrigue bourrée de surprises. C'est le chaos, le vrai. Tout le monde doit trouver sa place dans un univers qui est en train d'être détruit. En plus, j'ai trouvé que dans cet opus, le fait que Morganville soit une ville qu'on ne peut pas quitter a été vraiment mis en avant. J'ai adoré cette impression d'oppression, plus qu'auparavant. On a vraiment le sentiment d'étouffer, d'être piégé et de ne pas pouvoir fuir l'horreur ! En fait, Feast Of Fools c'est un peu comme ces cauchemars... Vous savez, ceux où d'atroces choses se passent devant nous et bien qu'on tente de mettre nos mains devant nos yeux, nous les voyons encore. C'est exactement ça ! Par ailleurs, tous les personnages se distinguent, et ils prennent tous de l'importance. Qu'ils soient protagonistes principaux ou secondaires, tout le monde y trouve son compte. Rachel Caine nous démontre qu'elle sait vraiment construire une intrigue en béton. Tout cela n'a fait que rendre mon admiration pour elle et ses romans encore plus forte. Mais ce n'est pas tout ! Vampire City c'est aussi de belles histoires d'amour toutes mignonnes, qui nous permettent de souffler. Eve et Michael, Claire et Shane, tous les quatre forment deux couples attendrissants qui nous font rêver. Bien que Michael n'accepte pas totalement sa nature de vampire, Eve est là pour lui, toujours. Claire et Shane ne sont pas en reste puisqu'ils nous offrent de très doux moments ainsi que certains dialogues légèrement hot qui donnent au roman un côté encore plus réaliste. Je crois qu'après cette déclaration d'amour au roman, je n'ai plus grand chose à ajouter. Morganville Vampires est désormais une saga coup de cœur. Chaque opus est meilleur que le précédent. Feast Of Fools marque par ailleurs un nouveau tournant dans l'histoire. Le chaos est partout, le suspense va crescendo et la tension est palpable pendant toute notre lecture ! Quel bonheur ce livre ! Comptez sur moi pour m'acheter le tome 5 très rapidement ! Surtout que la fin du tome 4 est vraiment dure. Comment peut-on nous laisser comme ça ? Franchement, ce roman se savoure, c'est un vrai plaisir !

The Morganville vampire series just gets better with each book. So extremely glad I picked up on this fantastic series.

Love this author. Have read just about everything she has written. Can't put it down. Every spare minute is spent reading

They just get better and better. Fast action, great characters and a slowly unravelling plot that leaves you wanting more at the end off each book

Wer geht nicht gern auf eine nette kleine Feier mit seinen Freunden, doch diese Feier ist anders!! Die Vampire sind die Gäste und die Menschen ihre "Opfergaben", für niemand geringeres als Mr. Bishop, Amelies Vater. Natürlich lassen Claire und ihre Freunde sich das nicht bieten und fordern Mr. Bishop und seine Anhänger heraus. Doch diesmal sind auch Claires Eltern in Gefahr die nun endlich die Wahrheit kennen und ihre Tochter natürlich beschützen wollen!! Neue Allianzen werden geschlossen und wer hätte schon gedacht Oliver und Amelie jemals im gleichen Team zu sehen. Da sind Probleme irgendwie vorprogrammiert. Ich hätte nie gedacht das ich Oliver mal sympathisch finden würde, aber er hat sich in diesem Band wirklich Mühe gegeben. Auch Myrnin ist diesmal wieder mit von der Partie und er und Claire geben ein super Team ab. In diesem Band kommen sie endlich dem Heilmittel auf die Spur, aber damit treten auch neue Hindernisse auf!! Wenn ich nicht leiden konnte waren Bishops Anhängsel Ysandre und Francois. Besonders Ysandre die hinter Shane her ist und so eine erschreckend mächtige Gabe hat. Aber durch sie bekommen wir auch eine Menge niedlicher Shane/Claire Szenen. Natürlich dürfen auch die Michael/Eve Szenen nicht fehlen. Es gibt auch ein paar prickelnde Michael/Claire Szenen, wo ich so das Gefühle habe das die Beiden auch ein tolles Paar wären, sie haben einfach diese Chemie!! Zuerst dachte ich Bishop will nur eins Amelie vernichtet und die Stadt unterwerfen, aber falsch gedacht er will etwas ganz anderes, aber das werd ich euch nicht verraten, lest selbst!! Sam kommt auch wieder vor, ich mag ihn so. Er tut mir sooo leid da er ja in Amelie verliebt ist, sie aber schon sooo lange lebt das es ihr nicht mehr wirklich etwas bedeutet. Jason ist auch wieder mal dabei und spielt sogar eine wichtige Rolle in Bishops Plan!! Fazit: Spannend, blutig und witzig das ist "Feast of Fools". Es liest sich wie seine Vorgänger super flüssig und ist leicht verständlich. Die Handlung und die Figuren sind super aufeinander abgepasst und das sorgt dafür das das Buch nie langweilig wird!!