Fade Out

Fade Out by Rachel Caine

Morganville Vampires #7

 Without the evil vampire Bishop ruling over the town of Morganville, the resident vampires have made major concessions to the human population. With their newfound freedoms, Claire Danvers and her friends are almost starting to feel comfortable again...

Now Claire can actually concentrate on her studies, and her friend Eve joins the local theatre company. But when one of Eve's castmates goes missing after starting work on a short documentary, Eve suspects the worst. Claire and Eve soon realize that this film project, whose subject is the vampires themselves, is a whole lot bigger-and way more dangerous-than anyone suspected. 

It's Morganville, so the gang knew not to trust things to stay calm, but they sure hoped it would. Everyone but Claire seems to think the "new" girl Kim is great, but Claire isn't so sure. When Kim goes missing, the gang sets out to find her, but quickly find out she really wasn't who she seemed. She's violated the trust of the entire town by creating a video project exposing the deepest secrets of Morganville. It's up to Claire and the others to find her before the vamps do as its not just her life on the line, but potentially every human in Morganville if things go badly. Once again the fate of everything seems to rest on their shoulders as disaster is around every corner.

I just knew there was something fishy about the new girl in the picture, Kim. Claire has such a hard time disliking anyone. Even after all Monica has done to her in the past, Claire still has continued to save her over and over. So, when Claire felt such a strong animosity towards Kim, it really had to be much more than just simple jealously. Granted, the girl did seem to captivate most of Eve's attention and she has a "history" with Shane, which would make any normal person insanely jealous. However, Claire has never been normal, and she feels the need to save everyone, so it couldn't be just simple jealous to cause her to react so strongly.

As if the videos and risk of exposure wasn't enough, Ada the super computer that runs Morganville has gone psychotic and homicidal towards Claire. It really is a recipe for disaster when a sentient computer with limitless powers goes on a vendetta. The twisted relationship between Ada and Myrnin comes to a head since Ada is convinced Claire is trying to steal him away. I do feel bad for Ada, but not enough to choose her over Claire. They say love is blind, and it must be true for Myrnin as he refused to see the problem with Ada.

The action was dialed down a notch, which allowed for a lot more emotion and relationship development. I found it to be more of a transition book, which is okay after the 6 previous books being nonstop action. I actually think the time the two couples got to spend with each other was necessary and added even more depth to the characters. I definitely enjoyed the "downtime" while it lasted but I'm holding my breath for the next book as I'm sure things are going to majorly take off again. So, overall a good book, less action, but it had it's strengths in other way, and makes me eager for the next one.

Rating:

Buy now at Amazon:
Fade Out (Morganville Vampires, Book 7)