Carpe Corpus (The Morganville Vampires #6) By: Rachel Caine (Book Review)

 ***This review will contain spoilers***

Summary:

In the small college town of Morganville, vampires and humans lived in (relative) peace-until all the rules got rewritten when the evil vampire Bishop arrived, looking for the lost book of vampire secrets. He's kept a death grip on the town ever since. Now an underground resistance is brewing, and in order to contain it, Bishop must go to even greater lengths. He vows to obliterate the town and all its inhabitants-the living and the undead. Claire Danvers and her friends are the only ones who stand in his way. But even if they defeat Bishop, will the vampires ever be content to go back to the old rules, after having such a taste of power?

Another fantastic book in the Morganville series! I seem to be a broken record but damn it I’ll say it again. I am beyond impressed by how much Caine is able to include in a book with only a couple hundred pages. I’ve wasted my time on reading books with triple the amount of pages and maybe with 5% of plot. In comparison, this book was filled with action and had a steady pace to the story. It was never stagnant and only made me want to read more. Just when you think you’ve figured out the ending it goes and punches you right in your feelings. 

I am beyond impressed with Claire's character growth. When we were first introduced to her she was a timid freshmen who was afraid to stand up for herself. She was constantly letting herself be pushed around and now she has done a complete 180. She's assertive, speaks her mind and overall such a badass. Granted she's only a human so there's only so much she can do against vampires but when faced with vampiric adversities she doesn't waver. I love that she doesn't need to be all powerful and can best everyone she faces. Those type of characters and stories get boring real quick. But Claire has a quiet strength to her now this far along the series and I'm excited to see just how much more she will grow and mature. I love Claire and Shane together. They are so cute and even against all odds they love each other more than ever. They both sacrificed for each other and finally did the deed. I love how they are growing closer and closer together and really despite at face value not thinking they'd be compatible they both hold the same values. They protect those that they love and never give up. 

All seemed lost with Bishop in charge of the town. Myrnin seemed crazier than ever before, Michael was under Bishop's influence, Eve wanted nothing to do with Claire 'the traitor' and Shane was caged up with his father. Seems like all hope was lost. But despite all of that, Claire has no other choice than trying to find a way to fix everything. Unfortunately, Bishop has Claire under his thumb due to some magic hocus pocus that has to do with the damn book that started this whole mess. 

It seems that Bishop knew a lot more of what was going on in Morganville than he was letting on. The disease that was causing so many vampires to deteriorate was either created by Bishop or he and others had a hand in creating it because when his blood sample was tested they found antibodies to the disease. Meaning he knew of it and took the cure. And beyond having a cure formulating to help all the vampires there was a big question mark on how Amelie and her crew were going to save the town. 

This ending/ big fight was beyond epic! Vampires and humans fighting side by side and giving Bishop a run for his money. This is where I keep on loving Claire and admiring her unwavering strength in the face of a predator who could rip her to shreds. Unfortunately, Bishop killed Sam to spite and hurt Amelie. Claire was able to steal the book back from Bishop when he was dealing with the aftermath of draining Sam who poisoned himself in the hopes that Bishop would pick to kill him. 

It wouldn't be a Morganville book if there wasn't another person trying to kill Claire. The same guy who killed all those girls a few books ago was actually Dean who was Shane's friend when his family left Morganville. It was Jason who was blamed for the murders but Dean was the one responsible and the sicko behind all of it. Poor Claire cannot seem to catch a break but Shane's dad thanks to the use of the portals killed Dean and helped Claire before she was bled dry. 

Rating:

Obviously, I am giving it 5 stars on 5! I've enjoyed this book so much and now I'm truly wondering what else can go bad in this town. Amelie vowed to make changes and allow humans and vampires to be equals. I want some more Claire/Shane scenes. One of my favourite scenes in this book was when Bishop was going after Claire and Shane threw a knife that lodged right in his chest. Once the big bad has been dethroned what else can Caine throw our way?