Review: Glass Houses by Rachel Caine

Author: Rachel Caine
Title: Glass Houses (Morganville Vampires, book #1)
Genre: Young Adult Paranormal
Publisher: NAL Jam (Imprint of Berkley)
ISBN: 9780451219947
The Romance Author's Verdict: 4/5 Stars

Blurb:
From the author of the popular Weather Warden series comes the debut of an exciting new series set in Morganville, Texas, where you would be well advised to avoid being out after dark.

College freshman Claire Danvers has had enough of her nightmarish dorm situation. When Claire heads off-campus, the imposing old house where she finds a room may not be much better. Her new roommates don't show many signs of life, but they'll have Claire's back when the town's deepest secrets come crawling out, hungry for fresh blood.


After I finished reading this book, I couldn't decide whether or not I liked it. One thing is for sure, I wasn't impressed with the ending. The book didn't finish, it just stopped. Okay, I understand how that might entice your readers into picking up the second book, but I found it annoying and unsatisfying. 
It also took me a bit to get into this book, I couldn't connect with Claire. I didn't understand her motivations in wanting to stay in college, within striking distance of those who wanted to seriously hurt her, though her reasons for needing to stay in town did become clearer later on. 
This book was an interesting read, which is why I gave it four stars, but you can probably tell from this review I'm still conflicted over it. All of the main characters were interesting and I enjoyed learning their stories and even the threads revealed that will no doubt be dealt with in later books. I also enjoyed the hint of romance, which obviously has the potential to become something big later on. 
On the other hand, it is also just another take on teenagers and vampires, I didn't find anything to set it too far apart from other teen-vamp adventures. One other point, I found the writing kept me disconnected from the characters. Much of the writing was very narrative, when I wanted (like usual) to get into the dark depths of the character's thoughts and feelings. 
Overall, its not a bad read, which is why I gave it four stars. If you want another teen-vamp romp, and light writing you won't get too sucked into, then the Morganville Vampire books fit the bill. I haven't decided whether or not I'll read any more in the series. If I do, it will be more out of an interest to see if the writing and characters develop any farther, than wanting to know what's going to happen story-wise.