Last Breath is the eleventh installment of Rachel Caine’s popular Morganville Vampires series. It picks up where book 10, Bite Club, left off, following the fate of heroine Claire Danvers as she tries to survive in a town run by vampires. In this book, the vampires of Morganville are disappearing one by one, after being seen in the company of creepy newcomer Magnus. As the town begins to realize the danger Magnus poses, Claire has to decide how (and if) she can save the Morganville vampires from this new threat. What if there is something worse than vampires out there?
One of the key strengths of Caine’s series has always been its heroine. Claire Danvers is smart, strong and independent. While she is younger than some YA heroines, starting the series at just sixteen years old, Caine’s creation has proved to be one of the smartest protagonists of vampire series that I have come across. I particularly enjoy the fact that Claire is defined by her intelligence, not by her attraction to vampires. Last Breath is no exception to this – once again, Claire has to answer the questions that baffle the centuries-old undead and save them (again!) from a terrible fate. While this might sound like going over old ground for the Morganville series, Caine has introduced a new antagonist who is both unusual and fascinating, and new history that goes some way to explaining why the sunlight-phobic vampires have chosen to set up home in the middle of the desert!
Like most of the Morganville books, Last Breath ends on a cliffhanger. This does mean that it can’t really be read as a standalone; the series makes a lot more sense if read in sequence. But for readers who have been enjoying the series so far, Last Breath is a great new episode in one of the strongest YA vampires series around. Highly recommended.
Reviewed by: Hannah Kate