When I met Rachel Caine....again!

If you've read my blog at all before, then there's a very high chance that you've heard me express my love and adoration for the Morganville Vampire series by Rachel Caine. As well as the MV series, Rachel has written a multitude of books that I have devoured and loved almost equally. Morganville will always hold a special place in my heart though. I even have a (VERY slight) personal connection. Myrnin, an insane yet loveable vampire, hales from none other than Conwy, North Wales - just like me.

I have had the pleasure of meeting Rachel twice before but have only managed to get a handful of books signed due to time constraints and huge queues. This time was so different though, and so wonderful and lovely! We browsed the shelves of Waterstones for a while where my enabling boyfriend bought me copes of All The Bright Places by Jennifer Niven and Extraordinary Means by Robyn Schneider :) After a bit too much browsing, I noticed a whole bunch of people taking their seats so we had to rush over. Thankfully, my as above wonderful boyfriend took charge of getting my stuff together so I could run over in time! All the signing events that i've attended before have been rush jobs. Queue, put books in front of author, sign, leave. This was a whole different experience for me and I loved it!

Rachel began by telling us a lot about herself, her aliases, how she got started etc. I did know most of it as I'm a bit of a Rachel-stalker but it was nice hearing it from herself. She then held a Q&A which again, I really enjoyed. I was even brave enough to ask my own question - Rachel loves Myrnin & Shane the most too! It was such a relaxed atmosphere and though it was extremely girl-heavy there was a wonderful mix of ages. Following this, we were treated to a reading! Rachel read a chunk of the short story Vexed, featuring Myrnin and Oliver. Is there anything better than hearing a story read by the person who created it? You get a real sense of the intention and meaning behind the words.

Once the reading was finished, we began the queuing to get our books signed. This was the part I was most nervous about. For once it wasn't even because I was nervous to meet her; it was the sheer amount of books that i'd brought with me to get signed. 16 in total. The staff at Waterstones and Rachel were actually so nice about it. I had to queue three times but it was absolutely worth it. As is typical, we had a chat about my name (it tends to be what gets me noticed most often!) and lots of other random things. We were also given goody bags which I may still be fangirling about. The bag itself is a red tote with Midnight Bites on it :)

Though I never have much trouble picking up a book and reading it - the whole experience reminded me of just how much I love to read and how much a part of me it is. We are so lucky that we get to meet the people behind the words and actually learn from them. Rachel was so open and honest about writing and publishing. I'm sure there were more than a couple of people who left the building that night, inspired and ready to write.

Me though? I'm not a writer. I just love to be immersed in the worlds and imaginations of others. So with that, keep an eye out on my upcoming review of Midnight Bites. I've been so looking forward to the day I could return to Morganville and it's finally here.

Caragh Reviews - Working Stiff by Rachel Caine

Published - 31st October 2011
Publisher - Allison & Busby
Format - Paperback
Synopsis - Bryn Davis knows working at Fairview Mortuary isn't the most glamorous career choice, but at least it offers stable employment--until she discovers her bosses using a drug that resurrects the clientele as part of an extortion racket. Now, Bryn faces being terminated--literally, and with extreme prejudice. Wit the help of corporate double-agent Patrick McCallister, Bryn has a chance to take down the bigger problem--pharmaceutical company Pharmadene, which treats death as the ultimate corporate loyalty program. She'd better do it fast, before she becomes a zombie slave--a real working stiff. She'd be better off dead...

 *Insert fangirling about Rachel Caine*

Now that's covered, I should probably dive right in to the review!
I love me some Zombie books but Rachel Caine deals with the undead in a totally different way! Kick-ass Bryn Davis starts working at a Mortuary and it isn't long until she finds out about Pharmadenes special little talent; creating shots to bring the dead back to life! Awesome, right? Wrong. Once you've been given the drug you then need it every single day - and of course it comes at a huge price. 

Bryn has always been a hard worker and has always tried to do what she thinks is best, and that only becomes more apparent when she, along with sometimes-suspicious Pharmadene employees try to find the source of the dealers in order to take down the company and stop their inhumane acts. 

For the most part I really enjoyed Working Stiff. The concept was beyond awesome, a kick-ass woman taking charge of the situation (and the men!) and great writing from Caine as always. Though it took me such a long time to read! There's a section quite a bit after the beginning but before the halway point that just..drags. For lack of a better word. It's not that it's uninteresting because it isn't at all. It just felt like it could be more related to the story and a little bit more action. However, once I did start reading properly I couldn't put it down. Bryn and her new Pharmadene friends were awesome in every sense of the word. 

One thing Caine is excellent at is making the dangers that the characters face seem incredibly real. Physical pain, emotional turmoil, anxiety... you feel it all right alongside Bryn and it pulls you into the story completely. The events of Working Stiff, particularly the ending lead me to believe that the Revivalist series could well be one of my favourites. It raises a lot of moral questions too which makes it great for discussion.

It's also SO different from her other series too. I think it's safe to say that Rachel Caine has a series out there that is suited to every type of reader. The next book, Two Weeks Notice is on my upcoming to read books and the third is out soon so I definitely recommending reading this one now!