The second book literally picks up right where the first book ended. So I'll say it now--spoilers for the first book.

The difficulties that Claire and co face in this book are definitely more personal then the first book. Not just that its Shane's dad making trouble, but also Eve's younger brother comes back (causing her emotional problems aplenty), Shane's dad in general (causing emotional AND physical problems), Michael has to make a choice he knows will alienate his friends and Claire has to save her arch-enemy's life (after that same arch-enemy AGAIN tries to kill her). I won't even mention the Dance the title refers too because that's just better left read then said.

Whereas the first one took time to set the scene and lay out the players, the second book tosses you in head first. You can't read this as a standalone or out of order. Events from the first book are glossed over because its generally acknowledged by the characters that they were there so why repeat it? Relationship connections are acknowledged, but the pre-development isn't mentioned. Claire is with Shane, Michael is with Eve, Monica killed Shane's sister out of spite and wants Claire dead, Brandon screwed up Eve's life (in so many ways) and Michael is half-ghost because Oliver tried to turn him.

Because of a few factors time is a little bit wonky to think about in terms of the book. It obviously passes, but because so much happens in five or six days that pass in the book I finished feeling like I had just watched a season of 24 (you know where in the span of 24 hours the white house is bombed, a nuclear explosion happens in America, terrorists are captured, new terrorists appear, a president is assassinated, his vice-president is put into a coma and CTU is taken over at least once?). If I think about it I think less then three months have passed total for the series.

If you take out the life or death factor I could only hope so much happens to me in a three month span as it does for Claire.

I'm still something of a Claire/Michael person honestly. She tells him things she doesn't tell Eve or Shane (or she tells him first), he trusts her in a way that he doesn't trust Eve or Shane and the two of them just seem to click. I feel bad though because Eve deserves happiness and obviously Michael gives her that. Shane/Claire I'm sold on only in that he's pretty much the first guy that she's been romantically interested or involved with so emotions run high. I don't doubt that she cares about him and wants to be with him, I just doubt that its a long term thing. ( )

Really enjoyed this book, can't wait to get my hands on the next one! ( )

I like this one better than the first one as we got a bit more backstory on several of the characters. However, it's still only getting three starts due to the eyeroll factor while reading. Another fun/light read, but not going to make you Ga Ga or anything. ( )

“Hess laughed. "You know, I thought you were a mousy little thing when I first saw you, Claire, but you're not, are you? Not underneath."
Oh, I am mousy," she said."All this scares the hell out of me. But I don't know what else to do, sir, except try.
Even a mouse bites.”
― Rachel Caine, The Dead Girls' Dance

I try to express only my most honest opinion in a spoiler free way. If you feel anything in my review is a spoiler and is not already hidden in spoiler brackets please let me know. Thank you.
Shane's dad is in town and on a mission to kill vampires, and he won't let anyone get in his way. Not even his own son. After Shane is accused of the crime his dad commited. Claire, Eve, and Micheal have to find some way to save him. They make some allies along the way and a lot of enemies.
Loved it!!! This series is amazing. I can't believe I haven't heard more about it. I know its a bit on the older side, but still. This would make a great series I think or a long movie series. It reads like one and I love it. I love that there are still 13 more books to read in this series and that doesn't even include the companion books. I will say though that there is a part in the book that I sooo saw coming. *Spoiler Alert* So at about 3/4 of the way through when Claire and Eve were at the party and Claire drank the water bottle that was handed to her OPENED by a guy she barely knew. I immediately started yelling at my book, I knew it was coming. 16 years old in college early and her parents didn't think to remind her to watch her drinks at a party? That part had me in a bit of a rage lol.
How I choose my rating:
1* Did not finish, or hated it but forced myself to finish.
2** Didn't really like it. Didn't hate it but not sure why I finished it other then for some closure.
3*** I liked it. I had some issues with it, but as a whole it was good. I probably won't reread again ever, but there is a chance I might finish the series. (If part of one) But if not it's not a huge loss.
4**** I really liked this book. Maybe not a work of genius, but highly entertaining. I might reread this again, and I will finish the series. (If part of one) I would recommend to those I know hold interest in this books content.
5***** I loved this book. I found little to no issues with it at all. I will definitely be rereading this and probably more than once. I will finish the series and reread it multiple times. (If part of one) I will recommend this book to EVERYONE!!!! ( )

I just couldn't continue reading these books. I've read 1 book and 55 pages of this serie, but can't really get into it. Sure, the characters (not including Claire) are interesting enough. This serie has a lot of things more right in my opinion than a lot of other vampire series.

But that doesn't really matter if I didn't like it, does it? I think what ruines it for me is not exciting enough plots, a very annoying main character named Claire (don't get me started about her) and some (if possible) more annoying writing. I don't know if it's necessary bad, but in my norwegian translation at least, it's not exactly good either. Which means it's bad. Very. Tthere are a lot of unecessary sentencess and comments that makes my hands itchy wanting to rewrite them. Other than that the books are short and simple. Maybe more fitting for someone who hasn't read a lot of vampire books yet. Not anything for me. ( )