Halfway to the Grave

I had read one of these years ago, and kept it. I love the relationship between Cat and Bones, and the way she has such love for her friends, and its just a wonderful cast of characters. I will re-read all of these time and time again.

So to start off honestly I read this book years ago way before I probably should have haha but I remembered that I loved Cat and Bones so I thought I’d give it a shot again. And I truly love it!! At first it may take faith in the story to get through the beginning few chapters if it doesn’t grab your attention. It grabbed mine and I just loved how the characters and story develops. I just recently purchased the rest in this series and I’m excited to get them. This is one of those good easy I’ll read it a few times kind of books.

This novel has a lot of aspects that should come off as trite, already been done, 'typical' urban fantasy-romance. Frankly, the cover does nothing to help that impression. However this is an excellent novel that overcomes its cover. (Don't get me wrong, the cover isn't BAD, it just says 'yet another sexy sexy vampire hunter' and that does get old.) One of the ways the author excels here is that I never felt like the main character was mary-sueish. And no matter how much I somewhat guiltily enjoy other books in this genre, I do tend to get strong Mary-sue vibes while reading most of them. For those that don't know, a Mary-Sue is a character that seems to reflect some wish fulfillment fantasies on the part of the (female) author. The character either feels like a self insertion (but more attractive and powerful!) or is just plain hard to buy (every man she meets falls in love with her). Ms. Frost's protagonist, however, comes off in a way that's believable and sypathetic to the reader. She's not a strong independent 20/30 something year old woman who charges into danger head on. She's a young woman without a lot of life experience who has been molded by her mother into something her mother wants. She doesn't wear jeans and tshirts because she's asserting her independence from typical feminine attire, she wears them because she's unsure of herself and inexperienced. The other thing that appealed to me was that it doesn't look like this series will have the "Monster A comes to town, I fight them off, Monster B comes to town, I fight him off" storyline that seems to be common to recent urban fantasy. Its not that those books are BAD, but I feel like I've read it (and seen it on tv) all before. The end was unexpected, taking the whole storyline down a turn I did not expect. In a way I felt like this was a prologue to a series, not the series itself. This is where the characters are introduced and their backstories are told. The relationship that develops is part of the back story, not the main attraction. I'm actually really looking forward to the next book in this series (I hope its published for the kindle!) and its been a long time since I've felt that way in this genre. Hopefully the author will continue down this path, especially with the storyline she laid out at the end of the first book.

I'll be honest: I had a hard time getting into Halfway to the Grave. I read 25 pages or so and didn't really like either Cat or Bones at first. Well, I didn't dislike them, but I didn't love them either. So I put it down for a few days, and then picked it back up again. When I did, I'm just glad I had time to read it in one (or nearly one) sitting because at that point there was no putting the book down again. The action, the character development, the relationship between Cat and Bones- all of it- just exploded and took off. The story was fun, fast and intense. Cat and Bones' romance is both hot and surprisingly tender. Plus, all the English slang always brought a smile to my face. The story itself races to an intense conclusion with a lot of action and quite a bit is set up (and left dangling, but in a good way) for the next book. I can't wait to read what happen next.

When I started this book, I wasn't sure if I was going to like it but after a couple of pages I was totally hooked. The author found her stride and took off running delivering a story that was interesting, exciting, funny and just totally enjoyable. I hope she has planned on a long series. Her name has most definitely been put on my list of favorite authors. Just a little advice - when you plan to read this book make sure you set aside time to read it from start to finish without stopping. I wish now I had started reading it on the weekend instead of having to snatch moments to read a little bit at a time. The book definitely deserves your full, undivided attention. You won't be disappointed.

No one believes in vampires... but Cat Crawfield knows better. She's been hunting them for the last 6 years, ever since learning her father is a vampire, a monster who raped her mother. Cat hunts partially to appease her mother, who fears Cat's unusual abilities. But then Cat meets Bones.... Bones isn't like the other vampires. Although he is a master vampire, he doesn't want to kill Cat or even stop her from killing other vampires. Instead, he has a proposition for Cat: work with him to kill specific vampires and he'll teach her all he knows. Will Cat be able to overcome her prejudices long enough to work with Bones? HALFWAY TO THE GRAVE is the first book in a series from Jeaniene Frost, and it is incredible! Jeaniene Frost has put a new spin on the vampire hunter theme with this spectacular urban fantasy. While there are shades of Buffy, HALFWAY TO THE GRAVE is by no means a carbon copy. Cat is a spunky heroine, dedicated to avenging her mother. She doesn't want to like Bones, or any other vampire for that matter. After all, her mother has drilled into her head just how evil vampires are... and just how evil the vampire half of Cat is. Killing vampires is the only way she can redeem herself, or is it? Cat's desire to do the right thing is admirable. Her feisty attitude is fun but it is her dedication to her mom that makes her so likeable. Bones is the perfect vampire to team her up with. His calm and patient demeanor contrasts well with Cat's impulsive nature. Readers should note that while there is some romance in the tale, HALFWAY TO THE GRAVE is not a paranormal romance nor is the ending necessarily complete. Instead, HALFWAY TO THE GRAVE is the first book in a series and thus there are some issues, even major ones, that are left as cliffhangers for the next book. Jeaniene Frost has vaulted to the top ranks of the ever growing urban fantasy field with HALFWAY TO THE GRAVE. I can't rave enough about this tale as it kept me positively spellbound. HALFWAY TO THE GRAVE is a must read for all urban fantasy fans! COURTESY OF CK2S KWIPS AND KRITIQUES

Every once in a while a book comes along that I just have to tell the world about and Halfway to the Grave is most definitely one of those books. Newcomer Jeaniene Frost makes her writing debut in this fast-paced, action packed, contemporary urban fantasy. The story focuses on our heroine, Catherine Crawfield - Cat, for short. Cat is the product of a date rape between her mom and her long, lost bloodsucker of a dad. She's a half-vampire born with some added vamp strength and abilities, but minus the fangs, and her mission in life is to seek vengeance on the undead by taking out as many of them as she can, all the while hoping she might get lucky one day and one of them might turn out to be dear old dad. She's got a score to settle with him for ruining both her and her mom's life, after all. One night while trolling the local bar scene in hopes of finding her next target, she winds up being captured by Bones, a sexy, English-speaking, two-hundred-year old, vampire bounty hunter. After he finds out that she is half-vampire, he forces her into an unwilling partnership with him. In exchange for him helping her find her father, she in turn, will allow him to better train her for their battle with undead. And despite her promise otherwise, Cat still has every intention of staking Bones' cold, dead heart the first chance she gets. After all, the only good vampire is a really dead vampire. Right? But what Cat soon finds out is that not all vampires are created equal. Halfway to the Grave is a fantastic read that not only takes you on dark and sexy paranormal roller-coaster ride, but it will also have you laughing out loud at the various bits of humor laced throughout the book. I also loved Cat & Bone's interaction with each other. One thing I really liked about their relationship was that it was built over time and was not a case of "one week they hate each other and then the next they are madly in love". Since the book takes place over a time period of about six months, it was very easy for me to believe that this strong bond they'd built between two of them was real. There's nothing magical or mystical about it - just a product of two people spending a vast amount of time together, and in the process, building their trust and friendship with each other. If you are a fan of urban fantasy, I highly recommend this outstanding new series. I truly believe that Jeaniene Frost will be a phenomenal addition to the paranormal genre and anxiously await the release of book two of the Night Huntress series, One Foot in the Grave, coming April 2008. Mippy Carlson PNR New Release Editor & Reviewer