Audiobook Review - First Drop of Crimson (Night Huntress World, Book 1) by Jeaniene Frost (4.5/5 stars)

Reading level: Adult
Genre: Paranormal
Size: 384 pages
Publisher: Avon
Release Date: February 9, 2010
ISBN: 978-0061583223
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in the Night Huntress World series
Source: Audiobook from Audible.com
Rating: 4.5/5 stars

After reading all of the Night Huntress books I was dying to read Denise and Shade's story. This was a great story. I listened to it on audiobook and the narrator does a spectacular job of capturing the characters' voice and their emotions. I love listening to these books even more than I love reading them.

Denise is trying to recover from loosing her husband when another of her family is brutally killed by something. The something is a demon who one of her ancestors made a deal with and then broke. Now the demon is out for vengence, but he is willing to strike a deal with Denise. If Denise finds her family member who broke his deal with the demon then the demon will stop hunting her and remove his demonic bindings on her. Now Denise is stuck trying to hunt down a mysterious ancestor who has most likely taken shelter among vampires; with Cat and Bones out of the country she has no one to turn to. Except for Spade. Denise and Spade find themselves drawn to one another despite the danger they face and Spade's aversion to being involved with humans.

This book takes place during the period of time where Cat and Bones are off dealing with that vampare that can kidnap people in their sleep; so they are out of the country for most of the book. This was definitely more of a paranormal romace than the Cat and Bones books; there is some action but not nearly as much. Still the story was very engaging, making it hard to stop reading. You do get some awesome action when Cat and Bones join the story towards the end of the book.

I loved the inclusion of demons and thought that Denise's powers were very interesting. It was a creative way to pull Denise back into the paranormal world and make her tough enough to survive all the dangerous encounters her friends have. Denise is a very different character from Cat; she is reluctant to be involved in the paranormal world and is still suffering post traumatic stress disorder from the events that happened back when Randy, he husband, was killed. She is tough in her own way but it is more an emotional toughness than a physical toughness like Cat.

Spade is a wonderful character; he is very different from Bones and much more reserved. We learn a ton about his past and learn about why he is reluctant to be involved with humans. The romance between him and Denise is absolutely wonderful. They are some very steamy scenes in here and at points the tension between the two is so thick that it drives you crazy.

The book is well written and ends well. If you enjoy Frost's Night Huntress series I think you will enjoy this book. Just be aware that it is more of a paranormal romance than a straight urban fantasy. It was wonderful to find out so much more about two great side characters in this series (Spade and Denise).

Overall I really enjoyed this book. It was well-written, these are characters we know and love and finally get to learn more background on. Spade and Denise make a wonderful couple; they have some big obstacles to overcome and they do it wonderfully. I loved the inclusion of demonic lore and demons and am excited to see where Denise's new demonic powers take her. I am also excited to read the next Night Huntress World book, Eternal Kiss of Darkness, which tells us Mencheres' story.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- Horror and Urban Fantasy Challenge
- 100+ Reading Challenge
- Audio Book Challenge List