Audiobook Review - Twice Tempted (Night Prince, Book 2) by Jeaniene Frost (3.5/5 stars)

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Size: 384 pages
Publisher: Avon
Release Date: March 26, 2013
ISBN: 978-0062076106
Stand Alone or Series: 2nd book in the Night Prince series
Source: Audiobook from Audible.com
Rating: 3.5/5 stars

This is the second book in the Night Prince series featuring Vlad and Leila. This book picks up pretty much right after where the first book, Once Burned, left off. This is a planned trilogy with the third book as yet being untitled. I liked this book the same amount as the first one. I loved reading about Vlad but found that the plot wasn’t all that solid.

I listened to this on audiobook, the audiobook is very well done. The narrator, Tavia Gilbert, is the same narrator that has done all the Night Huntress audiobooks as well. She does an excellent job conveying character emotion and distinguishing between character voices. I highly recommend listening to any of the Night Price or Night Huntress books on audiobook.

Leila’s psychic abilities are failing her and Vlad is more distant than ever. When Vlad declares that he can never love her, she decides to cut her losses and leave him. Unfortunately for her as soon as she leaves him someone tries to kill her. The news of this sends Vlad into a furious rage. Leila is determined to find her killer and ensure her family’s safety while Vlad is determined to find Leila.

I was a bit frustrated with Leila’s character she is sooo dense, immature, and whiny when it comes to Vlad. She continually says she accepts him for who he is, but then she leaves him because she can’t accept who he is. Vlad is kind of his typical self; controlling and conniving but minus the humor that I loved so much in his characters in previous books. I felt like throughout this whole book Leila and Vlad had the same relationship problems over and over...they didn’t grow a ton as a couple.

I also still have some trouble with Leila’s “I got struck by lightening and am now full of electricity and psychic” backstory. It just seems very contrived and unbelievable to me.

There also isn’t a huge plot here, basically Leila almost gets killed when she leaves Vlad and her and Vlad have to figure out who is behind the attempt. This is a very romancey paranormal romance. Most of the book focuses on Leila and Vlad and their tumultuous path to a stable-ish relationship. There are some fun and surprising twists to the story that should keep the reader engaged.

The love scenes between Leila and Vlad are decently done. Leila is a lot more fiery than in the last book and makes a good challenge for Vlad. The way she stands up to him when no one else will makes her a good match for him. I did enjoy hearing about Vald’s past.

The story is engaging enough, there are a couple of cameos of Cat. So it was good to see her again, albeit very briefly. The book ends on a pretty big cliffhanger with not much resolved, so I always find that kind of annoying.

Overall an okay read. The plot for these books is more sparse than that in the Night Huntress novels. Most of the book focuses on Leila and Vlad’s tumultuous relationship. There is a small plot focused on trying to find out who tries to kill Leila early on in the story, but it definitely isn’t some huge and involved complicated plot. I would recommend this book to fans of the NIght Huntress series to to those who love very romancey paranormal romances.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- Audio Book Challenge
- 150+ Reading Challenge
- VAMPIRES: I think I Paranormal Reading Challenge

Audiobook Review - Once Burned (Night Prince, Book 1) by Jeaniene Frost (4/5 stars)

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Size: 384 pages
Publisher: Avon
Release Date: June 26, 2012
ISBN-13: 978-0061783203
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in the Night Prince series
Source: Audiobook from Audible.com
Rating: 4/5 stars

This is the first book in the Night Prince series by Jeaniene Frost. Last I read there were two books planned for this series with the second book, Twice Tempted, scheduled for a March 2013 release. This book is in the same universe as the Night Huntress series but tells Vlad’s story. While not as excellent as the Night Huntress books it was still a very good read.

I listened to this on audiobook and the audiobook was exceedingly well done. Tavia Gilbert (who has narrated all of Frost’s audiobooks) is the narrator again and she does an excellent job. This is a series I can recommend listening to on audiobook if you are a fan of audiobooks.

Leila was hit by lightening when she was younger and it left her with the ability to channel electricity and learn a person’s darkest secrets with a single touch. Her inability to control her electrical shocking ability has lead her to a life of solitude as a circus performer. When she is kidnapped by vampires seeking revenge on Vlad Tepish, she is forced to call out to Vlad for help. Of course Vlad is more dangerous (in many ways) than Leila expected.

Leila is an interesting character. The whole thing about her gaining her abilities by being hit by lightening is un-creative and a bit corny...but let’s be honest here that’s just the back story to get Leila isolated so that Vlad and her can connect. So I am willing to be a bit lenient on the crazy unbelievable back story. That being said Leila’s past as an Olympic worthy gymnast and circus performer are interesting and make her a character with an interesting history of experiences to draw upon. I enjoyed Leila, she is more light-hearted and fun than Cat and yet is still one tough cookie.

Vlad is well...he’s Vlad. I love him, he is one of my favorite characters of the Night Huntress series and I was thrilled to learn more about him. We do get to learn a lot about Vlad’s past and what makes him tick. It is an intriguing read. I love Vlad’s cockiness and love reading about how he controls fire; it’s an interesting power and watching it mix with Leila’s electrical abilities was fun.

The biggest disappointment for me with this book was that the whole book is told from Leila’s point of view. Leila is fine and fun to read about but I am more interested in Vlad...and we never get to hear what he thinks. I wish that viewpoints had switched between the two...or even better that the story had been told from Vlad’s point of view.

The back story is pretty good; basically Vlad and Leila have to figure out who is trying to take out Vlad and why they are using Leila to do it. There are some awesome fighting scenes, torture is referenced, and there is lots of burning and zapping people. The book is fast paced and engaging.

Let’s face it though this is mainly a paranormal romance, even more so than the Night Huntress series. The plot is mainly a vehicle to get Leila and Vlad togehter. Most of the story is focused around Leila and Vlad getting to know and trust each other...oh yeah, and have some really steamy scenes together. Frost does an excellent job writing high tension steamy scenes and that holds true for this book as well. The scenes are always very well done, never too much described but always enough. The chemistry between Vlad and Leila crackles and was fun to read about.

The book ends with a couple large issues unresolved and I am eager to read the next book in this series.

Overall a fun read. This is more paranormal romance than urban fantasy. The back story for Leila is a bit corny and the surrounding plot is mainly focused on getting Leila and Vlad together. I was disappointed that none of the story was told from Vlad’s point of view. Frost writes paranormal romance very well and the chemistry between Vlad and Leila is awesome, as are the sensual scenes between them. I definitely recommend to fans of Frost’s Night Huntress series as well as to fans of vampire paranormal romance. I am looking forward to reading Twice Tempted when it releases next year.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- Horror and Urban Fantasy Challenge
- 150+ Books Reading Challenge

Audiobook Review - Eternal Kiss of Darkness (Night Huntress World, Book 2) by Jeaniene Frost

Reading level: Adult
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Size: 384 pages
Publisher: Avon
Release Date: July 27, 2010
ISBN: 978-0061783166
Stand Alone or Series: 2nd book in the Night Huntress World series
Source: Audiobook from Audible.com
Rating: 4/5 stars

This is the second book in the Night Huntress World series. This was a decent story, I didn't like it as much as the Cat and Bones books, but it was fun to learn more about Mencheres's past.

Mencheres is incredibly old and has been feeling death's call for some time. That is until the beautiful and tough, Kira steps in to save Mencheres from some ghouls. Mencheres would like nothing more than to erase Kira's memory, but Kira is proving resistant to his mind control. With one of Mencheres's old vampire feuds spinning out of control, Mencheres ends up having to keep Kira close to him to protect her. Mencheres is drawn to Kira like no other woman in centuries. Maybe if Menchres can survive his feud and beat back the darkness his future holds, he can finally come to terms with what him and Kira feel for each other.

If you enjoyed the first Night Huntress World book then you will enjoy this one. These are much more paranormal romance than the Night Huntress series, as such there isn't as much fightting and action and I tend not to enjoy them quite as much.

Still this book gives the reader a chance to see into the mind of one of the most powerful and mysterious characters from the Night Huntress series, Mencheres. Mencheres is unique both in his three thousand year or so age and in the absolute control he usually displays. It was interesting to learn more about Mencheres's past and to see some of the thought behind that complete control.

Kira was an excellent heroine and a force to be reckoned with. She is tough, but not overly rash...she has a mind of her own, but does try to listen to reason. There are couple of times where she did some pretty stupid things out of ignorance, but these were well-founded. I enjoyed reading about her and enjoyed the deeper look into her character that I had previously missed by only reading the Night Huntress series.

It does bug me a little bit that you have to read these more romancy books to fill out the story, otherwise you are a bit lost as to what was going on in the Night Huntress series. I kind of wish the two series weren't so interconnected and dependent on each other.

Overall it is a decent story. Much more romance than the Night Huntress series and I didn't enjoy it as much as those books. Still it was nice to finally learn Mencheres's past and to gain some additional understanding of his character. I definitely recommend this is you are a fan of the Night Huntress series; although much of the action and humor that is present in those books is absent in this story.

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

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

Review - One Grave at a Time (Night Huntress, Book 6) by Jeaniene Frost (4/5 stars)

Reading level: Adult
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Size: 384 pages

Publisher:  Avon
Release Date: August 30th, 2011
ISBN:  978-0061783197
Stand Alone or Series: 6th book in the Night Huntress series
Source: Bought for Kindle
Rating: 4/5 stars

This is the sixth book in the Night Huntress series.  It was a good addition to the series but was more of a transitional novel.  It was good to see Cat and Bones get something of a break and fun to read a story involving ghosts.

In this book Cat and Bones are asked to track down a killer ghost by one of Fabian's friends.  When Cat becomes one of the ghost's targets her and Bones have no choice but to try and figure out how to fight something non-corporeal.  As a side story Cat's old team is dealing with some tough management changes after Don's death

This was a fun story and a quick read.  You learn even more about ghosts in this book as Cat is still suffering from the affect of drinking Majestic's blood in the last book.  There are some new characters that join the story as ghost hunters that are amusing, but not in the story for all that long.  You also learn about some additional powers that Bones is developing as well.

While this was a fun read and had some great action scenes in it; it was more of a one installment kind of book.  The majority of the problems presented are wrapped up nicely.  The only thing I found disappointing was that there didn't seem to be any multiple book encompassing story introduced.  It made me wonder what it next for this series.

It was nice that Cat and Bones got to stay together as a couple through the book.  They work wonderfully as a team and didn't have to suffer as much heartache in this book as in previous books.  It is wonderful to see them as a happy couple with a relatively healthy relationship.

Overall this was a nice addition to the series.  It was fun to learn more about ghosts and to see Cat and Bones develop more powers and learn to control them.  This seemed like more of a transitional novel though; there wasn't a new story line introduced that will span multiple books.  This makes me wonder what is next for this series.  I did enjoy the fact that Cat and Bones got a bit of a break in this book and that they got to spend the book working things out as a couple.  I will definitely read the next book in this series, but I wonder where this series is going long term.

Quick side note, this is the first book in the series that I read versus listened to on audiobook.  I have to say I enjoy the audiobooks a lot more, in the future I will try to get these on audiobook instead.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:

- Horror and Urban Fantasy Challenge
- 100+ Reading Challenge

Audiobook Review - This Side of the Grave (Night Huntress, Book 5) by Jeaniene Frost (4.5/5 stars)

Reading level: Adult
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Size: 384 pages
Publisher: Avon
Release Date: February 22, 2011
ISBN:  978-0061783180
Stand Alone or Series: 5th book in the Night Huntress series
Source: Audiobook from Audible.com
Rating: 4.5/5 stars


This is the fifth book in the Night Huntress series, the 6th book in this series (One Grave at a Time) was released in August 2011 .  This was an excellent addition to this series and does an excellent job of wrapping up the story arc that started in the last book (where the ghouls were worried about Cat becoming an uber-powerful supernatural entity).  I listened to this on audio book and these audiobooks are extremely well done.  I would recommend the audiobooks over reading the books on paper, the narrator is just so awesome.

Cat and Bones are struggling to figure out how to predict and control Cat's new powers.  They've been trying to keep her crazy new vampire powers secret, but some rumors have gotten out and the ghouls aren't happy.  Cat and Bones thought Cat becoming a vampire would make the ghoul factions happy, but now that she has strange new powers the vampire-ghoul balance is being threatened again.  Cat and Bones will have to petition the super scary ghoul queen, Majestic, for help if they are going to avoid all our war between the two races.

This book wasn't as emotionally wrenching as the last one, but it was a solid and entertaining story.  We learn a lot more about Cat's new powers and get to watch Car try to master flying (some very entertaining scenes there).  There are lots of awesome action scenes and the pace moves quickly.

Bones and Cat are stable as a couple; it was nice to see their loving relationship for each other and for them to finally get a little bit of a break in this book.  There are some very well done steamy scenes between the two and I continue to adore them as a couple.

There were a couple things that completely floored me.  I had know idea where Denise had gotten demon blood, I was like what the heck!  Then there was Mencheres new girlfriend, who I liked, but was completely confused about where she entered the story.  Finally I figured out that those two stories are featured in the Night Huntress World books.  Of course now I totally want to read those books.  It would have been nice to get a little bit more background on those things though so I wasn't completely confused in this book.  So, if you really want to understand what's going on here go read the first two Night Huntress World books and then come back and read this one.

This book did a nice job of tying up the story thread about the ghouls being worried about Cat taking over the supernatural world.  It makes me wonder what is next for our favorite vampire couple.

Overall a very solid addition to the series.  I enjoyed the book, it was well written and well paced.  I continue to enjoy Cat and Bones as a couple.  I was a bit irked at being completely lost about what was going on with Denise and Mencheres; I wish a little more back story had been included.  Other than that I was pleased with this book and am eager to see where the story goes in the next book, One Grave at a Time.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:

- Horror and Urban Fantasy Challenge
- 100+ Reading Challenge
- Audio Book Challenge List 

Audiobook Review - Destined for an Early Grave (Night Huntress, Book 4) by Jeaniene Frost (5/5 stars)

Reading level: Adult

Genre: Urban Fantasy
Size:  400 pages

Publisher:  Avon

Release Date: July 28, 2009
ISBN: 978-0061583216
Stand Alone or Series: 4th book in the Night Huntress series
Source: Audiobook through Audible.com
Rating: 5/5 stars

This is the fourth book in the Night Huntress series by Jeaniene Frost.  The sixth book, One Grave at a Time, will be out on August 30th of 2011.  I enjoyed this book a lot more than the third one.  A lot happens, a lot of the characters go through some drastic changes.  The majority of the book had me on the edge of my seat and I can't wait to find out what happens next!  I listened to this on audio book, as with the previous books on audio, this audio book is extremely well done.  I think listening to these is even more fun than reading them!

This takes place about a year after, At Grave's End.  Cat and Bones are finally trying to take a vacation when they find out Cat is being hunted by a vampire called the Dreamsnatcher who says he is her husband; Cat has no idea who he is. Of course this ticks Bones off to no end.  Things are very dangerous for Cat because the Dreamsnatcher can kidnap humans in their sleep.  Add to this rumors that Cat wants to be turned into some sort of uber-ghoul and it makes the vampire politics in this book very tense.

Cat and Bones are really put through the ringer in this book.  The first part of the book is very dark.  Bones is angry at Cat, Cat is upset about her lost memories and can't even sleep because of fear of being snatched.  Both Cat and Bones do a number of stupid things that could have been avoided had they communicated better.  

The good thing that sets off all of the bad in the first half of the book is Vlad.  Vlad is present in a big way in this book and proves his steadfast friendship to Cat over and over again.  It was fun to learn Vlad's history and to watch him interact with Cat; he is one of my favorite characters in this series.

The other good thing about all the bad that happens in the beginning of the book is that we get to see Cat and Bones work through all these issues and become a stronger couple after it all.  Lots of interesting things happen to Cat's powers later in the book, this was fun and exciting to read about.  I was a bit confused with how the whole deal about Bones gaining a bunch of power from Mencheres was dropped in this book, but whatever, hopefully it will come up again in the next book.

As with previous books this is more of an urban fantasy than a paranormal romance.  The plot moves quickly, there is never a dull moment.  Parts of this book will break your heart, but fear not it gets better!  The book ends well and I can't wait to see what happens in the next book with Cat and her new abilities.

Overall a very strong addition to this series.  I enjoyed this book a lot and have no complaints.  I loved that we get our witty Cat and Bones banter back.  The beginning of the book is very dark and parts of it will break your heart, but that just makes the second half of the book even more awesome.  It was great to spend so much time with Vlad in this book.  Some really interesting things happen with Cat and her powers too, so I am very excited to see where Frost goes with all this in the fifth book, This Side of the Grave.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:

- Horror and Urban Fantasy Challenge
- 100+ Reading Challenge
- Audio Book Challenge List 

Review - At Grave's End (Night Huntress, Book 3) by Jeaniene Frost (4/5 stars)

Reading level: Adult

Genre: Urban Fantasy
Size:  352 pages

Publisher:  Avon

Release Date: December 30, 2008
ISBN: 978-0061583070
Stand Alone or Series: Third book in the Night Huntress series
Source: Audiobook from Audible.com
Rating: 4/5 stars

This is the third book in the Night Huntress series.  It was a good addition to the series; not quite as engaging as the first two books but still very well done.  This is definitely straight urban fantasy and the fun tension between Cat and Bones is decreased from previous books.  I listened to this on audio book and the audio book was well done; in fact I think I enjoyed listening to this more than I would have enjoyed reading it.


It's been a few months since the last book. Cat is continuing to work as bait and Bones is one her vampire hunting team.  When Cat's identity is outed she is finally forced to face her father.   Shortly after this Mencheres makes Bone's, an offer Bone's can't refuse.  Unfortunately it is an offer that places Cat and Bones right in the middle of a vampire war with a very old and mean woman vampire who has a bone to pick with Bones.

This book is a straight urban fantasy.  There are a lot of great action scenes and the plot moves along at an excellent clip.  We get to learn a lot more about Mecheres and he is an excellent character.  We also meet Vlad, yep the original Dracula, and he was another great character that hits it off with Cat surprisingly well.

While the plot, action, and character additions were all great there was something missing in this book.  Cat and Bones don't have that heat and wittiness that they had in the previous two books.  They both seemed in love but tired.  I didn't find myself laughing out loud as much with this book; I didn't find myself absolutely enrapt by their interactions.  There are a couple sex scenes but they are boring, quick, and relatively emotionless.

Bones and Cat do have to face huge obstacles to their relationship.  I enjoyed that they were mature with each other and made responsible decisions; they make a wonderful couple.  I was disappointed though that they didn't display the enormous love coupled with lust for each other that they did in the previous two books.  Let's face it these two pretty much make this series and without their witty banter things aren't nearly as entertaining and exciting.  There is still some humor in the story; it is just not as present between Bones and Cat as it was in the first two books.

Tate features quite a lot in this book.  He makes a play for Cat in a big way.  This was entertaining, but at the same time I couldn't help feeling that he came across as a bit pathetic...I felt a bit sorry for him.  The scene where they fight the Grave was absolutely fantastic action-wise; just a great epic battle-type scene.  I love zombies and loved their inclusion in this book :-)

All that being said the book ends well, the story is progressed well, and it is a decent urban fantasy read.

Overall this isn't my favorite book in the series.  The plot, action, and new characters added are great.  The witty banter and heat between Cat and Bones is significantly decreased; and I felt its absence profoundly.   I will definitely read book 4, Destined for an Early Grave, but if it follows the path of this book I may not read anymore of this series.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:

- Horror and Urban Fantasy Challenge
- 100+ Reading Challenge
- Zombies! Reading Challenge
- Audio Book Challenge List

Review - One Foot In the Grave (Night Huntress, Book 2) by Jeaniene Frost (5/5 stars)

Reading level: Adult
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Size: 384 pages
Publisher: Avon
Release Date: April 29, 2008
ISBN: 978-0061245091
Stand Alone or Series: 2nd book in the Night Huntress series
Source: Audio book from Audible.com
Rating: 5/5 stars

This is the second book in the Night Huntress series by Frost, the sixth book (One Grave at a Time) is due out Sept 2011.  This book was just as good, if not better than, the first book in this series.  Cat and Bones are fantastic together and it is wonderful to see Cat as a power in her own right.  I listened to this book on audio book and the audio book is really well done.  In fact this is one of those books I would recommend listening too; the narrator gets Bones' voice spot on and does an excellent job with Cat too.

This book starts 4 years after the first book ended.  Cat is working for a special vampire hunting division of the FBI.  She has her own team of human vampire hunters under her command.  Cat is known only by the nickname the Red Reaper in vampire circles. Now someone has found out her identity and is out to kill her.  Who will help her figure out who is out to get her?  Well after all these long years of separation Bones may be just the vampire Cat needs to hunt down the person trying to assassinate her.

Cat and Bones were awesome together in the first book, but they are about ten times more awesome in this book.   The reunion of Cat and Bones was absolutely outstanding and just took my breath away.  Both of them are funny, sincere, and absolutely engrossing as characters.  It was fun to see Cat hold her own in fights and to watch her finally admit how much she cares about Bones.  Bones is absolutely everything you could want in a male lead and them some; he is funny, sincere, witty and just absolutely wonderful.

Cat finally has some friends in this book and it was great to see her hanging out with her girlfriend and joking around with her FBI team.  It was nice to see she had a great support group and that her whole life wasn't hinged on her relationship with Bones.  Cat seems to be finally gaining some balance in her life and her relationship with Bones is so loving that it is fun and heartwarming to read about.  There are also a couple very steamy scenes between Cat and Bones that are exceedingly well written, very creative, and very...well...steamy. 

It's not all about Cat and Bones though; we meet some great new characters.  The plot is well done and I love how parts of the story from the first book are tied into this book as well.  The action scenes are really well done and there are plenty of them.  Things are set up nicely for the next book, At Grave's End, and I can't wait to read that one too.

Overall a absolutely stellar addition to this series.  Cat and Bones make this series fabulous; the are so funny, witty, caring, and just fantastic as a couple.  Not only are there wonderful, creative steam scenes between them throughout; they honestly seem to really care about each other.  In addition to that the book is very well written, has an excellent and engaging plot, spectacular action scenes, and wonderful new characters.  Really there isn't anything here that I don't like.  Fans of the Anita Blake series, who have been turned off by the turn the later books in the series have taken, should definitely check out this Night Huntress series.  I absolutely adore this series.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:

- Horror and Urban Fantasy Challenge
- 100+ Reading Challenge
- Audio Book Challenge List

Review - Halfway to the Grave (Night Huntress, Book 1) by Jeaniene Frost (5/5 stars)

Reading level: Adult

Genre: Urban Fantasy
Size:  384 pages

Publisher: Avon
Release Date: October 30, 2007
ISBN: 978-0061245084
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in the Night Huntress Series
Source: Audio book from Audible.com
Rating: 5/5 stars

I have been wanting to read this series for a long time.  I ended up getting the audio book on sale at Audible.com.  This was an absolutely excellent book.  The audio book was very well done and even made the story more fun.  To date there are five book in the series; the sixth book One Grave at a Time comes out in August 2011.

Twenty two year old Cat has always known she is half-vampire, she has been trying to constantly prove to her mother that she's not evil by slaying vampires in her spare time.  Then Cat tries to slay the wrong vampire and ends up confronting a vampire named Bones.  Bones is trying to stop a vampire run human slave ring and he would love to train Cat and have her help him on his mission.

Initially Cat comes off as a bit whiny and shrill, but she grows on you over time.  Cat is an interesting mix of warm understanding, compassion and blood-thirsty vampire killer.  Bones is the one who really steals the show; he is ruthless yet kind and understanding and sexy all at once.  There is a lot of humor throughout too, which breaks up the tension and had me laughing out loud a number of times.  Frost is very good at creating witty dialogue between the characters.

The thing that Frost does an absolutely outstanding job on is creating tension between Cat and Bones.   Cat and Bones have excellent chemistry but have trouble with timing a relationship between all the other things going on.  Frost does a wonderful job of making us wish Cat and Bones could just make it work out between themselves over and over again throughout the story.  Somehow it never gets old and you constantly yearn for them to be happy together.  There are also some excellent steamy scenes between the two; they are all very tasteful and well done.

While the training and tension between Cat and Bones is what propels the story forward the most, there is a great plot here too.  The mystery behind the missing girls and which vampires are involved is well done and engaging.  The world created is nothing special, pretty much your typical vampires in the shadows kind of world.  I am hoping that the world is expanded on and filled out in future books.  Some of Cat's personal issues will break your heart; the way her mother treats her and some of Cat's past relationships really make you wish she could finally get a break.  There is plenty of action in this book too, making it heavy on the urban fantasy side and not strictly paranormal romance.

The book ends well, but will have readers desperate to read more.  What happens at the end made me sad and mad beyond belief, but I think it will make for an excellent story.

Overall I was absolutely enraptured by the story.  The characters are what really drive this story.  Cat and Bones are interesting, have a lot of depth, and have absolutely wonderful chemistry.  The tension between the two is exquisitely done and made the book hard to put down.  I am dying to read the next book in this series, One Foot in the Grave.  If you are a fan of vampire urban fantasy or vampire romance you have got to give this series a try.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:

- Horror and Urban Fantasy Challenge
- 100+ Reading Challenge
- Audio Book Challenge List