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44 of 51 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not a laughing matter, January 1, 2009
This review is from: At Grave's End (Night Huntress, Book 3) (Mass Market Paperback)
I re-read the last 2 books before I allowed myself to read the 3rd. I wish I hadn't. It made the disparity between them painful. Just about everything I loved from the first 2 books was missing in this one.
The Good - There is a lot of plot and a lot of action. Many parts reminded me of the earlier Anita Blake. All the fighting and gore and sinister plots. Excellent. This is why I gave it 4 stars instead of 3.5
The Depressing - I read the first 2 books with a huge poo-eating-grin on my face, laughing out loud constantly. Both times! It actually made my husband jealous. Not this time. This time I rarely laughed, occasionally grinned and in the middle of the book I actually cried. By the end I was stoic.
What I miss - The sex scenes. The chemistry. The bantering. The heart.
I expected, and anticipated, Cat's confrontation with her mother after what she discovered at the end of book 2. Don't. After I got over that disappointment I was hopeful for her mother later in the book only to have it crushed again at the end. Oh well.
Tate left me wanting. Something. So much potential plot yet just out of reach. He can be a great ally or a ruthless advisory. Time will tell.
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26 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Disappointing, January 3, 2009
This review is from: At Grave's End (Night Huntress, Book 3) (Mass Market Paperback)
I found the first two books exciting, amusing, romantic fun and eagerly awaited At Grave's End for months. Unfortunately, I was extremely disappointed and only finished the book because I kept hoping it would get better and that the tension and humor of the first two would return.
The previously strong romantic/sexual tension between Cat and Bones is gone, and several perfunctory sex scenes couldn't make up for the lack of connection and the development of their relationship. Cat and Bones are also oddly uncompelling protagonists. Bones will go to any length to protect Cat. Yes. We got that in the last book, so showing and stressing this again and again does nothing but diminish the emotional impact. As for Cat, she makes the occasional snarky remark, wears slutty clothes, and kills lots of things. And... that's it. The only characters who engaged and held my interest were secondary ones - Cat's relatives and a new vampire who gets introduced in the middle of the book.
The plot felt both disconnected and overly simplistic. There were no subplots, not really, merely a string of the same sort of thing. One scene early on is powerful, because it's there that one feels actual fear for the characters and their health. Later on, Frost goes back to killing off extras in order to show how dark and deadly everything is. And yes, the bodycount is higher than before, but it's not very meaningful when we don't really *know* the characters who are killed.
The summarizing in the first part of the book is jarring, particularly because the transition from action - narrative clean up - action occurs within a few sentences. And as for the end, between the battle set up and speech that had me cringing for the characters and the vaguely anticlimactic finish, I felt almost relieved when I reached the end.
I really enjoyed the first two and will happily reread and recommend them, but I won't be buying the fourth book or reading this one again. It's not a dreadful book by any means, but... it's not the series, at least not as I'd care to remember it.
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36 of 44 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Awesome - My Favorite So Far, December 30, 2008
This review is from: At Grave's End (Night Huntress, Book 3) (Mass Market Paperback)
I thought this book was a great addition to the series. It started off a little rough for me because the whole dress and act like a hooker bit was getting old, in my opinion, but Bones was tired of it as well so it seems to be resolved and full steam ahead from that point. Lots of fast paced, unpredictable action followed that kept the story moving and the reader guessing. Some parts could have used a bit more description and scenes ended and changed too abruptly at times but nothing that detracted too much from the story.
Bones was great as always and Cat lost some of her rough edges and was actually more likable this go around. What really made this story stand out and get my five stars, though, was the emotion. I had tears running down my face for at least two chapters it was so moving. Any book that can get me to cry real tears for fake characters means the author has done their job and brought me fully into the story.
Great addition to the series and I can't wait for the next installment!
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