Customer Reviews

Halfway to the Grave (A Night Huntress Novel, Book 1)(Library Edition)

5 star:		(228)
4 star:		(73)
3 star:		(27)
2 star:		(14)
1 star:		(13)

 

 

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

This book is like a box of movie-theater candy: no nutritional value, probably not what you would choose if you could have whatever you wanted, but at the right time and the right place, it really hits the spot.

Honestly, I'm not sure why I liked this book. When I remember it, all I can think of are plotholes big enough to drive a truck through (Cat the blushing-virgin-cum-practiced-seductress' relationship with Bones the altruistic-bad-boy-vampire is high on the list; also anything to do with law enforcement), characters that never seemed real and were rarely likable (see above; then add everyone else in the book), and a splashy, utterly ridiculous conclusion. The vampires have glowing green eyes and some of them fly and Cat runs around in skanky dresses throwing silver knives. It's not just trashy, it's campy.

But...I did like it. For all the bad things I could say about it, it was still good escapist fun. It's full of drama and silliness and sexual tension. Bones is enough of a bad boy that it makes your heart go pitter-pat when he goes soft for a girl, and it goes pitter-pat when he's not so nice, too.

This is heavily qualified praise, but if you are on the lookout for the kind of zoning-out, guilty pleasure read I've described, this will do just fine.

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.

I SOOOO wanted to like this book. I am forever searching for a good paranormal romance series that continue with the same characters (like the Sookie Stackhouse series by Charlaine Harris, or Gabaldon's Outlander, etc.). So I was thrilled to see that Frost continues her series with the original main characters, Cat and Bones.

However, I found this book to just be a mess. The character of Cat is so mixed up. Is she a bad-a## vampire-slayer or an innocent? The author can't decide, so she oscillates between being completely naive and a wise-cracking killer. Towards the end she is slated to lead an elite team of vampire slayers and she demands to head up the unit, her rules, her decisions. What? Where does she get that confidence? Just 50 pages ago she was scared out of her mind at the prospect of meeting a big scarey vampire in a bar.

The love story comes out of nowhere. Cat and Bones go from a vague attraction to exchanging I love yous completely randomly.

There are so many corny metaphors and one-liners I don't even know where to begin. I was rolling my eyes and putting the book down out of pure embarrassment for the author several times during the reading. The word "emphaticalness" is actually used twice. As in...she was taken back by my "emphaticalness." Is that supposed to be silly, ironic, or serious?

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.

I very much wished to like this novel. The author seems highly personable, I am drawn to supernaturally oriented works, and it came recommended.

Certainly, the author put energy into the work, and the cover art is lovely. The premise is that the half-vampire, half-human vampire slayer Catherine is in a romance with a full-blooded mercenary vampire, Bones. Together, they fight more malevolent vampires, and the plot is essentially sex and slaying. This all takes place in Ohio, which is inexplicably porous to dark fantasy.

The author gets tangled in her own web. On one hand, Catherine, a product of a vampire's sexual assault upon her human mother, becomes an avenging angel against the evil undead and sexual predators. Yet the author never misses a chance to put her in provocative clothing or in a highly sexual situation to titillate the audience.

There is little or no character development, and the character Bones is indeed a charmless copy of Spike from "Buffy the Vampire Slayer." His accent is a caricature, throwing out "blimey," bloke," or "luv" at any opportunity.

The prose ranges from the cliche ("This was the moment of truth") to the awkward ("Inside my belt were jammed other deadly goodies") to the redundant ("His tone was immediately apologetic. `I'm sorry...'" ).

This is just my opinion, but other authors do this genre much better, such as Kim Harrison, Jim Butcher, or the early Laurell K. Hamilton. Or if you are into classic vampire tales, I'd go with Matheson's "I Am Legend" or King's "Salem's Lot." I'd check them out before this one.

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

I was recommended this book about 100 times after buying Magic Bites by Illona Andrews, which was an amazing book by the way, so i decided to plunk down some money and give Halfway to the Grave a whirl. How bad it could right?

Well, as it turns out, its pretty bad.

MAJOR SPOILERS below:

First off, what kind of name is Bones? How could 20 some people never once question or even make a comment in this book like 'Bones? What kind of name is that?' Though Bones is a fitting name for a former male protitute. And no im not making that up, Bones is a former male prostitute.

And the love and sex developed by the main character and Bones happened way too fast. Books usually take multiple volumes for love and relationships to last but halfway through this book Cat and Bones were proclaiming their love for each every chapter and were inseperable. Cat went from a shy barely experienced young adult to a slutty 'can get naked in public' woman too quickly.

And this books jokes were eye rolling bad. This book starts off semi-campy and seems to turn dead serious in the last few chapters. Inconsistent writing.

And finally what the heck is with the evil Governor who wants to be the President plot? That ridiculous plot point was developed and killed in the final 30 pages of the book and thats it. It was rushed beyond belief. An evil Governor who wants to sell hookers/low lifes to vampires in a bid to 'clean up the streets' in hopes for a future run for President? Seriously?

If you want good urban fantasy try some Llona Andrews, Kelley Armstrong, and early Laurell Hamilton. If you want poorly written campy sex fueled books then pick up the Night Huntress series.

I have mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand, I enjoyed it; fast-paced, engaging, genuinely scary in places, and hot, with a believably paced romance and an interesting set-up.

But as a huge fan of the show Buffy the Vampire Slayer, good grief, could Bones be any more like Spike? Both English vampires who aren't pure evil and hunt bad vampires, both use 'bugger', 'bollocks' and 'luv'; both are in love with a vampire slayer. Both have pale hair, chiseled cheekbones and ripped abs. There's a nurturing character called 'Tara', something similar to the Initiative and, the point at which I gave up, Cat plans to give him a black leather trenchcoat just like the duster Spike wore.

The many similarities spoiled the book for me. There's only one Spike and one BtVS.

Cat's origins are also highly reminiscent of 'Blade', another half-human, half-vampire whose mother was attacked/raped by a vampire and who was born with all the benefits of being a vampire and none of the weaknesses, and the blood tears (and semen) that get mentioned often, well, paging Anne Rice...

I love urban fantasy and most paranormal romance, so I expected to love this book. Only, I didn't. My main issue is the heroine - I didn't like her. She spent entirely too much time WHINING. Cat is half vampire - her mother was raped by a newly made vampire. And from there it's as though the author threw in every horror a teenager could face. She was different growing up, so she has no friends. Her mother thinks she has some evil in her. She has no father figure. She lives in a small town where her mother is regarded as loose, and therefore so must she be. Unfortunately, Buffy already used the supernatural to examine teen life, and to greater effect than here especially given Cat is no longer a teen when we meet her.

I admit, it could be burn-out. Too many such "heroines" out there that are outsiders with issues, and the ability to kick ass. Who only start to see their own self-worth when the dashing hero comes along to show them just how powerful they are. Blah. Here our hero is Bones, a master vampire who shows Cat that she's been lucky with the vampires she's killed so far. They were all newbies. She has little chance against much older vamps - unless he trains her. Blah. Bones is British (we know because he uses all those cliche phrases to make him sound so), and unbelievably sexy (we know because even though Cat hates all vampires on principle, she wants him). Halfway through the book, nothing has really happened. I just could not get into it.

Overall, less discriminating paranormal romance fans may enjoy this, and honestly, the series may improve drastically in book 2. I'm just not willing to commit. After reading a phenomenal series like The Dark-Hunters, with rich mythology and detailed world-building to support the romance, this fell short.