Halfway to the Grave

Half way to the Grave: Book one in the Night Huntress Series

By: Jeaniene Frost

Published: March 2008 

ISBN: 9780061245084
ISBN-10: 0061245089
Number Of Pages: 374 (in paperback format)
Format I read it: Kindle for iPhone

Language: English

Flirting With The Grave…

Half-vampire Catherine Crawfield is going after the undead with a vengeance, hoping that one of these deadbeats is her father – the one responsible for ruining her mother’s life. Then she’s captured by Bones, a vampire bounty hunter, and is forced into an unlikely partnership.

In exchange for help finding her father, Cat agrees to train with the sexy night stalker until her battle reflexes are as sharp as his fangs. She’s amazed she doesn’t end up as his dinner – are there actually good vampires? Pretty soon Bones will have her convinced that being half-dead doesn’t have to be all bad. But before she can enjoy her status as kick-ass demon hunter, Cat and Bones are pursued by a group of killers. Now Cat will have to choose a side … and Bones is turning out to be as tempting as any man with a heartbeat.

(Description borrowed from Jeaniene Frost's Website)

When Buffy the Vampire Slayer ended on TV I never thought I would see another smart arse English Vampire who could match the sheer awesomeness of Spike.

But I was wrong. Bones could take on Spike any day. I know from reading other reviews (only after I read the book mind you) that some people say Bones is a Spike rip-off while others defend the character and say he isn't. I am not going to get into that argument, I enjoyed the character be he a rip-off or an original idea.

While I will say I thoroughly enjoyed this book, hardcore readers may not take it in the same way I do. I like to enjoy a story for what it is. If it holds my suspension of disbelief then it isn't all bad.

Firstly, while I like the characters Frost only scratches the surface of them. You don't get much in the way of in depth character building throughout the novel. The most you do get is that Cat goes from blushing at innuendo to mastering this and setting up some good innuendo herself. The characters actually don't seem to grow and develop as much as one might expect.

Thinking about it some more, the book as a whole was like that really. Even settings didn't have in depth descriptions. 

I have seen comments arguing if it is really Urban Fantasy of Paranormal Romance in genre... My opinion, who gives a fuck. I like both genres and I don't find them to be so different in nature that it would matter, it's not like mixing a spoof movie with a serious action one. Again, this is totally up to you. There is more action than romance toward the end of the book. But there is still romance mixed in. I actually think Frost had a pretty good balance between the two genres.

Things I loved about it that I think any reader will appreciate...

The dialogue was great. Fast paced and witty. Sarcastic and snarky. It was great fun to read.

The steamy scenes, yes there were a couple and they were enough to get your heart racing. 

I may not have a proper rating system, but I think I would give this about a 3.5 if I did have one. I did really enjoy the book. Enough for me to want to read the next one anyway. 

If you want a light and fun read, this book is for you. If you take your reading seriously, then it might not be your cup of tea. You can read the first 20% of the book from the link above. Or you can do what I did and read a sample on Kindle before buying.

Edited to add... I totally forgot to mention, that there is this whole deal at the start of the book made between Cat and Bones. It was said that he would help her find her father. Somehow that was forgotten about throughout the rest of the book. Just something I found annoying, especially after reading the blurb for the next book which says something about her father. It makes me wonder if they will just mention him and forget about him again.