Halfway to the Grave (Night Huntress, Book 1)
The Night Huntress series is one of my favorites. The heroine is Cat Crawfield, a twenty-something vampire slayer. What makes Cat stand out, besides her flaming red hair, is the fact she is half vampire. Her mother was raped by a newly turned vampire creating a hybrid. Cat has abilities that other humans do not have and when she loses control of her emotions, her eyes blaze technicolor green. To avenge her mother and get back at the vampire world for ruining her childhood she seeks out vampires, seduces them, and then stakes them. Unbeknownst to her, she falls under the watchful eye of a master vampire assassin named Bones. When she tries to kill him she finds she is out of her league. When Bones finally believes that she is not a paid assassin herself he decides to recruit her and train her to work with him. As long as Cat gets to kill vampires she is game but can her hatred for vampires keep her from falling in love with one?
Cat is one of the sexiest heroines I can recall and Bones reminds me of Spike from Buffy with his white blond hair and British accent. If you love the vampire genre this series is a must read.
Halfway to the Grave (Night Huntress, Book 1)
|
 List Price: $7.99 Sale Price: $7.99 Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Eligible For Free Shipping 
|
Product Description
stated first edition november 2007 paperback book [with full number line]is in very good condition.has no writing,no hilighting and no torn,loose or missing pages.covers are free of shelfwear.
Details
- ISBN13: 9780061245084
- Condition: New
- Notes: BUY WITH CONFIDENCE, Over one million books sold! 98% Positive feedback. Compare our books, prices and service to the competition. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed
Rating
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
Rating
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.
Rating
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
Rating
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.
Rating
This novel has a lot of aspects that should come off as trite, already been done, ‘typical’ urban fantasy-romance. Frankly, the cover does nothing to help that impression.
However this is an excellent novel that overcomes its cover. (Don’t get me wrong, the cover isn’t BAD, it just says ‘yet another sexy sexy vampire hunter’ and that does get old.) One of the ways the author excels here is that I never felt like the main character was mary-sueish. And no matter how much I somewhat guiltily enjoy other books in this genre, I do tend to get strong Mary-sue vibes while reading most of them. For those that don’t know, a Mary-Sue is a character that seems to reflect some wish fulfillment fantasies on the part of the (female) author. The character either feels like a self insertion (but more attractive and powerful!) or is just plain hard to buy (every man she meets falls in love with her). Ms. Frost’s protagonist, however, comes off in a way that’s believable and sypathetic to the reader. She’s not a strong independent 20/30 something year old woman who charges into danger head on. She’s a young woman without a lot of life experience who has been molded by her mother into something her mother wants. She doesn’t wear jeans and tshirts because she’s asserting her independence from typical feminine attire, she wears them because she’s unsure of herself and inexperienced.
The other thing that appealed to me was that it doesn’t look like this series will have the “Monster A comes to town, I fight them off, Monster B comes to town, I fight him off” storyline that seems to be common to recent urban fantasy. Its not that those books are BAD, but I feel like I’ve read it (and seen it on tv) all before. The end was unexpected, taking the whole storyline down a turn I did not expect. In a way I felt like this was a prologue to a series, not the series itself. This is where the characters are introduced and their backstories are told. The relationship that develops is part of the back story, not the main attraction.
I’m actually really looking forward to the next book in this series (I hope its published for the kindle!) and its been a long time since I’ve felt that way in this genre. Hopefully the author will continue down this path, especially with the storyline she laid out at the end of the first book.
Rating
If you are a Sookie Stackhouse or Anita Blake fan you will love this book. It has humor, romance, and mystery all in one. Cat is a great character and you grow to adore Bones.
Rating
This book was amazing! It has suspense, action, romance, and a healthy amount of humor. I found in this book a lot of what other series (i.e. Anita, Sookie, Rachel Morgan) used to be in that it has a compelling story and wonderfully developed characters with a promising future. This is one series that will have a prominent place on my shelf.
Rating
I never watched Buffy or charmed or any of those shows on TV so I wasn’t too concerned after reading the bad reviews.
I enjoyed Cat and Bones characters very much. I laughed myself to tears and found the characters to be very funny, charming and steamy. The jealousy had me rolling! The banter between Cat and Bones was my favorite part.
The story moved along very fast. I read the book in a day and quickly downloaded the next one. (I LOVE MY KINDLE) I was not happy with the way the book ended however I am looking forward to the next.
Rating
Anita Blake readers will enjoy this urban fantasy. Cat is your average girl-next-door, except for spending her evenings luring and killing evil vampires. One of those evil vampires raped Cat’s mother; he was newly turned and therefore was able to impregnate her… with Cat. Cat’s mixed blood explains her unusual strength and her special attraction to trolling vampires.
Through a series of encounters with a vampire called Bones, Cat begins to realize that not all vampires are evil.
Lots of conflicts, twists, & turns to keep the reader’s attention; enough violence & sex that you wouldn’t want your kids to read it.
Rating
When I first started Halfway to the Grave I openly admitted that being half vampire in the way that Cat is, was hard to swallow. Ok, her mom was raped by a vampire but how is it even possible? When it is explained by Bones, the yang to Cat’s yin, I had to chuckle in disbelief. Yeah, right. Thank goodness for Suspension of Disbelief because if I hadn’t forged forward I wouldn’t be sitting here totally satisfied after just finishing the 3rd novel in the series and wishing like mad the 4th would just be released already.
There is something horribly compelling about this book and the entire series. The action and gore is top notch for sure, I white knuckled it through the entire series, but the romance between Cat and Bones is one of the most compelling ingredients. As an avid urban fantasy reader I hate to admit it. Frost writes some of the best sex scenes that I have ever encountered. From a reader that usually skips these particular scenes this is a great compliment. She addresses vampire sex fabulously. And these scenes truly deepened the relationship between Bones and Cat and made me really care for and believe in it. In other words I didn’t find the sex gratuitous. Quite refreshing actually.
I love Cat. She is a strong, vibrant, damaged, out spoken and a sometimes naive character who is struggling with what she is. Bones brings Cat to life. He takes her under his wing, trains her and falls in love with her. Her mother has done quite the number on her growing up making her believe that all vampires are evil Bones challenges her prejudice and brings out the best in her. Loving Bones and accepting him the as the vampire he is helps her to accept herself as well. By the way, scenes with her mother are priceless. All of us who have dated someone their mother has hated will love how Bones handles Justina.
Is Halfway to the Grave the best written book ever? No! But it doesn’t have to be. So why does is merit a 5 star rating? Because it is devilishly entertaining, the proverbial page turner and sometimes that is enough.
So, if you dig Vampires, Adventure, Violence, Romance and Sex this book will definitely be right up your alley.