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3.89 AVERAGE
3.89 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Loveable characters:
Yes
I don’t read a ton of adult paranormal romance in general, but I definitely think this one is a lot of fun! The story is constructed well, with a number of familiar tropes at play, but I still enjoyed being along for the ride. It probably helped that I liked Cat a lot, and enjoyed Bones a ton too! Looking forward to continuing on with the series.
Cat is a hybrid. She is half human and half vampire. When her mother was raped by a vampire, she was the result. Her mother hates vampires and Cat sees it as her mission to exterminate every last one of them. Then she crosses the path of Bones, a master vampire, who sees Cat as an opportunity to hunt down the vampires who are preying on women in the area. What transpires is a partnership that is more than a bit unusual.
I loved both Cat and Bones. Cat could be stubborn and pig headed and more than a little prejudiced against vampires in the beginning, but as the novel progressed she came to realize that not all vampires were evil. I enjoyed the relationship between the characters and how Cat could be all kick ass!
The book was fast paced, and I couldn't get enough of it. I was trying to do a read along, but so many times I found myself exceeding the set number of chapters because I couldn't put the book down.
I did use one of my audible credits to listen to the audiobook as well. The audiobook was produced by Blackstone Audio, and read by Tavia Gilbert who does an excellent job with the narration of Cat. I thought her narration of Bones didn't come across strong enough thought, but it didn't discourage my listening. In fact, I plan on listening to the sequels on audio as well. As I said her narration of Cat was spot on and I loved listening to this novel on audio. It is a longer title than I have been listening to lately at 11 hours and 17 minutes, but that time seemed to fly by because I was so engrossed in the story. The audiobook is free of any production flaws and a pleasure to listen to.
Overall this was a fun light read. I so seldom get to read for just the pure enjoyment of it, and this fit that bill. Halfway to the Grave is the first book in the Night Huntress series and I can't wait to read more. I will definitely be recommending this one.
I loved both Cat and Bones. Cat could be stubborn and pig headed and more than a little prejudiced against vampires in the beginning, but as the novel progressed she came to realize that not all vampires were evil. I enjoyed the relationship between the characters and how Cat could be all kick ass!
The book was fast paced, and I couldn't get enough of it. I was trying to do a read along, but so many times I found myself exceeding the set number of chapters because I couldn't put the book down.
I did use one of my audible credits to listen to the audiobook as well. The audiobook was produced by Blackstone Audio, and read by Tavia Gilbert who does an excellent job with the narration of Cat. I thought her narration of Bones didn't come across strong enough thought, but it didn't discourage my listening. In fact, I plan on listening to the sequels on audio as well. As I said her narration of Cat was spot on and I loved listening to this novel on audio. It is a longer title than I have been listening to lately at 11 hours and 17 minutes, but that time seemed to fly by because I was so engrossed in the story. The audiobook is free of any production flaws and a pleasure to listen to.
Overall this was a fun light read. I so seldom get to read for just the pure enjoyment of it, and this fit that bill. Halfway to the Grave is the first book in the Night Huntress series and I can't wait to read more. I will definitely be recommending this one.
I actually had alot of fun with this series. It was so easy for me to get sucked into it. Overall it held my attention and im looking forward to the next book :)
Although Halfway to the Grave is one of the highest-recommended paranormal series out there, its incessant slut-shaming does not stand the test of time.
Catherine is a rare creature: a half-vampire, half-human twenty-two year old. She has sworn to kill all vampires after one of them abused her mother. She hunts on her own, until she meets Bones: a vampire bounty hunter who might be able to give her her revenge.
Halfway to the Grave sounds all right in principle, but it's highly problematic. On the level of the narrative, it has a ridiculously narrow focus. To call the book an urban fantasy requires a leap of the imagination. It is clearly a paranormal romance: the only two characters worth knowing about in the book are Cat and Bones. Although it might seem from the blurb that Cat's mom has a significant role to play, sadly, her only role is to be raped by a vampire. She pushes Cat to kill all vampires, because obviously, they all have to be evil. I would have accepted this incentive, if Cat's mom was actually a major character in the story. Instead Cat just does the thing, and her mom only shows up for two conversations during which she only reiterates that Cat has to do the vampire-killing-thing.
Nothing exists beyond Cat and Bones' banter, their training together, and just general boring 'let's kill this evil vamp dude' plot. The world-building is non-existent, and how this can grow into a decent series I have no idea.
Many reviewers call Bones swoon-worthy, a perfect gentleman, and other high praise. To me, Bones is merely fake-British. Despite throwing around some key British words (luv, bollocks, blimey) I have no idea what his accent is supposed to be. England contains dozens of highly distinct accents, and to me he sounded just like Ron Weasley. I mean, who else says blimey?!
Ladies, gentlemen, and other gentlepeople, behold this swooney guy harassing the shit out of Cat's only friend:
God, nothing makes me so hot as a ridiculously controlling and jealous man. How DARE Timmie say hi to Cat! Where is his propriety?
But wait, did you think he just glares? Oh no, he will also fucking threaten Timmie for no reason after Cat makes him apologize.
I detest that this scene is played for laughs and is meant to be endearing. But I think this is merely emblematic of a deeper problem in the text, which is its slut-shaming. In order to seduce vampires into leaving bars to be killed, Cat dresses up in short dresses.
This is not the only time she refers to herself in these clothes as a "slut", "easy", or other extremely problematic terms. Nor is she any better whenever Bones dares to come near a female person. This passage deserves to be quoted in full.
I have no time for casual misogyny in my fiction. At 60% in, I'm abandoning this book.
---
Trigger warnings:mention of rape, threat of rape, slut-shaming, abduction, violence, death.
Catherine is a rare creature: a half-vampire, half-human twenty-two year old. She has sworn to kill all vampires after one of them abused her mother. She hunts on her own, until she meets Bones: a vampire bounty hunter who might be able to give her her revenge.
Halfway to the Grave sounds all right in principle, but it's highly problematic. On the level of the narrative, it has a ridiculously narrow focus. To call the book an urban fantasy requires a leap of the imagination. It is clearly a paranormal romance: the only two characters worth knowing about in the book are Cat and Bones. Although it might seem from the blurb that Cat's mom has a significant role to play, sadly, her only role is to be raped by a vampire. She pushes Cat to kill all vampires, because obviously, they all have to be evil. I would have accepted this incentive, if Cat's mom was actually a major character in the story. Instead Cat just does the thing, and her mom only shows up for two conversations during which she only reiterates that Cat has to do the vampire-killing-thing.
Nothing exists beyond Cat and Bones' banter, their training together, and just general boring 'let's kill this evil vamp dude' plot. The world-building is non-existent, and how this can grow into a decent series I have no idea.
Many reviewers call Bones swoon-worthy, a perfect gentleman, and other high praise. To me, Bones is merely fake-British. Despite throwing around some key British words (luv, bollocks, blimey) I have no idea what his accent is supposed to be. England contains dozens of highly distinct accents, and to me he sounded just like Ron Weasley. I mean, who else says blimey?!
Ladies, gentlemen, and other gentlepeople, behold this swooney guy harassing the shit out of Cat's only friend:
"Hi, Cathy!"
Timmie opened his door with a wide smile. He must have seen me through his window.
Bones gave Timmie a look that froze the smile on the younger man's face.
God, nothing makes me so hot as a ridiculously controlling and jealous man. How DARE Timmie say hi to Cat! Where is his propriety?
But wait, did you think he just glares? Oh no, he will also fucking threaten Timmie for no reason after Cat makes him apologize.
"Nice to meet you, mate, and here's some advice: Don't even think about it. You try anything with her and I'll neuter you with my bare hands."
"Leave!" I stamped my foot for emphasis.
He swept past me and then swiveled, kissing me hard on the mouth before jumping back to avoid my right hook.
"I'll see you later, Kitten."
I detest that this scene is played for laughs and is meant to be endearing. But I think this is merely emblematic of a deeper problem in the text, which is its slut-shaming. In order to seduce vampires into leaving bars to be killed, Cat dresses up in short dresses.
Didn't I look lovely? With this dress and my heavy makeup, Tara was probably thinking I must be ten shades of a slut.
This is not the only time she refers to herself in these clothes as a "slut", "easy", or other extremely problematic terms. Nor is she any better whenever Bones dares to come near a female person. This passage deserves to be quoted in full.
I just stared at her for a minute. Only in cartoons did women have such minuscule waists, big breasts, round bubble butts, and legs like that. It wasn't hard to notice her figure, either. Her dress could barely be called one, and it was so tight, it was a good thing she didn't need to breathe.
"Francesca," Bones said, going to her and giving her a kiss on the cheek. "I'm glad you've come."
And that was all I needed to see to decide right then and there that I hated her guts.
"Bones..."
She drew his name out like it was candy, and when she kissed his cheek, leaving a bright red lipstick imprint, her eyes met mine in open challenge.
I have no time for casual misogyny in my fiction. At 60% in, I'm abandoning this book.
---
Trigger warnings:
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
reread 8/2020
5 stars
This is a book I read before I started reviewing and blogging, and it's oh so special to me. Cat and Bones are my favorite PNR couple, and when I recently got myself into a horrifyingly bad book slump, I turned to them for help. I've read this book so many times I've lost count, but I always find something new to appreciate I may have never noticed the first time around. I am so very tempted to continue rereading the rest of this series, and switching to PNR books only for a while. They are my first love of the romance genre, maybe I need to go back to my roots.....
5 stars
This is a book I read before I started reviewing and blogging, and it's oh so special to me. Cat and Bones are my favorite PNR couple, and when I recently got myself into a horrifyingly bad book slump, I turned to them for help. I've read this book so many times I've lost count, but I always find something new to appreciate I may have never noticed the first time around. I am so very tempted to continue rereading the rest of this series, and switching to PNR books only for a while. They are my first love of the romance genre, maybe I need to go back to my roots.....
Five times. I've read this book five times. Why do I love this series so much? I have no idea. Actually, I do know. The snarky dialogue, the jokes, the plot (it might be full of "what?" moments, but it is very entertaining), and the characters!
Cat does get on my nerves at times. She's a sarcastic, hard-headed, rather closed-minded soul. Of course, a lot of that latter bit is from the way she was raised, told she's half-demon her whole life and that she's "got a monster inside her." She is full of self-loathing. If she stayed this same person throughout the whole series, I would never have been able to keep reading.
Bones! I love Bones. He's a snarky boy who grew up in truly terrible circumstances. He doesn't take Cat's crap and understands her weaknesses, but still cares for her and does what he can to help her grow to actually like herself. He knows it's not going to happen instantaneously, but he's going to do his best. I really can't think of a single thing I dislike about his character. He's got his flaws too, but none of them are "deal breakers" for me. I think, if it weren't for Bones, I probably wouldn't love this series nearly as much as I do.
The plot! Okay, so there's a lot of...scenes... in this series. If you don't want sexual content, you, one, won't like Jeaniene Frost books, and two, should really not be looking at urban fantasy/paranormal romance. Besides that, there are some really good themes that I have put into a spoiler tag because the story is really going to be spoiled if you look at those.
This is my favorite urban fantasy series. Is it my guilty pleasure book? Yup! Do I recommend it to most people? Nope! Will I read it again? Of course.
Cat does get on my nerves at times. She's a sarcastic, hard-headed, rather closed-minded soul. Of course, a lot of that latter bit is from the way she was raised, told she's half-demon her whole life and that she's "got a monster inside her." She is full of self-loathing. If she stayed this same person throughout the whole series, I would never have been able to keep reading.
Bones! I love Bones. He's a snarky boy who grew up in truly terrible circumstances. He doesn't take Cat's crap and understands her weaknesses, but still cares for her and does what he can to help her grow to actually like herself. He knows it's not going to happen instantaneously, but he's going to do his best. I really can't think of a single thing I dislike about his character. He's got his flaws too, but none of them are "deal breakers" for me. I think, if it weren't for Bones, I probably wouldn't love this series nearly as much as I do.
The plot! Okay, so there's a lot of...scenes... in this series. If you don't want sexual content, you, one, won't like Jeaniene Frost books, and two, should really not be looking at urban fantasy/paranormal romance. Besides that, there are some really good themes
Spoiler
like the classic ex boyfriend who got a virgin girl to sleep with him by saying he loves her, despite her saying she wasn't ready. This is pointed out as rape. Which it is. Or sexual assault and how the victims are messed up afterwards. Also the disgustingness (wait, that's actually a word???) of sex trafficking, and how it doesn't matter what race (human, vampire, tomato, tom-ah-to) you are, there are people who are going to be evil.This is my favorite urban fantasy series. Is it my guilty pleasure book? Yup! Do I recommend it to most people? Nope! Will I read it again? Of course.