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3.89 AVERAGE
3.89 AVERAGE
I thought this was a fantastic book and can't wait to continue on with the series!
I tried reading it and I dnf-ed it at first after some 100 pages. I gave it a second chance when I discovered it's the highest-rating urban fantasy on Goodreads, and I'm happy I did that. Maybe it wasn't life-changing, but it got better and was quite enjoyable. Hunting for the second part now!
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
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
Update: 5/10/11: My previous review stands. This was just as good the second time around. I love Cat and Bones.
Original review-8/15/09: I was pleasantly surprised by Halfway to the Grave. I had no expectations when I started it, but when I was halfway through (no pun intended), I realized how much I was really enjoying it. I thought Cat and Bones were wonderful together. They made a great couple, both on and off the field. I felt that their feelings for each other were genuine. Cat annoyed me with her whole "all vampires are evil" spiel (thanks to her mom being raped by a vampire, thus resulting in Cat), though she started to see the light because of her relationship with Bones. There were some moments of extreme violence, but I thought it worked well with the situation at the time. I have to say that I was slightly disappointed with the turn of events in the end. I look forward to see how the author plays with it in the next book.
Original review-8/15/09: I was pleasantly surprised by Halfway to the Grave. I had no expectations when I started it, but when I was halfway through (no pun intended), I realized how much I was really enjoying it. I thought Cat and Bones were wonderful together. They made a great couple, both on and off the field. I felt that their feelings for each other were genuine. Cat annoyed me with her whole "all vampires are evil" spiel (thanks to her mom being raped by a vampire, thus resulting in Cat), though she started to see the light because of her relationship with Bones. There were some moments of extreme violence, but I thought it worked well with the situation at the time. I have to say that I was slightly disappointed with the turn of events in the end. I look forward to see how the author plays with it in the next book.
Malgré une héroïne un peu too much et une intrigue pas forcément transcendante, ce premier tome a su remporter mon adhésion. La faute à un style fluide et rythmé et à une dynamique explosive entre les deux personnages principaux. La fin qui laisse plusieurs choses en suspens me donne bien envie de continuer la saga.
mon avis plus détaillé
mon avis plus détaillé
I found this to be more of a guilty pleasure novel then what one would consider a literary masterpiece. Overall, I really enjoyed the story and will be reading the sequels, though there are some flaws. I didn't really care about Cat's family. I felt no empathy for her grandparents and I straight out hated her mother! Some of the author's word choices became redundant, especially the overuse of the nickname 'Kitten' and using the phrase 'my, but' before saying something to emphasize it, which got on my nerves and interrupted the flow of the story! I will say that I love the character of Bones and found him to be very entertaining, sincere, and interesting. He very much reminded me of Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer mixed with the ninth doctor, which is a compliment! I do feel that Bones and Cat fell in love a little too quickly for my taste as I rather enjoy more of a slow burn, but I did adore the witty banter and playfulness between them. A few of the action scenes are sloppily put together, having no real reason behind some of the actions. The last scene between Cat and Bones and the inner turmoil of the character was beautifully portrayed. I really felt heartache bubble up inside me while reading it. I was also very interested by the explanation of how vampire society worked and the fact that vampire lore worked a bit differently in this world then the normal supernatural cliches. While this review is seeming very critical, I did enjoy the book very much! I consumed it fairly fast and look forward to the next one!
Whoaa this is a great book.
Aku suka Cat, tokoh cewek yang kuat dan ga menye-menye. I liked Bones too, he's hottie :p
Jalan ceritanya seru abis, gory and bloody. Yah meskipun a lot of dirty talks in this book :p
So, 4 stars :D
Aku suka Cat, tokoh cewek yang kuat dan ga menye-menye. I liked Bones too, he's hottie :p
Jalan ceritanya seru abis, gory and bloody. Yah meskipun a lot of dirty talks in this book :p
So, 4 stars :D
DNF at 24 pages. I don't like the writing style.
I have to ask myself why I waited so long to read this book. I was a fan of Cat and Bones before even picking up this book. I am a huge fan of short stories and short story anthologies. For the last few years, I have been running into Cat and Bones (separately and together) in various short story collections. Even without reading a novel from which they came, I fell totally in love with these characters. I finally decided that I should pick up one of the novels and read it since I enjoy them so much. I am pleased that I did.
Cat is a fantastic character! Cat is an incredibly strong female protagonist who can kick vampire ass like nobody’s business! It helps that she is part vampire herself. I found this to be a very interesting characteristic of Cat’s, which made for an equally interesting plot point. I’ve encounter vampire hybrid-type characters before, but none that were half vampires. For Cat, she’s inherited the “good” parts of being a vampire: heightened senses, increased speed, less susceptibility to injury. Blood drinking isn’t required for Cat. She didn’t inherit that but of nastiness from her father.
Cat as a person is equally interesting. To repay the vampire world for her vampire father raping her human mother, she hunts and kills vampires all by herself. She does this to gain a measure of revenge for her mother, but also to prove to her mother that she is not a monster like her father. What Cat’s mother thinks of her is extremely important to Cat. Any child of rape would have issues in this arena. That her mother’s rapist was a bona fide monster just pushes Cat to try to atone for the wrong done her mother and to ensure that her mother never views her as a monster. This made Cat incredibly human to me. She is desperate to obtain her mother’s approval and love, even if that means she risks her own light on a nightly basis.
And then there’s Bones. I puffy heart adore Bones. And what isn’t to be adored? He’s ancient, he has a sexy accent, he has a punk rock look, and he is totally bad ass. Baddies of the world beware if you cross paths with Bones because he will smite you in a way that will fill me with glee. He’s just too delicious for words.
The pairing of these two characters is truly epic. Especially since they hate each other when they first meet. There’s lots of sexual tension, great action scenes, and fabulous bonding that occurs between these two characters.
The plot packs so much action into a relatively small novel! In the hands of a lesser author, this could be a bad thing, but not here. Frost fills each page with plot-furthering action, character-building action, and tops the whole thing off with vampirey goodness. The plot moved so quickly that I had trouble putting this book down! I was mesmerized by the characters and the plot.
My only real complaint was that the ending was less than satisfying. My opinion of the ending changed a bit once I read the second novel, but my initial reaction was that it was far-fetched, even for an urban fantasy world, and just not the ending I was hoping for.
I really enjoyed this novel! I am already reading additional books in this series and I would definitely recommend this book to loves of urban fantasy and speculative fiction!
Cat is a fantastic character! Cat is an incredibly strong female protagonist who can kick vampire ass like nobody’s business! It helps that she is part vampire herself. I found this to be a very interesting characteristic of Cat’s, which made for an equally interesting plot point. I’ve encounter vampire hybrid-type characters before, but none that were half vampires. For Cat, she’s inherited the “good” parts of being a vampire: heightened senses, increased speed, less susceptibility to injury. Blood drinking isn’t required for Cat. She didn’t inherit that but of nastiness from her father.
Cat as a person is equally interesting. To repay the vampire world for her vampire father raping her human mother, she hunts and kills vampires all by herself. She does this to gain a measure of revenge for her mother, but also to prove to her mother that she is not a monster like her father. What Cat’s mother thinks of her is extremely important to Cat. Any child of rape would have issues in this arena. That her mother’s rapist was a bona fide monster just pushes Cat to try to atone for the wrong done her mother and to ensure that her mother never views her as a monster. This made Cat incredibly human to me. She is desperate to obtain her mother’s approval and love, even if that means she risks her own light on a nightly basis.
And then there’s Bones. I puffy heart adore Bones. And what isn’t to be adored? He’s ancient, he has a sexy accent, he has a punk rock look, and he is totally bad ass. Baddies of the world beware if you cross paths with Bones because he will smite you in a way that will fill me with glee. He’s just too delicious for words.
The pairing of these two characters is truly epic. Especially since they hate each other when they first meet. There’s lots of sexual tension, great action scenes, and fabulous bonding that occurs between these two characters.
The plot packs so much action into a relatively small novel! In the hands of a lesser author, this could be a bad thing, but not here. Frost fills each page with plot-furthering action, character-building action, and tops the whole thing off with vampirey goodness. The plot moved so quickly that I had trouble putting this book down! I was mesmerized by the characters and the plot.
My only real complaint was that the ending was less than satisfying. My opinion of the ending changed a bit once I read the second novel, but my initial reaction was that it was far-fetched, even for an urban fantasy world, and just not the ending I was hoping for.
I really enjoyed this novel! I am already reading additional books in this series and I would definitely recommend this book to loves of urban fantasy and speculative fiction!
I can't relate to the female lead at all. The whole blood line = family concept just doesn't work for me. That being said, we are a sum total of our life's experiences and she is of hers. Can't fault her for that I suppose. But I felt more kinship with Bones than with her.