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A review by booksplantsandtea
The Other Half of the Grave by Jeaniene Frost
5.0
I read Halfway to the Grave when I was 16-17 years old and I remember it as the moment I really became a reader. For the first time, I experienced being so completely enthralled by a book I couldn't put it down, laughing out loud, feeling my heart race during action scenes, rooting for the couple, having my first book boyfriend... I cannot put into words how much this series has meant to me. I re-read certain quotes and scenes countless times during tough times in my life, making Cat and Bones my ultimate comfort couple.
So when Jeaniene Frost announced the free chapters of Bones' pov on her website, I was nervous, sceptic even. Would it ruin Bones' character for me? I wasn't sure. However, I quite liked the idea of getting to know one of my all time favorite stories from a different perspective. So, when I saw the book on Netgalley, I was quick to request it and was over the moon excited when I got accepted, but there was still this little voice in my head that kept whispering about the what if's... What if I don't like it? What if the instalove trope (which I normally hate) ruins it for me? What if I'm bored reading it because I know the story? What if, what if...
Well, I'm glad to report that reading The Other Half of the Grave felt more like coming home after a long trip and rediscovering the comfort of your home from a new perspective. You settle in with a newfound love because you rediscover why your home feels so much like home to you and then love it all the more for it. That's what reading this book was like. I loved experiencing things through Bones' eyes. His admiration of and unconditional love for Cat, warmed my heart. Whereas I was afraid of not liking it beforehand because Bones fell almost instantly for Cat, never once did it bother me while reading. If anything, it touched me that he instantly saw her courage, braveness, fierceness, kindness and all of her other qualities from the get go and loved her all the more for it. Getting to read how he cared for her, believed in her from the start, and tried helping her sort through her own negative self image in often times very subtle ways that worked for her... All of this while, as he put it, being cut by her predisposed hatred of vampires and therefore him, made my heart bleed and put it back together at the same time. It made me love him even more that he kept showing up for her, even though she kept hurting him without really realizing most of the time. Him seeing her true nature and loving her all the more for it, in a way even knowing her better than she knows herself, seeing through her defense mechanisms and helping her getting through them slowly while always being a gentleman and respecting her pace, never pushing her past what she could handle at that particular moment in time. I was worried about not liking Bones anymore after reading this book. Well, I should've been worried about how much more I'd fall in love with him instead! Through Bones, I also began to see Cat in an entirely different light and loved her all the more for it. I finally started to get what people mean when they say others see more good in you than you do in yourself sometimes.
Honestly, Bones is a class act. Except when it comes to cover hogs. He will not, and I repeat, he will NOT let that one go! I giggled every time he subtly hinted at Cat's cover hog abilities. Then again, I laughed out loud at so much more. One of the reasons why I love Jeaniene Frost's books so much is the way her writing style is infused by humor. The sarcasm makes me laugh out loud multiple times when reading any of her books, and this one delivered just as much on that front.
Of course, the world she build, we all already knew and loved, but I especially enjoyed reading the things we didn't already know before because Cat didn't know them. I loved that The Other Half of the Grave not only showed us Bones' POV but also added onto the story by giving us extra tidbits of information.
Being back in this world, seeing it through Bones' eyes was a treat like no other. So I want to thank Jeaniene Frost for writing this book in the first place and also for granting me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. You have made me one happy lady these past few days! Thank you!
So when Jeaniene Frost announced the free chapters of Bones' pov on her website, I was nervous, sceptic even. Would it ruin Bones' character for me? I wasn't sure. However, I quite liked the idea of getting to know one of my all time favorite stories from a different perspective. So, when I saw the book on Netgalley, I was quick to request it and was over the moon excited when I got accepted, but there was still this little voice in my head that kept whispering about the what if's... What if I don't like it? What if the instalove trope (which I normally hate) ruins it for me? What if I'm bored reading it because I know the story? What if, what if...
Well, I'm glad to report that reading The Other Half of the Grave felt more like coming home after a long trip and rediscovering the comfort of your home from a new perspective. You settle in with a newfound love because you rediscover why your home feels so much like home to you and then love it all the more for it. That's what reading this book was like. I loved experiencing things through Bones' eyes. His admiration of and unconditional love for Cat, warmed my heart. Whereas I was afraid of not liking it beforehand because Bones fell almost instantly for Cat, never once did it bother me while reading. If anything, it touched me that he instantly saw her courage, braveness, fierceness, kindness and all of her other qualities from the get go and loved her all the more for it. Getting to read how he cared for her, believed in her from the start, and tried helping her sort through her own negative self image in often times very subtle ways that worked for her... All of this while, as he put it, being cut by her predisposed hatred of vampires and therefore him, made my heart bleed and put it back together at the same time. It made me love him even more that he kept showing up for her, even though she kept hurting him without really realizing most of the time. Him seeing her true nature and loving her all the more for it, in a way even knowing her better than she knows herself, seeing through her defense mechanisms and helping her getting through them slowly while always being a gentleman and respecting her pace, never pushing her past what she could handle at that particular moment in time. I was worried about not liking Bones anymore after reading this book. Well, I should've been worried about how much more I'd fall in love with him instead! Through Bones, I also began to see Cat in an entirely different light and loved her all the more for it. I finally started to get what people mean when they say others see more good in you than you do in yourself sometimes.
Honestly, Bones is a class act. Except when it comes to cover hogs. He will not, and I repeat, he will NOT let that one go! I giggled every time he subtly hinted at Cat's cover hog abilities. Then again, I laughed out loud at so much more. One of the reasons why I love Jeaniene Frost's books so much is the way her writing style is infused by humor. The sarcasm makes me laugh out loud multiple times when reading any of her books, and this one delivered just as much on that front.
Of course, the world she build, we all already knew and loved, but I especially enjoyed reading the things we didn't already know before because Cat didn't know them. I loved that The Other Half of the Grave not only showed us Bones' POV but also added onto the story by giving us extra tidbits of information.
Being back in this world, seeing it through Bones' eyes was a treat like no other. So I want to thank Jeaniene Frost for writing this book in the first place and also for granting me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. You have made me one happy lady these past few days! Thank you!