Book Review: One Grave at a Time by Jeaniene Frost

Review: One Grave at a Time
Series: Night Huntress – Book 6
Author: Jeaniene Frost
No of Pages: 358
Release Date: 30 August 2011

HOW DO YOU SEND A KILLER TO THE GRAVE WHEN HE’S ALREADY DEAD?

Having narrowly averted an (under) World War, Cat Crawfield wants nothing more than a little downtime with her vampire husband, Bones. Unfortunately, her gift from New Orleans’s voodoo queen just keeps on giving – leading to a personal favour that sends them into battle once again, this time against a villainous spirit.

Centuries ago, Heinrich Kramer was a witch hunter. Now, ever All Hallows Eve, he takes physical form to torture innocent women before burning them alive. This year, however, a determined Cat and Bones must risk all to send him back to the other side of eternity – forever. But one wrong step and they’ll be digging their own graves.

My Thoughts:

There is just something about this series that makes it so fantastic.

After Cat’s uncles passing Cat has had to grieve and then deal with an upheaval in the team that he used to head. Her friend Tate has been demoted from the top job and replaced by someone who obviously has a problem with the all vampire team. Cat now has to deal with the new guy poking into her business while having to go up against a psychopathic homicidal ghost running rampant on Halloween.

Cat is still amazing, but she isn’t quite as brilliant as what she was in the first four books. She is still smart talking, still completely ass kicking fantastic. But now she is just Cat. We’ve seen all of her tricks, but what now?

I will be honest that I am getting scared for the rest of this series. The first five books were absolutely tongue tying-ly brilliant. But this one? It was a little on the stale side. There was even a scene with awkward dialogue in it.

Then there was also the sex scene. We’ve gone from the infamous Chapter 32 which was absolutely amazing, to some half-assed sex in the sky. It could have been as fantastic as the Eternal Kiss of Darkness ceiling scene, but it had a bit of a bore factor to it.

I am even having some trouble remembering the great scenes from this book, it’s just not as hard hitting, and I worry if this is a preview into how the rest of the series is going to go, we still have three books left and I want them to be as awesome as the first half of the series was.

One Grave at a Time was missing the X factor that the other books Frost has written have. It was just going through the motions. Bones was there, ghosts were there, friends were there, Cat was there. Stuff happened but meh.

I want to love this series, I want to love this book as much as I loved the others but I just couldn’t. Don’t get me wrong, this book is still absolutely brilliant. But it’s not on par with the rest of the series, it’s great, but it’s not excellent, it’s not of the same calibre. Frost set the bar very high, and I hope she can reach it with the next book.

Other books in this series:
Halfway to the Grave
One Foot in the Grave
At Grave's End
Destined for an Early Grave
This Side of the Grave

Book Review: This Side of the Grave by Jeaniene Frost

Review: This Side of the Grave
Series: Night Huntress – Book 5
Author: Jeaniene Frost
No of Pages: 357
Release Date: 22 February 2011

DANGER WAITS ON BOTH SIDES OF THE GRAVE.

Half-vampire Cat Crawfield and her vampire husband Bones have fought for their lives, as well as for their relationship. But just when they’ve triumphed over the latest battle, Cat’s new and unexpected abilities threaten to upset a long-standing balance...

With the mysterious disappearance of vampires, rumours abound that a species war is brewing. A zealot is inciting tensions between the vampires and ghouls, and if these two powerful groups clash, innocent mortals could become collateral damage.

Now Cat and Bones are forced to seek help from a dangerous “ally” – the ghoul queen of New Orleans herself. But the price of her assistance may prove more treacherous than even the threat of a supernatural war...to say nothing of the repercussions Cat never imagined.

My Thoughts:

Oh, how it’s been too long since I have had a good dose of Cat and Bones.

After turning full vampire Cat thought her only troubles would be to do with her new eating habits, but before long she is thrown headlong in to the thick of another war which she just so happens to be the centre of. Starting with an investigation into the disappearance of some masterless vampires Cat and Bones soon realise that these seemingly random attacks a part of a much bigger plot.

Cat is absolutely awesome as always, with her new vampire eating habits the hilarity is only heightened and her abilities getting better and better. Cat couldn’t just be a normal vampire, she feeds on vampire blood and absorbs any powers that vampire also possesses, hence her pyrokinesis from Destined for and Early Grave. But now she realises that she needs to feed on younger vampires, because the blood she’s drinking – usually Bones’ – is too strong and she can’t cope with the powers she’s absorbing.

Bones is as funny as ever with his trademark English accent and absolutely fabulous humour. His most memorable line for me being when he was being interviewed by a human about being a vampire: “Ask me if I sparkle and I’ll kill you where you stand” – That made my day when I read that and it reminded me exactly why I loved Bones from book one.

Vlad made an appearance as well in all of his fearsomeness assisting Cat in controlling the powers she absorbed from drinking Ghouls blood and putting himself on the line once again and of course providing witty commentary to Cats new dilemma of repelling ghost using garlic and weed (yep, you read that right). I love that Frost doesn’t just stick to the dynamic of Cat and Bones but can also give us the added dimension of the friendship of Cat and Vlad without it seeming biased or awkward; it is just another testament to her brilliant writing.

Frost’s writing in this series and her ideas are continuing to amaze me. Her premise of the ghoul/vampire war and Cat’s powers coupled with the hilarity of the characters and just the sheer individuality of the things she comes up with are just astounding.

Oh and for the record, the “South Wales” reference I mentioned in Halfway to the Grave has now been corrected! The reference to “New South Wales” came up in This Side of the Grave and I was so proud to hear my beautiful state being referred to.

The only thing I don’t like about the Night Huntress series in general is that I read them way too fast and then I have to wait until the next instalment.

If you haven’t started this series yet I implore you to drop everything you are doing right now and run to the nearest store to get yourself a copy, I promise you, life is not complete without this series sitting on your shelf.

Other books in this series:
Halfway to the Grave
One Foot in the Grave
At Grave's End
Destined for an Early Grave
One Grave at a Time

Book Review: Eternal Kiss of Darkness by Jeaniene Frost

Review: Eternal Kiss of Darkness
Series: Night Huntress World – Book 2
Author: Jeaniene Frost
No of Pages: 361
Release Date: 27 July 2010

AN IMMORTAL WAR HAS BEEN BREWING IN THE DARKNESS...

AND NOW ONE WOMAN HAS STUMBLED INTO THE SHADOWS.

Chicago private investigator Kira Graceling should have just kept on walking. Bur her sense of duty refused to let her ignore the moans of pain coming from just inside a warehouse just before dawn. Suddenly she finds herself in a world she’s only imagined in her worst nightmares.

At the centre is Mencheres, a breathtaking Master vampire who thought he’d seen it all. Then Kira appears – this fearless, beautiful...human who braved death to rescue him. Though he burns for her, keeping Kira in his world means risking her life. Yet sending her away is unthinkable.

But with danger closing in, Mencheres must choose wither the woman he craves, or embracing the darkest magic to defeat an enemy bent on his eternal destruction.

My Thoughts:

Kira was only trying to help when she “rescued” Mencheres from the pack of ghouls attacking him. Little did she know that it would get her tangled up in a supernatural world that she had no idea existed, or into the arms of a four thousand year old vampire.

Kira is a beautiful addition to Frost’s world. She is a hardened private investigator who isn’t fazed by anything; let alone accepting the existence of vampires. Kira was believable in everything she did, she believed the story because it ended up being logical to, she took it all in her stride not because she is amazingly empathetic but because she knew any other course of action, any rebelling on her part, would end in her death.

She also took in being made into a vampire into her stride as well. Knowing that if this was how she was to live from now on, she would do it with a conscience and she would do it because living meant something to her.

Then we bring in Mencheres, the super-powerful, four thousand year old, slightly suicidal ex-pharaoh of Egypt and current co-ruler to his and Bones combined lines. Mencheres has lost his power to see the future; all he can see is darkness which he believes is his impending death. He’s old, he’s tired and he’s weary of the cold war going on between him and his arch-enemy Radjedef.

Eternal Kiss of Darkness was packed full of anticipation surrounding Radjedef framing Mencheres for a crime that carries the death penalty within the vampire world and the race against time for Mencheres and Kira to clear his name.

The relationship between Kira and Mencheres was beautiful and very well done; both with similar pasts of betrayal are astounded by their feelings for each other. It was also mildly frustrating in a good way with the amount of times they were interrupted, so when they finally came together for that all important ceiling sex, it was so worth it.

Cat and Bones made an appearance in Eternal Kiss of Darkness, although they weren’t painted in a good light which kind of disappointed me even though it was understandable from the history between them and Mencheres. Vlad also made an appearance which made me fall that much more in love with him and his humorous ways.

As with First Drop of Crimson, the cover disappointed me with Eternal Kiss of Darkness it didn't seem related to Mencheres at all and Kira was blonde.

Frost blew me away with her writing once again. Although I am not as fond of the Night Huntress World books as I am of the Cat & Bones books, Eternal Kiss of Darkness is a wonderful addition to my collection of her work.

Also in this series:
First Drop of Crimson