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Book Cover BevQB’s review of One Foot in the Grave (Night Huntress, Book 2) by Jeaniene Frost
Paranormal romance/urban fantasy released by Avon Books 29 Apr 08

PHEW! If you thought Book 1 in the Night Huntress series, Halfway to the Grave (reviewed here), was a page turner, wait till you read this one!

Warning: mild spoilers ahead, but not much more than the book summary gives away.

It’s been four years since the half-human and half-vampire, Cat, left Bones, an old, very powerful vampire, to protect him from being hunted down and killed. During that time, Cat has assembled and trained a secret government sanctioned vampire hunting team.

Now Bones is back and he’s not leaving. He will do whatever it takes to stay with Cat. The problem right now is that the relationship is one-sided. Bones changes his life, sacrifices and risks much (and does so willingly), but with only a couple of concessions (fans will cheer at one of them), Cat is almost daring him to love her, to prove that he really does care that much for her (wait till you read his “proof” in the bedroom! WOWZER!).

Sooner or later, though, I have to wonder if Cat (or Bones) will realize that she’ll need to give more, to prove to HIM that SHE loves him. One incident near the end of the book would seem to be that declarative proof, but the almost offhand way she mentions it later makes me wonder if it really meant as much to her as it did to him.

We do see a few glimpses of the mature woman Cat may one day be, but for the most part she still wants everything HER way. She barrels into danger with a surprising lack of common sense. And she either possesses a sense of invincibility or possibly suicidal tendencies– I’m never quite sure which and I doubt SHE knows either. No, it doesn’t cross over the TSTL line, but Frost IS edging her toes up to the line where hero/ine crosses over to Superhero/ine and I sincerely hope she stays well away from it.

A LOT happens during the course of this book, the cast of characters is expanded, and… I’m not going to spoil it any further. Just trust me when I tell you that I have a feeling (and a hope), that some of it is going to come back and bite Cat and Bones in the butt. (hee… Vampire humor)

I will say, though, that unlike Halfway to the Grave, One Foot in the Grave ends quite happily for several people, including Cat and Bones. Now, who knows how Frost will end the next one in the series—remember she’s only promised an eventual HEA at the end of the ENTIRE series—but be prepared for an interesting HEA in this one.

Oh, here’s a question for you medical type duckies: Can a regular human (i.e. not Cat) drink a pint of blood without throwing it up? The humans in Cat’s team ramp up their power by drinking vampire blood and, unless there’s some yummy goodness in it that Frost doesn’t mention, I just can’t see how they could swallow it and keep it down.

That appetizing thought notwithstanding, Jeanine Frost has written another highly enjoyable, engrossing story and, while I strongly recommend you read Book 1, Halfway to the Grave, first, I believe One Foot in the Grave CAN be read as a standalone.

bevs-standard-icon-angel_130.jpgGrade: B+

Summary:

You can run from the grave, but you can’t hide…

Half-vampire Cat Crawfield is now Special Agent Cat Crawfield, working for the government to rid the world of the rogue undead. She’s still using everything Bones, her sexy and dangerous ex, taught her, but when Cat is targeted for assassination, the only man who can help her is the vampire she left behind.

Being around Bones awakens all her emotions, from the adrenaline rush of slaying vamps side by side to the reckless passion that consumed them. But a price on her head – wanted: dead or half-alive – means her survival depends on teaming up with Bones. And no matter how hard Cat tries to keep things professional between them, she’ll find that desire lasts forever … and Bones won’t let her get away again.

Author’s summary and excerpt.

Other books in the series:

Book CoverRead Bev’s review of Book 1.



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Read more from Bev on her personal blog Cubie’s Confections.