Night Huntress Books 1-4

Halfway to the Grave (Night Huntress, Book 1) by Jeaniene Frost

Product Description:
Half-vampire Catherine Crawfield is going after the undead with a vengeance, hoping that one of these deadbeats is her father–the one responsible for ruining her mother’s life. Then she’s captured by Bones, a vampire bounty hunter, and is forced into an unholy partnership.

In exchange for finding her father, Cat agrees to train with the sexy night stalker until her battle reflexes are as sharp as his fangs. She’s amazed she doesn’t end up as his dinner–are there actually good vampires? Pretty soon Bones will have her convinced that being half-dead doesn’t have to be all bad. But before she can enjoy her new found status as kick-ass demon hunter, Cat and Bones are pursued by a group of killers. Now Cat will have to choose a side . . . and Bones is turning out to be as tempting as any man with a heartbeat.

Review:
Well, I know I’m probably the last woman on earth to read the NH series.  And I can’t believe I waited so long! All I can say is… Oh my lovely BONES!

It didn’t take long for Cat to meet Bones in a club, and right from the start, with his first amused smile, I was completely smitten with him.  Something about Brit accents and chiseled faces always gets me!  Even as Cat struggles with what she is and with her feelings towards Bones, he takes her under his wings and trains her to be a more skilled fighter.  Once they join forces, they become a mighty deadly duo, and together they take down a ring of vampire that enslave human for blood and sex! WOW!  

But…*sobs buckets* …that ending! Gah!!! How could she leave him, even if she did feel forced?? Totally heartbreaking, but makes for a great read.  Overall, I really enjoyed seeing them fall in love. It was all so sweet! Plus, I was amazing by the amount of care that Bones shows Cat right from the start.  I thought more highly of him for that.  He never hid from her, and he was there for her at ever turn!  Now that is my kind of man…er… bloody sexy vampire! P.S. I love Bones’ real name: Crispin Phillip Arthur Russell III.  *le sigh*

Favorite Bones quote:

 If you run from me, I’ll chase you. And I’ll find you….

But I’m not lying, pet. My name is Crispin. Crispin Phillip Arthur Russell III. That last part was merely a bit of fancy on my mum’s part, since clearly she had no idea who my da was. Still, she thought adding numerals after my name would give me a bit of dignity. Poor sweet woman, ever reluctant to face reality.

One Foot in the Grave (Night Huntress, Book 2) by Jeaniene Frost

Product Description
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 him awakens all her emotions, from the adrenaline kick 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 she tries to keep things professional between them, she’ll find that desire lasts forever . . . and that Bones won’t let her get away again. 

Review:
Picks up four years after Cat has left Bones to join a special unit of the government that polices the supernatural. The opening scene has Cat squaring off with Bones’s sire, Ian. Cat lets Ian escape once that is discovered.  Soon after, Bones does find Cat, as he promised, and he decided to surprise her by showing up at her best friend’s wedding, posing as a groomsman. It was a classic way for him to re-enter the picture because she totally wasn’t expecting it! Fun!

For me, things kind of get less interesting from there and kind of drag on. After a few dates, Cat & Bones decide to give their romance another chance. It is then that Cat discovers that Ian is trying to add her to his rare collection of valuables and that Cat’s father, Max, is trying to have her killed.

In order to avoid being obligated to Ian, Cat and Bones join in a blood bond and become husband and wife! That did kind of surprise me because it is a permanent binding and C&B hardly really know each other, but they are crazy kids in love. One thing that kind of bothered me was the infamous chapter 32.  I know I heard so many spectacular things about the sex scene in that chapter, but I really didn’t think it was such a big deal, in fact, it seemed a bit over done.  *shrugs*

Although I didn’t like this book as much as the first, I still thought Bones was funny as hell, and his devotion to Cat is super sexy!

At Grave’s End (Night Huntress, Book 3) by Jeaniene Frost

Product Description
Some things won’t stay buried . . . at grave’s end

It should be the best time of half-vampire Cat Crawfield’s life. With her undead lover Bones at her side, she’s successfully protected mortals from the rogue undead. But though Cat’s worn disguise after disguise to keep her true identity a secret from the brazen bloodsuckers, her cover’s finally been blown, placing her in terrible danger.

As if that wasn’t enough, a woman from Bones’s past is determined to bury him once and for all. Caught in the crosshairs of a vengeful vamp, yet determined to help Bones stop a lethal magic from being unleashed, Cat’s about to learn the true meaning of bad blood. And the tricks she’s learned as a special agent won’t help her. She will need to fully embrace her vampire instincts in order to save herself—and Bones—from a fate worse than the grave.

Review:
I think it is so funny that Bones’s past keeps coming back to bite Cat in the arse! It seems that every woman Cat encounters has bedded Bones.  Lucky ladies!

This time their foe is Patra, the daughter of Cleopatra, and blood bonded wife of Mencheres. And yes, Bones has knocked boots with her.  Now Patra wants Bones dead because she fears he will cause her ultimate demise.  And in a breath stealing moment, it does seem like Bones was defeated, which causes Cat to nearly kill herself, but miraculously he does return to save the day (and to shag Cat, of course)!

The excitement picked back up in this book, with Bones and company fighting zombies, which is always cool.  And new characters are introduced, such as the powerful and elusive Vlad. Yes, as in Vlad the Impaler!  Here is hoping he gets his own book! *fingers crossed*

Favorite scene:

“Oh, Bones, maybe you should have married a docile girl who didn’t stray too far from the kitchen.”

“Get stuffed, don’t you have more publicity stunts to pull?” Bones shot back. “How about chatting with another writer who can smear your name into greater popularity?”

“What, did Anne Rice not return your calls, mate?” Vlad asked scathingly. “Jealousy is such an ugly trait.”

A noise escaped me before I could choke it off. Ian had no such discretion, and his laugh was clear and hearty.

“Don’t glare at her, Crispin. It was funny, and that’s not even counting the look on your face.”

Which was far from amused, but after a beat, Bones relaxed and his lips twitched.  “Indeed it was. Right. Let us sort out this plan of yours, Kitten. It may be our best opportunity.”

Destined for an Early Grave (Night Huntress, Book 4) by Jeaniene Frost 

Product Description
Her deadly dreams leave her in grave danger.

Since half-vampire Cat Crawfield and her undead lover Bones met six years ago, they’ve fought against the rogue undead, battled a vengeful Master vampire, and pledged their devotion with a blood bond. Now it’s time for a vacation. But their hopes for a perfect Paris holiday are dashed when Cat awakes one night in terror. She’s having visions of a vampire named Gregor who’s more powerful than Bones and has ties to her past that even Cat herself didn’t know about.

Gregor believes Cat is his and he won’t stop until he has her. As the battle begins between the vamp who haunts her nightmares and the one who holds her heart, only Cat can break Gregor’s hold over her. She’ll need all the power she can summon in order to bring down the baddest bloodsucker she’s ever faced . . . even if getting that power will result in an early grave.

Review:
Action packed doesn’t even begin to describe this book! For me, it was best of the series so far! Straightaway, Cat is haunted by nightmares that another vampire is after her.  And this new vampire, Gregor, calls her his wife.  Turns out that he kidnapped Cat when she was 16 and committed her to a blood bond.

Needless to say, this causes some tension between Cat and Bones.  Yes, they have always had their little disagreements, but when Cat chooses to go to Gergor, Bones goes over the edge.  To see Bones is pain was beyond heartbreaking… and even a bit scary.  Cat’s doubts that he could protect her put a strain in their ‘marriage’ and it is all that Cat can do to get him back.

Thus begins their jet setting adventure which takes them all through Europe and even throughout the French Quarter in NOLA (which I just visited last week, so I found it so thrilling to read about it and pretend like I was still there)!

Finally, all the back and forth comes to an end when Cat decided to become a vampire, which doesn’t turn out quite right, and returns to Bones.  I think you can’t help but feel that these two belong together, if not for their deep (and demented) love for one another, then to get Bones to finally settle down!  In this book, I LOVED how Bones finally stood up to Cat to tell her how he saw things between them. He’d give up anything to be with her.  And it was good to see Cat realize it, too! I also loved the fact that Cat and Bones stayed true to who they were the entire time and made their relationship work despite their differences! They have traveled a rough road, and it was refreshing to see them join together and be stronger for it.

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Posted at 9:03 pm  •  Labels: 2010, Book Review, Jeaniene Frost, Kindle Edition, Night Huntress, paranormal romance, Vampires