Challenge Review: Halfway to the Grave by Jeaniene Frost

Title: Halfway to the Grave 
Series: Night Huntress #1

Author: Jeaniene Frost

Genre: Paranormal Romance, Supernatural Fiction

Elements: Vampires, Ghosts, Ghouls

Publisher: Avon Books, Harper Collins

Format: Mass Market Paperback, 358 Pages

ISBN: 9780061245084

Release Date: November 2007

Source: Borrowed from Wentworth Library
Rating: 5/5

Purchase Here: Kindle // Mass Market Paperback

Tagline(s): Sometimes you have to fight the undead with the half-dead... / Flirting with the grave...

Summary: 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 newfound 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: 

Cat has been told that all vampires are evil. After all, her mother was sexually assaulted by one, resulting in Cat's birth. Being a half-vampire gives her abilities perfect for seeking revenge against the creatures that once hurt her mother. So every night Cat goes out hunting...and on one such night she meets a vampire that changes everything she thought she knew about the undead she's been killing.

You would think right away that any relationship between Cat and Bones would be doomed from the start. Although she's half-vampire, Cat hates vampires with a passion. There isn't a vampire she's met that she hasn't tried staking before anything else, and that includes Bones. But being a Master vampire, Bones is a lot stronger than any of the others Cat has met before him. Cat's attempted staking of Bones is how their working and personal relationships began.

Though their working relationship starts before their personal one, I'll talk about their personal relationship first. We know that Cat hates vampires, so how could she possibly fall in love with one, right? Well, it definitely wasn't simple or easy. As Cat and Bones work together and she learns more about vampires, Cat comes to respect and admire Bones. That respect and admiration--slowly--becomes more. But there are namely three things driving a wedge between them--Bones being a vampire, Cat's own half-undead state, and her mother. While Cat comes to terms and accepts the first two, her mother is not so easily won over (in fact, she can't and won't be won over). Cat and Bones's relationship definitely has its bittersweet moments. "If you run from me, I'll chase you. And I'll find you."

Now back to their working relationship. When Cat tried to stake Bones, being the Master vampire that he is, he knocks her about the noggin and chains her up at him place. At first he doesn't believe her claims of being a half-vampire, but then she flashes her green eyes, a trait all vampires have, and after they tussle a bit, a partnership is struck. In exchange for helping Cat find her father, Bones wants her help with a bounty he's currently hunting. Being a half-vampire has given Cat a natural beauty that humans have to work hard for and the strength to take on the undead. Her human side gives her the beating heart and pulse to fool vampires into complacency. In other words, she's the perfect bait, while Bones is the extra muscle.

Which brings us to our villain. Bones has been tracking a vampire named Hennessey that he believes is behind hundreds of girls going missing--from Maine to Mexico, the Great Lakes area to now Ohio. He's running a kind of Meals on Wheels operation and he's got help in high places among the humans. Cat feels a personal need to take Hennessey down since she almost became one of those missing girls, and he took her mother hostage. "We're going to get him. We're going to stand over him on the ground, and every greedy bastard on his team, too, and then they'll know they were taken down by you...and your little Grim Reaper, who hasn't met a vampire she didn't try to kill first." Cat was amazingly awesome during their assault on Hennessey's hideout. Those vampires (and some humans) were just dropping like flies!

While the first battle against the "bad" vampires was a success, the war is just beginning.

Cat is approached by a special branch of the FBI called the Paranormal Behavior Division. Don William, the head of the division, claims that they've been looking for someone like Cat, and offers her a job. She knows that taking the job is the best way to protect both her mother and Bones. But accepting the job offer comes with sacrifices.

I loved everything about this book and I can't wait to read the next one!

Quotes:

"You're not a woman. You're the Grim Reaper with red hair!"

"I want you to know that despite everything, I'm so glad I met you. It was the luckiest day of my life. If I hadn't, I never would have known what it was like for someone to love me, all of me, even the parts I hated. I would have gone through life empty and guilt-ridden, but you showed me a whole new world, Bones. I'll never be able to thank you for all you've done for me, but I will love you every day until I die."

About this Author:

Jeaniene Frost is the New York Times, USA Today, and international bestselling author of the Night Huntress series, the Night Prince series and the Night Huntress World novels. To date, foreign rights for her novels have sold to nineteen different countries. Jeaniene lives in North Carolina with her husband Matthew, who long ago accepted that she rarely cooks and always sleeps in on the weekends. Aside from writing, Jeaniene enjoys reading, poetry, watching movies with her husband, exploring old cemeteries, spelunking and traveling – by car. Airplanes, children, and cook books frighten her.

PART OF.... 

Review: Blood of the Wicked by Karina Cooper

Title: Blood of the Wicked

Series: Dark Mission #1

Author: Karina Cooper

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Elements: Witches, Magic

Publisher: Avon Books, Harper Collins Publishers

ISBN-13: 9780062046857

ISBN: 0062046853

Release: June 2011

Rating: 4/5


Tagline(s): Can love exist in a world that is truly hell on earth?

Summary:

When the world went straight to hell, humanity needed a scapegoat to judge, to blame . . . to burn.

As an independent witch living off the grid, Jessie Leigh has spent her life running, trying to blend in among the faceless drudges in the rebuilt city. She thought she was finally safe, but now she's been found in a New Seattle strip club—by a hard-eyed man on a mission to destroy her kind.

A soldier of the Holy Order, Silas Smith believes in the cause: trawling the fringes of society for the murderous witches who threaten what's left of the world. Forced into a twisting web of half-truths and lies, he has to stay close to the most sensuous and electrifying woman he has ever seen and manipulate her into leading him to the witch he has to kill: her brother. Silas doesn't know that Jessie's his enemy, only that he wants her, needs her, even as he lies to her . . . and must protect her until his final breath.

Review:

Characters

After her mother's murder, Jessica Leigh spent her life on the run, raising her younger brother, Caleb, hiding and learning how to lie. And she has become very good at it. With the possibility of being caught by the witch hunters, she's become wary and mistrusting of those around her. Though, when she meets Silas, even as she knows nothing will change and it will only end in heartbreak, she begins to trust and care for him.

As a missionary of the Holy Order, Silas Smith believes in the cause and his duty to rid the world of witches. And he has seen some of the most monsterous acts done for their rituals. These acts help fuel his belief and desire to fulfill his duty. When he meets Jessica in his mission to find and kill her brother, Caleb, he doesn't know that she's a witch, as well. But he begins to trust and care for her. And when he finally finds out that she's a witch, too, he needs to decided between his duty to the Holy Order and his love for Jessica.

Caleb Leigh is a soothsayer, someone who sees visions of the future, whereas his sister is a seer of the present. When he sees a vision of Jessica's death, he decides to leave her and tells her not to look for him. He joins a coven hoping to eventually bring it down, but in the process has murdered many to gain the power he needs to do so. These acts bring him to the attention of the missionaries of the Holy Order.

Theme

Can love exist in a world that is truly hell on earth?

Blood of the Wicked has the theme of love lasting in a seemingly impossible situation. It's been used in many classic tales , as well as newer stories, so we're quite familiar with it. In Blood of the Wicked, we have the impossible situation of a witch hunter, bound by belief and duty, falling in love with a witch, the sister of the witch he's on a mission to kill, in a world that wants to destroy them both. They both have enemies on both sides closing in on them. What will ultimately decide the outcome is the hunter's choice between his duty and the woman he loves. Will he kill her or save her life?

Plot

The world of this book, as well as some of it's inhabitants, is shrouded in mystery. There's about five paragraphs that tell us a little about the world of the story. A number of disasters ravaged the planet, bringing about destruction. Before the quake that devoured Seattle, witches weren't completely accepted, but they didn't have to hide, either. But once the Holy Order took charge to bring the world to order, with the aid of the government and the Mission, the witch hunts began. What caused the destruction? What exactly is the Holy Order? We know that the Mission was once an extremist terrorist group before the quake, but what was their mission and why did they join with the Holy Order?

Even some of the characters have the shadow of mystery over them. One in particular is our main male character, Silas Smith. We learn a little about his past when he tells Jessie about his first mission, and in an off-hand comment that he never knew his mother, but that's about it. What I really want to know is how he injured his knee.

The main plot is told from the alternating perspectives of Jessica Leigh and Silas Smith as they try to locate Caleb Leigh and survive enemy attacks. But there is a small sub-plot narrated from Caleb's point of view. We see his interactions with the Coven of Unbinding, and his own secret strivings for more power. Whether his want for power is really as unselfish as he claims is up to interpretation. Eventually, the main plot and the sub-plot merge toward the end.

Setting

There are two main settings in this story. There is New Seattle, which Jessica describes the structure as being built like a "layer cake." And then there's Old Seattle, which is the ruins of Seattle before the quake, a mass tomb for those who never made it out.

The lower levels of New Seattle are where the dregs of society dwell. It's like one big red light district. It's a place where the sun rarely, if ever, shines, and the perfect place to go if you want to hide. The upper levels of New Seattle are where the rich, privileged, and powerful make their home. On the very top of New Seattle is the Glass City. To many, the Glass City would be awe-inspiring, but for those in the lower levels, it's just a reminder of what they don't have. And for witches it represents their death.

Old Seattle is located deep within the trench created when the San Andreas Fault split and swallowed the city. It's a mass tomb for the two million plus who couldn't make it out of the city. It's dangerous and unstable and avoided, unless you have a death wish. But what Jessie finds there makes her feel an indescribable joy. In the forgotten city that should have abandoned all hope, the earth is reclaiming. Moss and roots are overtaking and bringing the city life again.

There is a sub-setting that takes place at Matilda's home. It's a secret sanctuary that only Matilda knows that way to. The only thing we know about the location is that it's in the trench somewhere. The sanctuary is a beautiful place with hot springs and flowers not seen in New Seattle. A truly mysterious and awe-inspiring place that is a true oasis for those Matilda allows entry. There's only one rule in Matilda's home: lies are not tolerated. And you are to never reveal it's existence to anyone.

My Final Thoughts:

I gave this book a 4 out of 5 because I truly loved it. I like stories where love is tested. Sometimes it works out and sometimes it doesn't. Add to that the supernatural element of witches, the historical element of the witch hunts, and a dash of dystopian rule, and you've got a really entertaining story.

Quote:

Chapter Eighteen, Page 241

"Nothing in this world is black and white. One is merely the absence of color, which is boring, staid  and without life. It is stagnancy. The other is every color, which is chaotic. Untrustworthy, unpredictable, and unstable. Neither will bear life."

About this Author

:

Born from the genetic mash-up of lesser royalty, storytellers, wanderers and dreamers, Karina Cooper couldn't help but be a writer. After writing happily ever afters for all of her friends, she eventually grew up (kind of) and fell in love with paranormal romance. Because, really, who doesn't love hot men and a happy ending?

When she isn't writing about murder and mayhem, Karina designs Steampunk and neo-Victorian couture for gentlemen hobbyists and ladies of questionable reputation. She lives in the beautiful Pacific Northwest with a husband, four cats, one rabbit, the fantasy of a dog and a passel of adopted gamer geeks. She adores hearing from readers, so grab a cup of tea and visit http://www.karinacooper.com, or follow her ...more 

Born from the genetic mash-up of lesser royalty, storytellers, wanderers and dreamers, Karina Cooper couldn't help but be a writer. After writing happily ever afters for all of her friends, she eventually grew up (kind of) and fell in love with paranormal romance. Because, really, who doesn't love hot men and a happy ending?

When she isn't writing about murder and mayhem, Karina designs Steampunk and neo-Victorian couture for gentlemen hobbyists and ladies of questionable reputation. She lives in the beautiful Pacific Northwest with a husband, four cats, one rabbit, the fantasy of a dog and a passel of adopted gamer geeks. She adores hearing from readers, so grab a cup of tea and visit http://www.karinacooper.com, or follow her on Twitter via @karinacooper