Halfway to the Grave (Night Huntress, Book 1)

Cat Crawfield knew she was always different from other kids while growing up. It wasn't until her sixteenth birthday when she found out just how different she was from everyone else. On that monumental day, Cat's mother, Justina, informs her that sixteen year ago she had been raped by a vampire and five months later she gave birth to half vampire/half human, Cat. To avenge her mother's rapist, Cat sets out to con and kill as many vampires as she can. Six years later, Cat is still out hunting vampires and hoping one day she'll eventually take down the vampire who raped her mother and made her half the evil demon as her mother claims her to be.One night while on a hunt, Cat bumps into a tall and masculine vampire she'd lost track of the previous night. Not willing to let him slip away from her stake, Cat lays it on thick with the flirting and leads the vampire out to an empty field with the intent to slay him. Things don't go according to her plans because one minute she finds herself undressing in front of the vampire and the next she's chained up inside a cave. Her kidnapper vampire Bounty Hunter, Bones, is convinced that she's been sent out to kill him and is determined to find out who she works for. After literally beating the crap out of her, Bones eventually acknowledges that 1) she doesn't work for anyone and 2) she's part vampire. Instead of letting her walkaway freely, Bones offers Cat an unusual partnership. Instead of killer Cat, Bones will allow her to continue to doing what she loves most - killing vampires - but only the ones that he's looking for. Hesitantly Cat agrees to his offer and begins her rigorous six week training with Bones.Right off the bat Cat and Bones had great chemistry. The snarky banter between the two was entertaining, funny and as the story went further along I wanted more and more page time with the two. Cat was a very likeable heroine. At the beginning, Cat is a little naïve and childish but she had me laughing hysterically. She still has a lot to learn about the vampire world but she's strong-willed, vivacious and extremely determined. I was a little perturbed when Cat would allow her mother's strong words against vampires put her down. It's understandable that Justina harbored great animosity towards vampires but the abhorrent words she used to describe them was also an inadvertent insult to her own daughter. I could rant on and on about this dysfunctional relationship but bottom line I just wanted Cat to finally stand up against her mother and put a kibosh on constantly insulting a part of Cat's DNA that she couldn't help was inside her.Now let's get to the best part of this book, Bones. Oh Lord, I LOVED this Vampire from the very beginning. Jeaniene Frost has created the most perfect Vampire and hero. Don't get me wrong I love my vampires from Black Dagger Brotherhood but Bones just hits the spot. He's tall, muscular, dangerous, witty, and oozes sex appeal. On top of that he's British. British! Having that accent just put him over the top and had me gushing from the moment he stepped on to the scene all the way to the very last page. As a Master Vampire, Bones is over 200 years old who holds a lot of knowledge and power. He's every bit the Alpha male you find in urban fantasy novels. What sets Bones apart from most male leads is that he has a great combination of macho man and sappy romantic lead. He growls and barks orders at Cat but then the next minute he'd say words that would make my heart flutter and turn me into a pile of goo. Every time he would call Cat "Kitten" or "Luv" I would gush like some stupid school girl. As soon as he developed feelings for Cat he didn't hide his feelings for very long or play games with her. He knew what he wanted, told her and even said he'd wait however long for her to return his feelings. Come on! He's seriously hot and has more moves to teach Cat outside of the fighting ring. *wink, wink*Now the ending threw me off the loop and I wanted to scream and fight for it to not happen. I think the conclusion was unwarrented and unnecessary but her I'm not the writer so Miss Frost is free to do whatever she wants. I wasn't too happy with the descisions made but I think for the sake of the story to progress and and characters to grow I understand why Frost would end things the way she did. Good thing I didn't have to wait too long to find out what would happen next because I had already downloaded book two of the series, One Foot in the Grave the same day I bought book 1.Halfway to the Grave was such a fun, fast, and funny read. Jeaniene Frost's writing is easy to follow and her plot lines flowed effortlessly. She has written characters that easily draw you in and fall in love with instantaneously. I love the chemistry between Cat and Bones and the sexual tension between the two was palpable. I must have been living under a rock or blind or stupid these last few years because I still cannot believe that I recently just picked this series up. Zillions of folks adore this series and it's been lauded allover Goodreads and the book blogosphere. To say that I loved Halfway to the Grave would be an understatement. I just want to scream from the top of my lungs and say, " I Freaking Love This Book!" This book had everything and more in what I look for in a good paranormal/urban fantasy book and I'm so happy that I've finally suck my teeth into this series

THE LONG...Halfway to the Grave is the first book in author Jeanine Frost's Night Huntress Series about a half-vampire named Catherine Crawfield a.k.a. Cat Raven who is on a mission to rid Licking Falls, Ohio of every single vampire she can.She baits them, lures them with the promise of sex, and stakes them. Disposing of the bodies may take a bit more work, but she's managed on her own all these years.As a half-vampire she has more strength, better eyesight and better hearing than most humans. And since she is such a rarity - she has a pulse - the vamps don't see her coming.Except Bones. A bounty hunter, who wasn't so enamored by her that he'd let his guard down so easily. And when he overpowers her, she is more than surprised.Sure that her life will be over before sunrise, she is shocked when he offers her a deal - train with him and help him hunt vampires...or die. And while death may seem like a better option than working side-by-side with her enemy, she chooses life.And so begins this amazing partnership between the two that is as dangerous and violent and action-packed as it is sizzling and strung so tightly with sexual tension that it's ready to snap.Deadly encounters, bloody battles, sexual innuendo and one hell of a hot and steamy sex scene that leaves nothing to the imagination and a few others that do, make this story incredibly hard to put down.And with two absolutely perfectly matched characters in Cat and Bones that fill the rest of the book with their deliciously addictive chemistry, their sarcastic banter and their utter ruthlessness when facing down their enemies, this is one hell of a wicked and unbelievably amazing start to this series.So, what more can I possibly say about Halfway to the Grave?Soooo addictive. What pile of sand did I have my head buried in to not have heard about Cat and Bones before last week? Clearly a pretty deep one. With six novels in this series already published and a few more on the way, I don't know how I will be able to stop myself from continuing to read on.They are an absolutely perfect pair. Their relationship is what makes this story great. They're both strong characters. They both have minds of their own. And they're both capable of existing without one another. But they're so much better together.Without Bones, Cat isn't very likable. It's not until they meet and he begins to chip away at that fierce exterior to show just how vulnerable she can be that she becomes appealing as a main character. She even starts to show a very funny and sarcastic side which is what made me love her by the end of this book.So, I didn't immediately connect to the story. Not until Bones came into the picture, anyway - which was actually fairly close to the beginning. As soon as he did and that relationship started to develop, the story came to life for me, the pace picked up and I was hooked.As a newer reader of this type of paranormal fiction, I didn't expect to be as connected to the characters as I was or find nearly as much excitement or violence as there was. And I didn't expect either the sarcasm or the humor. It was dry. It was witty. It was clever. It was dirty. And I did laugh. Out loud. Often.But, I gotta say that it was the sexual tension that kept me glued to this story, all the while biting my lip as I read through those pages. I love sexual chemistry. And Cat and Bones definitely had the very best kind. While those sex scenes were pretty hot, they did not do justice to the chemistry between the two.And those Bones one-liners were some of the best I've read.I think I've developed a mad crush on Bones. One that rivals my crush on Eric the Northman. Yeah, it's that bad.I am seriously glad I didn't discover this series immediately after the first book was released. Because the way things ended and that last line would have freaking killed me if I had to wait until book two.As it is, I've been forced to archive it to keep myself from reading it immediately....AND SHORT OF ITSeriously Awesome. If you think that kick-ass heroines and bad-ass, motorcycle riding vampires with wicked tongues are awesome, then yeah, this is. And if the thrill of the hunt and the heat of battle get your heart racing, then you won't be disappointed. Not in the least.Deliciously sexy. If chiseled vampires, with intensely glowing, green eyes who aren't afraid to say what they want and take what they need - but only when given the green light - are sexy to you, then you'll find this unbelievably sexy. And if you need there to be a chemical reaction to give things sex appeal, then consider this appealing. Very appealing.Wickedly entertaining. If beheading an evil vampire makes you smile instead of scream, then you'll be entertained from start to finish. And if you'd enjoy that same bad-ass vampire using his tongue for more than talk, you will be wickedly, wickedly entertained.

This is a great series. The heroine is clueless but tough as nails. The hero totally loves her and puts her first

Born half human and half vampire. Her mother suffered an ordeal at the hands of a vampire and is now convinced that all vampires are evil. Hence the night huntress.Cat is a loner. She believes in what her mother has led her to believe all of her life. Therefore she spends her nights luring and killing vampires. She doesn't discriminate between the good ones and the bad ones until the night that she meets Bones. He hunts vampires too and suddenly they have one thing in common. He believes her story and they strike a deal. He trains her to death until he is happy that she is ready to help him on his hunts. He has been after a human trafficking ring for years and who better to use as bait than Cat. She doesn't hide her dislike of Vampires, but agrees to the deal. Soon they are working together and the plan is working. What she doesn't expect is falling for Bones. Their love affair is intense, but her mother can't find out. They find themselves in a lot of sticky situations, but always come out of them somehow.There is a bit of everything in this novel. The dry English humour, the violence the continuous actions and the forbidden love makes it all compulsive. Cat and Bones are extraordinary as a couple. The storyline is great and the story itself well portrayed.

I’ve previously read the spin-off series of this with Vlad and loved it and have been meaning to jump into this for a fair while, no idea why I’ve had it on the back burner for so long and so glad I've now finally bit the bullet because this was such a treat a combination of banter and humour as well as all of the more serious and delicious vampire action this one had it all. I adored Bones like seriously smitten hearts in my eyes, he was just so unique and had massive presence combined with some sizzling sex appeal.This is the first book in a series Catherine or Cat as she calls herself when she is on the job hunting the undead, has made it her mission to remove as many bloodsuckers as she can. Reeling them in and then taking them out they don’t see her coming, she’s a wolf in sheep’s clothing, a rare human/Vampire hybrid. When her path crosses with Bones a master vampire everything she thought she knows about the undead is turned on its head, he’s so unexpectedly different from what she ever could have imagined.The two strike a deal joining forces to complete their aligned goals Cat is the bait and Bones the back-up but when Bones's objective puts them on the radar of some dangerous enemies Bones and Cat are in for the fight of their lives with the odds firmly stacked and not in their favour.Cat begins this as very close-minded and prejudiced against all Vampires her heritage and human mother's hate have been spoon-fed to her along with her cheerios. Slowly she begins to take stock and understand that vampires are a lot like humans there's good and there’s bad and as she grows closer to Bones she realises that he has started to become her everything.I adored Bones's banter, his one-liners and comebacks were hilarious, I loved that he was British like myself and I could relate to all of his colourful Britishisms. I definitely appreciated his lack of game and liked how open he was about his feelings towards his kitten.Cat was quite the character and she evolved so much throughout the course of this. The circumstances surrounding her conception and her upbringing have very much shaped her thoughts and actions. She loves Bones but also loves her mother and knows there is no way she will ever accept her daughter dating a vampire. I understand the whys of her behaviour and the decisions she eventually arrives at but still wanted to give her a good strong shake her eventual martyrdom was extremely frustrating but she was definitely stuck between a rock and a hard place for sure.This had plenty of chemistry and was such a well-written easy read I would definitely recommend this if vampires are your jam and Bones has now taken my top spot as most favourite Vampire male ever in a paranormal romance bloody loved it.

First the so-and-so, then the good.The characters are sort of shallow, with not much development in them; the narration timing feels odd (at times); many things are left in mid-air; not incredibly innovative; the British character is not believable at all, and many of his expressions are used in the wrong context or sound odd at the very least.This is quick-use literature, what was commonly described as "pulp fiction" once upon a time: it follows one (or more) tropes, and works within those well-established confines.Having said that, it is PURE Pulp Fiction, and as such, it is as fun as hell. It's like those action movies that you know will bring nothing new to you, but they are still fine to watch on a late night with pizza and friends.The Night Huntress series is certainly not Stephen King or John Grisham... it's not even Stephenie Meyer! But you will be glued to the pages and surprised at the twists and turns.Harmless fun.

5 STARS *****Cat is a 22 year old half human/vampire hybrid. She has been raised to resent her vampire side and hate all things vampire by her mother who was raped by one. Cat isn't your typical early twenties girl, yes she spends her weekends at clubs drinking and picking up guys but they are all vampires and none of them survive the night. It is during one of her scouting missions she meets Bones, a master vampire, stronger, faster and cleverer than any other vampire she has ever tried to kill and instead of falling for her trick he calls her bluff and blackmails her into working with him to track his fellow creatures."Here it was, a deal with the devil. At what price my soul? He watched me expectantly and threateningly all at the same time. If I said no, I knew what would happen. Save the glass, waitress, I'm drinking from the bottle! Happy hour, with my neck on tap. If I said yes, I'd be agreeing to a partnership with pure evil."Their partnership begins rocky, Cat very much still wants to kill him and refuses to believe that there is any good, however the more they work together the closer they get and the feelings of hostility change to lust followed by much deeper emotions.I loved this book, the writing is amazing and the characters come to life on the page. It is so difficult to create a story where both lead characters are liked especially females characters but Cat is such a strong, independent girl but with a sweet and vulnerable side. Her relationship with Bones wasn't the insta-love which I hate but a begrudged friendship which slowly turned into a passionate love."I began to fall in love with you when you challenged me to that stupid fight in the cave. There you were, chained up and bleeding, questioning my courage and almost daring me to kill you. Why do you think I struck that bargain with you? Truth is, luv, I did it so you'd be forced to spend time with me. I knew you'd never agree any other way. After all, you had such hang-ups about vampires. Still do, it appears."Bones is an incredible male lead. Gorgeous, funny, sensitive and not afraid to lay his emotions on the line and fight for the girl he loves. However don't think he is soft cuddy passive vampire, no way his is a ruthless fighter who doesn't think twice about killing.There is plenty of action and some steamy scenes between the pair. The banter between Cat and Bones brings the element of humour with too many lines I could quote.The ending made me sad, however I am now desperate to move onto book two. All I can say is please read this amazing book which is the start to a much loved series which keeps growing, you won't regret it.I want to end with my favourite scene, not sure why but it stuck with me probably because it was so sweet and the first sign we get of Bones' feelings."Do you think I'm pretty?" I heard myself ask.Something I couldn't name flashed across his face."No. I don't think you're pretty. I think you're the most beautiful girl I've ever seen."

I'm not sure why it took me so long to get round to reading this series, it was always in my recommendations but I finally took the plunge and I read the first 6 books in a week.. (including the two spin-offs)!So the lovely Catherine Crawfield found out when she was 16 that she was part vampire; she'd always thought she was a bit different until her Mum told her that she'd been raped by a vampire when she was young and the result was Catherine. Catherine's (Cat's) mother instills her deep hatred of all things fangy in Cat's mind and Cat becomes a vampire hunter in the hope that she can get rid of all vamps, and find her father and get revenge on behalf of her Mother. She's pretty good at it too until she lures the wrong vampire, Bones, into her car one night so that she can despatch him. Bones is a vampire bounty hunter and decides that Cat has the raw talent to be trained up to be one too, so he starts her training.I was really pleasantly surprised by the story and the writing. I liked Cat, but it took a while for her character to flesh out as she's a bit of a contradiction at first. Now Bones I fell in love with quite easily, he reeks of 'bad boy', but there's a lovely gentleness about him. I suppose he's a man's man, but who's not afraid of showing his feelings and I really liked that about him. Plus he's hot!I was a bit disappointed that they fell in love so soon, and whilst there are sex scenes in the book they aren't gratuitous or over powering, they're quite sweet actually. After reading the later books I can see why they fell in love so soon; it makes the plot for the next couple of books work well.All in all, they're a really good couple, the dialogue between them is funny and snarky. Bones' British Accent didn't bother me, and I'm a Brit. I did sometimes wish that he'd call Cat 'Love' instead of 'Luv' but maybe that's just a personal thing.The supporting characters are great, although a little one dimensional at the moment - but in the next few books they grow and become part of the extended family.Judging by all the other reviews I wasn't alone in enjoying this book and I really recommend that you not only start this series, but carry on with it too.The reading order is:HALFWAY TO THE GRAVEONE FOOT IN THE GRAVEAT GRAVE'S ENDDESTINED FOR AN EARLY GRAVEFIRST DROP OF CRIMSONETERNAL KISS OF DARKNESSTHIS SIDE OF THE GRAVEONE GRAVE AT A TIME