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

BookTalk

Catherine Crawfield has daddy issues.

You see, she is the product of a rape and has lived her life being reminded of this fact daily by her mother and extremely religious grandparents. But Cat’s story gets worse. You see her father wasn’t just a normal jerk, he was an undead jerk…

Yep, Catherine Crawfield is half vampire and all rage against the undead. From the age of 16 with her mother’s blessing and support, Cat has been sneaking off to clubs to lure and kill vampires. She’s had lots of luck until the night she meets Bones.

Bones is a master vampire, the man who shows Cat she’s been dealing with boys her whole life…both on and off the job. He offers to train Cat toward a goal that suits them both. There’s a ring of both undead and living who are trapping young women into a blood-slave-labor. Together they’ll take down the evil and Bones will give Cat all the knowledge she’s been missing…If she can let her heart overcome her prejudice for all things Vampire…

Review

I am a weak person.

WEAK

I have too many books in my TBR. Too many books in NetGalley and Library form that have a shelf life ticking down in my Adobe Reader. *gasp* How did [blank] get down to just 2 days?! *eek*

But I did it anyway. I’ve read a few books recently that were just so/so. They were decent. The type of book I’d give a 3 star to. Even the type I’d give a 4 star rating…just happens to also be a book I wasn’t really in the mood for when I read it. I was beginning to get bookish-ly depressed. I reached out into the world of Twitter and said: “Someone please throw me a lifeline! A good trashy romance I’ll become addicted to!”

The Sweetest Little Bookworm answered…And all I have to say is:

Be Careful What You Wish For…

I have fallen Head Over Heals for Cat and Bones. This book was exactly what I needed! The romance is wonderful. It’s all hot and heavy a few times toward the end. But it’s watching Bones de-thaw Cat’s prim and proper nature that provides all the fun and *swoonworthy* moments.

Ahh, the scene where Bones surprises Cat with a date…

Hilarious slutty-makeover…Dirty conversations trying to avoid blushes…No underwear…Loved it all!

What makes this more than my so/so trashy romances of late is that this book has depth. It’s my first series where the love interests are the same throughout the series. And I like it. As I move on to other books in the series I can see how these characters will continue to develop and change…yet they keep the spark alive!

Also, this series is one of the few paranormals I’ve read that openly adds religion into the picture. Traditional Christian stories provide background for the Vampiric race. And Cat herself openly makes reference to having faith. No issue is made of the religious references, no discussion of the soul a la Twilight, just very casual references that serve to deepen Cat’s character in a very natural way. This is big because Cat’s family is Uber-Religious and very Anti-Vampire. Frost could have made a bigger deal out of the religion as a theme in the book and yet, because Cat so easily makes a few religious statements the need for the discussion is gone. Beautifully done.

Ugh, So In Love with this series right now it’s taking all I have to split some of my time with Books that NEED to be read. If someone wouldn’t mind scooting over to my house tonight and reminding me to put Book 3 down…thanks 😉

Rating: 5/5 Paranormal Romance with alotta Heat and alotta Soul

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Monday’s Bite (3)…Twilight Discussion Questions: Ch. 11-15

Discussion questions for chapters 11-15 provided by: The Reading Housewives of Indiana

Monday’s Bite is a weekly meme hosted by GReads, Lisa the Nerd, Secret Life of an Avid Reader, and The Reading Housewives. It’s a reread of Twilight. Taking us all back to the time where we fell in love with the story…And definitely clearing up a few misconceptions I had about the fact of the book and the fiction the movie has clouded my mind with!

This week we read chapters 6-10. The Secret Life of an Avid Reader will be answering The Housewives’ discussion questions from chapters 6-10, as well as proposing new questions for chapters 11-20.  Be sure to check out her blog for all that fun stuff!

Without further ado…The Questions:

1. Do you think the name “Twilight” for this book is fitting with the story? Do you think a better name could have been chosen? What about the series and the names as a whole?

My first time around I didn’t notice this quote:

“”It’s twilight,” Edward murmured,…”It’s the safest time of day for us,” he said, answering the unspoken question in my eyes. “The easiest time. But also the saddest, in a way…the end of another day, the return of the night. Darkness is so predictable, don’t you think?” (232-233, Meyer, 2005 ed.)

I think I like that. The idea that the in between part of the day is the safest. The easiest time for the vampires to be a part of the human race. Dark enough to blend in and yet still a tinge of day left. I think that Bella and Edward’s love story is really the pursuit of finding a love that is safe, and easy, and joyous at the same time. Also, I think you could say that Bella spends the series in her own ‘twilight’ safe in the world of the vampires with the Cullens’ and yet on the cusp of having to leave her human life behind. Exciting and sad all at the same time…I guess I think the name is quite apt.


2. On this re-read, what’s your favorite part of the book? Is it the vampires, setting, plot, characters, Edward, or something else?

I’m enjoying seeing the original love between Edward and Bella. I’m constantly being surprised by how happy they really are for most of the book. The movies have cast this whole melancholy nature over their relationship. And as the books go on it does become more bittersweet and complicated. But, for this first book everything is generally lovey-dovey. It makes me a little sad that we lost that with the movie. 


3. Edward shows his stalkerish/controlling tendencies during these chapters for the first time (at least Bella is aware), did this bother you the first time you read Twilight? Does it bother you now that you’re re-reading it? Should Bella be more worried about it?

haha – I think the first time I read it I wasn’t too bothered by the fact that Edward watched her sleep, but this time around I noticed how freakishly easy Bella took the news. I mean, I have no problem with her readily accepting Edward as a vampire…but I’m kinda wishing she had a little more preservation instinct. I think I’m really sympathizing with Edward in this re-read…Even he wishes Bella was more wary of him!

4. Do you find yourself, during or after reading another paranormal/supernatural book, comparing it to Twilight? If you do, why do you think that is? Is it because it’s popular or because it’s just a book that makes an impact?

Sometimes I do. It was my first experience with insta-love and/or the idea of soul mates. So I guess I can’t help but compare my future insta-love reads with this one. Especially because I was so completely on-board with the idea my first time around with the book. I was all for insta-love after Twilight! It’s still my standard for judging how well other authors pull it off. Now, reading it again, that Meyer pulls off this idea convincingly without any type of explanation…no reincarnation, no curse, no prophesy, she manages to convey believable insta-love with nothing more than sexual tension and smoldering stares…And people say she can’t write, lol.

I just realized I didn’t actually address the question! I don’t compare it to other paranormals. I was more impressed with Meyer’s handling of the paranormal in The Host than Twilight. Don’t get me wrong, Twilight is a great paranormal read…I just tend to use it as an insta-love measuring stick rather than a paranormal one.

5. Bella is introduced to the Cullen Family in chapter 15, who is your favorite Cullen and why?

Alice! I love Alice, I’ve always wished she had more dialogue. But I guess that would push the plot along too fast…she’s bound to talk about the future a little too much. Carlisle is a close second though. I love the scene where his history is revealed.

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