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| Halfway to the Grave (Night Huntress, Book 1) | 
 enlarge | Author: Jeaniene Frost
Publisher: Avon
Category: Book
List Price: $7.99
Buy New: $2.96
You Save: $5.03 (63%)
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Avg. Customer Rating:  93 reviews
Sales Rank: 3984
Media: Mass Market Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 384
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 6.7 x 4.2 x 1.2
ISBN: 0061245089
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.6
EAN: 9780061245084
ASIN: 0061245089
Publication Date: November 1, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Brand New and Factory Sealed Item Fast Shipping
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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 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.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 88 more reviews...
 A must read for all urban fantasy fans.... November 6, 2007
60 out of 68 found this review helpful
No one believes in vampires... but Cat Crawfield knows better. She's been hunting them for the last 6 years, ever since learning her father is a vampire, a monster who raped her mother. Cat hunts partially to appease her mother, who fears Cat's unusual abilities. But then Cat meets Bones....
Bones isn't like the other vampires. Although he is a master vampire, he doesn't want to kill Cat or even stop her from killing other vampires. Instead, he has a proposition for Cat: work with him to kill specific vampires and he'll teach her all he knows. Will Cat be able to overcome her prejudices long enough to work with Bones?
HALFWAY TO THE GRAVE is the first book in a series from Jeaniene Frost, and it is incredible! Jeaniene Frost has put a new spin on the vampire hunter theme with this spectacular urban fantasy. While there are shades of Buffy, HALFWAY TO THE GRAVE is by no means a carbon copy.
Cat is a spunky heroine, dedicated to avenging her mother. She doesn't want to like Bones, or any other vampire for that matter. After all, her mother has drilled into her head just how evil vampires are... and just how evil the vampire half of Cat is. Killing vampires is the only way she can redeem herself, or is it?
Cat's desire to do the right thing is admirable. Her feisty attitude is fun but it is her dedication to her mom that makes her so likeable. Bones is the perfect vampire to team her up with. His calm and patient demeanor contrasts well with Cat's impulsive nature.
Readers should note that while there is some romance in the tale, HALFWAY TO THE GRAVE is not a paranormal romance nor is the ending necessarily complete. Instead, HALFWAY TO THE GRAVE is the first book in a series and thus there are some issues, even major ones, that are left as cliffhangers for the next book.
Jeaniene Frost has vaulted to the top ranks of the ever growing urban fantasy field with HALFWAY TO THE GRAVE. I can't rave enough about this tale as it kept me positively spellbound. HALFWAY TO THE GRAVE is a must read for all urban fantasy fans!
COURTESY OF CK2S KWIPS AND KRITIQUES
 A Disappointing Debut December 18, 2007
42 out of 58 found this review helpful
I very much wished to like this novel. The author seems highly personable, I am drawn to supernaturally oriented works, and it came recommended.
Certainly, the author put energy into the work, and the cover art is lovely. The premise is that the half-vampire, half-human vampire slayer Catherine is in a romance with a full-blooded mercenary vampire, Bones. Together, they fight more malevolent vampires, and the plot is essentially sex and slaying. This all takes place in Ohio, which is inexplicably porous to dark fantasy.
The author gets tangled in her own web. On one hand, Catherine, a product of a vampire's sexual assault upon her human mother, becomes an avenging angel against the evil undead and sexual predators. Yet the author never misses a chance to put her in provocative clothing or in a highly sexual situation to titillate the audience.
There is little or no character development, and the character Bones is indeed a charmless copy of Spike from "Buffy the Vampire Slayer." His accent is a caricature, throwing out "blimey," bloke," or "luv" at any opportunity.
The prose ranges from the cliche ("This was the moment of truth") to the awkward ("Inside my belt were jammed other deadly goodies") to the redundant ("His tone was immediately apologetic. `I'm sorry...'" ).
This is just my opinion, but other authors do this genre much better, such as Kim Harrison, Jim Butcher, or the early Laurell K. Hamilton. Or if you are into classic vampire tales, I'd go with Matheson's "I Am Legend" or King's "Salem's Lot." I'd check them out before this one.
 trashy goodness March 31, 2008
37 out of 42 found this review helpful
This book is like a box of movie-theater candy: no nutritional value, probably not what you would choose if you could have whatever you wanted, but at the right time and the right place, it really hits the spot.
Honestly, I'm not sure why I liked this book. When I remember it, all I can think of are plotholes big enough to drive a truck through (Cat the blushing-virgin-cum-practiced-seductress' relationship with Bones the altruistic-bad-boy-vampire is high on the list; also anything to do with law enforcement), characters that never seemed real and were rarely likable (see above; then add everyone else in the book), and a splashy, utterly ridiculous conclusion. The vampires have glowing green eyes and some of them fly and Cat runs around in skanky dresses throwing silver knives. It's not just trashy, it's campy.
But...I did like it. For all the bad things I could say about it, it was still good escapist fun. It's full of drama and silliness and sexual tension. Bones is enough of a bad boy that it makes your heart go pitter-pat when he goes soft for a girl, and it goes pitter-pat when he's not so nice, too.
This is heavily qualified praise, but if you are on the lookout for the kind of zoning-out, guilty pleasure read I've described, this will do just fine.
Fantastic! November 6, 2007
23 out of 28 found this review helpful
When I started this book, I wasn't sure if I was going to like it but after a couple of pages I was totally hooked. The author found her stride and took off running delivering a story that was interesting, exciting, funny and just totally enjoyable. I hope she has planned on a long series. Her name has most definitely been put on my list of favorite authors.
Just a little advice - when you plan to read this book make sure you set aside time to read it from start to finish without stopping. I wish now I had started reading it on the weekend instead of having to snatch moments to read a little bit at a time. The book definitely deserves your full, undivided attention. You won't be disappointed.
 Borrows from Buffy/Blade too much. November 25, 2007
18 out of 27 found this review helpful
I have mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand, I enjoyed it; fast-paced, engaging, genuinely scary in places, and hot, with a believably paced romance and an interesting set-up.
But as a huge fan of the show Buffy the Vampire Slayer, good grief, could Bones be any more like Spike? Both English vampires who aren't pure evil and hunt bad vampires, both use 'bugger', 'bollocks' and 'luv'; both are in love with a vampire slayer. Both have pale hair, chiseled cheekbones and ripped abs. There's a nurturing character called 'Tara', something similar to the Initiative and, the point at which I gave up, Cat plans to give him a black leather trenchcoat just like the duster Spike wore.
The many similarities spoiled the book for me. There's only one Spike and one BtVS.
Cat's origins are also highly reminiscent of 'Blade', another half-human, half-vampire whose mother was attacked/raped by a vampire and who was born with all the benefits of being a vampire and none of the weaknesses, and the blood tears (and semen) that get mentioned often, well, paging Anne Rice...
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