GENRE: Urban Fantasy
PUBLISHED: Avon Books, 2007
SERIES: “A Night Huntress Novel” #1
WHY THIS NOVEL: Jace recommended it.
FLIRTING WITH THE GRAVE…
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.
There are three things for which I like this novel:
#1: A woman growing up
Cat is a 22 year-old girl in the beginning of the novel. She’s an oddity. She’s half human, half vampire, and she’s made it her job to hunt vampires. She’s living with her mother and her grandparents and about to start college.
It’s a setup that reminded me strongly of Buffy, even more so when she goes and teams up with a vampire to hunt other vampires. She’s also more on the shy side, rather prude, and blushes easily in the beginning but Bones takes care of that.
Over the course of the story, Cat is coming into her own. She has to find out who she really is. Is she the person her mother wants her to be?
In Bones words, this question boils down to:
“[…] All I’m saying is that sooner or later, you’ll have to come to terms with yourself. You can’t wish away the vampire in you, and you shouldn’t keep atoning for it. You should figure out who you are and what you need, and then don’t apologize for it. Not to me, to your mum, or to anyone.” (259)
Is she the person Bones wants her to be?
This isn’t actually the right question because Bones loves Cat unconditionally. But at the end of the novel, Cat has to answer this question and her answer is her last step into maturity after standing up against and dictating her terms to several authority figures already. At the end of the novel, Cat is a 22 year-old woman.
#2: Shades of gray
Since the age of sixteen, when Cat learned about her father and her heritage to help explain her unusualness, Cat lived with the world firmly divided into black (vampires) and white (humans). It’s her mother’s world view and there’s no surprise her mother sees it like that because of her own experiences with a vampire. Being half vampire, Cat believes that something evil is inside her and that she has to fight it.
So when she’s forced into a situation where she has to team up with Bones, a vampire, she’s horrified. But she accepts and slowly goes from wanting to stake Bones, to thinking he’s not all that evil, to sleeping with him, and then to loving him. And while she discovers that not all vampires are black, she also discovers that not all humans are white. This, too, is an important step in her growing up.
#3: Look, it’s a relationship!
One of the first things Cat says to Bones is: “Want to fuck?”
He answers that question on their second meeting with: “I’m ready to fuck now.”
While I can see that this question might be a good way to get a man’s attention, I only have a hazy idea what made Bones fall in love with Cat (what did he see initially in a 22 year-old girl?). But there is no haziness about the fact that he is in love with Cat. His love and admiration for Cat is unwavering, it’s Cat who isn’t so clear about her feelings (see #1 and #2 for why).
Halfway to the Grave is one of the few novels where I actually have the impression that the main protagonists have some kind of a relationship and that’s not just because the story isn’t over after just a few days. Part of that might be because they are together without Cat fully admitting to their relationship. Bones waits patiently for her and is more than ready and willing to deal with all hurdles in their way. But that doesn’t mean he isn’t hurt when Cat doesn’t admit to them being a couple in front of others or that he doesn’t get jealous, like when he meets Cat’s neighbor Timmie.
His apology for being rude to Timmie gives a good idea what Bones is like:
“Right, then, mate, terribly sorry for my unspeakable rudeness, and I do beg your pardon,” he said with admirable humbleness when Timmie cracked it [the door] open. Only I could pick up the slight edge to his voice as he went on. “I can only say that it was caused by my natural affront to the notion of her as my sister. Since I’ll be shagging her tonight, you can imagine how I’d be distressed at the thought of rogering my sibling.” (225)
A nice mix of politeness and rudeness with some sarcasm thrown in. Spike (from the TV series Buffy) anyone?
This and that
- I liked Frost’s writing style. I thought this novel a fast and enjoyable read.
- I wrote that Cat is a woman at the end of the novel but I’m doubtful she’s up to the task she’s facing then.
- There are some inconsistencies and maybe even a few stupid moves in the story.
- I guess you either like Cat or you don’t. Since Halfway to the Grave is told in 1st person, that’s probably the deciding factor how much you’re going to enjoy the novel.
Verdict: I liked Halfway to the Grave. As I said, it reminded me strongly of Buffy. And the way it ends, I know one or two movies with a similar premise. I’ll have to find out. (4/5)
Recent Reads
23 DecPairie Moon by Maggie Osborne
Prarie Moon is a poignant story of two lost people finding each other. It’s also a slow-paced story that follows Della and James on their way to Atlanta where Della wants to look for her daughter whom she had to leave behind when she came west several years before.
I loved the first two thirds of the novel. I loved how Della slowly fell for James, how they had time to get to know each other, and how their attraction grew stronger and stronger. And as an added bonus, James had been halfway in love with Della for years just based on a photograph he had of her. So when he realizes that Della is actually attracted to him, too, he nearly can’t believe it. Only of course, there is a big obstacle on the way to their HEA, one that seems unsurmountable. Knowing you could have what you longed for for many years and knowing if you tell the truth, it won’t happen…lots of angst.
But I only liked the last few chapters. I don’t know, I just had the impression that the story fizzled out and the way Della’s quest for her daughter ended left me feeling “huh?” I thought it more a deux-ex-machina device than really part of the story. I guess I needed more explanation there to really buy it. (4/5)
~ * * * ~
Dime Store Magic by Kelley Armstrong
I’m rather sure this is my favorite novel in the Women of the Otherworld series so far. I liked the bigger world in this novel and thought the characters interesting. Paige’s life is losing track fast and most of the time, all she can do is react but there is one thing she’s determined to keep at all costs: Savannah. I thought her brave that she didn’t just roll over and gave Savannah up. Savannah seemed like a fairly typical teenager although at times she seemed to have more of a clue than Paige. And Lucas…I really liked him. A nice difference from most male characters in romance novels. And I love that Armstrong’s characters sound different from each other.
Two problems: the way the Coven is represented in this story…I just can’t see it as “the world’s most powerful elite organizations” and I don’t understand why it’s so important to Paige to be its leader expect maybe because she inherited the position from her mother. Second, the romance between Paige and Lucas – talk about undeveloped. There’s nothing and then one evening, they jump into the laundry and that’s it. I was surprised because based on what went before I actually thought there would be no romance in this story, maybe in a later novel. And it actually was not a realy problem because I don’t read this series looking for a romance but now that it was there, I was bothered by the the lack of build-up (there’s one small hint that Lucas might be interested). (4/5)
PS: I’m already halfway through Armstrong’s Industrial Magic.
Tags: "Women of the Otherworld" series, book comment, Kelley Armstrong, Maggie Osborne, urban fantasy, western