This was a re-read from years and years ago. *sigh* I totally forgot how good it was, even now I'm like... I HAVE TO READ MORE!
That's what Cat and Bones do to you ;)

Worldbuilding:
A rich (and volatile) present-day urban fantasy, what more do you want? We have sentient ghosts, English vampires and who knows what else out there.
While Cat is part of the supernatural scene, she doesn't know much about it, so we get all the info alongside her. There never is an information dump, but we slowly and steadily get to know what's going on in the vampire world and how close it is tied to our own.
Scenes and environments were very well described and detailed enough to stay fully immersed in the story.

Character development:
Our cast is amazing, seriously. Prepare to get emotionally invested and enjoy the wild ride.
Catherine, but call her Cat, is a hybrid: half-human and half-vampire. She has been hunting and killing vampires for the last 6 years until one fateful night she met Bones. Ahhhh where to start... I really like that he's so different from the usual vampire stock (as in not dark and broody). I mean, he's English! :D
Both of our main characters are well fleshed out, with a colourful past, their own fears, hopes and dreams for the future.
I don't know, but Cat and Bones just make such an awesome pair. Yes, they kick ass and protect each other, but it goes way deeper and that just makes me sigh with a grin on my face.

Pacing and flow:
As I've said before, it's a wild ride, but sooooo worth it! There is a lot of action going on but perfectly balanced by the conversations that drive the story forward.
There wasn't any part that I felt took too long or felt rushed. The story was told at its own pace and that was perfect.

The book:
The book itself was well written with no (noticeable) errors. There is sex described (if that is important to you).
It's 358 pages long, spread over 27 chapters and told from Cat's point of view.

Final thoughts:
To hell with it, I'm reading the next book immediately afterwards! I can't recommend this series often enough, even if you're not sure, read a sample and you'll be as hooked as I am ;) That just leaves me with one more thing to say: enjoy ;) ( )

This was mostly a decent 3 star read for me but there is something at the very end I found so infuriating I subtracted a star and never even considered reading the second volume for a long time.
The entire forced break-up (I guess you can't really call it that) made no sense. There was not a shread of logic behind it. The only reason it was there was as enticement to read the second book. It was incredibly blatant and cheap. I am still mad about it a year later. If you deftly craft your first book to end in a place which lures the reader to continue by leaving something unresolved that will be relevant in the next book that is fine. But just blatantly adding something that makes no sense and goes against the characters personality just to force such a situation that is a huge no-go for me. ( )

audiobook 7/29/2013

There is something about this book that really turns me off (aside from Cat's immaturity and her horrible mother). Unfortunately this unnameable thing is really highlighted by listening to the audiobook. The narrator is good and I'd give the audiobook 4 stars just for the narration. ( )

This was alright. Pretty big focus on sex, sexual inneundo and romance though and I'm not sure it really added anything to the story. The 'I love you's' came out of nowhere and felt insincere, farfetched and unrealistic. Would have been a stronger story if they had just liked each other and dated and let the emotions grow. I didn't really feel like I connected to any of the characters, they all fell like of flat. I liked Bones but Cat was kind of boring. The story itself was average. There were some great lines that had me chuckling but overall lacks depth. Not sure if I'll pick up the next one. 2 stars. ( )

I’ve had this on my list for a while, and I’m glad I finally got to it, but I think it will be one of those that improves further into the series. Cat was an annoying character for a good chunk of the book, and when the narrator is annoying, it’s tough going. But the story is as much about Cat growing up and overcoming her upbringing as it is about vampire hunting and conspiracies, and she did grow on me as she wised up. I loved Bones, and I will probably read the series for his sake, if nothing else.
Sometimes I find I need to give a series a few books—I didn’t fall in love with the Dresden Files until book three—before I decide yay or nay. I wasn’t swept off my feet by this one, but I liked it enough to give the next book a try.
The author’s notes at the end about how the series came about and why certain scenes had to be edited out were fun to read and won me over. ( )