One Foot in the Grave

I love the cast of characters assembled in this book. Bones and cat both have so much going on, but they still laugh and jump in head first at times with clever sarcasm and witty banter. There's a great balance of content with action, drama, and romance. There a few tiny continuity issues with details set up early on, or even from the first book, mostly insignificant to me; so four ~ four and a half stars.

Very worth while reading, as long as you love paranormal/action/romance/drama, all served up with a copious doses of sarcasm and wit.

The only truly frustrating aspect is her familial relationships with her mom and uncle, I'd like to see growth there. Either finally push for a real relationship built on love and honesty or break the show more cycle of emotional abuse and manipulation. Sadly, her uncle is well ahead of her mother in both areas.

Also, I've got to say from the very first conversation between the mother and daughter I knew her story of cat's origin was at least partially false if not entirely fabricated. That woman is caring a tremendous amount of shame, and subsequently shaming her daughter for existing. However, the tone of her shame, derision, and bitterness didn't feel like it matched the trauma she claimed to have suffered. I felt the hostility of her character read more like a person who'd been duped, scammed in a way that shattered her trust and her self image. So she punishes herself and her daughter for the shame and stupidity she feels for allowing herself to be in that situation. The toxic cycle has festered and grown and is choking the life out of her. I'm not saying she wasn't violated, but it was her trust and her perception of the world that actually was violated, and she's never allowed herself to heal because she's too ashamed to even admit that at first she was a willing participant in cat's creation, carrying that burden silently means she can't face it and she can't be helped. I'm hoping as I read book three that the real story will be revealed. show less

Ottima anche questa prova di Jeaniene Frost! Il secondo volume della saga Night Huntress non delude e, anzi, se possibile risulta perfino migliore del primo.

Dalla separazione da Bones, avvenuta cinque anni prima, Cat è cresciuta e maturata riuscendo a conquistarsi una sorta di tranquilla routine giornaliera. Combatte per il distaccamento speciale dell'FBI, ha degli amici, frequenta perfino un uomo, fra una missione suicida e l'altra. La sua vita è regolare e si impegna costantemente per dare il massimo in quella che ormai è diventata una missione: cacciare vampiri che hanno ucciso degli umani; il fatto che sia lei stessa vampiro, per metà, non la sconvolge più di tanto.

E' rapida, spietata e ad assolutamente letale: è la Mietitrice show more Rossa.

Purtroppo però, la sua falsa tranquillità non è destinata a durare e alla fine il suo amore per Bones la spinge a compiere un errore che metterà in moto una serie d'eventi che la porteranno allo scoperto, o meglio fra le braccia di Bones che questa volta non avrà nessuna intenzione di lasciarsi sfuggire la sua Micetta.

Cat cercherà in ogni modo di resistere alla forza che inevitabilmente la trascinerà verso il suo vampiro ma nulla varrà la sua resistenza, nemmeno l'arrivo di una ex fiamma del passato di Bones, nonchè sua "figlia di sangue", riuscirà a tenerli separati...

La storia coinvolge immediatamente e cattura l'attenzione del lettore che si ritrova a vorticare assieme a Cat mentre abbatte un vampiro che la voleva rapire, o volare da una vetrata con Bones mentre cerca di sfuggire da un cecchino.

Bones è un personaggio assolutamente favoloso, per niente servile ma decisamente disposto a prendersi quello che vuole alla sua maniera senza, però, violare la libertà della sua donna, non si tira indietro facendo lo zerbino ma non si mette neanche a fare il super macho della situazione che deve "proteggere" Cat ad ogni costo da ogni minimo problema, sa perfettamente che la sua donna è capace di difendersi, l'ha addestrata lui dopotutto, ma è sempre pronto a sorreggerla e aiutarla quando serve... Nonchè a darle una bella lavata di testa quando si comporta da ragazzina immatura. Non dimentichiamo che la differenza d'età fra i due si conta in secoli, mica brucolini.

Cat è un personaggio femminile veramente azzeccato: piace perchè non è piagnucolosa nè patetica ma, anzi, è divertente, impulsiva, schietta e a volte tremendamente imbarazzante. C'è di bello che, alla fine, per quanto testarda, non è una specie di Terminetor in gonnella, ricorda in un certo senso l'Anita Blake dei primi tempi, quando ancora non si era trasformata in Dio.Io.Posso.Tutto.

I personaggi secondari sono tutti molto ben curati e si amalgamano benissimo con la storia "d'amore" fra i due protagonisti, non a caso stiamo parlando di un Urban Fantasy: azione e amore si completano in egual misura.

Traduzione ben fatta, copertina niente male (anche se da un Adult Fantasy ci si aspetterebbe qualcosa di più "maturo") e prezzo equilibrato e coerente. C'è da dire, inoltre, che la saga principale è comporta da soli 4 libri, il che è un altro punto a suo favore visto che attualmente vanno tremendamente di moda le saghe infinite... Ma visto che i nostri portafogli infiniti non sono, Jeaniene Frost ha tutto il nostro rispetto! show less

Still fun, in that way stories that combine sex, blood, kick-ass females and the undead tend to be fun when they are done right. I actually got a little teary in the final scene. I'm also enjoying the main character getting over some of her adolescent stupidity and handling things a bit better. Angst! is entertaining in the proper doses. I'm heading on to the third book in the series on audio.

I love that Cat Crawfield works for the government with a "Special Forces" team, instead of the usual rogue behavior that I read in many Urban Fantasy series. It's interesting that it takes Bones this long to find Cat, and by a seeming coincidence at that. It occurred to me while reading that if Bones really was as good at what he does as he says he is, then he would have found her within the first year easily.
Skipping ahead to the best part about this series, in my personal opinion, is the sexual chemistry between Cat and Bones. I confess, my curiosity about chapter 32 of this book, after reading a book review that made vague hints about it, is what propelled me to start this series. I actually read that chapter first once I got my show more hands on this book to satisfy my curiosity, and words can not describe how hot this chapter is! So often, I find that sex scenes in novels abuse cliches or do not use the details adequately for my personal tastes, but this chapter throws conventional decorum out the window without disgusting me or making me too uncomfortable to read. Plus, the more fantastical aspects of the two characters made for some unique and handy details that Jeaniene Frost used quite well to create such heat between Cat and Bones. Yes, I read that chapter several more times before I turned the book back into the library.
Cat Crawfield has really grown into a character of strength and determination from the first book, Halfway to the Grave (Night Huntress, Book 1). She knows how to use her abilities to their maximum potential and her self-confidence is strong enough to stand up to even her mother. No longer is she like a pupil to Bones' instruction, but an equal to him in every way that matters. Bones is just as cocky and alluring as he ever was - I wouldn't change a thing about him. It is obvious that he has more than a few secrets up his sleeve, but I don't mind the wait.
I find it intriguing how Cat can alter perceptions and prejudices of the people around her as easily as she does, as is shown with the men on her team. This shows just how much potential she carries to change her world on a larger scale. I can't wait to pick up the next book in the series, At Grave's End (Night Huntress, Book 3). show less

Review courtesy of AllThingsUrbanFantasy.blogspot.com

ONE FOOT IN THE GRAVE picks up four years after the events in Halfway to the Grave. After accepting a deal from the FBI that would ensure the safety of her vampire lover Bones, Cat is now leading a team of agents working as a branch of Homeland Security specializing in hunting down vampires. She’s worked hard to try and forget Bones, and its a constant battle to remind herself that running away from him was the only way to save him. But when a hit gets taken out for the Little Red Reaper (aka Cat), Bones is the only one who can help save her.

Jeaniene Frost skirts the PNR/UF line beautifully in ONE FOOT IN THE GRAVE. There is a strong romantic theme throughout with Cat and Bones, but show more that doesn’t diminish the solid urban fantasy plot either. Cat fully has her own story here involving chasing down her own personal history and finding out more about both her human and vampire halves. Also balancing the openly hostile humans in her life with the vampires and ghouls she’s come to depend on.

This is the one time where I’m afraid that the sexual content breakdown of a story could possibly be longer than the actual review. I mean this is the book that contains the infamous Chapter 32. And if you’re familiar with my reviews, you know I typically don’t love to read extremely graphic sex scenes, but at least I was prepared this time (On a side note if you don’t want to read super graphic sex described, you can easily skip over Ch. 32 without missing any plot developments). Prepared or not, Ch. 32 deserves its fame (or infamy, depending on your perspective). I will say that about halfway through the chapter, for me it took a decidedly unsexy turn.

Aside from Ch. 32, I enjoyed the story of ONE FOOT IN THE GRAVE. I appreciated the maturity of Cat and the time the author gave her between books to acquire skills and friendships apart from Bones. And of course Bones is still the walking, talking personification of sex. He still is Spike (from Buffy) for me, so of course every scene he’s in makes my heart go pitter pat. There is something so sexy about how fiercely he wants Cat, and not just sexually. His love for her is completely believable. And for me, that’s more than enough to keep me reading this series.

Sexual Content: A scene of sensuality. A brief non-graphic sex scene. References to sex, rape, oral sex, bisexuality, ménage à trois +. *Chapter 32* one long, extremely graphic sex scene (including graphic oral & anal sex). show less

The Good: The Cat and Bones dynamic is super sexy. They're very close, but at the same time, they're starting all over again after having been apart for so long. They're still learning about each other and what has transpired in their time apart. Some decent revelations here, mostly unexpected. The mystery didn't feel like a traditional mystery in that we were searching for answers as much as we were seeing how the characters were dealing with the problem. We were waiting to see how everything turned out for them.

The Bad: I had to keep reminding myself that this wasn't the first book in the series and that I had actually read the previous book. While Cat was a familiar character, her situation was much different that the previous book. show more The world building has been established, but there was a huge amount of government job specific building that really made it feel like we were starting over. Normally, that would be fine, but being only the second book in the series, I would have wanted to get more character centric progress as opposed to having to rework a lot of what we had experienced in the first book. show less

I think this is as good as the first book in the series, though it doesn't leave you hanging at the end so the urge to go out and buy book 3 immediately isn't completely overwhelming (of course, I DID go out and buy book 3 immediately... it just wasn't an *overwhelming* urge that made me do so.)

The main female character is strong and determined and independent and yet is loyal and honest and does the "right thing" without the author devolving into preaching about what the "right thing" should be. Oh, and there's some great sex in here too. Not some flowery "and then he took her" but some good ol' fashioned shagging (and if you find that offensive, you might want to skip the main sex scene entirely 'cause there wasn't much ol' fashioned show more about it).

Great characters, great drama, great sex... oh, and some laugh-out-loud funny parts too - a great story and now I'm off to read book 3. show less