Review: One Grave at a Time by Jeaniene Frost

Note: This review contains spoilers for the previous books in the series.

Here I go again with a new review of Jeaniene Frost’s Night Huntress Series, I know that One Grave at a Time came out a while ago but I am barely catching up with my TBR pile so please bear with me and my really late review.  There is also a Christmas Novella out there but I have yet to read it, I’ll probably write the review some time soon.

As I said in the review of This Side of the Grave, I am not expecting much of any book that comes after Destined for an Early Grave. Cat and Bones got their HEA so everything that happens after that is just going to make me angsty because I’ll be waiting for Cat and Bones to break up or die. In short, impending doom. However, what I got with the last two books proved me wrong and showed me that there are still a lot of things going on in their world which doesn’t necessarily means a book full of heartache.

In the series Cat and Bones have met many dangers and came out victorious. There is a kind of indestructible feel surrounding them that is basically what made me feel like the series was over. This indestructible myth is put to test in One Grave at a Time. We know that Cat and Bones can beat vampires, ghouls, zombies and the kind, but what happens when your enemy is incorporeal and already dead? The plot is about a murderer and powerful ghost (Heinrich Kramer) that has been killing women every Halloween for hundreds of years. Fabian asks Cat’s help to kill this Ghost (or kill him again?) but the favor turned to be almost deadly for all of them, including Ian, Spade, Denise and Cat’s Mom.

This Kramer guy is seriously twisted, he decides to go after Cat when she got in his way and he has several aces up his sleeve that will be quite challenging for our heroine. When Kramer was alive he was a Witch Hunter and he actually wrote a book about how to identify witches. He ordered the dead of Elizabeth, a woman that was unfairly killed under his law and now, as a ghost, is trying to find her revenge. Elizabeth also happens to be Fabian’s love interest.

There a subplot that I personally found more interesting than the main one. It is about the guy who is replacing Cat’s uncle. He is really intriguing and a new addition to the series that makes it more interesting by infusing it with new blood (no pun intended). He is human but he really knows how to deal with vampires, and he despises them. He decides to keep an eye on Cat and he gets in her way all the time, making her job even harder. We don’t really know what’s up with him. Cat’s Uncle is following him everywhere but we still don’t know exactly what his intentions are. There are some clues, though, but I won’t tell you more.

I have a serious complain here, Ms. Frost only gave us one sex scene in the whole book and is so -let’s say different for a lack of a better word- that makes it really hard to believe. While I was reading the scene I was so preoccupied trying to understand the mechanics of it that it completely lost the sexiness that’s so usual when Cat and Bones get together. One thing is for sure, it was unique.  If you have read a more “distinct” sex scene please, enlighten me in the comments.

There are other sexy moments but the magic is gone, at least for me. This fact reinforces my feeling that the story between Bones and Cat is over. Sure, there is plenty to tell and an infinite source of possibilities within the Vampire Huntress World, but I think that their story, as a couple, has been told. They are a strong married couple, they see each other as partners, and there is no doubt that they know what and who they are. What else there is to tell? Oh, I can see impending doom coming with the next book!!!

If there is something that Mrs. Frost keeps doing perfectly, is delivering hilarious dialogues that will make you laugh and enjoy her characters. She also remains true to her characters, so Ian is still Ian and Denise is still the Denise that we met some books ago.  There is this new guy, Tyler that I absolutely love. He is one of the reasons why I’ll read the next books in the series, albeit the impending doom. Ian in particular intrigues me and I want to see who will be his lady (if he gets one).

So there, those are my thoughts.  I enjoyed it and I recommend it to fans of the series. I will keep reading it, but I just hope the next one is better. I want to know the whereabouts of Cat and Bones but I would prefer to read more about other characters.

Review by Marie

Grade: 3

Sensuality: McSexy with one McSteamy

Synopsis:

Having narrowly averted an (under)world war, Cat Crawfield wants nothing more than a little downtime with her vampire husband, Bones. Unfortunately, her gift from New Orleans' voodoo queen just keeps on giving--leading to a personal favor that sends them into battle once again, this time against a villainous spirit.

Centuries ago, Heinrich Kramer was a witch hunter. Now, every All Hallows Eve, he takes physical form to torture innocent women before burning them alive. This year, however, a determined Cat and Bones must risk all to send him back to the other side of eternity--forever. But how do you kill a killer who's already long dead?

One Grave at a Time by Jeaniene Frost

Avon Books, August 30th 2011.