Tuesday, May 6, 2008

One Foot in the Grave by Jeaniene Frost

So, I bought this book as soon as it came out. As I stated here, I greatly enjoyed HTTG, the first book in the series. I thought it was interesting & funny. I liked the interplay between Cat & Bones and even interviewed Jeaniene right after reading the book.


Here's the blurb for OFITG-You can run from the grave, but you can't hide...
Half-vampire Cat Crawfield is now Special Agent Cat Crawfield, working for the government to rid the world of the rogue undead. She's still using everything Bones, her sexy and dangerous ex, taught her, but when Cat is targeted for assassination, the only man who can help her is the vampire she left behind.

Being around Bones awakens all her emotions, from the adrenaline rush of slaying vamps side by side to the reckless passion that consumed them. But a price on her head - wanted: dead or half-alive - means her survival depends on teaming up with Bones. And no matter how hard Cat tries to keep things professional between them, she'll find that desire lasts forever ... and Bones won't let her get away again.



Okeydokey...where to start? Over on Dear Author, Jane reviewed the book, giving it a C-. She brought up some very valid points as to her issues with this book & I agree with some of those views.

In Halfway to the Grave, Cat (the heroine), was an immature 23 year old vampire/human hybrid who lived to kill vampires. That is, until she meets Bones. Bones makes her rethink the reason why she hates vampires so much.

They fall in lust, have lots of hot sex, her mother hates him, so she leaves him kind of thing. Anywho, I'm digressing.

In OFITG, it's now 4 years later and Cat is now a special agent in a secret government organization that fights bad paranormal stuff (ie, vampires). Now she runs her own team of human men.

Hmm...how do I state this? Maybe I'll list things I liked & things I didn't like. It'll put things in perspective.


What I liked-

Bones, of course. He's just so...yummy! Yes, he makes me think of Spike from Buffy, but that's not a bad thing. I loved Spike! :D

The world-building. It's interesting & different.

The writing-Jane had issues with the writing, but I don't. I think Ms. Frost's writing is crisp & fast-paced. I hate sssssllllloooowwww build-ups, especially in urban fantasy/paranormal romance.


What I didn't like-

Cat. The book is written in 1st person, so everything is told from Cat's POV. This would be fine if she wasn't so bull-headed and just plain stupid at certain points of the book. Instead of admitting she was wrong for leaving Bones behind, she makes up stupid excuses and is just a witch! And the fact that she just kept putting her foot in her mouth made me want to slap her upside the head! *headdesk*

The end of the book. Obviously I will not go into details for anyone who is interested in reading it, but the end just killed me (and not in a good way). The so-called "resolution" just left a sick taste in my mouth. And what is up with a certain character who will not be named but is a major player & the reason why Cat is who she is? What a jerk!

And the language! Cat went from calling vamps suck-heads to swearing with a hard-core potty mouth throughout the whole book. I wanted to wash her mouth out with soap. I don't mind a few swear words sprinkled through books for flavor, but when every other word is a word I HATE with a passion, well it got annoying very fast.

Oh...and Cat's mother! Argh! What a freaked out shrew! There is one point in the book near the end where I snorted out loud because it was just too...funny to me. But, wow, she's the ultimate freakshow of a parent. I just wanted Cat to shoot her & put her out of her misery.

So where does this leave me? In some ways I greatly enjoyed OFITG. As always, it's a fast-paced romp through kicking vampire butt. In others it was downright annoying. I always feel so bad when I don't like a book as much as I hoped. Will I read the 3rd one? Yes, but specifically for Bones. I just want to smack Cat upside the head for her stupidity.


My Rating: D for Cat & her psychotic mother
B- for Bones

Equals out to about a C, I'm thinking. It wasn't horrible, but I was disappointed.

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