If you have been a fan (as I have) of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and/or Charlaine Harris' Sookie Stackhouse (True Blood books), you probably won't hate Halfway to the Grave but you may have a major sense of deja vu. Put Buffy and Sookie in a blender and you will get Cat - as tough as Buffy with the naivety of Sookie. Now mix Angel and Eric and voila you get Bones - as virile and drop dead gorgeous as Eric with the purity of heart of Angel. Halfway to the Grave isn't just borrowing the vampire cliches, it flat out rips off some of its predecessors with an end result that isn't nearly as fun or entertaining as those it imitates. Certainly more entertaining than the vapid Twilight books, Halfway to the Grave is definitely not as interesting, clever, or well-written as Buffy on TV or the Sookie book series.

Tavia Gilbert doesn't take much away from this mediocre book, but she definitely doesn't make it any better with her narration. Her speaking voice with the narrative is fine, but she's not great with voices and much worse with accents. She makes Cat's Mom, Grandma, and Grandpa sound like characters from a Saturday Night Live sketch. Kind of hard to listen to but Jeaniene Frost has so little character development with any of them, it doesn't matter much. Gilbert's voice for Bones (our vampire hero) is much more difficult to listen to. I guess she is affecting what she thinks is a Cockney accent, but it is more of a caricature of a Cockney and she doesn't even get some of the words right. (She pronouced rogering as though it rhymed with ogre-ing! I'm no expert on Cockney accents, but I know more than Gilbert just from watching Brit-coms. Can't believe no one catches this stuff in production!)

The "Men in Black" ending leaves me with a debate. About 1/2 through this audiobook, I was sure I wouldn't listen to any sequels, but the ending does open a door that could allow Frost to cut a new vampire path and she is a decent writer so I'm not sure now. If Gilbert is the narrator, I'll probably pass, but with a better narrator, maybe Frost could get better.

Frost certainly does stick with the one absolute that guarantees vampire books are here to stay - sex with a vampire is always "shattering"!

I only made it about 2hr in to the book cause the narrator was just too painful to listen to. It's hard to narrate a book when you only have one real to work with putting in bad accents and such to mix it up. The story seemed ok as far as I got but it wasn't worth the assault on my ears to go any further.

I never read the book. I listen to audio so I can get other things done during the day, and while driving.

The first chapters were hard to get through, but the story started to flow after that. the narrators voice and clipped speech, made the story line hard to listen to, making the story almost choppy. The book would have been a good book for teens

Bones voice grated on my ears, and

I started this series because I needed something new. At first I was not sure if I would beable to get through the book, but it turned out to be a fun read. The personal experiences were touching and Tavia tried to perform the correct feelings in to each part. But it was as if she tried to hard, or over did it.

The book is a fun read. This will be my first review that I am unable to recommend the audio-book. But I will say to read the other reviews and make your own decision. You might just enjoy it.

I feel in love with the charatcters in this book. It would be impossible not to. The story line kept me on the edge of my seat. Tavia Gilbert does an amazing job acting this book out. It is hard to believe she was the only one reading. She was a joy to listen to. Loved it!!!

This is the very first time I have checked for other books narrated by Tavia Gilbert. She is truly an amazingly gifted woman. Rarely can you find narrators that do not make you a little crazed with their inability to handle the opposite sex well. She on the other hand does that beautifully and every other person with various dialects. The characters are seamless and engrossing.

This series through to This Side of The Grave is one of those that you get lost in! Looking forward to August for the next in the series.

I'm totally hooked on this series! I'm a big fan of vampire stuff but some of it really misses the mark. This one doesn't disappoint! The story is great with plenty of butt-kicking action, plot twists, steamy sex and funny bits as well. Highly recommend this if you are a Buffy or Sookie Stackhouse fan.

This book was well written and very well narrated. I found it a bit too dark for me to continue on with the series. That is, it gave me a dark feeling while I was reading it. Certain books do that, irrespective of the plot or amount of violence, etc. Not my cup of tea, so I won't continue on, but I don't want to discourage those who might like that feeling more than I do.

I enjoyed the flesh take on vampires i am very selective about my vampire books but this has a good balance. Had to get the next 4 books immediately. Narrate
Tavia Gilbert does a great job with "lower class" English accent for bones.

What a great book! The series would make an exceptional movie!! The narrator is fantastic and the book is very well written.

This series is addicting!!! Highly recommended. The plot is intricate, characters compelling and narration superb. I often forget that I have not seen these in a movie format because once you begin listening you are immediatly emersed into the world of the night huntress - Thank you Jeaniene Frost for sharing your gift.