Halfway to the Grave

Night Huntress, Book 1

By: Jeaniene Frost

Narrated by: Tavia Gilbert

Length: 11 hrs and 18 mins

Publisher's summary

Half-vampire Catherine Crawfield is going after the undead with a vengeance, hoping that one of these deadbeats is her father - the one responsible for ruining her mother's life. Then she's captured by Bones, a vampire bounty hunter, and is forced into an unlikely partnership.

In exchange for help finding her father, Cat agrees to train with the sexy night stalker until her battle reflexes are as sharp as his fangs. She's amazed she doesn't end up as his dinner…are there actually good vampires? Pretty soon, Bones will have her convinced that being half-dead doesn't have to be all bad. But before she can enjoy her status as kick-ass demon hunter, Cat and Bones are pursued by a group of killers. Now Cat will have to choose a side...and Bones is turning out to be as tempting as any man with a heartbeat.

©2007 Jeaniene Frost (P)2010 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

“Take one half-human/half-vampire female with serious anger and parental issues, add in a sexy ancient vampire with his own agenda, and you have the makings for a truly combustible series. Sign me up for the sequel!” (Romantic Times)

Starts off good, gets melodramatic

Cat Crawfield is half human and half vampire, her mother having been raped by a vampire, which left her pregnant. Cat has hated her vampire side her whole life and started hunting them in her teens, with her mom’s blessing. Now in her early 20s, she’s come across Bones, a vampire bounty hunter. Seems like a great person to team up with, right? Alas, Bones is also a vampire and Cat is torn between her single-minded approach to vampires (stake them and bury them) and her desire to learn more about vampires in order to hunt down her father.

This was a mostly fun paranormal romance. There’s a lot of witty banter, though by the end it was getting predictable. The characters started off interesting but then melodrama set in and I was wobbling about finishing it towards the end. While the romance was a bit silly, the sex scenes were pretty good – steamy and sweet.

Cat has a lot of hang ups which aren’t a big deal at the beginning of the book. Her unusual heritage and her mom’s hatred of vampires drive Cat to excel at her evening past time – going to clubs, luring vampires to secluded spots with the promise of sex, and staking them. She then buries them in the family orchard – vampnure! She had to learn much of what she knows on her own and there’s been no one to train her. So, that’s pretty impressive.

Alas, she has this whiny side. We all have one, and I don’t mind a character sharing a bit of it in a story, but she whined about something the entire book. First, she has no friends because she’s this outcast in a small town since her mother had her out of wedlock. Well, aren’t there other outcasts that you can at least sit around and commiserate with? There’s always other outcasts. So the idea of her never having a single other friend by her early 20s just seemed a bit over done. As the story progresses, she has hangups about her developing friendship and romantic interest in Bones. He’s a vampire and she’s also a bit afraid of sex, having only one other short lived experience. Near the end, it’s all gotten a bit too melodramatic for my tastes and Bones adds his own melodrama over their relationship as well. This was my biggest turn off for the book. I wanted more bad guy butt kicking and burying, more character development, and less angsty weeping heart-on-the-sleeve stuff.

The plot was decent. Bones has been in the bounty hunter business for some time and he’s made some friends and some enemies. Cat has an obvious goal – hunt down her father. Initially, it’s just Cat and Bones doing some training and then some work together. Then Bones introduces her to some of his friends and some frenemies. There’s plenty of action and injuries.

I really liked that we learned some of Bones’s earliest background later in the story and I especially liked that it forced Cat to rethink some of her assumptions about Bones. I think that Bones could be a rather interesting character if he wasn’t all hung up on Cat and her drama.

The ending was OK. The melodrama was a big part of it. But I did like that Cat had to make some hard decisions in order to keep some control over her own life. One of my favorite parts of the book was Bones calling Cat out on her hypocrisy. Since Cat hasn’t had a real friend before this both hurt and was truthful so it was big stepping stone for Cat to see the truth in it and decide what to do with it. I know several people really enjoy this series and I’m on the fence about continuing it. It’s fun in a brainless, just tune out the world sort of way, but the melodrama coupled with the narrator’s voice for Bones… not so hot.

Narration: Tavia Gilbert did a great job with voice of Cat. She sounded like a 22 year old female vampire hunter with a chip on her shoulder. However, I didn’t really like her voice for Bones. He’s suppose to have this English-Australian accent that’s been softened by 200+ years of living wherever he likes. However, her voice for him is over done and not sexy at all, which normally wouldn’t be too important except he is the main love interest in a romance novel. Gilbert did do a great job of imbuing the voices with emotion and I liked her voice for the alcoholic ghost, Winston.

surprisingly delicious

I was a little skeptical at first thinking the storyline was going to be a little too Twilight-ish but I was wrong. Yes, there are vampires and it has male vampire meets female, but other than that similarity, the storyline is different and engrossing and I was surprised how quickly I got into the story and couldn't wait to take a break to listen to what happens next. The narrator is phenomenal and has been put into my list of favorite narrators such as Jim Dale, Ilyana Kadushin and Alan Rickman. The language is strong, at least for me, but that's because I simply don't use foul language, not that I don't hear others use it, and I do not offend easily, but if that is a deal breaker, you might want to be prepared. I think this is a good story and a very good narrator, when you couple these two together, it becomes a phenomenal listen.

Love this series

Who was your favorite character and why?

Bones is by far my favorite character. I continue to wish there was a book from his POV.

Have you listened to any of Tavia Gilbert’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I have to say that I didn't get this audio series for a long time b/c of the negative reviews of Ms Gilbert's Bones. I had read all the books, so I didn't want to ruin my love of the character. I have never been so glad to be wrong. Ms. Gilbert's interpretation of Bones is spot on, if you are familiar with British culture. She does a "cockney" accent for Bones, which is exactly what the son of a prostitute at the time Bones grew up would sound like. Think the Artful Dodger in Oliver. He did not have the cultured accent of a Colin Firth or Spade, b/c he did not grow up in that world. But that is what most people are use to. I loved her performance.

Loved it! Balanced entertainment

The book has exactly the right mix of action, smoochies, sex, hints at existential questions and makes a point about responsibility for one's actions and their consequences regardless of what you are.

Kat is my favourite, she is the perfect 'didn't ask for it, but will do my best type of person', knows how to live passionately. Her mother is a character you love to hate: narrow-minded, with a victim's view of everything justified or not, continuously nagging about how everyone including her own daughter wronged her by her very birth and existence and now must put up with her despotism and lack of compassion. It would be nice to see if she grows out of her infantilism or is it senility.

On negative side the book is a bit short - for me- but then again ! I love that it's only the first one. :)

Vamp like no others

It was interesting buy I didn't love it.
Cliffhanger at the end. Could have been more realistic, she was half vampire half wonderwoman....

I'm hooked on this series!!!

It took a while to get into because the way the narrator does Bones's voice sounds like he should look more like Gollam than the hot vampire he's supposed to be. I started substituting narrator's voice of Bones (yes in my head) w Paul Bettany's (in my head I think Paul would make a fantastic Bones)!!! I'm completely hooked!!!! This series is dangerously addictive!!!

Good book, bad male voices

Would you listen to another book narrated by Tavia Gilbert?

No, she made Bones sound nasally and annoying. I had already read the book before buying the audio, and Bones reads as a sexy, smooth character. Between the nasal quality and bad accent, I found myself hoping Kat would stake him and just end it.

I'm now addicted to this series

What made the experience of listening to Halfway to the Grave the most enjoyable?

The build of the characters with Bones and Cat. They really are complex characters and as you get to know them you get to understand their reasoning.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Cat. I feel like I've been in her place a few times and she's a great relatable character - even though it's a fantasy genre.

Which character – as performed by Tavia Gilbert – was your favorite?

Bones. The accent threw me off at first, but now I can't imagine anything else for him.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

The humor Bones had and a few of Cats bone headed reactions made me laugh.

Smexy Urban Fantasy

WooHoo!! I love it when I discover a series that is all out!!! I can not wait to dive into these. This is going to be delicious entertainment for the rest of the week.

Cat is a totally kick butt chick! She takes not crap from anybody! Love all her snark and sass. She is easily up there with all my favorite UF heroines. She has a hard road because of her family, but she does not let it get her down. It takes her a while to accept herself, thankfully she did not spend the time being uber-angsty.

Bones is totally delicious! I love a guy with an accent. He is also incredibly sweet, sure in a tough love kind of way. I am more than half in love with him. He can be a real jerk at times, but it all has a purpose, mostly to help Cat come to terms with herself. And he is has no mercy when it comes to her safety and well being, do not cross this guy!

They have a great dynamic and the whole book is beautifully paced. Such a great world that is detailed and well crafted. I can not wait to see more of this series. The romance is nicely done and felt real. There is a yummy amount of steam throughout. This is one of those UF books that verges on erotic, mainstream story with plenty of detail in the smexy scenes.

I listened to the audiobook narrated by Tavia Gilbert, she does a fantastic job. She voices the characters with distinctive accents and makes the story flow. She makes Bones accent super delicious. She is definitely one to search out in the future.

Warning, this is not a HEA ending, but I have faith the series will get there, it damn sure better!! I was understandably upset at the end. I still loved the book and was thoroughly entertained. I am so happy a friend suggested I read this series. Yup, I am hooked and will beginning stalking, uh following Ms. Frost ASAP!!

Excellent Narration

The narrator did an excellent job. It was like 12 people reading the story. I will be listening to more