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)

Love this story

I love this narrator !!! Good to great story but the narrator pushed it over the top !!! 4th time I have listened to it !!

Awsome!

Would you listen to Halfway to the Grave again? Why?

Yes! Listening to this book prompted me to look into and purchase the rest of the books in the series, and then the rest by the author based in this world of Cat and Bones!

What did you like best about this story?

The creativity and I loved its set up for the rest of the series

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

Cat!

Amazing book!!! It's a must read

Truly an amazing read, I loved every minute of it and my friends even joked with me that I was listening to the book more than anything else! It's combination of action and romance never leaves you bored and always keeps you craving for more. I only wish I could meet the author who wrote this phenomenal piece of literature!

Overall great

Had a great story, one of the best narrators I've ever heard. Never laughed so much in my life

I don't even like the genre and still it's one of the most satisfying audiobooks ever.

An interesting plot, an extraordinary love story, and very diverse characters make this really wonderful escapist fiction. And Tavia Gilbert went all out with voices, accents and portrayal of emotion so realistic I felt like I was "watching" a movie with my eyes closed.

Pleasant genre fiction

This isn't a great book, but it moves pretty well and it is okay to listen to. The reader is competent and inoffensive. I don't know that I'll bother with the rest of the series ... it just isn't THAT good, but I enjoyed it. It's a reasonable representation of this genre of kick-ass not-exactly-human hunters in a world of magic and undead characters. But. No real attempt to create characters with any depth or motivations that aren't obvious plot manipulation. A pleasant way to pass the hours, literarily speaking, but don't expect to remember much of it a week later (or the next day, for that matter). If you want really good stores in this genre, try Kim Harrison's Hallows series!

I'm addicted

I can't stop listening to her books!
I have enjoyed every one that I have listened to. It's nice to step out of reality for a bit.

What a thrilling, sexy read!

Where does Halfway to the Grave rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

'Halfway to the Grave' is the second audiobook I've ever read and I'm still getting used to it. Having it be read out made this book so much enjoyable and I'm glad to have purchased it!

What did you like best about this story?

I liked the chemistry and banter between Cat and Bones especially.

What does Tavia Gilbert bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Her narration was great! It really brought out the character's wit, sarcasm and humor. Tavia is so far my favorite narrator! Her voice is easy to listen to and reflects the character perfectly.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

My tag line would be "Business isn't dead when you're killing vampires for a living."
OR
"where fighting the undead is a very grave matter"
OR
"The stakes are high when you're fighting the undead".

I don't know - that's the best tag lines I've got :)

Everything I thought it would be and more

I’ve read these books multiple times and love the series. Strong female lead- hurrah!!

Bones’ accent is truly grating at the start, then it kind of grew on me. For a guy that has lived hundreds of years - only a short number of them on the streets of London - you would think his low class accent would’ve become a bit more refined - if not POSH - by now. ??

The wonderful surprise was Cat’s mother, Justine, I love her Midwest accent. Though it was odd that Cat’s grandparents didn’t have strong accents at all?

The author also never explains why Bones does not enlist, in the final battle, all the vampires he’s made. This occurs again and again through the series.

Minor points for an otherwise great series & audiobook. Looking forward to listening to all the rest!!

British accent cold shower

Our narrator’s portrayal of Bones(leading man/vamp), is probably the least sexy British accent I’ve ever heard. And NO, it’s nothing like Spike from “Buffy…”. More like “Mrs. Lovett” from “Sweeney Todd”. I know any accent can be sexy. But this narrator’s rendition reminds me of a whiny scullery maid from the 1900’s or something. Or a London street thug trying to pick up a prostitute or rather Hollywood’s portrayal of these character types. T. Gilbert’s portrayal of Kat, however is really good. For example, I can feel her awkwardness, while trying to keep her cool during their rated R practice conversations with Bones! I plan to finish this book because based on other similar reviews there’s a chance I’ll get past the lead male’s unsexy accent. 🤞