Destined For An Early Grave (Night Huntress, Book 4) [Mass Market Paperback]

When I had finished At Grave's End, the third book in Jeaniene Frost's Night Huntress series, I was on the fence whether I wanted to go ahead and read Destined For An Early Grave. I can say with much certainty that Destined For an Early Grave is Jeaniene's way of basically sitting on top of me and say- "I won't let you go without a fight!". This book was a wild ride with a lot of action, drama and more snark then ever before. And the steamy, passionate love that Bones and Cat share that I found lacking in At Grave's End? That has been pushed up a notch. Bones does love to use his fangs on Cat in so many ways. Destined For an Early Grave digs deeps into the psyche and emotions of Cat and Bones. This time they are not only tested by both outside sources, but also their inner turmoil. There is one such individual who wants Cat because he had her first before Bones. And then there are those doubts Cat still has when it comes to Bones. Cat may know how to kill the bad guys with great skill, but when it comes to Bones she shuts off. And because of these esteem issues she has, she is the one responsible for the possible destruction of her relationship with Bones.

Destined For an Early Grave begins with Cat and Bones going on a much needed vacation. Cat wants to go to Paris for no reason that she can think of. Bones is all for it because he wants to give his lady love and vampire wife the world. Off they go not expecting an adventure that may ruin their whole foundation of devotion and trust. Cat shares her heart and body with Bones but won't allow him access into her mind and deepest thoughts. Bones feels hurt even though he knows the Cat has problems with letting others get too close to her. I really do wish these two would go through some marriage counseling. And they are going to need some major counseling after they finish with Gregor.

Gregor wants Cat. A few weeks before Cat and Bones met at the bar she was taken by Gregor to Paris. Gregor tried to gain the trust of the fragile sixteen year old Cat, seduce her and marry her because he knew what Cat would be capable of in the years to come. Cat doesn't remember Gregor at all because Bones, grandsire Mencheres was able to erase Cat's memories of her time with Gregor. Mencheres also knows how important Cat is because he can see the future. He made sure Cat and Bones met. Mencheres manipulated their relationship but let nature takes it course. Now Gregor is invading Cat's dreams. Gregor is a dream snatcher and can grab people from their dreams. He is trying to take Cat away from Bones because he believes that Cat is his wife.

Cat knows her heart belongs to Bones, but she needs her memories back. Bones is scared and doesn't want Cat anywhere near Gregor. What if Cat regains her memories and wants to be with Gregor instead? Both Cat and Bones are walking around egg shells with one another. Cat wants to confront Gregor and the issue head on. Bones wants to place Cat in a protective bubble and kill Gregor himself. And when Cat goes off and deals with Gregor even after Bones tells her not to, he is fed up. What happens after that will have you clutching the book and gasping because the thought of Bones and Cat not being together is horrible.

Not only does Destined For an Early Grave give the reader more insight on the vampire culture Jeaniene has created, but this is where she shows how important friends and family are. Bones and Cat's support system is wonderful. There are many times that Bones and Cat annoyed me to the point I wanted to smack them because they are just too stubborn to listen to one another. But to circumvent this, there are a few other characters that have grown on me. They keep things in perspective and lighthearted. Jeaniene has written a great group of male figures. Bones will always be first in my eyes but now I am total fan girl of Spade, Ian and even Vlad. At first I felt Vlad was a bad rip off of the whole Dracula myth but Jeaniene really makes Vlad shine here. Menecheres is the voice of reason even though he is a manipulative bastard half the time. We also get a different side to Cat's mother, Justina. She can be a harpy but something shocking happens that may change your mind about her.

The tension is very thick in Destined For An Early Grave but there are moments where the laughs come out. Jeaniene is a near genius at dialogue. The snarky one-liners are all over the place. I couldn't stop chuckling and shaking my head at the same time because they are so good and will make you blush. Not only are some pieces of the dialogue shocking in nature, but Jeaniene keeps thing lively with the vampire fighting and death. Some of the characters may not make it in the end and you will have no idea who will be alive at the end. Jeaniene does keep you guessing.

Destined For An Early Grave was a very enjoyable and fun read. Those who are fans of this series will be very happy with the results especially that of Cat and how she resolves her issues with her vampire heritage and her feelings for Bones.

Katiebabs

I am a humongous fan of this series.

Hu-mon-gous.

In a world where there's so much to read and so little time, I've reread "Halfway to the Grave" at least three times since I got my kindle 2 back in March of 09. It's the characters! They're so compelling.

Bones is my favorite male lead of any romance series I've ever read. He's beautiful, he's badass, he's got a great sense of humor, and he's emotionally balanced.

Cat is also a compelling heroine. In the first three books, she's hard-nosed, courageous, and vulnerable, but she's also afraid of her feelings and judgmental. I liked that, misguided as she is sometimes, she loves Bones so much that she's willing to sacrifice her own happiness for his safety.

The plots of the first three books are great, but it's this dynamic between Kat and Bones that keeps me coming back over and over.

...

Which, of course, is why I was horribly disappointed to find it missing entirely from this book until the very end. Cat spent the entire book guzzling gin and stuffing her face full of ice cream. She was wenchy and whiny and stupidly headstrong. Where was my stubborn and courageous heroine? Why did she spend nearly no time kicking vampire booty? Why did she turn from the Reaper into a rumpled house frau, sucking down gin while suspecting her hubby of humping around on her? (I solemnly promise never to use the word hump ever again.)

And Bones? Why did he turn from a lovely, emotionally-centered vampire into a neanderthal? He spent the entire book keeping Cat at a distance, either emotionally or physically or both.

The final nail in the coffin (har) was that this book had several instances of "Easily Preventable Angst." You know, the kind where all bad feelings could be resolved if they, you know, acted like a couple and TALKED to each other?

I enjoyed the final quarter of this book which is why I gave it 3/5 stars. I still love the Night Huntress books, and I still firmly believe that Jeaniene Frost has massive talent. But I think this is just a weak entry in the series. I have every confidence that she'll come roaring back with a kickass fifth book. And I'll admit here and now that I'm pee-my-pants excited for the spinoff she's got planned.

So, Jeaniene! Sorry for the less than stellar review, but you're still one of my faves! You keep writing, I'll keep buying and reading.

3/5

First, let me preface this by saying I loved the first three books (Halfway to the Grave, One Foot in the Grave, and At Grave's End). My friends loved the books too as evidenced by my extremely well worn copies. That being said, this is by far the worst book in the series. One of my least favorite plot contrivances is the "great misunderstanding" that drives a hero and heroine apart. That happens here in spades. Since Cat was willing to commit suicide in the last book when she thought her true love was dead, I find it hard to believe that she would just turn around and ditch him over a bad case of PMS. This is compounded by another horrible plot cliché - the repressed memory. It turns out that Cat had a secret past that was conveniently wiped from her memory. Now this long forgotten relationship will drive another wedge between Cat and Bones.

Luckily for fans of the series, the book gets better. Trust me on this. If you can make it to Chapter 20, you will be rewarded with quick-paced action, unexpected surprises, and valiant fights against insurmountable odds. There is even a little make-up sex (although it doesn't compare to previous efforts). Cat develops as a character and sets the stage for - I hope - a much better follow-up book.

I would rate the first third of the book a 3 , the middle a 2, and the end a 4 . Stick with the book and the series. I am confident Cat and Bones still have a few good adventures left in them.