Frost, Jeaniene: One Foot in the Grave
One Foot in the Grave
Writer: Jeaniene Frost
Genre: Urban Fantasy/Paranormal Romance
Pages: 357
I knew this book had just been released, and subconsciously, I think it was one of the reasons I chose to read Halfway to the Grave when I did. And I was halfway through that book, liking it, when I happened upon this book in Borders this past weekend. Why not? I knew I'd read it eventually.
But what I didn't know was that by time I finished Halfway to the Grave, I'd want to read One Foot in the Grave immediately thereafter. And by immediately, I mean immediately. I think I had an hour's break between finishing one book and starting the other? Read it in one sitting and even got to bed at a decent hour--1 a.m.!
Okay, so maybe it's not such a decent hour, but it was worth it. Once I started, I had to finish the book to see what happened to the characters, and once the overall plot started sneaking in, I had to go ahead and see what happened there too.
The premise: It's four years after the events of Halfway to the Grave. Cat is older, wiser, and sadder for what's happened, but she's still doing what she does best: killing those vamps that deserve it. Without spoiling the events of book one, let's just say that book two resolves quite a few elements VERY nicely, while still dangling a few in the air for book three. The ending left me completely satisfied, so I don't mind waiting until the end of January for book three, even though if I had the option, I would've probably read it after this one too. :)
Obviously, spoilers behind the cut.
At first I found myself surprised that there was such a large gap of time between the two books, but you know what? It worked fantastically. It's given both Cat and Bones time to figure out what they really want in life, try to make their lives without each other, and then makes them strong enough to stand by each other (and up for each other) when they're finally together again. Yes, Cat keeps growing, and I'm amused that it's the heroines who have names of the feline variety that seem to be the most well-rounded, constantly growing characters in the urban fantasy I've read so far.
Cat's a special agent, working for a secret department of the FBI to take down vampires who cross the line. She loves her job, even has made a life for herself: she's got friends, she's got her mom, and she's even trying to date again. But her love life goes to hell when Bones shows up at her best friend's wedding as one of the groomsmen, and try as she might, Cat can't bring herself to let him go again. Good thing, because Bones won't let her.
Oh, they're both pissed at each other, but they both want each other, and that much is obvious from the passages. Frost handles their reunion well, even though it drove me crazy that it took around 80 pages to see Bones on stage. Point to Frost, since that was one of the reasons I couldn't put the book down, and once we did see Bones again, I couldn't stop reading until I knew how things were going to work out between them, and then, well, we got to the plot.
Cat made the mistake of letting a vampire go because he happened to be the man who turned Bones in the first place. Ian learns what Cat really is (the infamous "Red Reaper" and half-vampire to boot) and as a collector of rare items, he must have her. Then there's a hit on her life, and while Bones has been tracking down all the contracts, this is one contract he can't sniff out, so keeping Cat safe is his priority.
There's a lot of fun in this book, and quite a few nods to book one in terms of vampire hunting, slutty outfits, and certain jokes. I nearly cried with laughter over the revelation of the "no-panties" rule, and I found myself hoping we see Timmie in the future, especially since he's on the fringes of Cat's world but doesn't know it.
Frost also threw a few surprises: I kept expecting that somehow, Danny Milton would end up a vampire, but nope! He's responsible for leading hitmen TO her, but in the end, Cat gets to shoot him (that was nice), and Bones has a ghoul finish him off. Cat's mom also makes an appearance and gets a deserved tongue-lashing from Bones for the way she treats her daughter, and that was a long-time coming--more for the characters than the readers, but I'm really, really glad Frost didn't drag this out any longer than necessary.
The twists in this book were also very well done: Cat finds her father, and it turns out the man is the brother of her boss, and her boss--who found her so quickly at the end of book one--has had his eye on her ever since she was born. Even more surprising and disconcerting, Cat's father Max claims that it was never rape, but consensual, and Cat's mom flipped out only afterwards, seeing his glowing green eyes and believing she'd slept with a demon. While I'm not sure how I feel about that turn of events, I am looking forward to hearing Cat's mom's side of the story. It reveals loads about her character and her prejudice, in a fascinating way.
There were a few plot hiccups in this book for me: 1) how did Danny or Lazarus even FIND Bones's cave? I get how Lazarus found Danny to begin with, but the cave? That's never explained (or if it is, I was reading too fast to catch it), but once Cat realizes it's not Bones who's a hostage, she doesn't stop to wonder about the the choice of the cave, and I know I would.
2) When Bones reveals to Ian that Max had been behind the hits on Cat's life, even when the man knew Ian wanted her for his own collection, there seemed to be a sense that I was supposed to be learning something new, but I wasn't. Cat called Max a prick, but didn't she already KNOW he was behind the hits when she learned he was her father? I mean, again, maybe I was reading too fast or made the connections too easily, but this was no surprise, and the treatment of this announcement in the prose puzzled me a bit.
Again, we see Cat having to make hard choices: choosing Bones and incorporating him into her life in spite of her mother's, friends', and boss's disapproval. And in the end, choosing to marry Bones instead of taking up Ian's offer for revenge upon her father. That took balls, although I'm not sure I wouldn't have stabbed him and rushed over and accepted Bones's hand, thereby breaking the verbal contract. But hey, that's vampire politics for you, I guess.
But speaking of which: all this talk of families and whatnot really made me wonder about both Cat's and Bones's professions as slayers, especially Bones: if he's killing vampires, whether or not they deserve it, isn't he starting war between his Master's house and the house of the vamp he killed? Again, maybe I just overlooked some vital clue, but I'm starting to wonder about that, especially since there was so much stress on Bones not starting a war within his own house (granted, what I'm asking is between Houses, but still).
My Rating
Must Have: I couldn't put this book down, and thankfully, I didn't need too. Again, Frost does a great job with character relationships, conflict, tension, and action, and then she throws the right bit of humor in to boot. And while this book COULD be read alone (there's only one or two cases where Frost throws out a reference to book one that makes NO sense if you haven't read it), I think part of the book's power comes from all the relationship-building in book one, so if you're going to give Frost a try, read Halfway to the Grave first.
Again, this book is found in romance, and boy, does it deserve to be there. There is a FULL CHAPTER devoted to rather graphic sex, so if you're not fond of such things in urban fantasy, well, here's your warning. Thankfully, Frost handles everything very well, and I never once found myself rolling my eyes or wishing she'd get on with it. Part of the allure of these books is the relationship between Cat and Bones and how it develops, and I find myself admiring Frost's choice of titles more and more, because after reading the books, the titles are so apt. It makes me really look forward to book three, At Grave's End, and I really hope she can keep up the on-going development of Cat's character, because that is another one of the strongest points of the book. But speaking of titles, I saw on Frost's website that there's at least books four and five planned, which really makes me wonder who the main character will be, and if it's still Cat, then how is Frost going to keep up with this lovely progression of titles?
Anyway, urban fantasy/paranormal romance readers: get your hands on this one. Believe it or not, Frost's vampires still don't annoy me. Good thing, eh?
Next up: Write. 10 Days to Overcome Writer's Block. Period. by Karen E. Peterson (no, I'm not kidding. I just finished reading it and all I need to do is write the review.)