Wicked Bite (Night Rebel #2) by Jeaniene Frost

A review is such a personal thing, and not only that, it depends on who you are or how you are at the moment. I've been a HUGE Paranormal fan, especially Vampires. I couldn't recommend enough the previous spin-off in the Night Huntress World - Night Prince of Vlad Dracul, and though I've felt the same reading the first installment of this spin-of of the long awaited love story between Ian and Veritas, more than a year after finishing the first book embarrassly enough I remembered almost ZERO of what happened. It was good of Jeaniene to remind us or else I would have had to abandon this book. In a way I was in the same place Ian was of not remembering the last month of his life so THAT was actually good.

Where was I going with how I started this review? To the current point in time I'm a bit over Veritas. I don't like characters or people who behave like she does. Yeah, she is one touch chick (to be mild here), she has amazing powers, and yet, her high-handedness is SO annoying. She looks down on Ian, leaves him behind to do all the hard work so she can "save" him. The trouble, the danger, the responsibility (she took over herself) and it was stupid. So stupid in fact, that 50% (!) into the book she admits that to him. I'll translate how I saw it - The first half of the book was redundant. Remembering Cat and how she was like (in the original Night Huntress series) - basically the same, and I got that, when they finally meet and have a long conversation. Don't get me wrong I love me a good strong female character, one who can wipe out demons like no one's business, but it's not fun when she looks down on EVERYONE and has such a warped perception of herself.

Shades of Wicked (Night Rebel #1) by Jeaniene Frost

It started in the summer of 2014 (at least for me..) when I found Cat and Bones. It used to be my absolute favorite UF series, yet then came the spin-off "Night Prince" of Vlad and I fell in love even harder. Putting Ian against Vlad isn't a fair game.. So I'll just say I LOVED this book. It was AWESOME. Can't believe how much I missed all these characters.. Jeaniene made us wait a whole year and a half since the last installment of Vlad and Leila's story and though it was a long wait it was totally worth it!

I'll just say that if you haven't read any of the "Night Huntress" books YOU TOTALLY SHOULD, but actually it's not a must.. you'll just get to know many of the characters in advance.. and there are naturally a few spoilers.. up to you. Chronologically speaking this book continues right after the end of "Into the Fire", the 4th and last installment of the "Night Prince" where Ian made a bargain he shouldn't have and now it seems he has very short time to live before his soul goes to the Demon he bargained it for - Dagon yet he didn't see Veritas coming.. NOT AT ALL.

Into the Fire (Night Prince #4) by Jeaniene Frost

What a JOY getting the final installment in the Night Prince series. I waited for this one SO LONG, and it was SO worth the wait! Not only that, the ending brought with it an announcement I'm also pumped about (but I'll get to that later ;)). I grabbed this book Saturday afternoon, and put my kindle aside only when I finished. ~sigh~ how I missed Vlad and Leila, and also Jeaniene writing. Getting sucked into the Night Huntress World again was everything I hoped it would be. I actually liked we didn't get more of Cat and Bones, but we DID get a lot of Ian and Mencheres.

The plot continues where we left off, frankly I didn't really remember where THAT was, but Jeaniene did a good job of reminding us the main things. First the fact that Leila is connected to Mircea - a necromancer who is also Vlad's stepson and nephew. His wife at the time, betrayed Vlad with his brother Radu. Mircea's magic backfired when he tried to harm Leila resulting in the bond they now share - if he is harmed, she feels it on her skin, and vice versa. Mostly meaning if someone killed Mircea - Leila would die, which also means no matter how much Vlad wants to kill Mircea, he can't do that before he breaks the spell. 

Bound By Flames (Night Prince, #3) by Jeaniene Frost

Well, I have been waiting for this installment for a longgggg time, practically from the second I finished the previous one. Vlad Dracul, especially Jeaniene's Vlad Dracul is my absolute FAVORITE paranormal character, naturally most loved vampire, not to mention he isn't just ANY vampire he is THE vampire - Vlad Tepesh, the impaler! YUM on so many levels I can't even, no, there are NO WORDS!

The Beautiful Ashes (Broken Destiny #1) by Jeaniene Frost

Well, I liked this book, but I didn't love it. For me it was missing something though I'm not sure what exactly. I can't say that I wanted it to be "Night Huntress" with different characters or even similar characters, I enjoy reading PNR/UF and that's exactly what I wanted a good PNR/UF series and a good beginning for sure. Sadly this one somehow didn't deliver. While both Adrian and Ivy were nice enough characters their relationship was TOO slow in building. Also while the world building was slow as we unravel it's secrets with Ivy as Adrian and Zach (someone who helps them along the way) revealed it to her little by little there was something annoying at everyone keeping secrets from her and not thinking she could handle this or that. She was mostly treated like a child when not expecting her to rise to her potential. 

Twice Tempted (Night Prince, #2) by Jeaniene Frost

Second installment in the spin-off series to Night Huntress ("Cat & Bones") and yeah, I enjoyed it as much as I did the previous one, might have enjoyed this one more, I'm not sure! 

I LOVE both Leila and Vlad. Vlad is no surprise here, I loved him from the second he made an appearance in Cat and Bones, but in his books he really shines. I really appreciate the fact that he is the brutal man that he is and he doesn't feel like apologizing for it. For someone as independent as Leila it's quite difficult but the beautiful thing is she "puts him in his place" when she tells him that he wouldn't have loved her if she was the submissive type that waits to be rescued. 

Once Burned (Night Prince, #1) by Jeaniene Frost

Vlad ~sigh~ 
This whole review can be summed up by this sigh.. This is my favorite PNR / UF character and also series. Well, it's not over YET, there are two books out of three (third and last will be published in January 2015) and I really hope it won't disappoint! Though what could happen? Vlad is in there, right? ;)

This is just a FUN book to read. If you've read Night Huntress ("Cat and Bones") you already met Vlad Tepesh and you already fell deeply in love with him. His arrogance and self assurance, his pyrokinesis, his diabolical sense of humor, his brutal looks - not a "Ken" Barbie Doll like Bones is described, but a masculine scared dark prince - YUM! 

One Grave at a Time (Night Huntress #6) by Jeaniene Frost

I didn't really get invested in this one. I'm not sure what the "problem" was, it wasn't, well, engaging. Cat and Bones are a real married couple now, their life is quite settled, they have their friends - Spade, Denise, Ian - that help them out (no sign of Vlad and Mencheres in this one which is a shame..) There was no "major crisis" for any of the characters, while Ian is always a star with everything he says and does he didn't help the book be more appealing.

This Side of the Grave (Night Huntress #5) by Jeaniene Frost

Well, I liked this book, but didn't LOVE it. It's kinda hard for me to explain why. On the one hand, I DID think that Cat grown up in this one, learnt to trust herself, trust Bones, learnt to appreciate the people around her (even had a sort of a "heart to heart" with Mencheres). But it felt in a way, all over the place. 

The main "objective" in this book is dealing with Apollyon the Ghoul. If you remember from the previous book, Apollyon says that Cat is trying to become this Mega Vampire Ghoul combination bent on world domination.. There is a reference to Masterless Vampires being killed by Ghouls which is Apollyon's way of trying to start a war between the two species. 

Eternal Kiss of Darkness (Night Huntress World #2) [Mencheres & Kira] by Jeaniene Frost

This one was a joy! I really enjoyed both Mencheres and Kira. I loved each one on their own and loved them even more together. Funny how Kira is protective of Mencheres without realizing that he doesn't really need that, but I think we can all appreciate our dear ones being there for us even if we can handle it all on our own. I think that with everyone taking Mencheres as he is, what he is and what he can do, few actually consider what he has been through, what his past was like and what prices he paid for being so powerful and old. Kira steps her foot a few times in front of Mencheres' friends and allies (also with his enemies..) to "protect" him, or protect his interests, trying to make people realize that he is still just a man, entitles to make mistakes, entitles to have him wants and needs. 

First Drop of Crimson (Night Huntress World #1) [Spade & Denise] by Jeaniene Frost

I loved this book SO MUCH! I dare say I loved it more that I do Cat and Bones, mostly because Denise is much more "likable" than Cat it, not because she is "just a human" but because she is, well, human. Everything about her felt so real, I could relate to right about anything she went through, her emotions, her behavior, what she felt toward the past, and how beautifully she dealt with everything she was dealt, in this book and in the previous ones. Spade / Charles is SUCH a gentlemen it was impossible not to fall in love with him myself even though that's not my usual "thing", I'm not saying I love myself (only) a beast :P but I am saying there is something really sweet in a Vampire, being a beast when "needed" be but also can be the most loving and caring person. I"m not saying Bones isn't like that, but I think that Bones is more "feral" in a way. I love Bones to pieces, I DO! but I think that Denise and Charles just make the most beautiful couple. 

Destined for an Early Grave (Night Huntress #4) by Jeaniene Frost

Another great and VERY emotional installment in the Night Huntress Series. I think up until now it's my favorite, even though as usual there are too many jealousy scenes between Cat and Bones (hence 4.5 stars and not 5 stars). 

After the emotional ride in the previous book, both Cat and Bones needs a little vocation. While on a nice little cruise Bones asks Cat - "where to?" and she answers - "Paris!"  Even without this being a re-read for me, it's obvious that if they are headed to Paris it WON'T be a romantic get away, it would be a another version of "get away"..

At Graves' End (Night Huntress #3) by Jeaniene Frost

This was a real emotional ride!!! even though this is a re-read for me, and even though I kinda remember a lot of the details it was still hard to listen to.. I have to hand it to Cat she is one hellova woman. There is nothing she can't handle even if sometimes she does need a little encouragement. But prepared to be SHOCKED! 

In this book Cat has a one motherfucker strong enemy who is also aligned with Max (her father). Both of them wants her and Bones dead - permanently dead... In order to defeat this greater evil a very powerful alignment is made between Bones and Mencheres (even if at the time, Bones isn't sure what Mencheres end game is). Mencheres has his secrets, that for sure, but he was always a favorite in my eyes, even though he tend to act without explaining himself.. (can't wait for his book! chronologically it's after the forth Cat & Bones installment)

One Foot in the Grave (Night Huntress #2) by Jeaniene Frost

Another action and fun packed Urban Fantasy / Paranormal Romance of our Cat & Bones. The last book ended with Cat and Bones being separated, but you didn't really think it would mean they are over now did you? It did take them time to find one another, in "real life" as well as in the book.

We start off with Cat being working in Don's operation for the past 4 years. No Bones in sight. But a non typical assignment by Don brings her to someone from Bone's past and through him she sort of send him a message bringing him closer to her than he has been able to get the past 4 years. 

Halfway to the Grave (Night Huntress #1) by Jeaniene Frost

Though I recently read the last book in the series, I felt like re-listening to it from the beginning, reminding myself what I loved so much about it. I remembered this series got me hooked from the first second and both Cat and Bones became characters I wanted to visit and re-visit as long as possible (then came the spin off series of Vlad - Night Prince - and all I wanted is Vlad - more more more!!!).

When I started organizing this blog I realized most of the books in this series don't have reviews since I read them before I started monitoring my reading through GoodReads - too bad! really! Then when I made my Series Pages I decided that this series will be the first I re-visited so I can enjoy it all over again and also review it properly. 

Up from the Grave (Night Huntress #7) by Jeaniene Frost

I was waiting for this one a LONG time. But when it was actually published it was like I was scared to read the last book in the series. I LOVED the previous ones and saying goodbye seemed a little bit too soon. Sure, there will be at least two more - one in the Night Huntress World as Jeaniene had promised and another one of the Night Prince which I absolutely in love with. I think the Night Prince is my all times favorite series! 

Jeaniene wanted to have two more books in the series but after publishing "Home for the Holidays" (Night Huntress #6.5) she said she will be finishing the series after only one book since that's all she has planned for Cat and Bones. I get that and I really supported that though some people were disappointed. OK, I was also disappointed but I rather have a great series then a medium one continuing to no end.. 

So after two weeks of contemplating I finally picked this one up. The writing as usual was a pleasure, witty, funny and in an excellent pace. BUT there were some things that threw me of my "happy zone". 

Magic Graves: One for the Money (Night Huntress #4.5) by Jeaniene Frost ; A Questionable Client (Kate Daniels #0.5) - Ilona Andrews

One for the Money (Night Huntress #4.5) - Jeaniene Frost

3.5 Stars

Unlike the two previous Novellas, this one is of Cat and Bones. It was a nice enough story, Cat taking up a guarding job from her uncle Don to protect a girl who is targeted for her life by her cousin wanting her fortune. The girl was quite annoying and Cat and Bones were soon sick of her. They encountered Cat's mother and we see for once that Bones and Justina are sort of mending their attitude against one another.

Devil To Pay (Night Huntress World #3.5) by Jeaniene Frost

What a sweet story! Really enjoyed this one! Again, it's Night Huntress World, not a Cat and Bones novella. Cat and Bones appear briefly since the main heroine - Elis - is sired by Mencheres.

Elis has always been a loner. The minimum she does interact with humans is due to her maker who insists she try to mingle in the modern world.  
All this changed when she met Blake, a human possessed by a demon making him a killer when the demon takes hold of his body.

Blake had enough all he wants to do is die - killing the demon as well. 
Elis is awed by the sacrifice Blake is willing to make for others and as she spends more time with him she realizes she is falling in love with him.
But what use there is in that when even Mencheres can't save him? The only way to kill the demon is to release him into the salt planes AFTER Blake's death.
So all Blake and Elis have is borrowed time.

Happily Ever After (Night Huntress World #1.5) by Jeaniene Frost

Here I am continuing with reading short novella's of the Night Huntress World. This one tells the story of Chance. Chance's sire - Bones - asks him to take care of a "small matter" for him, helping out Greta, an old friend of his. Greta is worried her grandchildren - Frazier and Isa - are mixed up with the mafia. Frazier has gone missing, probably kidnapped by Robert - Isa's (not so willingly) fiance.. 

All Chance suppose to do is find out where Robert is holding Frazier and after rescuing him "taking care" of Robert so Isa could get out of his too strong a grasp. But after meeting Isa and getting to know her, all he wants to do is keep her to himself. But what can he do about the fact that she isn't ready to handle his vampire identity? and that fact that Frazier is no where to be found?

Reckoning (Night Huntress #0.5) by Jeaniene Frost

This short novella takes place before Bones and Cat meet. I can't remember in which book Cat and Bones return to New Orleans but here we learn what was the reason Bones was banned from the city and wasn't in good terms with Marie Louveau when he left the city. 

Bones is contacted by one of Marie's ghouls to kill a vicious ghoul couple in her name. This couple is quite notorious and have been killing for years (disappearing when they finish their "fit" making it hard to catch them). Bones doesn't have just to find them and kill them, he also has to run from a bounty hunter aiming for HIS head.