Guest Review: Destined for an Early Grave by Jeaniene Frost

Today I have the lovely Carmel over from Rabid Reads to help us celebrate our countdown with a guest review! 
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Destined for an Early Grave

by Jeaniene Frost

#4 Night Huntress series

Mass Market Paperback: 400 pages

Publisher: Avon; Original edition (July 28, 2009)

ISBN-10: 0061583219

ISBN-13: 978-0061583216

Her deadly dreams leave her in grave danger

Since half-vampire Cat Crawfield and her undead lover Bones met six years ago, they've fought against the rogue undead, battled a vengeful Master vampire, and pledged their devotion with a blood bond. Now it's time for a vacation. But their hopes for a perfect Paris holiday are dashed when Cat awakes one night in terror. She's having visions of a vampire named Gregor who's more powerful than Bones and has ties to her past that even Cat herself didn't know about.

Gregor believes Cat is his and he won't stop until he has her. As the battle begins between the vamp who haunts her nightmares and the one who holds her heart, only Cat can break Gregor's hold over her. She'll need all the power she can summon in order to bring down the baddest bloodsucker she's ever faced . . . even if getting that power will result in an early grave.

This book is amazing! I didn’t know how much I’d been craving more Cat and Bones until I began reading Destined for an Early Grave. The beginning was a little slow and I found myself feeling antsy, awaiting for the juicy action to begin. As anticipated, it did and didn’t stop until the last page. I was hoping to take my time with this one, to savour it for as long as possible before having to impatiently await the release of Book 5 next week but no such luck. Within the blink of an eye I was done.

This book changes everything. Well maybe that’s me being a little over melodramatic but something important happens in this novel. Fans of this series, like me, expected this turn of events to be the eventual outcome. The way it happens though could have been anyone’s guess. It wasn’t the ideal situation, but it could have been worse. Much worse! I’m just happy that Bones had an important role to play, if it had gone down differently I think I would have felt ripped off. Not everything can happen perfectly but I’m sure that Jeaniene Frost is well aware of what her fans need and is happy to oblige when the story permits. Thanks for that!

The first half of the book probably had me more frustrated than anything else. It wasn’t so much that it was slow but more that Cat and Bones weren’t getting along. After having been separated from them for months, I was kinda hoping to return to their universe only to find their relationship was stronger than ever. Admittedly, I should have known better. This is Cat and Bones we’re talking about! Nothing is ever easy when they’re involved. Luckily their rift is eventually explained away as being side effect of a sleeping pill Cat’s been taking to stop Gregor from snatching her in her dreams. Unfortunately, they make up only briefly before more shit hits the fan. Again.

Gregor is one bad ass vamp and is so far the greatest foe Cat has ever faced. He has prior claim to her under vamp laws; a fact that was conveniently whipped from her memory. He’s also older and more powerful than Bones. Up until now, Bones has seemed almost invincible but there are some close calls in this book that’ll have your knuckles turning white from gripping your book so hard afraid of the outcome.

I’ll admit it; the main reason that I read this series is that I’m infatuated with Bones. Hey, a girl can dream! He’s everything that my dream guy would be if vamps were real. This book only revs up his sex appeal further. You’ll be fanning yourself and experiencing hot flashes below the belt before you reach the ending. However, Cat is pretty kick ass too and Bones is rightfully hers. I may fantasize about stealing him away but I would never want to incur her wrath! Cat spends most of this book feeling helpless and abandoned but in the end; she turns out to be the badest chick on the block. Go figure!

Destined for an Early Grave revolves around Cat and Bones` flaws in their relationship. This book only further demonstrates that often times what initially attracts you to your mate is what can drive you apart in the end. Their love story is a constant uphill battle. Fortunately for us readers, it`s not one that either of them are willing to lose. A great story with all of the gory, action packed goodness that this series is renowned for. Not to mention hunks galore with either Bones or Vlad on almost every page to make you weak in the knees.

4.5/5

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A big thank you to Carmel for coming over and sharing her review of Destined for an Early Grave! You can see more of Carmel over at her book blog, Rabid Reads, and you can also check out her reviews for books 1-3 here.

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