Book Review of This Side of the Grave by Jeaniene Frost

Title: This Side of the Grave

Author:  Jeaniene Frost

Release Date: Februrary 22, 2011

Genre: Adult Urban Fantasy

*If you have not read the previous Night Huntress novels, this may contain spoilers*

Danger waits on both sides of the grave.

Half-vampire Cat Crawfield and her vampire husband Bones have fought for their lives, as well as for their relationship. But just when they’ve triumphed over the latest battle, Cat’s new and unexpected abilities threaten to upset a long-standing balance . . .

With the mysterious disappearance of vampires, rumors abound that a species war is brewing. A zealot is inciting tensions between the vampires and ghouls, and if these two powerful groups clash, innocent mortals could become collateral damage. Now Cat and Bones are forced to seek help from a dangerous “ally”—the ghoul queen of New Orleans herself. But the price of her assistance may prove more treacherous than even the threat of a supernatural war . . . to say nothing of the repercussions Cat never imagined.

Summary from Goodreads.com

My Review: We are back with Cat and Bones again and now they are facing off with the ghouls.  We pick up pretty much where we left off which made for a smooth transition from the last book.  It had been a while since I had read the previous book, but with Cat and Bones it is easy to slide right back into their lives and fall in step with them.

One of the surprising elements in this book for me was the level of irony.  Or maybe throwback is the right word, not so sure right now.   There were so many events happening to others that mirrored Cat and Bones struggles it made her roll her eyes, and it made me laugh.  Cat looked at her life through fresh eyes and those moments made it fun for the reader to reflect back on past events as well.

One element I have always adored about these book is their humor.  Cat’s inner dialogue is always entertaining to me and her quick wit always makes me laugh out loud.  My two favorite quotes in this book come from two other characters though, Bones and Vlad.

First up is Bones.  Timmie (remember him from earlier books?  He makes a quick appearence)  he asks Bones:

“Before we go, I gotta know:  If mind reading-abilities are real, there’s something else I wondered if fiction got right about vampires–”

Bones response:

“Ask me if I sparkle and I’ll kill you where you stand!”

I think I laughed for a minute straight after that one.  Can’t you picture Bones saying that?  I can.  Not to be outdone though is Vlad, he is in the middle of torturing some ghouls with his pyrotechnic abilities when he hesitates a little.

Cat says: ”"What the hell was that?” I gasped”

Vlad’s reply: “”Premature inflamulation,”  he replied.  ”Happens sometimes.  Very embarrassing, I don’t like to talk about it.”

Seriously, that guy is hysterical.  I can’t wait until we get to read his story!  I love Vlad, no matter how tough he tries to make everyone think he is, I think he is sentimental deep down.  I will have to wait for his books to see though.

I have always enjoyed the humor that laces through this series and this book just proved to me how good Jeanine is at mixing multiple genres.  I don’t think you can categorize this series into just one genre, because it is paranormal and of course the romance is there with Cat and Bones, but they are also pumped full of action and humor, they cross multiple genre boundaries which is why this series is one of my favorites!

I will leave you with something to look forward to when you get your hands on this book and it is this:  Chapter 21 and candles.  Enough said.  Too cryptic for you?  I bet you can riddle it out and if not, go get the book and discover it for yourselves!  I am sure you will be very happy once you do

FTC: Received an ARC of this book from the publisher.