At Grave’s End
Night Huntress, Book #3
By Jeaniene Frost
ISBN# 9780061583070
Author’s Website: http://jeanienefrost.com/
Brought to you by OBS reviewer Heidi
*Beware of Spoilers*
At Grave’s End is the third installment in the exciting Night Huntress series by Jeaniene Frost. A handful of months have passed since the end of One Foot in the Grave (book #2) and now, despite the many disguises she has used, the vampires are starting to recognize Cat as the Red Reaper making the team’s missions riskier and obviously more dangerous for Cat.
One of the vampires that recognized her in their latest mission got away and told others about his run in with her. Cat’s father was able to use this information to trap her and her mother and make each of them watch as he tormented the other. His goal was to kill Cat for another vampire at a handsome price. But Max couldn’t do something so simple; he decided he needed to torture her first which gave Bones barely enough time to ride to the rescue. Bones takes Max and imprisons him so he can continually punish him for torturing and attempting to kill Cat and he also pumps him for information on the vampire that hired him to do so.
But they don’t discover who is plotting to kill Cat until they are at the ceremony to make the alliance between Bones’s and Mencheres’s blood lines official. After the ceremony is complete, the building is blown up causing complete and utter chaos. It was an act that declared war between the newly formed alliance and Patra’s (Mencheres’s estranged wife) line.
Now both sides will have to fight with all they have. Will the new alliance between Bones and Mencheres be able to stand up to the new threat and the forbidden magic that Patra possesses? Lives will be lost, but can Bones and Cat survive the war that is wrecking havoc on them all?
For the most part this was a really good book. There was tons of action and never a dull moment. There was also a TON of emotions crammed into those pages that made me never want to stop reading!
I was surprised that Max had gotten his hands on Cat so early in the book, it was so climatic and suspenseful I didn’t think the rest of the book could even compare. And, when Bones finally showed up I was unsure if he’d be able to save her….with keeping her mixed breed status that is. I was definitely wrong about the rest of the book becoming stale after this encounter though as Frost rushed us from one exciting scene to the next. I could barely flip the pages fast enough!
There was so much emotion in this book, which I love to find in a good book and it added more depth to the already amazing characters of the series. We had the hatred going on with Max, then the problems caused by Tate’s obsession with Cat and then the heartbreaking chapter when one particular person doesn’t return safely from their mission that throws Cat into a whirlwind of grief she never saw coming and one that I’m sure sent Night Huntress fans everywhere screaming! I knew it wasn’t the end for that character, but the writing during that section of the book was superb and got me crying right along with Cat!
Also, Justina wasn’t nearly as bitchy in this book, which I was glad to see. Maybe Bones was right all along and she just needed a good shagging. I always agreed with him anyway. But I was shocked with who, or should I say what, she ended up sleeping with and I don’t think she has any right to look down on Cat now. I also really enjoyed the phone call Bones made to her to announce his and Cat’s engagement! I always love the banter between those two! Although I thought the proposal would have been much more romantic then it was.
“Actually, Justina, I didn’t just ring you to chat about what an undead murderer I was…right, degenerate whore as well. Did I ever tell you my mum was one? No? Oh, blimey, I come from a long line of whores, in fact…”
I sucked in a breath as Bones divulged yet another tidbit about his past to my mother, who must be frothing at the mouth by now.
“…called to give you the good news. I asked your daughter to marry me and she accepted. Congratulations, I will officially be your son-in-law. Now, do you want me to call you Mum straightaway, or wait until after the wedding?”
I flew through the air in a dive that finally tackled him, wrenching the phone away. Bones was laughing so hard, he had to breathe to get it all out.
“Mom? Are you there? Mom…?”
“You might want to give her a moment, Kitten. I believe she fainted.”
We got to meet a lot of new characters in this book and some returning characters as well. I loved the return of Spade as I always find him to be funny , loyal, and overall endearing. I also liked meeting Vlad and seeing how his torment from his past helped him to motivate Cat and ultimately keep his enemy, Bones, from suffering the same fate.
So with all these great things I have to say about this book, what keeps me from giving it a higher rating? I really don’t know. There was something about the ending of the book that I just can’t put my finger on that took this book down a notch or two for me. Maybe because the ending wasn’t nearly as climatic as the rest of the book and I just wanted more? Who knows? But my ratings are always based on my feelings about the book when it’s all said and done… although I’d probably give this one a 3.5 or 3.75 stars if I had the option of partial stars.
If you love vampires or urban fantasy you should definitely check out At Grave’s End and the rest of the Night Huntress series; you will be glad you did!
