Review: At Grave's End by Jeaniene Frost

[Marquetta @ Love To Read For Fun]

Some Things Won’t Stay Buried … At Grave’s End

It should be the best time of half-vampire Cat Crawfield’s life. With her undead lover Bones at her side, she’s successfully protected mortals from the rogue undead. But though Cat’s worn disguise after disguise to keep her true identity a secret from the brazen bloodsuckers, her cover’s finally been blown, placing her in terrible danger.

As if that wasn’t enough, a woman from Bones’s past is determined to bury him once and for all. Caught in the crosshairs of a vengeful vamp, yet determined to help Bones stop a lethal magic from being unleashed, Cat’s about to learn the true meaning of bad blood. And the tricks she’s learned as a special agent won’t help her. She will need to fully embrace her vampire instincts in order to save herself – and Bones – from a fate worse than the grave.

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*minor spoilers if you haven't read books 1 and 2*
My thoughts:

Can Cat and Bones get a moment of peace? I'm starting to think No! Cat and Bones are together working side by side. She is now his wife under vampire law but wants to make it legal under human law so she's planning her wedding. Everything should be rainbows and light. But this is Cat and Bones we're talking about. Nothing is easy for them.

At Grave's End focuses more on the vampire world, relationships and history and less on Cat's team. Mencheres reappears in this novel as well as vamps and ghouls from Bones's line. We are also introduced to the most famous vampire of them all - Vlad (Dracula) and Frost's spin on the legendary vamp is interesting and fresh. The attacks on Cat and Bones become increasingly more violent and accurate. They are up against an older, more powerful vampire who does the unthinkable to bring Bones down - Magic. The use of magic is a big no-no in the vampire world. Cat and Bones are confronted with a betrayal within their own ranks and have to deal with the subsequent fall out. This ramifications of the betrayal is a crushing blow to Bones's line, Cat's team and to Cat herself as she finally comes to terms with her vampire heritage. She must finish what she and Bones started.

This installment of the Night Huntress series was action packed. The pace never wavered. I was on a roller-coaster ride of sitting-on-the-edge-of-my-seat action. I was a little disappointed after having read the first two books (and Chapter 32) that the smex in At Grave's End was minimal. Cat and Bones's relationship is what made me love the first two books. In this installment, the romance aspect of their relationship took a back burner to the action and violence. It wasn't until jealousy and possessiveness reared its ugly head that we finally got some hot Cat and Bones action.

Flutter factor:
At Grave's End wasn't as sexy as the first two books but it was chock full of action and suspense. I enjoyed reading it but I missed the Cat and Bones dynamic that made the first two books so great. I don't expect a Chapter 32 in every book, though that would be nice, but I wanted more Cat and Bones. I missed the banter, the sex, the heat. I felt that was seriously lacking in this book. At Grave's End was darker than the previous books in my opinion. It's a great read and I still love the series. I can't wait to read what Jeaniene Frost has in store for my favorite power couple.

My rating: 4/5