Review: Destined for an Early Grave by Jeaniene Frost

[Marquetta @ Love To Read For Fun]

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.

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*contains minor spoilers if you haven't read Books 1,2 and 3*

My thoughts:
OMG! The latest installment of the Night Huntress series had me on an emotional roller-coaster. I went from loving the book, to hating it, to loving it again. I wasn't sure how I was going to feel once I finished reading it. My stress levels have never been as high as they were when I was reading Destined for an Early Grave.

Cat and Bones are on vacation - finally - when a vamp starts poking around in her dreams. It turns out it is a vamp by the name of Gregor who claims that Cat is his wife. He kidnapped her when she was 16 and bound him to her as his wife. Mencheres stepped in and "rescued" Cat but also stripped her memories of Gregor in the process. Gregor is determined to get his wife back.

When I started reading Destined for an Early Grave my first thought was: "Cat and Bones can't catch a break!" I don't think they will ever be able to truly enjoy their relationship. I am ready for them to be happy without having to constantly fight for their lives and the lives of others! It would be nice to not have sh*t hit the fan every damn time. With that being said, I didn't think I was going to like this book. I had already decided I was not going to like it with the "Cat already being binded to Gregor" storyline. To me, that came out of nowhere. If Gregor is able to contact Cat in her dreams, why hadn't he done it in before? There was no mention or hint of Gregor in previous books. I found this storyline implausible. I had already decided in my mind that I was not going to like Destined for an Early Grave and I wasn't 10% into the book yet. Thank goodness Jeaniene Frost is a great writer and changed my mind!

I love Cat but for most of this book, she got on my nerves. There were times when I wanted to throw my Kindle because of Cat and her stupidity. What makes Cat a great character is her need and willingness to protect the people she cares about. She is not afraid to fight the good fight. But it is also her weakness. Her need to act first and think later puts into motion an avalanche of events that will reverberate for a very long time. The fighting and secretiveness in Cat and Bones's relationship seemed out of place. Up until that point, they had been pretty open with each other. I felt like the fights were created as a way to justify each person's behavior. They were both acting like idiots. And it pissed me off. There were so many misunderstandings and mis-communications that I felt like I was watching an episode of Three's Company!

Flutter factor:
I wasn't concerned about any smex between Cat and Bones in this book. I just wanted them to get their heads out of their arses and get it together! Thankfully Vlad provided much needed common sense. He was the voice of reason. Vlad is a major character this time around in Destined for an Early Grave. He turns out to be a great friend to Cat when she needs it most. I hope he eventually gets his own book because I love him!

I was totally stressed out reading this book. I should have worn a heart monitor because I know my blood pressure spiked several times. There were parts where I could feel my heart pounding because I didn't want to read the next page to find out what happened next. But like a car accident on the side of the road, you can't NOT look away.


Destined for an Early Grave has many ups and downs and by the time I finished reading, I felt like I needed a drink - or two. In the beginning, I did not like where the book was headed. But despite that, I was pulled into the madness and could not let it go. I was mad, happy, stressed, scared, sad. I experienced a rainbow of emotions and to me, that's what makes it a good book. I don't have to like the direction it was going but the journey was one I will never forget.

This is a quote from Cat that sums up how I felt while reading Destined for an Early Grave:

"I wish people would just leave us alone," I said. "You remember when it was just the two of us in a big dark cave? Who knew that would be the most uncomplicated time of our lives?"

Amen sista! I feel the same way!

My rating: 4.5/5