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Destined for an Early Grave
by Jeaniene FrostSeries: Night Huntress #4
Published by Avon on July 15, 2009
SubGenres: Urban Fantasy
Format: AudioBook, Paperback
Pages: 355
Narrator: Tavia Gilbert
Length: 9 Hours And 34 Minutes
Source: Purchased
Audience: 18+/Adult
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Her 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 has 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.
Important Note: Possible Spoilers in my review, especially if you haven’t read the previous books in the series.
Once again, I’ll be sending Jeaniene Frost my therapy bill after reading the fourth Night Huntress novel, Destined for an Early Grave. I was not ready for what Cat and Bones faced. This book is deeply emotional for both and tests their relationship and trust. I truly felt for Cat and Bones, each for different reasons. Cat discovers missing memories from when she was a teenager, and that she may be married to another vampire who haunts her dreams. Bones, meanwhile, learns Cat is possibly married to a vampire older and stronger than him, tied to what his Grand-sire Mecheres did before Cat and Bones met.
I want to avoid spoilers, but my main takeaway from this book is the intense emotional turmoil it created and the way it tested Cat and Bones’ trust. Reading it made me constantly question their motivations and left me genuinely doubting if they could overcome what happened. For example, Cat didn’t trust Bones to handle Gregor and what was happening, and wanted the truth, so she decided to save Bones and the others by confronting Gregor. Bones did not take this well, which was understandable.
The antagonist in this book, Gregor, was definitely one that Bones and Cat had never faced before, which kept me on the edge of my seat. First off, anyone who can target someone in their dreams is definitely not someone I want to mess with. Did we forget the movie Nightmare on Elm Street? I can’t stand Freddy Krueger, even to this day. There were so many other critical turning points due to the antagonist and finding out what happened to Cat when she was a teen, and then the big surprise toward the end that changes Cat, which had me shocked, as well as Bones, Mecheres, and several other vampires.
One highlight in this book was Vlad supporting Cat during her separation from Bones. While Vlad may be Dracula and intimidating, he demonstrates true friendship, and I love him even more after reading this book.
Despite the emotional toll this book put me through, it deserves five stars (ten stars really). When I was reading, it made it impossible to keep neutral expressions; my husband noticed my reactions, a sure sign of a fantastic read. I’m excited to read the rest of this series and the spin-off books.
POV: First Person (Single POV)
Standalone or Part of Series: It’s part of the Night Huntress series, and I highly recommend reading the books in order.
Would I recommend this book/series? Yes, absolutely. If you like high-stakes Urban Fantasy with an alpha hero and a strong heroine, then you need to read the Night Huntress series.
What to Expect:
✔️Urban Fantasy
✔️Vampire Politics
✔️Relationship in Trouble
✔️Jealousy & Miscommunication
✔️Alpha Vampire Hero
✔️Hidden Past – Heroine
Favorite Quotes:
“He f**ks even better than he looks”, I settled on saying. Several heads turned. I didn’t care; I was pissed. “And that beautiful face is going to be clamped between my legs as soon as we get home, don’t you worry.”
“Trying to wake you,” Bones answered crisply. “I cut you, threw water on you, slapped you, and set a lighter to your legs. For future reference, which one of those do you think worked?”
“Good God,” I hissed. “No wonder I thought you were Death incarnate in my dream, and that made me run toward Gregor at first!”
“Did you really think I’d ceased to care? Kitten, I care so much it wrecks me.”
About Jeaniene Frost
Jeaniene Frost is the New York Times, USA Today, and international bestselling author of the Night Huntress series, the Night Prince series, the Broken Destiny series, and the new Night Rebel series. To date, foreign rights for her novels have sold to twenty different countries. Jeaniene lives in Florida with her husband Matthew, who long ago accepted that she rarely cooks and always sleeps in on the weekends. Aside from writing, Jeaniene enjoys reading, poetry, watching movies with her husband, exploring old cemeteries, spelunking and traveling – by car. Airplanes, children, and cook books frighten her.
For information on Jeaniene's books, book trailers, deleted scenes, creature mythology, and more, please visit: www.jeanienefrost.com
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My obsession with reading started over 30+ years ago when I went to my first Scholastic Book Fair and found R.L. Stine's Fear Street series. Later, I came across Anne Rice's novels at my public library when I was fourteen when my obsession with vampires started. I was the girl who preferred to be a vampire over a princess any day. My husband says I would leave him a heartbeat for a vampire that looked like Spike or Angel (from Buffy the Vampire Slayer) or Damon Salvatore from The Vampire Diaries. (It's true, though, and he's accepted it.)
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