First Drop of Crimson by Jeaniene Frost
Narrated by Tavia Gilbert
Series: Night Huntress World #1 / Night Huntress Universe #5
Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.
Publication Date: July 5, 2010
Date Read: October 23, 2019 (Re-read)
Length: 10 hours and 6 minutes
Source: Purchased
★★★★☆
From the New York Times best-selling author of the Night Huntress series comes a breathtaking new journey to the dark side of desire.
The night is not safe for mortals. Denise MacGregor knows all too well what lurks in the shadows—her best friend is half-vampire Cat Crawfield—and she has already lost more than the average human could bear. But her family’s past is wrapped in secrets and shrouded in darkness—and a demon shape-shifter has marked Denise as prey. Now her survival depends on an immortal who lusts for a taste of her.
He is Spade, a powerful, mysterious vampire who has walked the earth for centuries and is now duty-bound to protect this endangered, alluring human—even if it means destroying his own kind. Denise may arouse his deepest hungers, but Spade knows he must fight his urge to have her as they face the nightmare together, because once the first crimson drop falls, they will both be lost.
I had a great time with this book the second time around. If you had asked me what I remembered about this book before I started this re-read, I would have told you next to nothing. It turns out that a lot of this story was so familiar that I am pretty sure that I remembered a whole lot more than I thought I did. I think that I might have actually liked the book a little more on this re-read.
Denise has kept her distance from the vampire community after the losses she has suffered. I don’t blame her at all for that decision. When she finds herself needing help with a demon after her family, she calls Charles, or Spade, for help. The problem ends up being a lot bigger than either of them expected but they are determined to bring things to an end.
I really liked Denise and Spade and thought it was nice to get to see both of these characters take center stage. I thought that they had fabulous chemistry from the very start which only grew stronger over the course of the story. I thought that they worked really well together and I was eager to see them work together to make it happen. They really did make a good team.
Tavia Gilbert does a great job with this series. I love how consistent she has been with the voice of the characters in this series. I almost jumped for joy when Bones and Cat made an appearance because I was looking forward to hearing them speak. I thought that she added a lot of emotion into the story and added to the excitement.
I would recommend this series to others. This is the first book in the Night Huntress World series or the fifth book in the Night Huntress Universe. I would recommend reading the earlier books in the Night Huntress Universe before this one since those events and characters are discussed and play a role. I can’t wait for more from Jeaniene Frost!
Eternal Kiss of Darkness by Jeaniene Frost
Narrated by Tavia Gilbert
Series: Night Huntress World #2 / Night Huntress Universe #6
Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.
Publication Date: August 23, 2010
Date Read: October 31, 2019 (Re-read)
Length: 10 hours and 25 minutes
Source: Library
★★★★☆
An immortal war has been brewing in the darkness … and now one woman has stumbled into the shadows.
Chicago private investigator Kira Graceling should have just kept on walking. But her sense of duty refused to let her ignore the moans of pain coming from inside a warehouse just before dawn. Suddenly she finds herself in a world she’s only imagined in her worst nightmares.
At the center is Mencheres, a breathtaking Master vampire who thought he’d seen it all. Then Kira appears – this fearless, beautiful human who braved death to rescue him. Though he burns for her, keeping Kira in his world means risking her life. Yet sending her away is unthinkable.
With danger closing in, Mencheres must choose either the woman he craves or embracing the darkest magic to defeat an enemy bent on his eternal destruction.
I enjoyed this book even more than I did the first time I read it. It is not my favorite book in the Night Huntress Universe but I thought it was a worthy addition to the overall series. I only gave this book three stars the first time I read it and it turns out that I didn’t remember much of the book so maybe I was distracted the first time I read it. I had a nice time with Mencheres and Kira’s story.
Mencheres is old, like really old, and he has a bit of a death wish. Kira stumbles upon him while he is under attack and makes an effort to save him. As a result, she is pulled into a world of vampires that she didn’t know existed. Before everything is settled, she will be put in a lot of danger and her world will be forever changed.
I liked getting to know Mencheres and Kira better. I think that Kira’s personality really shined in this book while Mencheres remained more of a mystery. I would have liked to see more of Mencheres’s thoughts a bit earlier but before it was over we do get to learn what he is really thinking. I thought that they had good chemistry and I liked them together. I do think that a little more history on the feud between Mencheres and his opponent would have made this book even better.
Tavia Gilbert continues to flawlessly narrate this series. She really has done a great job of bringing this story to life. I love the voices that she uses for all of the different characters and how consistent she has been with them. She has a very pleasant voice that I found easy to listen to for hours at a time.
I would recommend this series to others. I do recommend reading this book after the earlier books in the Night Huntress Universe since many of the events and characters play a part in this book. This was an exciting listen from beginning to end and I cannot wait to continue with my re-read of the series.
Book #2 – One Foot in the Grave – My Review
Book #3 – At Grave’s End – My Review
Book #4 – Destined for an Early Grave – My Review
Book #5 – First Drop of Crimson (Night Huntress World #1)
Book #6 – Eternal Kiss of Darkness (Night Huntress World #2)
Book #7 – This Side of the Grave
Book #8 – One Grave at a Time
Book #9 – Once Burned (Night Prince #1)
Book #10 – Twice Tempted (Night Prince #2)
Book #11 – Up From the Grave – My Review
Book #12 – Bound by Flames (Night Prince #3)
Book #13 – Into the Fire (Night Prince #4)
Book #14 – Shades of Wicked (Night Rebel #1) – My Review
Book #15 – Wicked Bite (Night Rebel #2) – Coming January 2020!
About the AuthorJeaniene Frost is a New York Times, USA Today, and international bestselling author whose works include the Night Huntress series, the Night Prince series, and the Broken Destiny series. To date, foreign rights for her novels have sold to twenty different countries. Jeaniene lives in North Carolina 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, exploring old cemeteries, spelunking and traveling – by car. Airplanes, children, and cook books frighten her. Jeaniene is represented by Nancy Yost at Nancy Yost Literary Agency.
This series looks good. Glad you enjoyed them second time around
sounds fun, more like a girl hero type or like we both save each other type?
I liked First Drop of Crimson as I liked Spade and Denise but I couldn't get into the other one at all.
Wow, I had no idea this was such a long-running series. I find the same thing when I reread or re-listen to a favorite… I thought I remembered little about the story but then it all starts coming back to me. So glad you enjoyed these again!
I really enjoyed both of these but it's been awhile. I'll have to reread them sometime again. Wonderful reviews!
Anne – Books of My Heart
Wow, this is a big series but it sounds really good! I wonder how many of the books my library has. Great review!
i'm always up for a good vampire book and your great reviews make me think this is one for the list. just look at all those beautiful covers. 🙂
sherry @ fundinmental
That second guy is so pasty!
This is another series that I hope to get to at some point.
I have a couple of books from her Universe series and really want to find the time to start on them. What an incredible cover for this book.
I love this series so much. I really like her books.
I read the first 4 or 5 books of Cat and Bones some time ago, but I can't hardly remember it now. I didn't know there were so many books. I should go back and do a listen. Glad to hear you loved them the second time around too! 🙂
glad that the rereads are working out well for you and that you are actually enjoying them more second time around.
Love both of these books so much! Honestly, I just love the whole Night Huntress world. Glad you enjoyed these the second time around!
I always have to re-read previous books to a series or even just a summary of each book in order for me to dive into the latest installments. Would you believe I re-read the first book to this series a number of times already? And still, to this day I've not accomplished reading the preceding novels. *facepalm*