This Side of the Grave by Jeaniene Frost
Narrated by Tavia Gilbert
Series: Night Huntress #5 / Night Huntress Universe #7
Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.
Publication Date: February 22, 2011
Date Read: December 4, 2019 (Re-read)
Length: 9 hours and 28 minutes
Source: Purchased
★★★★☆
Danger waits on both sides of the grave…
Half-vampire Cat Crawfield and her vampire husband, Bones, have fought for their lives, as well as for their relationship. But just when they’ve triumphed over the latest battle, Cat’s new and unexpected abilities threaten to upset a long-standing balance.
With the mysterious disappearance of vampires, rumors abound that a species war is brewing. A zealot is inciting tensions between the vampires and ghouls, and if these two powerful groups clash, innocent mortals could become collateral damage. Now Cat and Bones are forced to seek help from a dangerous “ally”—the ghoul queen of New Orleans herself. But the price of her assistance may prove more treacherous than even the threat of a supernatural war—to say nothing of the repercussions Cat never imagined.
I had fun with this re-read. It appears that I did like this one a little more the second time around since I only gave the book 3 stars when I read it in 2012. This isn’t the best book in the series but I still found it enjoyable. I hadn’t planned to listen to this book when I did but none of the audiobooks I started were working for me but everything seemed to work when I gave this one a try. I ended up listening to the entire audiobook in just a couple of days and enjoyed my time back in the Night Huntress World.
The last two books in the Night Huntress Universe focused on other couples so I was glad to see Cat and Bones back in the lead for this installment. Cat and Bones find themselves in the middle of a conflict between ghouls and vampires. They have to play their cards very carefully in order to get the outcome they hope to see. I really enjoyed seeing a little more in regards to Cat’s developing powers and some of the more interesting side effects she encounters in this book. There are some other developments in this story that aren’t easy for Cat to deal with.
I love the characters in this series. Cat and Bones are always awesome and together they are amazing. I love the way Bones has no problem telling Cat what he feels and doesn’t hesitate to do so. I also have a lot of love for the larger group. I loved getting to see Spade, Denise, Mencheres, and Kira play a part in this installment. Vlad was amazing in this book. I love his scenes with Cat even if he tends to steal a lot of her spotlight. I cannot wait to get to his books as I re-read this series.
Tavia Gilbert does such a fantastic job with this series. I love all of the voices that she uses for the different characters but I think she might deserve some kind of award for the voice she uses for Bones. It is absolutely perfect. I think that one of the reasons that I enjoyed this book more than I did the first time I read it is her narration. She was able to bring this story to life in the most amazing way.
I would recommend this series to others. While I don’t think that this is the strongest book in the series, I had a good time with it and can’t wait to read more books in this wonderfully crafted universe.
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) – My Review
Book #6 – Eternal Kiss of Darkness (Night Huntress World #2)- My Review
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.
i guess some stories grow on you
I miss Cat & Bones. I need to get back to this series but it's been so long I'll have to reread them all.
everything about the book sounds great to me
sherry @ fundinmental
You are making me want to re-read these! I love these books so much and Tavia Gilbert is phenomenal. These were some of the first audiobooks I ever listened to and she set the bar so high in terms of narration for me.
I think I might have read 1 or 2 books in this series and it just didn't catch my attention all that much. I know a lot of people like it though.
Sound fun. I really should read more urban fantasy, I like a good one now and again!
I love this series and reread some of the books periodically. I really want to make it one of my Read-alongs, maybe in a couple years. It is one of my top favorite all time series! Fantastic review!
Anne – Books of My Heart
This series I would definitely like to give a try. It sounds so good!
I read the first one in this series and really liked it but for some reason never continued and I need to put it on my list of series to read!
Good that you tried audio then 🙂
I really enjoyed this series when I read it. It kept a great standard up through the books.
Gotta love when a re-read works like this one 😉 I read First Drop of Crimson and loved it, but it was years ago, I should really try to keep up with the whole Night Huntress universe!
I'm so behind in this series! Good to see you enjoyed this one again the second time around.
Great review! I'm hoping to start this series soon.