Published January 28, 2014
Publisher: Avon
Format: paperback, purchased
Genre: adult paranormal romance
To Buy: Amazon * Barnes & Noble
Rating: 4 STARS
(From Goodreads) Lately, life has been unnaturally calm for vampires Cat Crawfield and her husband Bones. They should have known better than to relax their guard, because a shocking revelation sends them back into action to stop an all-out war…
A rogue CIA agent is involved in horrifying secret activities that threaten to raise tensions between humans and the undead to dangerous heights. Now Cat and Bones are in a race against time to save their friends from a fate worse than death…because the more secrets they unravel, the deadlier the consequences. And if they fail, their lives—and those of everyone they hold dear— will be hovering on the edge of the grave.
The entire time I was reading Up From The Grave, I had this undercurrent of bittersweet sadness coursing through me knowing that never again would I read a book about Cat and Bones for the first time. The Night Huntress series is one of my most favorite paranormal series of all time, and although Up From The Grave is not my favorite book in the series, it didn't take away from its poignancy.
Cat and Bones become alarmed when they can't reach any of their friends who have been working for the dastardly Madigan. While trying to figure out where they are, they stumble upon a plot of epic scope, of which Madigan is smack in the middle, and the potential outcome could spell extinction for both vampires and ghouls. The couple must use the connections and favors they've culled over the years to stop Madigan and those he works for.
There are some things that Jeaniene Frost does so well. She has always managed to keep me guessing, and Up From The Grave was no different. I knew going into it that there were some secrets that needed to come out. What was Don hiding? What was Madigan's end game? There was no shortage of surprises as these answers and other twists were revealed. I love that after seven books, I still couldn't see them coming.
Bones is, without a doubt, my favorite paranormal hero EVER. The way he loves and protects Cat is just so romantic and swoony and passionate. He's not TOO perfect, either. He can be a downright ass sometimes. He pulls a few moves in Up From The Grave that made me want to throttle him, actually. But, his motivations are always pure, and they have to do with keeping Cat safe. So, I guess you can't be too mad at him when it's all said and done.
The thing I liked best about Up From The Grave was the appearance of all our favorite side characters from the previous books. We saw Mencheres, Kira, Spade, Denise, Ian, Annette, Vlad, Leila, Tate, Dave, Cooper, Juan and Justina. We even saw some characters from books way back in the beginning, like Timmy. It was the perfect way to send off the series. All our favorites played a role of some sort in the overall plot arc - some moreso than others - and, it gave a sense of finality to it that otherwise may have been lacking.
Although there were some plot elements that I didn't necessarily agree with, on the whole, Up From The Grave was a perfect send-off. It had a great mystery to figure out. There was tons of action. I laughed a lot - particularly whenever Ian opened his mouth. I also cried. How could I not knowing this was the end? I swooned, too, because Bones and Cat love each other hard and passionately and with such devotion. And, when it was all said and done, Bones and Cat get their happily ever after, although it happened in a form that I couldn't have guessed before reading this book.
I'm still hopeful that this won't be the very last time we see Cat and Bones in a book. There's still one more Night Huntress World book expected (please let it be about Ian!!), and one more Night Prince book (VLAD!) to look forward to. There's a chance that my favorite couple will have cameos in both. But, their own story has very literally reached its final chapter. It was a fantastic farewell and really fun ride.
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