REVIEW by Jena: Up From the Grave (Night Huntress #7) by Jeaniene Frost (@jeaniene_frost , @avonbooks)

The Grave Ends Here.
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.

I am so frikkin sad right now. Up From the Grave is the last book in a really kick ass series. The Night Huntress series by Jeaniene Frost became one of my favorite urban fantasy / paranormal romance series just last year. I was a bit slow to the game but had read all of the books, including the spinoff series Night Huntress World and Night Prince, in a matter of a few weeks. Cat and Bones are such an great couple with the most unbelievable chemistry and anyone that knows me knows how much I rave about these books.
Well, Cat and Bones have had their run. The seventh and final chapter of their story has come to a close. … … …
Excuse me, I need to go have myself a good, long ugly cry. Be right back….
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Ok, I got my shit together.
The silver lining is we still have the Night Huntress World books and the Night Prince books, both of which Cat and Bones are known for making an appearance here or there. I am really hoping we haven’t seen the last of them. To Cat and Bones – I am going to miss the shit out of you sarcastic, dirty birds. * wipes a solitary tear rolling down her cheek *
What I Liked:
Forgetting for a minute that this is the last book in this series (mainly because I don’t want to start crying again), there was sooooo much I loved about this book. As always, the mystery of the day is very well written. There are lots of twists and turns, but no loss of continuity. One of my favorite characters, Majestic, makes a first appearance in the beginning of the book (approx. 50 or so pages in) and I was glad to see that character again. As soon as I knew where they were headed, my face lit up with a smile. It’s hard to hate Majestic. Although, she’s not a good guy per se, she’s still got a nobility about her that you can’t deny. She’s got to be a lot of fun to write.
I felt that this book tied up any loose Cat and Bones strings very well, but not so tied up that there couldn’t be future books. I feel that the ending was left….I wouldn’t say wide open, but there is certainly a fair amount of wiggle room should Jeaniene Frost ever decide to revisit our favorite fanged friends.
Something I am always picky about with a series coming to an end is the crap out factor. I have a hard time reading the last book in any series because each installment makes it so the series builds and builds and builds…….and then the last book never does the series justice. I can honestly say you will not run into that with Up From the Grave. This book feels like Jeaniene Frost put just as much effort into it as she did the very first installment. Just by the way it is written, you can tell that she still loves these characters and she still cared about doing right by them and giving them the sendoff they deserved. I went into this book (and took my time reading it for the same reason) dreading a letdown and Jeaniene Frost didn’t steer us wrong, not for one page. The story line in this last installment has so many complex twists and turns nd every single one of them comes together perfectly. The big mystery of Up From The Grave was INSANELY well-written.

What I Didn’t Like:
Aside from the fact that Night Huntress is over???? Nothing. I have no complaints. Up From the Grave was a highly anticipated read and in my mind, this book has been grand on the grandest of scales for months. As I said, I was dreading reading it for fear of it just not being as good as the others. It was every bit as good in every way! My hat is off to you, Jeaniene! This is a series I am going to miss deeply.
Who I Would Recommend It To:
If you love snarky urban fantasy or paranormal romance with an attitude, this is a good book for you. However, if you haven’t read the rest of the series, PLEASE don’t start here. Scroll to the bottom of this post to see the reading order of the 3 series combined and start at the beginning. Trust me, it’s a love affair you will NOT want to miss out on. Cat and Bones are one of the greatest PNR couples of all time. They will make you laugh, then cry, then run off to take a cold shower.

The reading order for the Night Huntress, Night Huntress World, and Night Prince books are listed below along with the Amazon purchase link for each one. The first book is at the top of the list moving down through the three series to Up From The Grave. It also appears they are all on sale on Kindle! 🙂