Cat and Bones novella ( )

Se amate questa serie, dovete assolutamente (e sottolineo assolutamente) leggere questa storia breve. Nella sua brevità ha tutti gli elementi giusti per farsi amare: azione, rivelazioni sorprendenti, tensione drammatica, sensualità incendiaria e senso dell'umorismo. Il tutto sapientemente concentrato in 150 pagine.

Siamo abituati ormai ai guai nel quali è capace di cacciarsi Cat. Questa volta, però, nei guai ci finisce Bones e toccherà a Cat salvare capre e cavoli. L'aspetto che ho apprezzato di più della faccenda è che Bones sia rimasto Bones. Quante volte ci capita di leggere di maschioni che diventano delle mezze calzette da una pagina all'altra perché sono nei guai? Bones anche in mezzo alla tempesta rimane il vampiro sexy e letale che tutte amiamo. Anzi, il tutto l'ha reso semplicemente più vero, mostrandoci che anche lui ha un lato umano dove è più facile colpirlo.

Cat, invece, rimane sempre se stessa, pronta a buttarsi a capofitto nel pericolo per salvare il suo amatissimo marito. Certo, ha imparato ad essere meno impulsiva, ma non più di tanto. Il suo motto resta prima uccidi, poi fai le domande. Ha sempre bisogno di qualcuno accanto a dirle di frenare i motori.

E quel qualcuno stavolta è Ian, uno dei bastardi più adorabili della letteratura, che anche in questa circostanza non si smentisce. C'è un sacco di Ian in questa storia breve, che sembra quasi un prequel a uno spin-off incentrato su di lui (o forse sono solo io che spero così tanto di leggerlo da vedervi questo). Infatti, oltre al suo solito lato cinico, spregevole e privo di ogni morale, Ian ci mostra la sua parte leale verso le persone per lui importanti (oltre a svelarci qualcosa sul suo passato che non può rimanere privo di spiegazione!). Quella parte di lui che sarebbe anche disposta anche a morire per la vita dei suoi amici. ( )

Fun floof. ( )

here's the jeaniene frost i know and love!
book 5 and 6 have both been lowkey disappointments, so who would have thought to find the old characters i'd fallen in love with in this short novella? and yet, here we are.
this is the best plot we've had since 'destined for an early grave', and i'll forever be bitter that it could have been turned in an actual novel. all the character developments we could've had, all the plot twists... sigh. what a waste. and this is also the reason why i didn't give the book 5 stars: i get that it's a short story, but the narration felt rushed and somehow incomplete; there were a lot of elements and important informations that were just thrown there without further explications or developments, and in a proper book they would have been great.
bones's development is absolutely perfect, i loved him here. and his backstory was so sad, yet i'm glad he found another member of hid family. i loved seeing his vulnerable side, and yet he stays true to himself, remaining the same strong, fearless bitch we know even in times of struggle. boy, i love him so much.
cat is her old ruthless, impulsive, witty self, and yet each new book she strikes me as more and more mature.
i've never particularly appreciated ian, and yet i really liked him here. he's one of the few characters who hasn't suffered from the writing's deterioration in the last few books, and yet here we can finally see the goof qualities he has: he's loyal, he's witty, he's smart, and maybe - maybe - actually pleasant. what a surprise!
it was nice to see denise finally recovering from the damsel in distress role she's played since her solo novel: i used to like her back when she was introduced, but ever since she and spade got together she seemed to lost herself. she doesn't have a big role, but she's finally useful again and she actually pronounces a few lines. spade is annoying as usual, but i've noticed that the author doesn't even make him talk, just keeping him there for no reason at all. both mencheres and kira don't have big roles either, but it amuses me that after mencheres's solo novel kira's usefulness seems to have expired: she literally doesn't even talk in this, she's so anonymous that i forgot about her presence. this could have been annoying, but she was useless and unnecessary even in her own book, so that's okay. mrs frost also finally remembered about annette again, and i liked seeing her vulnerable, honest side, and the implications of her love for bones. ( )

Home for the Holidays by Jeaniene Frost

Night Huntress 6.5. Urban fantasy.
Bones gets a surprise on his birthday. A previously unknown brother. But something strange is going on and it’s up to Cat and Ian to figure out the full story.

Best read as part of the series.
It’s got action, suspense, humor and vampires....so blood too. A wonderful addition to the series.
I listened to the audio version narrated by Tavia Gilbert. Tavia had distinctly different voices for Cat, Bones and Ian. Not only voices, but timing, and cadence as well. Extremely well done and entertaining because of it. ( )