3.5 stars

I don’t enjoy plots like the one for this book—relationship stress and estrangement—but I can’t bring myself to rate it any lower. As painful as it was, the author did bring forward some legitimate problems with Bones and Cat’s relationship, and it was good to see them addressed. I’m always a bit annoyed at some point with Cat’s savior complex in these books, and it was refreshing that it was acknowledged. Cat has changed and grown throughout the series, sometimes in unexpected ways, and I appreciate that things aren’t static.
I enjoyed this less than previous installments, and the only reason I read it so fast was to get through all the anguish to the inevitable reconciliation. I wasn’t sure how the author was going to make right what Bones did during the couple’s estrangement, but I was happy that he never cheated on Cat. I know couples work through infidelity in real life, but it was going to be tough to accept the hero in a paranormal romance behaving so badly and the heroine getting back with him anyway.
The end of the book made up for the angst that had to be endured, although I was surprised by how dark things got. Cat killing the human woman she thought Bones cheated on her with was never addressed, really. Maybe it will be later. But what really shocked me was her mother being turned into a vampire, abused, and then her lover killed in front of her. Wow!
Even though I wasn’t in love with this one, I’m hooked on this series, and I’m looking forward to reading about Spade and Denise in the spin-off novel that comes next. I thought there might be an inkling of potential there, and then—lo and behold—there was an excerpt to their book at the end of this one! ( )

Meh :/ ( )

Trigger warning: child grooming, sexual abuse, offensive language
I have reached a point in reading this series where I feel like my book reviews serve a legitimate purpose. These popular books star awful characters in a way that makes their thoughts and behaviors seem normalized. Flawed characters make for dynamic writing, but the work must acknowledge in some way that the characters are imperfect. If it doesn’t, readers might aspire to be like them. My review today is going to touch on topics in this book that some readers might have difficulty reading about.

Destined for an Early Grave starts with our lead character Cat having nightmares of an unknown vampire chasing her. In these dreams, she’s running towards Bones, her husband, while the mysterious vampire tells her that Bones isn’t her husband. Ominous.

Read more at https://theparanormalreview.blogspot.com/2021/08/destined-for-early-grave-by-jea.... ( )

I really, really dislike some of the tropes and characterizations that show up in this one - personal tastes and preferences, y'know - but outside that (or including that for someone whose tastes lean that way) it's really solid, and a good fun read.

Yeah, I still love some of the stuff I yell at while I'm reading.

Hmph. ( )

This series keeps getting more addictive with every book. I love the characters, the dialogue and the action. I like that Frost doesn't make Bones and Cat's relationship storybook. Instead, they have to fight to make things work and this book was a prime definition of fighting for a relationship. I got so caught up in the audiobook that I ended up just sitting in my bedroom listening to the last 2 1/2 hours because I had to know how it was going to turn out. There were a couple of unexpected turns in this book. Once again Gilbert does an excellent job with the narration. Even her voice for Bones is starting to grow on me. ( )