Book 6.5, Home for the Holidays: Night Huntress

Loved it a lot

Another author who manages to make you both afraid of and cheering for the heroine of the series. This is a great series in my favouright type of fiction. There are three writers who I think are amongst the best in the world in this genre and Ms Frost is one.

I really have enjoyed this series .. Its well written and the characters are well developed .. not gonna solve the worlds problems .. but then thats one of the reasons why we read fantasy .. or at least some of us .. right???

I love anything with Cat and Bones!! I wish the series wasnt ending I sure will miss them! If you haven't read the series you really should. I have all the books in paperback except the little short stories.

I read Home for the Holidays as one of the two fabulous stories in the anthology, The Bite Before Christmas! I've copied my review over from the anthology and just removed the parts that referred specifically to the other book .

The Bite Before Christmas is a festive paranormal anthology featuring two fun reads. I enjoyed my previous one experience with Lynsay Sands writing so much that when I saw this book on display at our library, I grabbed it. As a bonus, I received an introduction to Jeaniene Frost’s books too. Even though these novellas are both installments in the authors’ established series, I had absolutely no problem jumping in with these! I never once felt lost. They have ignited my desire to read more from both of these authors soon!

Home for the Holidays by Jeaniene Frost is an engaging urban fantasy set in the holiday season. There’s some sizzling romantic sparks, too - just enough to spice things up. As the story opens, it’s Bones’ birthday and as part of his surprise, he discovers that he has a long-lost brother. That’s the good news. The bad news is that the brother carries unwanted baggage. This tale will keep you on the edge of your seat throughout. (153 pages)

A few favorite quotes from Home for the Holidays:

“Get your bloody hands off my wife!”
---
“You call that begging? Oh, Kitten, you can do better than that...”

Both reads are highly entertaining, with great characters and teeming with sweet and intense moments. I read them both in one day – not wanting to put either down until I’d finished. I highly recommend this pairing to anyone who craves a fangy holiday escape anytime of the year!

A review copy was provided for an honest review. As far as novellas go Home for the Holidays is sure to bring Cat and Bones fans lots of cheer. In the Night Huntress series there is destined to be some sort of supernatural craziness afoot and as can be expected Frost delivers it. This short story is packed with action, burning-hot scenes, and in the span of 100 pages drops three major bombs that sheds light on Bones' past and changes all that we know about him, and all that he knows about himself. Although this isn't a large novel it may as well be since it has just as much going on as a full-length read. Many familar characters are back, Cat is her normal badass vampire self, and Bones is as usual charming, and lethal. Though it has been awhile since I read the previous book it felt like no time at all picking up where I left off, and I enjoyed the ease at how quickly I was enthralled.

The holidays are almost here and Cat has something extra special planned for Bones that brings all of their closest friends together to celebrate. All the invites have been sent but an uninvited guest shows up that isn't on the list. To everyone's surprise the person has a few plans of their own for the reunion. Suspicions are on full alert when Cat's friends and even her husband, Bones, starts acting strange. The only people left unaffected are Cat, Ian, and Denise and they are left to figure out what in the hell is going on before the situation gets much worse. An insidious plot unravels as they search for answers, and everything is at stake.

Home for the Holidays is an astonishing addition to the series and a nice bridge to the next and final novel Up From the Grave. It connects the dots of Bones' past and exposes truths, and reveals loyalties. I forgot that this wasn't a regular page counted book and by the end I wanted more—the wait for the last installment will be grueling. It's one of the best novellas I've read, and it unveils important information on key characters that is absolutely shocking. Any and all Cat and Bones fans who have caught up to this point in the series MUST read Home for the Holidays! It has THREE major mind-blowing revelations. If you haven't already started the Night Huntress series you need to ASAP.

Thanksgiving and Christmas seem to be cursed holidays for Cat and Bones. I don't think they've managed to have a quiet, completely normal holiday season yet because their enemies always seem to pick that time to start crap. This time is no different, with the stuff starting to hit the fan even before all of their guests have arrived. What follows is a fun, action-packed story that's fully in the spirit of the earlier Night Huntress novels. Cat is shown at her butt-kicking best, and in a somewhat surprising and interesting turn of events, Ian gets to play the hero helping to pull his friends' fat out of the proverbial fire instead of being the irritating and self-serving jerk we're more used to with him.

The story itself is nicely original while still having some precedents within the series. We get to see most all of our favorite characters assembled together here, though only Cat, Ian, Fabian, and Denise really play much of an active role. Bones is involved in more of a supportive role for part of it since he's one of those needing rescued. Most of the concepts employed here have been introduced previously, whether in one of the novels or one of the earlier short stories or novellas, but with a few new twists that make it so you're not really sure what to expect or which way things are going to go. The rules we've learned before still apply, except that they don't entirely apply because the situation at hand is so unique and rare and some of the rules were broken to bring it about to begin with.

I was quite impressed with this story from start to finish by both the familiar elements and the new twists that were introduced. It's clear that Frost used this story to start grooming Ian for the leading man status that her fans have been asking for (and that she has recently confirmed he is going to get) because his characterization here grows by leaps and bounds from what we've been shown of him in the past. The selfish, hedonistic jerk that we've grown accustomed to isn't entirely gone, for he does still show us on several occassions that those qualities are and will remain an integral part of his personality. But he does demonstrate that he has other sides to his personality as well, including the one that is fiercely and unfailingly loyal to Bones and Spade. We have seen this in him before, but he proves in this story that he is deadly and viciously serious about being willing to put his own life on the line to defend or save theirs.

Fans of the Night Huntress series definitely won't want to miss this one. I wouldn't, however, recommend starting here if you haven't read any of the stories or novels before because you really need to know the various characters' histories to fully appreciate the full extent of the threat here. That, and there are quite a few spoilers for earlier books included as well. 5 solid stars to a very entertaining and inventive story.

This was a fun little novella in the Night Huntress world and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was nice to have this novella to dive into before reading the final book in the series. I am really dreading saying goodbye to these characters.

I loved watching Cat stand on her own in this one. She has to save Bones and it’s clear that she will stop at nothing to do so. I love that she is a heroine who can take care of herself and is capable of being the one to save the day. This book made me so nervoqus for Bones though and had my heart in my throat. I think my favorite thing with this one is that we got to see another side to Ian. He is a pain in the ass but he is a fun pain in the ass. He has come a long way from when we first met him in book two. I find him so funny.

All in all, this was a nice addition to the Night Huntress series. I’m sure I’ve made it clear by now, but I just love everything this series has to offer and I’ll take these characters any way I can get them.

The holidays certainly get spiced up in this action packed novella... Bones, Cat, and the entire cast of characters bring new meaning to family drama at the holidays... Battling demons, attempting to kill one another, and discovering long lost relations are just some of the obstacles to overcome during this insane adventure... With a touch of humor, a splash of kickass moves, and a sprinkle of delicious sexiness this novella takes the reader on a rambunctious thrill ride that only this crew could pull off... 4.5 Stars:)

It always amazes me how quickly the Night Huntress world can suck me back in. All the characters are so engaging and addictive that I put off reading this short and the following book because I knew they were the last in the series. These characters will be sorely missed.

This story is set during the holidays (obviously) where Cat mistakenly believes she can have a nice “normal” holiday with all of their friends. A surprise visit by someone who claims to be Bones’s long lost brother (who also just happens to be a vampire) sets of a chain of events that almost ends in tons of death and destruction. Cat is one of the few unaffected by the mystery man’s mojo that seems to have wrapped all the incredibly strong vampires around his little pinky. She, Denise, and Ian (the most unlikely ally, always) manage to formulate a plan to get their friends and lovers back and out of harm’s way.

I admit, this story was almost as good as a full length book, with the action at extremes and the risks super high. Ian was a surprise highlight of this story and somehow forced me to begin enjoying his company. Who knew? All in all, this is a must read (especially for further connections?) for all Night Huntress fans.

Jeaniene Frost's Night Huntress series is the first urban fantasy series I ever started reading, and the characters and stories put the urban fantasy genre on my "go to" list. I will read anything that Ms. Frost writes because of my love for this series. I saw that the novella: Home for the Holidays was available (#6.5 in the Night Huntress series) and I thought it was perfect timing to read it before I read the series finale: Up From the Grave. Home for the Holidays was amazing! So good and intense that I am SHOCKED this story was set aside for a novella and not a full-length novel! It's that good, and it includes information that affects the characters and series. Whatever the reason, I'm sure Ms. Frost put her readers' enjoyment first when she decided to make this story a novella instead of book #7. That said, I think this novella is a must read for fans of the Night Huntress series.

Home for the Holidays shows all our favorite master vampires in a very vulnerable state, and Cat has to team up with Ian to save Bones and the others. This 150 page novella is a page turner and leaves the reader satisfied with yet another great story added to an amazing series.

My favorite quotes:
“You consider damning souls a job?” “What would you call something you have to do in order to fit in, where you’re bitched at whenever you underperform, yet you’re never, ever appreciated for when you do it right?” Another snort. “I guess marriage also qualifies, but for me, it’s contracting souls.”

"But you're demons!" I burst out. "Scary, powerful, soul-snatching scourges of the underworld! How can you not do something as simple as keep in touch about who you brand?" A shrug. "We're independent contractors. Don't like it? Complain to management. Maybe dialing 666 will get you someone."

"By unsoiled blood, do you mean freshly shed instead of bagged plasma?" Balchezek exchanged a glance with Ian, who rolled his eyes. "Times like this I feel old," Ian muttered, to a grunt of agreement from the demon. "He means virgin's blood." I bristled. "Are you trying to say that if a chick gives it up, she's considered soiled? What kind of bullsh** is- " "It can be male blood, too," Balchezek said, winking at me, "Whatever turns you on."

This is the first book I've read in this series. I know, it's 6.5 technically but I haven't read the others. I was searching for Christmas books and took a chance. It was full of action and some of the sexual kind. Some vampires and some ghosts. I'm not sure that it was unique enough for me to sink my teeth into but maybe if I pick up book one I might be more enticed. All and all an enjoyable, quick read.

Things that top the list of holiday stress are family and uninvited guests. Cat invites all of Bones' intimate friends up to their mountain home to enjoy a surprise birthday for Bones and a fun visit for the holidays. In true Cat & Bones fashion though, things go south quickly- an attack by an unknown enemy, uninvited guests, family secrets revealed, fight scenes, love scenes and near death moments all before Christmas.

Cat was her usual self, but it was Ian who had her back in this one because of the nature of the trouble. It was fun seeing the irascible pair team up. I enjoyed the big reveals from Bones' past too. And for all the short length and action in this one, there was still some good Cat and Bones time.

Fab 'can't miss' addition to the Night Huntress series and a nice holidays vampire style read for the paranormal romance fans.

A short but entertaining read. Cat sets out to suprise Bones , this time the suprise is not quite what Cat had planned . A most excellent ? holiday story with all of your favorite characters involved

You'd think Cat & Bones could have a nice holiday without some crazy stuff going down. Well, it's not happening this time anyway. The stranger who shows up makes a shocking revelation that leaves Bones, and Cat, reeling. Unbeknownst to them, this stranger is possessing the vampires with a heavy duty demon entity, not even Mencheres can escape its thrall.

Cat, Ian, and Denise have dodged this particular bullet but how do they go about defeating something so powerful, even a millennium-old vampire could succumb to it? You better read it and find out!

This story was SO crazy! Fighting, demon possession and the most surprising is Ian stepping up and taking control of the situation, helping Cat get her husband back. All the books and novellas in the series are a must read!

I really enjoyed this holiday themed novella. The story read closer to a full length novel in Frost's style. It was nice to get more background on Bones as a human and I liked seeing some different sides to Ian too.