The ghoul, Appollyon, is stirring up trouble, trying to incite a race war between vampires and ghouls. And who's been drawn right into the middle? None other than Cat Crawfield, of course. Appollyon claims Cat is intending to become an unstoppable Vampire/Ghoul hybrid, loyal to the vampires, and will be the cause of the enslavement of the ghoul race.



Cat and Bones are forced to seek help from the Ghoul Queen of New Orleans, but whose side is she really on... and what is she after?



In This Side Of The Grave we get to see Cat and Bones settle into a real, stable, and emotionally mature relationship (which I LOVED). The couple still sizzle, but the tension is forced to come from the plot, more than the two of them, now.



This is also one of the funniest outings in series yet, with laugh-out-loud dialogue, (again) courtesy largely of Vlad. There's one line which has to be shared from Bones. An unexpected side character reappears, and asks if he may ask Bones a question. Bone's response: "Ask me if I sparkle, and I kill you where you stand."





***BEWARE: From here on, there be SPOILERS.***



In previous installments, we always new we were going to get a HEA, regardless of what argument our heroes were having... now there seems to be an ominous undertone lurking in the story, and it scares me. I could be reading something into this, but there seemed to be a number of roadsigns that something very big and very bad is on the horizon.



While we leave Cat and Bones in a happy place, we're left with a question of Majestic's true intentions... what is she manouevering towards? There were a number of conversations between Cat and Bones, and also Marie, that are bothering me. Cat and Bones discuss their true love for each other, with Cat saying that while she promised to go on without him if anything happened to Bones, she wouldn't want to. And Bones promising they'd always find a way to be together, be it 'this side of the grave, or the next'. It gives me the willies. Is this really just the proclamation of holding nothing back love we've been waiting for, or is it foreshadowing something dark in the future for our favourite couple. We also see an advance chapter for book 6, and a secret angent overseeing Tate at Cat's old work has me worried.



I also read an ask the author recently, where Frost refused to answer a question of whether vampires could leave ghosts. She's promised a Cat and Bones HEA... but a HEA 'of sorts'. I'm in love with this couple, and I want Cat and Bones together for ever, with matching love heart tattoes, and sugary loves scenes and warm gooey centres. This book has me worried.



While the romantic side of me is worried, the objective reader has to appreciate the external tension which Frost has carefully woven into the series in this installment.





*** END POTENTIAL SPOILERS ***



Here's hoping for much more happy, balanced Cat and Bones, and a nice big HEA in 4 books' (there are 9 planned for the series) time!



As with the other books in this series, it's R rated. There are very explicit sex scenes in this book, so it may not appeal to everyone.