First Drop of Crimson (Night Huntress World, #1)

by Jeaniene Frost

From the New York Times best-selling author of the Night Huntress series comes a breathtaking new journey to the dark side of desire.

The night is not safe for mortals. Denise MacGregor knows all too well what lurks in the shadows - her best friend is half-vampire Cat Crawfield - and she has already lost more than the average human could bear. But her family’s past is wrapped in secrets and shrouded in darkness - and a demon shape-shifter has marked Denise as prey. Now her survival depends on an immortal who lusts for a taste of her.

He is Spade, a powerful, mysterious vampire who has walked the earth for centuries and is now duty-bound to protect this endangered, alluring human - even if it means destroying his own kind. Denise may arouse his deepest hungers, but Spade knows he must fight his urge to have her as they face the nightmare together, because once the first crimson drop falls, they will both be lost. 

• ISBN10: 0061583227
• ISBN13: 9780061583223
• Publish Date: 9 February 2010
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Avon Books
• Format: Paperback (A-Format (178x111 mm))
• Pages: 384
• Language: English
• URL: http://harpercollins.com.au/9780061583223

Reviews

[Berls]

As we make our way through our Readalong, it was gratifying to be reading a book that I hadn't simply forgotten but had actually never read. My first time through, I only read the Cat and Bones books, so this was a step away from that and I have to say I'm thrilled Anne put together the readalong to include the entire world. Brandee and I buddy read this one and she loved it too.

The characters really made this book. Spade and Denise - who we already know and love from the Cat & Bones series - are very different in tone from what we've grown accustomed too. They are both very serious, carry the world on their backs, type of people. They've both suffered a lot of loss, but I think it's also worth noting that they've also both experienced true, deep love (that they lost). I think that made them uniquely suited to know and understand each other, which made this a really enjoyable read. It wasn't AS funny as Cat and Bones - but thankfully we do see some of the characters that we've grown to expect to bring the humor... and they do liven things up when they arrive :)

These books are different from Cat and Bones, in that we actually get both POVs, which made for a richer experience and greater knowledge of the world through Spade's eyes. While I have been partial in the past to first person POV, I really enjoyed this vantage point and I think we would have lost a lot not getting Spade's perspective.

There was a lot of action in this book and some really interesting developments for the overall Night Huntress world - ones that I'll be interested to see develop both in this series and in Cat and Bones. I was definitely MORE compelled by the characters, but I did enjoy the world building and some really great action scenes, for sure!

[Angie]

Proceed With Caution:

This book contains blood, gore, death, murder, mind control, discussions of rape and torture.

The Basics:

First Drop of Crimson follows Denise and Spade, side characters from the Night Huntress series. It picks up several months after Destined for an Early Grave, so I would recommend reading that one first as there are spoilers. It’s not 100% necessary to follow the plot here, although I would definitely say read One Grave at a Time at least, to get the background. Denise is still in mourning over her husband, but she’s trying to go on to live a normal human life. Unfortunately, a demon shows up at her door, brands her, and demands that she bring him an older family member that skipped out on a deal. Denise doesn’t know what to do, so she calls the one vampire who may be able to help her.

My Thoughts:

I really enjoyed First Drop of Crimson the first time I read it, but I liked it less this time. I still liked it, but a few things were nagging at me. It’s a fake relationship turned real, which is my all-time favorite trope. Well, it kind of is. Spade agrees to help Denise track down Nathaniel, but to avoid suspicion she must pose as his property as everyone knows that he doesn’t date humans. However, that plan quickly fails and they have to pretend to be a real couple, despite Denise’s repulsion by all things supernatural. Obviously, both of them have to get over their prejudices and fall madly in love, because duh! I loved watching that happen.

The plot was also pretty good, but that's where it kind of lost me this time around. I never got bored with it and really liked learning about more supernatural beings that inhabit this world. It was also fun to see Cat and Bones as support characters rather than the stars. Of course, the outcome of First Drop of Crimson was quite predictable. There’s only one way that Denise and Spade could have stayed together forever, but I was okay with that. It fit the narrative. And it provides some really awesome moments later in the series.
 

However, I kept wondering why Raum was coming after Nathaniel and the rest of Denise's family now. Obviously, we needed a reason for Denise to have her own book and get back into contact with Spade. I did like how she wound up having an unknown connection to the supernatural world. But it's not explained very well. Nathaniel made his deal with the devil 150 years ago! Why is it suddenly time to collect? Was there a time frame placed on when he was suppose to pay up? How and when did Raum get back to the mortal realm? None of this is ever answered. It made the plot feel convenient and like it existed as an after-fact just to get Denise and Spade together.

First Drop of Crimson was still a fun read. I read it almost straight through over a few hours. I just wish the plot had been stronger to make me really believe Denise and Spade's predicament. Their romance was a great match, with both of them dealing with grief and struggling to move on, but supporting each other through it.

[littleread1]

I think I like Denise and Spade more than Cat & Bones *ducks*

Or at least Spade. He is so effing sweet.

[mitabird]

Update: 6/16/11 - Unfortunately, I didn't write anything about how I thought of this book the first time I read it. This time around, it was a bit stale and slow moving through the first half of the book. I liked Denise and Spade as a couple, but they really needed to communicate better. Some of the misunderstandings could have been prevented. Things didn't start to pick up until Denise and Spade went to Monaco to see a vampire named Web. This wasn't a bad read and a decent addition to a wonderful series, but I wasn't as invested in the characters or the story the way I am with Cat and Bones. 3.5 stars

Original review: 3/25/10 - 4 stars

[Hixxup]

this was a great book I loved it just as much as I do the Night Huntress novels, I was worried cause of others review on it and that it might suck,. But I opened it up and started reading it until I couldn't keep my eyes open, I had like two maybe three chapters left to read this morning when I woke up, I can't wait until I get the next book I am excited to read it now.

[Linda]

Great spin-off from the Night Huntress series. Lovely to see more of Spade and Denise, as well as Cat, Bones and some other friends.

[Jo]

The night is not safe for mortals. Denise MacGregor knows all too well what lurks in the shadows—her best friend is half-vampire Cat Crawfield—and she has already lost more than the average human could bear. But her family's past is wrapped in secrets and shrouded in darkness—and a demon shapeshifter has marked Denise as prey. Now her survival depends on an immortal who lusts for a taste of her.

He is Spade, a powerful, mysterious vampire who has walked the earth for centuries and is now duty-bound to protect this endangered, alluring human—even if it means destroying his own kind. Denise may arouse his deepest hungers, but Spade knows he must fight his urge to have her as they face the nightmare together...

Because once the first crimson drop falls, they will both be lost. From Amazon US

I am a huge fan of Jeaniene Frost’s Night Huntress series, following Cat and Bones’ relationship and the supernatural problems they come up against. When I heard Jeaniene would be writing a spin off series of stand alone novels, and Spade would get his own story, I was seriously excited. One, it’s Jeaniene Frost, and I just love her writing, two, it’s still set in the same world as the Night Huntress series, and I love the mythology, and three, Spade gets his story – meaning it would be from his point of view. Jeaniene didn’t didappoint; First Drop of Crimson is amazing!

Before I carry on with my review, I just want to clear something up for you all, which might be confusing to those who have yet to read any of Jeaniene’s novels. The books following Cat and Bones – Halfway to the Grave, One Foot in the Grave, At Grave’s End, and Destined for an Early Grave – are in the Night Huntress series. The stand alone novels in the spin off series are collectively called the Night Huntress World series. I thought it may be a bit confusing, because sometimes I even have to think about which is which.

Back to the review. The story was incredible! We come across creatures we’ve not met before in this world; demons. There’s a whole new mythos to discover, and it’s just so awesome! I can’t really go into the demons because it’ll be spoiling things for you, but the creatures are great, and the plot is just so unique!

There is plenty of action, like we’re used to, a lot of suspenceful, edge-of-your-seat fighting several times throughout the novel, but the pacing is a little different. This one story spans about five weeks, where normally Jeaniene’s stories span several days. Sometimes hours, even days, go by without us having seen the characters for that time, the time has just gone as nothing eventful or important happened. It made it a little difficult to keep track of how long the characters had been together, which sometimes made the feelings of the characters seem to come about really quickly. On the plus side, we also meet some other characters we love, including Cat and Bones! Just fantastic!

There were a few things I didn’t expect in this novel. All the books in the Night Huntress series are writing in first person from Cat’s point of view, but this book is written in third person from both Spade’s and Denise’s points of view. It was a little jarring at first reading third person, simply because I was more used to Jeaniene’s first person style. I don’t have a problem with third person generally, it just wasn’t expected. As I said, I loved the book, but I do think I prefer first person, simply because these characters are just so awesome, I want to be right in their heads and have them tell me the story – rather than have the story told to me by “someone” who seems to be able to read everyone’s mind. It’s not a big deal, it certainly didn’t make the story less enjoyable, it’s just my own preference.

Despite being in third person, we get into a Night Huntress World’s vampire’s head as much as we can, and that is what I was most looking forward to! It’s odd reading Spade’s story – or rather Denise’s – because I’ve always imagined Spade as pretty easy going from the other books, but he is really quite intense. It was great to get to know the real him, his backstory, and how he fits into the circle of undead friends. It was also really awesome to get to know Denise; she had always been this small secondary character, who wasn’t that important of a character to me, so it was great to get to know her as more than just Cat’s best friend, and the woman who lost her husband. She’s an incredible character, seriously amazing but so complicated, I can’t really go into her in much detail without spoiling the story.

But the most enjoyable part of this new structure is that Spade is British, and so uses a lot of British words where Denise would use American. A lot of the Urban Fantasy novels I read are written by American authors, and normally I don’t notice when American words are used – until a British character is introduced and starts talking. Don’t ask me why, but I always get excited, with a stupid grin, and think “You talk like me!” What was really great in First Drop of Crimson, however, was how well Jeaniene kept up her British words and slang for when we were following Spade the whole way through, and had Denise use American words and slang when we followed her. It was just so cool! The only thing I noticed is that, if I remember rightly, Spade took off his “pants”, not his “trousers”, but it’s no big deal! I just loved it!

I really loved this book, it was brilliant! Fans of Jeaniene Frost will love this book, and there’s enough explanation in First Drop of Crimson for new readers to understand the world and who the characters are. I highly recommend it, and I can’t wait for Eternal Kiss of Darkness, the second in the Night Huntress World series, which will be released 27th July.

From Ink and Paper - Fantasy review blog.

[Melanie]

Very good book. It is written in third person, unlike the Cat & Bones books. It gives you both perspectives. You also get to see Cat, Bones, Ian and Mencheres. It takes place after [b:Destined for an Early Grave|5604848|Destined for an Early Grave (Night Huntress, #4)|Jeaniene Frost|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1257295582s/5604848.jpg|5776219]. I would definitely recommend this book to any one how likes the Night Huntress series.