What happens when: A horror reader tackles a paranormal romance?

ere’s the thing folks, I like reading about monsters. The kind of strange and terrifying creatures that make you wonder about that sound in your closet when you’re laying in bed at night. I also read a fair amount of post-apocalypse fiction, usually involving zombies or some other horde of thingies who look at all of mankind as an all-you-can-eat buffet. It’s dark, scary, intense stuff and I rarely venture outside my ghoulish literary bubble.
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That said, I challenged our editor Jennifer, a long-time romance reader, to take a walk on the wild side and give a book in my favorite genres a try. To my surprise, she actually agreed. I wish I could say I was surprised when she issued a similar challenge for me to crawl out from my horror crypt and take a ride down the gooey, happily-ever-after, lovey-dovey romance road. Given that she’d already stepped up, declining the dare wasn’t an option.

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​The assigned read

Halfway to the Grave by Jeaniene Frost

​Blurb from Amazon:
Half-vampire Catherine Crawfield is going after the undead with a vengeance, hoping that one of these deadbeats is her father—the one responsible for ruining her mother's life. Then she's captured by Bones, a vampire bounty hunter, and is forced into an unholy partnership.
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In exchange for finding her father, Cat agrees to train with the sexy night stalker until her battle reflexes are as sharp as his fangs. She's amazed she doesn't end up as his dinner—are there actually good vampires? Pretty soon Bones will have her convinced that being half-dead doesn't have to be all bad. But before she can enjoy her newfound status as kick-ass demon hunter, Cat and Bones are pursued by a group of killers. Now Cat will have to choose a side . . . and Bones is turning out to be as tempting as any man with a heartbeat.

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What I liked

• Jennifer was kind enough to select a paranormal romance, to prevent the diabetic coma I feared suffering with a normal romance  
• It’s a series, so if by some miracle I like it, there’s plenty more out there
• The characters were super interesting and damn funny to boot
• The detailed vampire world building was genuinely cool and fascinating
• The plot had a ton of twists and turns that kept me glued to my iPad
• The pace was a nice mix of action and storytelling

What I wasn't crazy about

• I loved Cat’s snarky humor and attitude, but the whole “Does he really like me?” self doubt thing felt very out of character for this particular woman
• Cat’s utter lack of communication with her mother bugged me. You're both grown adults. Try having a conversation.
• Don’t think I’m spoiling anything when I reveal that the two main characters have sex.  Like, alot. Besides them being three-quarters dead between the two of them, the barely touched on, super-gross fact that he ejaculates blood freaked me the hell out.
• The idea that a centuries-old vampire would fall instantly in love with this young, naive girl felt kinda sappy.

The Verdict
Venturing out of my musty horror crypt into the light of Romancelandia wasn’t nearly as painful as I thought it’d be. Of course, the paranormal aspect of this book acted as a comforting blanket during my brief visit. There was a fair amount of romance mushiness throughout that had me rolling my eyes a bit but nothing that made me want to stop reading. More than anything else, the writing was very good, which always trumps any stylistic or subject matter issues. I’m not sure this book would be right for hard core horror fans, but I was intrigued enough to buy the next book in the series.​

What about all you readers out there? Ever ventured outside of your reading comfort zone? We’d love to hear about it! Leave a comment below or if you're shy, drop us a line.

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