Spoilers
I'm so glad this series is over, the last few installments were kind of rubbish. Nonetheless, I'll still miss Cat and Bones as they're books were one of the first Urban Fantasy series I'd ever read.
I loved the first 3 or 4 books in the Night Huntress world but I hated the last two, they were so boring. And because of that I didn't think I'd enjoy this one but I actually ended up liking Up From the Grave. I wasn't blown away by it, I had a number of issues with it but overall I was entertained. I think a part of my enjoyment was down to being a tad nostalgic about saying goodbye to a series I started years ago and one which motivated me to fully get back into reading. I'll most likely re-read the series (except book 5 and 6) at some point in the future if I'm ever in a reading slump, I'm sure it'll help me get out of it.
Random Thoughts:
-Cat's old team (Tate, Cooper, Juan, Dave) missing. Cat and Bones think their disappearance has to do with the team's slimy new boss (Madigan). Cat/Bones find out that Madigan has been experimenting on vampires and ghouls and trying to create super soldiers that are a mix of both. They have to stop him before a war starts over the super soldiers.
-Cat finds out she has a seven year old daughter (Katie). Madigan stole her eggs and used a surrogate so he could have his own part vampire/human to experiment on.
I wasn't expecting that twist at all, Cat has never talked about kids before, she was happy with just being with Bones, so her being a mother wasn't something I thought would happen for her HEA.
-I loved that Cat had a child and not Bones. In pretty much all PNR/UF series it's always the hero with a kid and the heroine has to be the stepmother and take on the child as her own… So it was nice having the hero being the step parent for a change.
-Even though I enjoyed the Katie twist, I would have liked if Cat had found out about her earlier on in the book instead of late in the latter half. I wanted more scenes of Cat and Katie together, Cat and Bones discussing Katie, and Cat trying to come to terms with being a mum. There wasn't enough pay off to the Katie twist, I needed more of Cat and the gang interacting with Katie.
-Katie was a little badarse, it was great how she took down both Tate and Denise in seconds, she was definitely her mother's daughter.
It was tight how she grew up without family or love and was instead locked up and raised to be a killer. She was only seven yet she'd already been forced to killed hundreds. At least she'll be able to hold her own when she's older.
I kind of loved how she talked like a little soldier, it was cute.
-I was disappointed that Katie's biological father was an unknown, I know Tate believed it was him but that wasn't definite. I felt like the author left it ambiguous just so Bones fans wouldn't be upset that Cat had a connection with Tate or some other guy. I just didn't buy that Madigan or the scientists who were trying to create a one of a kind super soldier kid would think it unimportant who the biological father was. They were scientists, details should have mattered, also they could have used that information later on to manipulate an older Katie. It made no sense them thinking her father was unimportant just because he was human. The whole thing didn't add up.
It would have been good if Katie showed some physical traits similar to Tate or whoever the bio father was, after all Katie could just as easily have been Copper or Dave's kid… They could be missing out on knowing and raising their daughter. Yea, I really wish Katie's parentage had been cleared up.
-I've not liked Bones since he emotionally manipulated Cat into becoming a full vampire in book 4, my estimation of him went way down. I still kind of hate him but not quite as much as before — him embracing Katie as his daughter and protecting her even though it put his and Cat's life at risk raised my opinion of him.
-Cat was the same as ever… tough, stubborn, loyal, a little TSTL, and never thinking things through. It was odd her being so maternal with Katie when she'd never really wanted kids before. I guess after how her own mum treated her growing up she wanted to be better and wanted Katie to feel normal and loved.
I did find Cat a tad sexist and judgmental at times, she looked down at any woman who showed interest in Ian or some other sexy vampire. Since when has women fancying hot guys been wrong?! It really grated on me her thinking less of women for being attracted to a nice looking guy. I don't remember her being like that before.
-How did Cat not realise that Bones wasn't actually dead when he was shot? She knew he had that power where he looked dead, how could she not put two and two together especially when the last time she thought he was dead, he was actually alive??
-Why didn't Bones tell Cat his telekinetic powers had increased or tell her about his 'pretend to be dead so he could sneak into Madigan's compound' plans? He was such a hypocrite banging on about trust only to keep things from her. It was a double standard, he expected Cat to tell him every little thing about her but when he didn't do the same in return it was fine and dandy because it was for her own good, there was always an excuse with him… Yet he would never accept any excuse from her. Ugh.
-I hated Spade in this. He was so pissy and bitchy at Cat and Bones just because Denise chose to help them… It was Denise's choice to risk her life to help Cat's daughter. He acted like Cat/Bones had done something horrific in letting Denise help them save Katie. They did nothing wrong, and Denise was more than capable of making her own decisions. Ugh, he was such a dick.
-I felt quite sorry for Denise, in her book she was desperate to have a child of her own but instead it was her best friend who had no interest in kids who ended up being a mother. I hope Denise gets pregnant at some point, I'm sure Spade would be cool with her going to a sperm bank or something.
-Bones's British dialogue was atrocious. Like this (Bones replying to someone who he thinks is fucking with him):
“You must be taking a piss on me.”
Really?! That's not the expression at all… It's 'you're taking the piss' or 'are you taking the piss (out of me)' - I hate when dialogues are written badly.
-I didn't like the addition of Trove or whatever his name was as the villain. I hate when the villain or one of the villains in the final book of a series is someone new or never previously mentioned before. I expect final books to not have a villain-of-the-week type plot.
-There might be an Ian spin off book at some point which I'm quite looking forward to. I just hope the author doesn't somehow age Katie and make her his heroine, that would be sick.
-I wouldn't mind reading a spin off book about Annette, Marie, or Veritas. Even though I quite like Ian, I'd much rather read their stories than his, they seem far more interesting than him — he's just the typical fun loving manslut which has been done loads of times before. Whereas Veritas, Marie, and Annette seem more complex and have a lot more going for them.
All in all, a decent enough end to the series.