Reckoning: From Unbound

Written by Jeaniene Frost

Narrated by Tavia Gilbert

In New Orleans, a pair of undead serial killers is about to turn Mardi Gras into a horror show—unless the immortal hitman Bones can hunt them down first. From Jeaniene Frost comes a thrilling novella featuring characters from her New York Times bestselling Night Huntress series. Originally appeared in the anthology Unbound.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperAudio
• Release date: Jun 24, 2014
• ISBN: 9780062361899

Jeaniene Frost

Jeaniene Frost is the New York Times, USA Today, and international bestselling author of the Night Huntress series and the Night Huntress World novels. To date, foreign rights for her novels have sold to nineteen different countries. Jeaniene lives in North Carolina with her husband Matthew, who long ago accepted that she rarely cooks and always sleeps in on the weekends. Aside from writing, Jeaniene enjoys reading, poetry, watching movies with her husband, exploring old cemeteries, spelunking and traveling—by car. Airplanes, children, and cookbooks frighten her.

Reviews for Reckoning

[srfeike · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I liked this short story. You get to see a glimpse of Bones before Cat. He doesn't seem quite as intense, lacking a bit of his haughty personality. I'm not sure if that is due to the short nature of the story or if it is because he was different before he meet Cat. I really liked that this story tied into the other books. We met Marie (Queen of New Orleans) and learned a bit about hers and Bone's past. I think that's the thing I didn't like about the Sookie short stories - they were just stories that were there to take up space. They didn't have anything to do with the rest of the series. This one gave us background, characters, setting, etc.

[jalenv_2 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

'Reckoning' is 0.5 in Jeaniene Frost's 'Night Huntress' series, which I have not read. I looked the series up. Heroine Cat Crawford does not appear in this story. Vampire hitman Bones is our protagonist. Real life voodoo practitioner Marie Laveau (1801-1881) is one of the undead and rules New Orleans. (Her title is 'Majestic'.) The Majestic happens to be away, however. Bones is summoned by Jelani, the ghoul Marie left in charge. It seems that notorious sadistic real-life serial torturers and killers Delphine and Louis LaLaurie are here as ghouls taking advantage of Laveau's absence. Jelani was one of their slave-victims. He has prosthetic arms and legs, which means he had to have lost them before he became a ghoul.If hunting down this pair isn't enough, someone keeps shooting Bones with silver-tipped arrows. Good thing the shooter keeps missing Bones' heart. This adventure starts on February 16, 2004 and ends during the Mardi Gras season that year, before Hurricane Katrina wrecked the city. If you're a history buff, there are some inaccuracies about the LaLauries. The fire that exposed their monstrous actions on April 10, 1834, so the story's tour guide in incorrect to claim the LaLauries were at in in the mid-eighteen hundreds. The building visitors can see today was rebuilt from the ruin of the LaLaurie mansion. Bones recruits a human, Becca, who actually saw Delphine lure away a victim. He isn't treating her as a disposable tool. He genuinely wants to keep her safe. She seems like a nice lady.It was interesting to learn that vampires are forbidden to use magic in this series. Also, the Biblical Cain was the first vampire, according to chapter five.The hunt and the big battle were good reading. If you know the LaLaurie story and are infuriated that they managed to flee and live out their lives, this story should make you feel better. If you want to know if Marie Laveau makes an appearance, she does. Is she more frightening than the LaLauries? Make that a resounding YES!.

[melrailey-412132 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

It was interesting to get a look at Bones before he met Cat and I really enjoyed getting to see some of his early interactions with Marie, the ghoul queen of New Orleans. It gave me a feel for where some of that bad blood between them came from. However, I have to admit that this novella featuring Bones without Cat was missing a little something - namely Cat. I think that the stories need that chemistry between Cat and Bones to make them work. But it was a good read even with that little bit of magic missing.

[bookjunkie777 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Good to have an extra Bones' story. The novella is a stand alone book and is before Cat appears in his life. Action and adventure abound. Good story and plot development.

[cc123-3 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I always love Bones but this story really shows he needs Cat to sizzle.

[mullgirl · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I'm not usually a fan of the novella when it comes to augmenting a series, but this one was awesome. I'm not sure I would have loved it if I hadn't read all of the other books though--might have been a little difficult to follow. But, honestly, any book that gives me more Bones I'm voting for.

This is a nice novella where we get to see that Bones makes mistakes too and while he's a ruthless killer, he appears to have always been compassionate. I think that's what I've alweays loved about him--the irony that he is the one who gives Kat her humanity back.

In any case, I'm not sure I'd ever shell out $$ for a novella, but as a freebie from the library it's worth doing.

[steph1203-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I love Bones, my new favorite vampire

[thebookhammock · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Alright, this litte novella didn't wow me.
I think there's a bonus to having Cat involved in the plot of these books. Without her, the suspense is not there.

Still, it was cool to see why Bones had platinum blond hair and why he was banned from being in NOLA for 5 years. It gave the "missing" background to his story with Marie. She's still a creep. Eck.

[tivonut · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is not the happy go lucky Bones and Cat story. It is what Bones was involved with right before Cat and is total UF with a touch of horror. It is not the jump out at you horror but the gruesome stuff.

[tam2603 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Short novella about Bones hunting a serial killer couple while dogding an assassin himself.
What made this piece interesting (and spooky) is the real background of the LaLauries in New Orleans.
This one has no romantic side story, is purely about the serial killers and how Bones hunts them down.

[thelibraryhag · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I enjoyed this prequel to the Night Huntress series. It features Bones and one of my favorite cities, New Orleans. Bones is hired to kill a pair of ghouls who are stalking tourist during Mardi Gras. This gave me a nice look into Bone's character and more information about how the Night Huntess world works. Though not necessary to read it to understand the series but it was interesting.