Hot Blooded by Amanda Carlson

ACarlson-Hot Blooded

ACarlson-Hot BloodedI have seriously been waiting  months and months for Hot Blooded by Amanda Carlson, which is the sequel to her debut, Full Blooded.  I friggin LOVED Full Blooded and Carlson did not disappoint in Hot Blooded, which was just as action packed and thrilling as its predecessor.

It hasn’t been the best week for Jessica McClain.

Her mate has been kidnapped by a Goddess hell-bent on revenge — but Jessica is playing for keeps.

Because she’s the only female werewolf in town…it comes with its own set of rules…and powers.

Aided by two vamps, two loyal Pack members, and one very reluctant human, Jessica must rescue her man while coming to terms with what being a wolf really means.

All in a day’s work for a girl.

The second novel in the Jessica McClain series is a full on action adventure featuring one angry Goddess and plenty of monsters, demons, and a few newly risen beasties…

Hot Blooded picks up virtually where Full Blooded leaves off.  I like when there isn’t much, if any, time gap between novels.  Sometimes, due to the story arc of a series, a gap makes sense and works.  With the Jessica McClain series, such a gap really would not have worked, so I am glad there wasn’t one.

Our heroine is still coming to terms with learning she’s the only, and I mean ONLY, female shapeshifter.  Not just in the US, but the world. Heh, if that doesn’t give you a complex …whether good or bad…I’m not sure anything would.  And Jessica, rightfully so, has one as she is confused to exactly what this means–other than saying goodbye to her hope and dream of just having a normal life.  Well, as normal of a life one can have when you’re part of a shifter’s world.  Privacy, hah, yeah she can forget about that.  Instead, she gets to deal with being under a microscope and having bodyguards at all times.  All in all, I think she handles it pretty well.  She comes into her own, in Hot Blooded.  She finds even more of a backbone, especially once she learns that she is…well…more.  I won’t ruin that surprise *wink*.

And now to what you really want to know.  Carlson’s writing style is right up my alley.  She expertly weaves more background and world/mythology building right in with the plotline.  This is a skill even some of the more “accomplished” (by which I mean, they’ve written well more than just 2 books) authors can lack.   To weave in worldbuilding and mythology is difficult at best because sometimes this part just involves a lot of explanations and more “mundane” things.  You don’t tend to get any of the action or character development.  But, Carlson does manage to blend all these concepts together and does it well.  This makes the pacing of Hot Blooded (and the series thus far) quite fast.  I couldn’t page flip or skim like I tend to do with most books, lest I miss something that becomes important in a few chapters.

By and far, the Jessica McClain series is fast becoming one of my favorite UF series.  Carlson has now found herself on my auto-buy list, at least when it comes to this particular series…and when she branches into something new, you can bet I’ll be picking it up as well.  Even if you think shapeshifters are on the downswing or even past their prime, I urge you to give Hot  Blooded a try (but make sure to start with Full Bloodedas this is a series that will build with each successive book). If you’re an UF junkie like myself, I promise you won’t be disappointed.  If you’ve read Full Blooded, then it’s likely you’ve already picked this gem up and devoured it.  If you somehow missed the release, well, go on, head on over and click “buy” at your favorite book outlet *G*.

Read Order for Jessica McCain
Full Blooded
Blooded
Hot Blooded
Cold Blooded

About Nicole 146 Articles
Attorney by day, Publicist for Barclay Publicity and reviewer/LE (assistant) editor by night. I'm a huge book nerd and love to read. I have 2 dogs, both Labrador retriever mixed breeds, who are very rotten and think they run the house. Let's not lie, they totally do, I just can't them know it ha ha! My usual genre is romance or urban fantasy. I love all things having to do with paranormal, with the occasional good contemp/BDSM/erotica thrown in to spice it all up.