Review: Hot Blooded by Amanda Carlson

Hot Blooded 

by Amanda Carlson 

(Jessica McClain #2) 

April 23rd 2013 by Orbit
Source: Publisher via Netgalley

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...

Quickie Thought: Amanda Carlson is not a one hit wonder. Hot Blooded is nice addition to the Jessica McClain series.

The Heroine: Jessica is a freak in the supe world. She is the only female werewolf and she's only been able to shift for about a week or so where as other werewolves can shift once they hit puberty. Jessica maybe a late bloomer but she is becoming a bad ass fast!

The Plot: Three werewolves, two vamps and a human walk into a bar..... Picture this motley crew on a journey Lord of the Rings style with Rourke being "my precious".  Jessica leads her brother, Tyler and friend, Danny on a quest to save her new found mate, Rourke. The werewolves get help from sibling vamps that's on loan from the Vampire Queen. Since werewolves and vamps don't like each other the tense is on during the trip. Plus throw in Ray, the human cop that would like nothing more than to see Jessica in jail. This group is not braiding each other's hair and making s'mores around the camp fire.

So the group takes a long and dangerous hike up a mountain, battling some of the weirdest creatures from the Underworld. And with each new encounter Jessica learns more and more about her special abilities. But with her new abilities more and more questions pop up as to what hell she actually is and what it will mean to the future of the supe world.

Issues: I don't have too much to complain about but the major thing I must bitch about is not enough Rourke! 90% of the book is the group making their way to find and save Rourke. I would have liked to see more of Rourke and Jessica together. But now that they are together I'm hoping we get some smexy times in the next book.

Final Thought: Hot Blooded was a little slower paced in some spots than Full Blooded but still a very strong installment in the Jessica McClain series and I can't wait to read Cold Blooded in October.

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#AADSAV Author on Author Action With Amanda Carlson & Kristen Painter

Author Kristen Painter interviews author Amanda Carlson on her upcoming release, HOT BLOODED, and going to Authors After Dark in Savannah, GA is summer.

How do you feel your writing has improved since meeting me? 

Geez, that’s so hard to measure. Your prowess as a writer is legendary and just being around you has improved my writing as well as my wit. But, seriously? It has improved, because being able to chat about writing to other authors is so necessary. You’ve helped train me from the puppy I once was to the Best in Show I am today. HA!

Availale Now

Besides me being there, what are you looking forward to most at Authors After Dark in Savannah? 

I love cons where there’s enough time to interact and meet everyone. I’m doing drinks TWICE with readers (one opportunity with Amanda Bonilla & one with Julie Kenner), so if you’re signing up, look for a chance to come and have a drink with me. I’m seriously looking forward to Savannah. It’s been years since I’ve been there and it’s such a beautiful city.

These werewolf books you write, they're based on your true life personal experiences, right? 

Of course! Jessica is my twin in every way. We were both raised in MN and…um…er…that’s about as far as it goes. But do I WISH I was a kickass werewolf. Does that count?

April 23, 2013

What super power would you most like to have? 

Fly. I know everyone says that, but man, you could go anywhere at any time. I could be writing on the beach all day and fly home in time for dinner. Awesome. Or maybe I’d just fly outside Tom Hardy’s window and sit for a spell. Priceless.

How do you write on a day you don't feel inspired? 

I try and make myself accountable. Doing #wordwars on Twitter (#1k1hr) helps a lot on those days you just don’t feel inspired. It’s hard to wear your thinking cap day in and day out, so making sure you get those words in is key. Then if they’re wrong, you can go back and change them later. Usually, when I go back and edit, I know what should go there if a scene is not sitting right.

Oct 2013

Where can we find you online? 

Most of the time I’m talking to you on Twitter or Facebook. I’m all over social media in the usual haunts. Come find me and we’ll chat!


Thanks for having us stop by! Be sure to look for me interviewing Kristen this summer when LAST BLOOD comes out!

Hot Blooded 

(Jessica McClain #2)

 by Amanda Carlson 

Expected publication: April 23rd 2013 by Orbit

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...

    

Amanda is a Minnesota girl, born and bred. She started writing stories about teenage girls and their social missteps while in high school. She's been writing for over ten years, but began writing fiction in earnest after her second child was born.

Her book, Full Blooded, is a face-paced, action filled urban fantasy, the first in the Jessica McClain series. It will be released by Hachette Book Group by both ORBIT US & UK SEPT 2012. Full Blooded is her first novel. She lives in Minneapolis, with her husband and three kids.

You can find her on various social media sites, Facebook and Twitter. Stop by for a visit! All links and information can be found at amandacarlson.com.

Check out my review for FULL BLOODED.

Review for HOT BLOODED coming soon.

Amanda & Kristen

Cover Revealed - Cold Blooded by Amanda Carlson

The second book in Jessica McClain series, 

Hot Blooded comes out April 23rd 

and that temptress Amanda Carlson is teasing us 

with the cover of the 3rd book, Cold Blooded already. 

Take a look and let me know what you think.

Cold Blooded

by Amanda Carlson

(Jessica McClain #3)

Expected publication: October 8th 2013 by Orbit

Jessica arrives back in town to find her best friend missing and the most powerful witch in the country is blaming her for it. But before they can move to save her, the group is attacked.

On the run, Jessica and Rourke head to the mountains. Several surprises await them, but in order to save her father they are forced to leave for New Orleans early.

Arriving on the Vampire Queen’s doorstep unexpectedly, and bringing trouble on their heels, the Sects are thrown into an all out war. The vicious skirmish ends up forcing the vamps and Jessica to fight on the same team.

The Vamp Queen ends up owing Jessica, but what Jessica doesn’t realize is just how soon she’ll have to cash it in.

Check out the other covers in the series.

    

Which cover you is your favorite?

Full Blooded & Cold Blooded are tied for my favorite. I love the moon and pop of red on Full Blooded. I really like the moon with the building that looks like an old church and bats in the background. Makes me wonder what's going to happen in the book.

UF Double Review: Blooded & Full Blooded by Amanda Carlson

Blooded
by Amanda Carlson
Jessica McClain #0.5
Published April 11th 2012 by Orbit
Purchase
★★★★★ 
Jessica McClain was born the only female in an all male race. The only problem is-she's no wolf. Called a curse, a witch and the Daughter of Evil by the superstitious wolves, Jessica decides to fight for her freedom, at age nineteen, the only way she can-in the ring.
When she's brutally attacked right after her fight, is it enough to finally earn her freedom off Compound, or will she be forced to endure the hatred even longer . . .



REVIEW:

Blooded reads more like a really long prologue that makes you salivating for chapter one.

Amanda Carlson hits you with a stunning amount of greatness in a small amount of pages; with great world and character building.

Most prequels you can get away without reading going into a series but I highly recommend starting with Blooded. It gives you an understanding of the hell that Jessica grew up in by being the only female born to a wolf. She had to fight for her life; she might not be a werewolf but she can hold her own and if you miss reading the novella you will be rob going into Full Blooded.




Full Blooded
by Amanda Carlson
Jessica McClain #1
September 11th 2012 by Orbit
Purchase
★★★★★ 
It's not easy being a girl. It's even harder when you're the only girl in a family of werewolves. But it's next to impossible when your very existence spells out the doom of your race... Meet Jessica McClain -- she just became part of the pack.

In the vein of Kelley Armstrong and Patricia Briggs, a new urban fantasy that rewrites the werewolf myth...



REVIEW:

With Blooded being the appetizer; Full Blooded is the main course.

Jessica is a one of a kind, being the only female werewolf. She is even odder since she didn’t shift once she hit puberty like the other werewolves. Jessica lived her first 26 years of life as a human that was raised by wolves.But after leaving the Pack life and living a normal human life for the last 7 years she finds herself in the middle of a very painful shift.

No one including Jessica’s dad, the Alpha of the North U.S. Pack has no idea what this means and why it’s taken so long for the shift to happen especially since they have no guide book to go by with her being the only one of her kind….. a female werewolf.

Jessica finds herself in a whole new world. Yeah sure she lived with the Pack but because she was human and female she was very much not wanted by most of the wolves. She knows the basics of wolf life but there is so much she doesn’t know. So she is learning the rules as she goes. And she does a kick ass job of it. But she’s not all alone. She gets help from her father, brother and a small group of friends from the pack and her witchy secretary.

Carlson does an excellent job with her world building and character development. I would have to say that one of my favorite characters is Jessica’s wolf. That chica is one saucy wolf. And the inner monologue that Jessica has with her wolf is just awesome. If the wolf was to run the show they would be one slutty duo.

I totally approve of the Jessica’s wolf picks for lovers. There is some hot wolf action and a smoking cat that enters their life.

Fans of Rachel Vincent's Faythe Sanders from the Shifters series will LOVE Jessica McClain!

I can't wait for Hot Blooded to release in Spring of 2013.