Hot Blooded (Jessica McClain #2) by Amanda Carlson
Urban Fantasy
April 23, 2013
Orbit

Reviewed by Tori

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. (Goodreads)

Hot Blooded picks up where Full Blooded left off. Jessica McClain is now not only the female to be born into a pack in the last couple hundred of years, she’s also a full blooded werewolf who finds herself the subject of much supernatural interest as she is regarded as, “the evil apocalypse that will end their races.” When her mate, Rourke, is kidnapped by the evil goddess, Selene, Jessica finds herself making deals and robbing Peter to pay Paul in order to rescue Rourke and end Selene’s reign of terror once and for all.

Hot Blooded takes us back into Carlson’s highly energetic Urban Fantasy world of hot, sexy shapeshifters, nasty politically motivated supernatural factions, and now TWO prophecies that all revolve around the first female to be born into a wolf pack in hundreds of years-Jessica McClain.  Heavily character driven, Carlson continues to build upon the existing world we were first introduced to and brings in more characters who expand the arc and the present storyline, giving us clues to future books. Carlson does a wonderful job of explaining supernatural politics and integrating them into the main conflict. A steady pace combined with humorous dialogue and action packed scenes keeps us moving along as we follow our protagonist, Jessica McClain, back into the fray of things. Jessica is her pack alpha’s daughter. She is also the first female to be born into the pack and her birth is shrouded in secrecy and a prophecy. Jessica continues to learn more about the original prophecy and the new prophecy that counteracts it. This new prophecy hints that she is to be the one who will rise above the multiple supernatural factions and act as lady justice’s sword, melting out punishment to those who seek to commit evil. This leaves the supernatural world up in arms, thinking she is seeking to exterminate them, and places a huge target on her back. As Jessica races to Rourke’s rescue with a team of unlikely allies, she soon learns that being enemy number one in the supernatural world is the least of her problems.

I liked this installment for the most part. Jessica remains an intriguing protagonist. Intelligent, strong, arse kicking, and funny-she is a worthy UF heroine. I did feel there were certain plot devices used that cheated the natural growth of her character though. With each battle Jessica encounters, she is given a new power in which to defeat it. Any adversity is quickly squashed. I also found that the battle scenes became repetitive and overwhelming, especially the last one with Selene. We spend an inordinate amount of time watching Jessica and the others argue on how to handle Selene and being forced to listen to Selene’s juvenile dialogue. I did enjoy Jessica’s growth in retrospect to her wolf, Jezebel. The additional power gains do serve to further merge Jessica and her wolf into one.

There is no advancement in her “romance” with Rourke. I put romance in quotes because it was only introduced briefly in Full Blooded before he was whisked away and it’s all based on the mating bond. In my opinion, they don’t spend enough time together to make me believe it is love or even lust. Jessica’s wolf is the one pushing Jessica towards him.  I’m hoping book three gives us more time with them if only to show us that it’s worth the added storyline.

The secondary cast continue to be strong, personable characters who could each carry a storyline all by themselves. Cullum, Jessica’s dad, is probably my favorite.  He truly loves Jessica and has no problem showing that love. I like that he isn’t portrayed as the stereotypical wolf alpha, only wanting to sell his kid to the highest bidder. Her brother remains a delightful mess and I like the relationship they have. Danny, our human pack mate, has a strong storyline in here and I like where Carlson takes him in regards to a possible romantic entanglement. Roy. Poor Roy. Why is Roy ever here? Jessica’s new “vampire” friends are a welcome addition and Carlson uses them to further educated us to the vampire court and the intricacies involved in dealing with it.

The ending wraps up the storyline from book one and opens up new ones with a cliffhanger. While I enjoyed this installment overall, I really wish Jessica had been tested more character wise without being given instant successes. Knowing right off the bat that a heroine can never be defeated, as this installment shows being a possibility, makes me a bit weary for the overall arc of this series. Heroines and heroes need to be defeated occasionally. They need to suffer and be able to drag themselves out by their own sheer grit and determination-not through a newly developed power that just happens to appear at the right moment. Regardless, I look forward to book three, Cold Blooded, as it’s set in New Orleans and hints and Jessica and Rourke spending lots of time together.  Cold Blooded is slated to release October 8, 2013.

**EDIT** I was mistaken in saying Danny is a human packmate. It is Devon who is the human packmate. 

Overall Rating: C+

Recent Reviews:
Paranormal Haven – 4/5
Little Read Ridinghood – 5/5
Goodreads

Author Website l Series Listing

Amazon l B&N