Monday, April 22, 2013

Full Blooded (Jessica McClain #1) by Amanda Carlson

Born the only female in an all male race, Jessica McClain isn’t just different—she’s feared. 
After living under the radar for the last twenty-six years, Jessica is thrust unexpectedly into her first change, a full ten years late. She wakes up and finds she’s in the middle of a storm. Now that she’s become the only female full-blooded werewolf in town, the supernatural world is already clamoring to take a bite out of her and her new Pack must rise up and protect her. 
But not everyone is on board. The werewolf Rights of Laws is missing text and the superstitious werewolves think that Jessica means an end to their race. It doesn’t help when Jessica begins to realize she’s more. She can change partway and hold her form, and speak directly to her wolf. But the biggest complication by far is that her alpha father can't control her like he can the rest of his wolves. 
When a mercenary who’s been hired by the vampires shows up to extract information about the newly turned werewolf only days after her change, they find themselves smack in the middle of a war and there's no choice but to run together. When it’s up to Jessica to negotiate her release against her father’s direct orders, she chooses to take an offer for help instead. In exchange, Jessica must now swear an oath she may end up repaying with her life.
 I have to say that I throughly enjoyed this book. In fact it just took me a little over a day to finish it because I just had to know what happened next. It's a fun UF with a good dose of PNR. I really enjoyed the pace of the book which was quite fast. It seems that like other heroines, Jessica has nothing but trouble coming her way.

What I do think I enjoyed most was a lot of the plot angles were missing in this book that you get with this genre. One was that the heroine somehow forgets that they need to follow rules and that there will be consequences. This is one plot device that always bothers me. However, in this book Jessica is usually on top of those things and never forgets the consequences. Instead of her beast knowing what is best, it is Jessica and she often has to convince or remind her wolf. I liked that because the baser instincts SHOULD be the wolf's and not the insipid female which happens a lot. Even when she has to defy rules, she does it in full awareness. Yes, Jessica may not be a brainiac, but she does have smarts and uses her brain.

I also like that even though she is new and in the dark about what it means (another familiar plot device), she is forging ahead not by bumbling (even though she has no choice at times) but by using the knowledge she DOES have to try to figure out the best way out of or into a situation. I also like the way she was introduced to her mate and that it felt like they were mated even in such a short time. Sometimes that is a hard thing to pull off.

I also enjoyed the secondary characters and how carefully the world is constructed. Plot points were not ignored for the ease of moving things along. In other words, you felt that if there was a threat made, it would be followed through if forced. It would not be moved aside for the sake of the story.

I give this book 4 1/2 stars. I deducted a 1/2 star since everything was not wrapped up. It wasn't exactly a cliffie but it was a bit abrupt (not too much, but enough) and some things introduced in the end was not solved. That might have been better to start the second book instead of having it at the end of the first. Luckily the second one is already out and available. :)
I received this ebook from NetGalley and the publisher and no compensation for my review was given.

26 comments:

  1. this book would be so much awesome gonna grab this one

    Arch@E-Book Sale

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  2. If you liked this, then wait until you read teh next one. It's just as great but witha slightly tighter plot and some great characters! :-)

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  3. great! I'm glad you liked it! It's a great great series!

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  4. Ha! I reviewed this one today, too, and REALLY enjoyed it! I'm loving Jessica's character development. You're so right about how she's using her brain and knowledge rather than just running in willy-nilly (yay)!

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  5. Glad Jessica didn't fall into the trap of not remembering or caring about consequences and that you enjoyed her story.

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  6. I'm always impressed by books in which the secondary characters are well written rather than almost added as a second thought. Great review, thanks

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  7. I am on the hunt for new UF. I will have to see if I can still get this. Sexy hot cover for sure. I think Jessica sounds like a great addition to the UF genre. I want to meet her. Thanks for the wonderful recommendation!

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    1. Oh I do think you will like this one. She is a good character to get to know!

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  8. Oh good to know! I have this on my TBR very soon :) :) :) :)

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  9. You're right about Jessica, I loved that she was confident and strong and never whined about anything. And the secondary characters are amazing and they continue to be so in the second book. Danny! Yum. :)

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  10. It sure was fun and I want more. I even liked the prequel novella

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  11. You and Mary both seem to really enjoy this series, so I'm thinking I will be a fan of it as well. I like that Jessica uses her head and is fully aware of the consequences of her actions. I'm good with her making some a tricky choice or two as long as she makes it knowing it may not be the wisest course of action. Must add these to the list!

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  12. I've heard a LOT about this book recently, so your positive review for it has me itching to get my hands on it now. It sounds fantastic and as a lover of werewolves and urban fantasy, I have a feeling I'll really enjoy this one. Great review! :D

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  13. I really like how you describe this one! It sounds like a series I would likely really enjoy, I'll keep it in mind! Wonderful review!

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  14. Melissa-
    Dear Girl, how many series do you have going? I don't know how you keep them straight, though they are definitely all unique. This one sounds really good. I would think being the only female were, she'd be very in demand for mating purposes. Phfft! Those male werewolves, they just haven't got any sense of self preservation or continuation of the species do they?!

    Heather

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  15. Yay! Another good review for this series. So happy to hear that because I just moved this up my TBR pile after hearing such fabulous praise for the series. I can't wait to get started! Amazing review as usual :-)

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  16. Seeee!!!! I told you you'd love it. :D Eep! And don't forget, then men are mine! :D

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  17. Awesome review! I can totally pick up a werewolf book now. The plot sounds awesome.

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