Title: Hot Blooded

Author: Amanda Carlson

Series: Jessica McClain, #2

Publisher: Orbit

Publication date: April 23rd, 2013

My rating: 5 of 5

(Book read from May 4th to May 19th, 2013,  from an e-ARC received from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange of an honest review.)

 

Summary:

 

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...

 

My Thoughts on the Book:

 

Hot Blooded continues just where Full Blooded ended. And this book was absolutely amazing, I loved every second of it! If you haven't read Full Blooded, there will be some spoilers about it in this review.

So, after the Goddess Selene kidnapped Rourke - Jessica's mate, Jessica, accompanied by two werewolves: her brother Tyler & Danny, Ray - the reluctant human, and Naomi & Eamon - two vampire trackers, goes on a rescue mission to save Rourke before it's too late.

Most of the book was the adventure-filled journey to find Selene & Rourke. But, what I was surprised about it was how amazing it was. I didn't expect something like that in UF, because it reminded me of the journeys often found in epic fantasy when they go on a quest or a mission or something like that, and I'm a sucker for stories like that. So, yeah, I totally loved it! It was filled with lots of twists & turns, it was suspenseful, fast-paced, action-packed, and full of awesomeness.

I totally adored Jessica, Ty & Danny as characters once again. The guy that surprised me in the end with the fact how much I actually liked was Ray, and Naomi is now definitely one of my fav characters, too. She's so amazing! We also meet Eamon, and I really didn't like him, although I couldn't quite point my finger why I didn't like him at that moment. I guess I didn't trust him.

We also learn about the prophecy. I actually loved that there's a prophecy, I'm a sucker for books with that, too ;) We also learn a lot more about the Underworld, and we meet a lot of supernatural creatures along the way.

And then there's the epic showdown. Let me tell you this, that Selene (Goddess or no) is one evil crazy bitch. And I loved seeing her ass kicked. 

So, they return at home after they've saved Rourke, and of course something else have happened ;) Poor Jessica, she can't seem to catch a break ;)

Hot Blooded is one amazing sequel, that made me fall in love with the series even more, and now I'm dying to get my hands on the next book Cold Blooded. 

I can't recommend enough this book & the series. It's entertaining, action-filled, fast-paced, suspenseful, mind-blowing, kick-ass, interesting, intriguing, addicting, full of amazing characters, and most of all full of awesomeness, and it's definitely now one of my fav series, and Amanda Carlson will join my list of fav authors!
 

Challenges:

Clean Sweep ARC Challenge

2013 Books-In-A-Series Reading Challenge

Title: Black City

Author: Elizabeth Richards

Series: Black City, #1

My rating: 3 of 5

(Book read for a read-along from May 21st to May 29th, 2013.) 

Summary:

  

A dark and tender post-apocalyptic love story set in the aftermath of a bloody war.
 
In a city where humans and Darklings are now separated by a high wall and tensions between the two races still simmer after a terrible war, sixteen-year-olds Ash Fisher, a half-blood Darkling, and Natalie Buchanan, a human and the daughter of the Emissary, meet and do the unthinkable - they fall in love. Bonded by a mysterious connection that causes Ash’s long-dormant heart to beat, Ash and Natalie first deny and then struggle to fight their forbidden feelings for each other, knowing if they’re caught, they’ll be executed - but their feelings are too strong.
 
When Ash and Natalie then find themselves at the center of a deadly conspiracy that threatens to pull the humans and Darklings back into war, they must make hard choices that could result in both their deaths.

 

My Thoughts on the Book:

 

When I started Black City, I thought that I will love this book. The world-building was so great, and I loved the way this book started. But, then, I realized I decided too soon.

The world-building was so good, the world & the story itself started interesting with potential for delivering a great book, but unfortunately, for me, that didn't happen.

The world was really bleak & the mood of the book gloomy, and the author managed to capture all of that, but it felt a little bit off & it was a little bit too predictable, and those twists & turns that should've surprise me or wow me, they didn't.

I guess I just didn't care about the characters enough & about everything that has happened or was happening in the book. Sure, the world & the society was awful & sad, but too predictable.

I thought that Ash was really interesting character, and I liked him overall, but in the end I didn't care enough about him. Also, I wasn't a fan of the romance. Yeah, okay, it was insta-love, but that's the case when it comes to mates (in this case Blood Mates), but that wasn't the problem, I just wasn't feeling the chemistry between Ash & Natalie at all. Add to that the love triangle - I stopped enjoying this book. Yeah, okay, it was almost a love triangle & different, and I remember long ago saying "Why does it have to be one girl & 2 boys, why can't it be one guy & 2 girls?", and I got that, but I still didn't like it. And it wasn't only that, there were lots of other things that contributed to me for not enjoying this book anymore, and I seriously only finished it because of the read-along. If it wasn't for the read-along, I would've put it aside & probably finish it some time in the future.

Other thing I have to point out & that it felt a little bit off to me & as the story progressed started to irritate me a little, too, was that every few chapters the next chapter started after some period of time, even though something interesting happened at the end of the previous one, suddenly it cuts to something quite different. Sure, it's explained what happened, and I don't have to see (read) about everything in details, (that's what imagination is for), but as I said it felt off & it ruined the pacing of the story. Just when I thought something interesting happened, it was cut.

As for the ending of this book, it was ok, although predictable, but I don't know if I'll read the sequel. I might give it a shot, but I'm not really sure, probably not. Depending on the reviews for the sequel.

Black City was an average read for me, and overall I liked it, but I can't really recommend it. What I'd say is that you should check it out for yourself & decide. This isn't the first time that a well-loved & well-praised YA book was only an ok read for me, so you should definitely check out some other reviews as well before you decide.

 

Challenges:

2013 TBR Pile Challenge

2013 Books-In-A-Series Reading Challenge

2013 Read-along Challenge

Title: Blooded

Author: Jessica McClain

Series: Jessica McClain, #0.5

My rating: 4 of 5

(Novella read on May 2nd, 2013)

Summary:

 

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...

My Thoughts on the Novella:  

 

Blooded is the prequel to Full Blooded - the first book in Amanda Carlson's Jessica McClain series. To be honest, I read a couple of chapters of Full Blooded first, then read this novella, and returned to Full Blooded asap. In Blooded we see examples of what Jessica had to go through being the only female born in a werewolf pack before she left the Compound. This novella is suspenseful, action-packed & I got a glimpse of the amazing characters & relationships between them in the series, and it only made me excited even more to read Full Blooded, which is the goal of a prequel, and Amanda Carlson achieved it, so I recommend it a lot!

 

Title: Full Blooded

Author: Amanda Carlson

Series: Jessica McClain

My rating: 4.5 of 5

(Book read from May 2nd to May 3rd, 2013)

Summary:

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.

My Thoughts on the Book:  

 

I was really excited about finally reading Full Blooded, because lots of bloggers that I love wrote great things about it & the series, and I totally agree with them.

Full Blooded starts when Jessica McClain turns for the first time into a full-blooded werewolf. From the moment this book starts, it's fast paced & full of action & edge-of-your-sit excitement.

First of all, I have to talk about the thing I loved the most about this book: the characters & the relationships between them. All the characters in the series are so amazing, and I loved their interactions with each other. Starting with Jessica McClain (the daughter of the pack Alpha), then her best friends Nick & Marcy the witch, her brother Tyler, also Danny & James, as well as her father Callum, and ending with the mysterious Rourke. Yeah, I absolutely adored all of this guys, and it had nothing to do with the fact that they're all really hot. They're all like this one big family that loves each other & protects each other & will do anything for each other, and that affection is obvious between them while they interact with each other, no matter if they're actual family relations, lovers or only friends & pack members. The whole thing was absolutely perfect, and that's why they all joined my list of fav "families" in series.

Now, for the story itself, I loved it, too. Although it might be a little bit predictable as a whole, that doesn't really matter, because I loved the journey & all the details, and I found myself flying through the book, and when it was finished, I wanted more. I was really interested to find out more about the whole myth that surrounded Jessica since she was born, as well as Jessica & her wolf, because she really is different. I was also intrigued about the other supernaturals, and although there's a lot more to learn, what is revealed, I loved it. And there was lots of action, and plenty of humour & fun interactions that entertained me a lot, too.

And that ending was just so great, and it will leave you dying to pick up the next book.

Although I talked about all the characters as a whole, Jessica deserves a special mention. She's one amazing kick-ass heroine, and she's now one of my favs. She's smart, funny, great investigator & she can kick some butt (both before she turned into a wolf & even more now after she became one). And then there's Rourke. We didn't get to learn a lot about him, so there's a lot of mystery surrounding him, but I loved the interactions between him & Jessica, and their chemistry was great, so I'm looking forward to learning more about him later in the series.

Full Blooded is the perfect start of a new urban fantasy series with potential to become one of the best, with interesting premise & potential for where the story itself will go, engaging characters, and most of all entertaining execution, that will get you hooked, so I highly recommend this book & the series!

 

Challenges:

2013 TBR Pile Challenge

2013 Books-In-A-Series Reading Challenge

Title: The Summer I Became A Nerd

 

Author: Leah Rae Miller

Publisher: Entangled Teen

 

Publication day: May 7th, 2013

 

 

My rating: 4.5 of 5

 

 

(Book read from May 13th to May 16th, 2013,  from an e-ARC received from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange of an honest review.)

 

Summary:

 

On the outside, seventeen-year-old Madelyne Summers looks like your typical blond cheerleader - perky, popular, and dating the star quarterback. But inside, Maddie spends more time agonizing over what will happen in the next issue of her favorite comic book than planning pep rallies with her squad. That she’s a nerd hiding in a popular girl's body isn’t just unknown, it's anti-known. And she needs to keep it that way.

Summer is the only time Maddie lets her real self out to play, but when she slips up and the adorkable guy behind the local comic shop’s counter uncovers her secret, she’s busted. Before she can shake a pom-pom, Maddie’s whisked into Logan’s world of comic conventions, live-action role-playing, and first-person-shooter video games. And she loves it. But the more she denies who she really is, the deeper her lies become…and the more she risks losing Logan forever.

 

My Thoughts on the Book:

 

The Summer I Became A Nerd is a perfect summer read. It's cute, fun, humorous & sweet.

Maddie leads a double life. For everyone else she's the typical popular cheerleader. But, at home she's quite the nerd in secret ;) The whole scenario was hilariously cute. After what happened to her years ago, I can understand her, but still it was fun & cute reading what she did to keep her inner geek a secret.

And then, suddenly, her secret is out. At least, the one that discovers her secret is none other but the geeky Logan - the guy she actually has a secret crush on.

The whole story was really funny, with fun dialogues between all the characters & cutesy situations.

I loved the chemistry & interactions between Logan & Maddie, they were just so, so cute. And I absolutely loved Logan's family, as well as his best friend Dan - he was hilarious. As for Logan - I loved him as a character. He was so cute & funny & nerdy & sweet & fun, and I loved how he & Maddie helped each other. And I actually really liked Maddie as a character, too.

If you'd like a book that will leave you with a smile on your face, than The Summer I Became A Nerd is the perfect book for you & I highly recommend it!

 

Challenges:

Clean Sweep ARC Challenge

To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…

• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you’ll read next?

This weekly meme is being hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading!

What am I currently reading?

What did I recently finish reading?

What do I think I'll read next?

How about you? 

 

What are you reading this week?

 

Leave me your WWW links!

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

 

 

Ashes on the Waves

by

Mary Lindsey

Publication date:

June 27th, 2013

 

Liam MacGregor is cursed. Haunted by the wails of fantastical Bean Sidhes and labeled a demon by the villagers of Dòchas, Liam has accepted that things will never get better for him - until a wealthy heiress named Annabel Leighton arrives on the island and Liam’s fate is changed forever.

With Anna, Liam finally finds the happiness he has always been denied; but, the violent, mythical Otherworlders, who inhabit the island and the sea around it, have other plans. They make awager on the couple’s love, testing its strength through a series of cruel obstacles. But the tragedies draw Liam and Anna even closer. Frustrated, the creatures put the couple through one last trial - and this time it’s not only their love that’s in danger of being destroyed.

Based on Edgar Allan Poe’s chilling poem, "Annabel Lee", Mary Lindsey creates a frighteningly beautiful gothic novel that glorifies the power of true love.

 

Golden Girl

(The American Fairy, #2)

by

Sarah Zettel

Publication date:

June 25th, 2013

 

 

Callie LeRoux has put her grimy, harrowing trip from the depths of the Dust Bowl behind her. Her life is a different kind of exciting now: she works at a major motion picture studio among powerful studio executives and stylish stars. Still nothing can distract her from her true goal. With help from her friend Jack and guidance from the great singer Paul Robeson, she will find her missing mother.

But as a child of prophecy and daughter of the legitimate heir to the Seelie throne, Callie poses a huge threat to the warring fae factions who’ve attached themselves to the most powerful people in Hollywood . . . and they are all too aware that she’s within their reach.

What are you waiting for this week?

 

Leave me your WoW links!