A Book Obsession..: Early Review: Cold Blooded by Amanda Carlson

Early Review: Cold Blooded by Amanda Carlson

, by Kt Clapsadl

Cold Blooded by Amanda Carlson

Jessica McClain #3

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...

Jessica can't catch a break. She's only just returned from saving her mate from a vengeful goddess and finds out her best friend, the niece of the most powerful witch in the country, is missing. Jessica has to save her friend and fast before she has to add yet another supernatural sect to her list of enemies. But it won't be that easy because there is a new threat looming, and this one may just make everything she has faced so far look like child's play. Things are bad when you have to turn to the Vamp Queen for help, but a girl has got to do what she's gotta do.

There is so much going on behind this world between the witches, weres, vamps, demons, sorcerers, ghosts, strigoi, fae, gods, honestly I could go on and on. It may sound like a lot, and it is, but what sets this series apart from other is the way it is all seamlessly blended together to make a very in depth world with being too much either. Each element has it's own place and back-story that only ads to the overall story. I really liked the addition of the demon threat as it only ratcheted the intensity up another notch. Don't get me wrong, the vamps are a pretty hefty threat on their own, and definitely made this round interesting, but they want something from Jessica, so they could only take things so far without killing her and losing their chance. The Demons however seem to have no qualm about the condition she is in, and that made things a bit more intense. I can't wait until the next book to see where things lead with them, and well everyone else gunning for her as well.

I'm really enjoying seeing how Jessica's uniqueness and predilection to get herself into trouble keeps throwing a wrench into everything around her. Honestly, the poor girl could use a break and would love to be out of the middle of things, but she handles most things well and is always ready to make the touch choices, making her very admirable. I especially enjoy the way she handles Roarke. I'll admit that I had some worry about the two of them since they hadn't gotten any real time together and I had needed more than I was given to "feel" the relationship. I also had worried about his vast age and dominance eclipsing Jessica, making her start to defer to him, which wouldn't have been true to character. However, the events in COLD BLOODED laid my fears to rest, and boy does she give him a run for his money. The poor man is going to have an aneurysm from Jessica constantly putting herself in so much danger and him having to stay out of it. I could just picture the look on his face, and it make me crack up, and enjoy the read all the more.

This book was literally non stop action from beginning to end. I felt like I was on a roller coaster throughout the entire book barely able to catch my breath. It really is impressive how Amanda was able to keep the pacing so incredibly intense without going into unbelievable territory. Granted it ends in yet another cliffhanger, but that seems to be par for course in this series, so it's a matter of grinning and bearing at this point. I know I'll be counting down the days until the next installment is released. Fans of the series will not want to miss this!

(Received a copy from the publisher via Netgalley)

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