A Book Obsession..: Review: Red Blooded by Amanda Carlson

Review: Red Blooded by Amanda Carlson

, by Kt Clapsadl

Red Blooded by Amanda Carlson

Jessica McClain #4

Jessica is going to Hell.

After settling a fragile truce between the vampires, werewolves and witches, the last thing Jessica wants to do is face the demons head on. But when the Prince of Hell kidnapped her brother, he set into motion a chain of events that even Jessica doesn't have the power to stop.

Now, Jessica must go into battle again. But Hell is a whole new beast -- new rules, more dangerous demons, and an entirely foreign realm. And when Jessica is dropped into the Underworld too soon, without protection or the help of her friends, she must figure out just how powerful she can be... or she will never make it out alive.

This series started out so strong for me, but unfortunately has been mostly mediocre since. I just find the lack of progression frustrating, and despite all the almost frenetic action in each book, I just don't feel like we are getting anywhere. Sure, answers were finally revealed that had been pestering from the start, but frankly the answers seemed almost too pat. The addition of a new character contributed to that, and she was completely predictable, to the point that it was incredibly annoying that the characters couldn't see what was right in front of them.

Getting back to the frenetic action pacing, while it was exciting and it kept me pretty hooked in the book, it vastly overshadowed character development and interaction. I think it just took more than a bit of the emotion out of things. I've said this several times over the last couple of books, but the romance between Jessica and Roarke is stilted. There's supposed to be so much between them, but there never seems to any real time together to build/show that connection. I guess I just don't feel it, which is a shame.

I realize this review is mostly negative, but it's just largely frustrations as I feel like this series has so much potential that it's not quite reaching. That being said, due to the high action pacing of this book, I was pretty hooked into the book while reading it. As I said, I'm just looking for something a bit deeper and hopefully the next book will deliver that.

(Received a copy from the publisher)

Rating: