Urban Fantasy Review: Full Blooded by Amanda Carlson

Full Blooded by Amanda Carlson (Jessica McClain #1)

borrowed from the library

Synopsis from Goodreads
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.

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8.5/10

* * *

This was a pretty sleek, edgy and action-packed urban fantasy, and I breezed through it in a matter of hours. 

You will have no problem loving Jessica if you are a fan of urban fantasy. She is a tough girl who's got guts, and the whole series is written in the spirit of early Kelley Armstrong and Rachel Vincent.



She comes from a strong pack of werewolves, a bit of a freak because she is a girl in a society where a woman giving birth to a girl is an extreme rarity and she defies rules as she chooses to live alone and work as a private detective to get away from the family oppressive love and the pack's paranoia and fear of the unknown.

Suddenly she experiences her first shift which is another thing that does not happen - women do not become werewolves, and everything in her life goes to hell. Her own pack is divided in loyalty over a strange old prophecy; wolves from other packs are hunting her down; a suspicious policeman investigates her and a famous assassin is hired to kill her. On top of it all, her abilities grow not quite like anything she's ever known.

Carlson's world-building is similar to Armstrong's in regard of all nature of paranormals existing in it, but it's also very different, and we gradually find out about this or that species.

Overall, I predict a very successful series despite a minor issue of instalove between two main characters closer to the end. This is my major pet peeve in shifters books - all that finding a perfect mate and bonding instantly stuff... To me it just sounds like a cheat sheet to a relationship. 

However, it only raises its ugly head right in the end and as such doesn't have time to annoy the reader too much. The ending itself is rather abrupt which is another thing that made me drop the rating of the book slightly. Otherwise, it's very much recommended.

* * *

В общем, жаловаться не буду, так как книга вышла удачной. Хорошее построение мира, очень динамичный сюжет, героиня, которой симпатизируешь. Любители ранних Келли Армстронг и Рэйчел Винсент будут в восторге.

Я сама прочитала Полнокровку за пару часов с огромным удовольствием. У меня всего лишь два возражения. Первое - идиотский пример импринта, когда один оборотень видит другого и его животная часть мгновенно признаёт в нём/ней партнёра на всю жизнь. Во мне это всегда вызывает раздражение как лёгкий путь к отношениям, которые автору не надо разрабатывать так чтобы читатель в них поверил.

Второе - очень резкая, обрывистая концовка. Это тенденция, которую я заметила в многих книгах в последние годы, и она просто кричит о ленивом отношении к написанию книги и к её редактированию.

Однако, начало серии очень взрывное, и я её всё же рекомендую.