Full Blooded - Amanda Carlson

In A Nutshell:

•  1 out of 5 stars
• Recommended for: 
• At best, werewolf fanatics also willing to pick up the sequel at the same time, on blind faith.

So, honesty time: I got this book because I read 'rare female werewolf' and assumed it was related to one of two other series I've read recently, neither of which I could remember the author of when I tried to think about it. One series, I now know, is Jennifer Lynn Barnes Trial by Fire series, which this book cover is really similar to--so I was a little surprised when they were not actually related. I'm still not sure how I feel about how similar they are, to be honest.

Full Blooded is the story of Jessica, who was born the only female child to werewolves that her family knows of. She's supposed to be a biological freak--and because of that, she's been plagued with a myth all her life that because she is so different, she's destined to destroy her Alpha father's werewolf pack. But everything is supposed to be okay, because she's been living under a fake identity and working as a detective--and it's not like she'll ever become a werewolf herself, because the ability to go wolf is found on the male chromosome. Except, Jessica is very, very special and she just had her first change.

I really wanted to like this book. I absolutely adore books about shifters of all kinds, and I also enjoy stories about independent women. Yet from the first first few pages, I found myself honestly a little disappointed. I found the beginning of the book very boring, honestly, and a little slow to read. I was almost tempted to give it up just when the pace started picking up and kept me reading--which was fantastic, because this book is actually a decent read once it picks up.

Except.

See, Full Blooded has another big flaw that kept me from being absorbed into the story, and that flaw would be the way that information is shared in this story. If you read a lot, you'll have noticed a lot of great ways that people manage to insert important information into the story. Stuff like believable conversations that inform a character as it informs the reader, just blending it into the story as needed, etc. Full Blooded has a TERRIBLE problem with this. The author attempts to utilize the conversation method, except the conversations basically consist of the main character explaining a huge thing all in one large paragraph...to someone who, according to the story, would definitely already know. It's jarring from a reader's standpoint, and makes it difficult to really experience the story.

The pacing itself is also crazy. Like I mentioned, the story is slow at the start, with lots of information being shared. After, it picks up...and then it rushes forward so fast that it's hard to keep up. Jessica magically finds her mate and is madly in love within what seems like hours. ...I'm actually pretty sure it IS hours. Suddenly everything is happening all at once, with little time for the reader to adjust and...well. It's just a little much.

But in all honesty, I could have gotten over all of these things easily, if it weren't for this one last thing that knocked the score from a 3.5 to a 1--this book does. not. end.

I don't mean that it drags on forever before it comes to a conclusion--I mean that this book literally doesn't have any sort of "ending" at all. There is not a single conclusion to be found in this entire book. There are literally dozens of ongoing plots, and not a single one of these plots comes to a head to give this book a reason for being. Instead, dozens of tiny plots and ideas are woven together in this book, set up, seem to reach their climax...and then the book literally just STOPS. NOTHING is explained. NOTHING is finished.

Speaking as a reader, that is bull. I understand wanting to write a series, I really do. I understand setting up for a sequel. I understand having ongoing plots throughout a series of books. Hell, Harry Potter went big with a series that has an overarching plot stretching seven books--and that was okay. The difference here is that a good book in a good series should have a single plot that reaches conclusion in that book, even if other plots continue on. This is not a complete story, this is not a complete book, and I'm going to be really honest: I got this book from netgalley, and I'm irritated. If I had purchased this book, I would be furious.

If you're a werewolf fanatic looking for an adult novel with some mystery hints, then this book might be worth looking into. But keep in mind that before it's worth the effort, you're going to need to ALSO purchase the sequel on blind faith--because there isn't a finished story in just one. That said, I haven't read the sequel, and am not likely to due to how much this one annoyed me, so I'm not even sure if that's true--for all I know, there isn't even a conclusion until a third book.