Apr 24, 2013

Review--Hot Blooded by Nancy Holder & Debbie Viguie

What do you run from?

Katelyn had only been in Wolf Springs a short time before she was bitten by a werewolf. And now she carries that creature's curse in her veins.

But she's not alone. Wolf Springs is home to a hidden family of werewolves, the Fenners--who swear none of them bit her. Apparently there's a monster on the loose--something wild and uncontrollable.

And to make matters worse, Katelyn's struggling to resist her own animal urges. Especially around Trick and Justin. Show she follow her heart--or her instincts?

If I thought my memory was poor from Nancy Holder and Debbie Viguie's Crusade trilogy, it was really poor with the Wolf Springs Chronicles! I had some recollections but not a whole lot. But once again, once I started reading the story, little details came back and Hot Blooded soon became a very enjoyable read!

There's still a lot of weird stuff going around Wolf Springs, two young girls were killed and Cordelia is "missing", adding more worry to the town. Although, Cordelia has been banished from the town by her own family. And still, the body count continues to rise.

Katelyn is struggling to adapt to her new life as a werewolf and continue to keep it a secret from her grandfather and Trick. It's hard going, since she has to spend a lot of time with Justin, who is training her in the ways of being a werewolf, getting used to her new abilities and all that. Which brings us back into the love triangle territory, although you would think there wouldn't be much of one since Justin has a girlfriend, but there you go. Trick is so sweet though, I definitely like him better than Justin. The way I look at things, Kat is attracted to Trick and wants to be with him, and yet it seems like her wolf is attracted to Justin and wants to be with him. The two parts of herself are warring with one another and it is likely that someone is going to get hurt.

What's so different about reading this series is that compared to the other series these authors have co-written together, this one is all from Kat's point of view in the third person. Which can be a mixed blessing, since there's not a lot of stuff happening with a lot of people, but still a lot goes on in this 400+ page book!

As I mentioned earlier, there are still murders and disappearances going on in Wolf Springs and there's no culprit to be found, but it is likely a wolf doing the killings since the bodies have been mauled. And then there's the mystery behind the wolf who bit Katelyn, could it be the mysterious Hellhound that guards the lost silver mine? So many questions and mysteries and still there are no answers.

You might be wondering what does this novel focus on if there are still so many unanswered questions. Well, besides going deeper into those mysteries and Katelyn learning about how to be a werewolf and pack hierarchy and all that jazz, there's also friction between another pack and the Fenner pack that involves Cordelia. I don't want to get into too many details for spoiler reasons, but this was a pretty good read.

At times the pacing got a little slow as Katelyn did some mundane teenager things or was just training, but Nancy and Debbie are definitely building up the tension and the mystery while the mundane happens. Assuming this is another trilogy, I cannot wait to see how things get resolved in the next one. I've been making some speculations about this or that and I really want to see if I am right or close to it!

As for romance, this book has quite a bit. There's the not quite romance but budding romance that builds between Trick and Kat coupled with the fiery passion that blooms between Katelyn and Justin. Although, I again don't really care for the Justin and Katelyn angle, I guess because Justin has a girlfriend--a fact that does come up between them, they just choose to ignore it. I don't like cheaters and to me Justin is cheating with the few kisses exchanged and Katelyn is no better since it takes two to cheat. But again, I really think it's more of their wolf sides that are attracted and connected to one another. I don't see the same heat and passion as their human selves that Katelyn and Trick seem to share.

The ending was really good! It was nice big action-y scene that ends with shocking results. And the final ending, uh...not cool! Cliffhanger!! It took too long for release info on this book to come out, I fear the length of time I'll have to wait for the next book!

Despite a few issues with the pacing, this was still an incredible read! Katelyn is a pretty enjoyable character and I adore Trick! Hoping that they get a HEA ending together by the end, sorry Justin! If you're looking for a paranormal YA series with mystery than this is one series you might want to check out because there is a lot of mystery and secrets in this book!

Overall Rating 4.5/5 stars


  1. I won the first book in this series (with sighned bookplate! Yay!), and it ended on a cliffhanger too, if I recall. I have been eagerly waiting for this one, and your review makes me want to run out and get it!! I remember Justin being a playa in book one too!!

    Anyway awesome review, I can't wait to read the book!

    Naomi @ Nomi’s Paranormal Palace

  2. Great review, Jessica. I haven't read this series but I have the first one sitting on my shelf. It really intrigued me - I guess all Holder/Viguie books do. ;) Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

