{Review} of Cold Blood by Heather Hildenbrand

Cold Blood by Heather Hildenbrand
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

GENRE: YA Urban Fantasy
THEME: Werewolves
RECEIVED: To Review from Author
AUTHORS BLOG: Heather Hildenbrand's Site


BLURB:

Wood Point Academy is not at all what I expected. For one thing, it looks like a cross between military school and Buckingham Palace. Everyone stares, the floors shine so bright you can see your reflection in them from a mile away, and no one smiles. Unless they're kicking your butt in the process. Which happens more often than not for the freshman. Lucky for them, my presence has just stolen the spotlight, and they get a break from the daily joys of hazing. At least I've got plenty to take my mind off the fact that my psycho cousin, Miles De'Luca, keeps calling and declaring his love and promising to come for me just as soon as he's destroyed anyone standing in our way. Wes isn't going to like that idea. So between Miles, Wood Point's evil welcoming committee, and the drill sergeant hottie trainer from hell, I just keep asking myself, how did I end up here?

REVIEW:
Cold Blood by Heather Hildenbrand starts off right where Dirty Blood ends.  Hildenbrand’s writing gets even better with this action packed story. Adding a love triangle to the mix, the lead Tara has a whole lot more on her plate than dealing with the fact she’s not a normal teenage girl.  I really enjoyed the second installment and the fantastic twist that I never saw coming.

Tara starts at Wood Point Academy, where hunters train to stop and kill werewolves. Unfortunately for Tara she doesn’t get a warm welcome since she is what they call a Dirty Blood. She has a wolf side to her that she shares with her boyfriend Wes, who is now taking over as the leader of a group called the Cause. But the two are separated while Tara is training and her life gets a little more complicated when her old foe is following her every move.

I don’t know what it is about academy stories but I just love them. Tara undergoes a tough amount of training with her trainer and the very “nice on the eyes” Alex. She needs to catch up with the rest of the kids in her class, so Alex makes sure to train her hard. Though their friendship is a little rocky at the beginning I loved the development of these two as the story moves on. I’m dying to know what Alex’s role will be in the future novels.

Two other characters I enjoyed was Tara’s new friend Cambria, she’s a kick butt hunter with a special gift and Logan an extremely smart and cute hunter that befriends Tara at the beginning. You also get your mix of the “oh so full of herself” antagonist that makes sure to harass Tara whenever she can.

Overall this was definitely an action packed book, Tara really grows up and her abilities seem to get stronger with each passing day.  The fight scenes are fantastic and the villain is seriously creepy. The ending really leaves you question what is happening to Tara and what crazy adventure is she going to be put into next. I highly recommend this series and I put it on the top list for must read of 2011.

RECOMMENDATION:
This is a young adult novel with some kick butt action and lots of love triangle drama. Fans of Jennifer Esteps Mythos Series and Richelle Meads Vampire Academy will want to get their hands on Cold Blood a.s.a.p!

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