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The Carbon Chronicles #2
Hot-Blooded
How do you keep moving forward when the person leading you is gone?
After the tragic end to their first year of school, Kirin and Ifrit are just trying to make it to graduation. But old enemies are emerging left and right, and without someone to defend them against the school, it’s looking increasingly unlikely they will. Worse, Aether is planning something, pockets sprouting up worldwide as unrest grows. The only thing that is keeping the fragile peace is the promise of Pressure’s Hero Coalition, but members are disappearing rapidly and the police aren’t investigating why.
With a new teacher determined to rid them of Pressure’s influence, the class struggles to find someone to trust and someone who can lead them. Ifrit struggles with the guilt of surviving when others did not, and Kirin fears another part of his past has come back to haunt them all. With only themselves to rely on, Pressure’s class must find out who is disrupting the Coalition and what Aether is planning, before it is once again too late.
Tempers are rising and violence is on the horizon, lines being drawn between those who are willing to take a stand for what is right and those who are just following orders.
After the tragic end to their first year of school, Kirin and Ifrit are just trying to make it to graduation. But old enemies are emerging left and right, and without someone to defend them against the school, it’s looking increasingly unlikely they will. Worse, Aether is planning something, pockets sprouting up worldwide as unrest grows. The only thing that is keeping the fragile peace is the promise of Pressure’s Hero Coalition, but members are disappearing rapidly and the police aren’t investigating why.
With a new teacher determined to rid them of Pressure’s influence, the class struggles to find someone to trust and someone who can lead them. Ifrit struggles with the guilt of surviving when others did not, and Kirin fears another part of his past has come back to haunt them all. With only themselves to rely on, Pressure’s class must find out who is disrupting the Coalition and what Aether is planning, before it is once again too late.
Tempers are rising and violence is on the horizon, lines being drawn between those who are willing to take a stand for what is right and those who are just following orders.
435 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 15, 2025
10 people want to read
About the author
J Greene
2 books11 followersJ is a queer, disabled, white person trying to write the stories that they wanted to see growing up. They love reading fantasy and history, gardening, and baking, as well as spending far too much time spoiling their rabbit, Chomp. WARM-BLOODED is their debut novel, the first of the Carbon Chronicles trilogy, but they have ideas for about a dozen more.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
November 23, 2025
Hot-Blooded picks up nicely from Warm-Blooded. We get more information and background story of our main (oblivious) boys in love. I adored them and their progression both as idiots-in-love but also getting to know their flaws and hurts from the past, and how they deal with them.
Further exploration of other characters felt valuable and gave them more depth.
The bounds of the status quo are stretched in this book, which is showcasing how societies need to change to keep up with the developing world or something will be irredeemably broken. Regression is just not a viable long-term option. The class divide is also becoming more stark, and shows how far people are willing to go.
And the revelations and tie-ins to the previous book? OMG! *Chefs kiss*
A great continuation to an already amazing story!
4 stars
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Further exploration of other characters felt valuable and gave them more depth.
The bounds of the status quo are stretched in this book, which is showcasing how societies need to change to keep up with the developing world or something will be irredeemably broken. Regression is just not a viable long-term option. The class divide is also becoming more stark, and shows how far people are willing to go.
And the revelations and tie-ins to the previous book? OMG! *Chefs kiss*
A great continuation to an already amazing story!
4 stars
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
November 5, 2025
A splendid story worth everyone's time at reading, falling in love with the menagerie of unique characters and the wonderfully crafted world has left me better off for experiencing it and itching for more.
November 7, 2025
(As a beta reader — I require the next book. I NEED to know what happens next.)
Perhaps there are more eloquent ways to put it and perhaps I'll come back to do that, however. I can say that this book has held strong after book one, I'd argue it's better because it builds on what's already such a rich foundation.
I really enjoyed the exploration of what is an aftermath, and the ways such things can realistically influence the characters. Call me sadistic if you wish, but I liked seeing them fall apart. That makes them human; it makes them more real. There is perfection in imperfection. I can say this especially for our MCs and their own relationship to each other.
While this book is faster paced, it gives you room to breathe. There's a lovely balance with all the action and all the fluff that lets us get to know more about their lives. Speaking of, more characters are built upon (for better or worse, considering our dear author likes to torment them) — the twists, lore, and dynamics kept me connected to them.
There are certain characters I love to hate though and would love to punt into the sun. But it tugs on those strings of righteous anger at the injustice and brings back the whole theme of what does it really mean? To be a hero?
Overall, this book was a delight and I highly recommend reading the first book and this, then the third when that comes by.
Perhaps there are more eloquent ways to put it and perhaps I'll come back to do that, however. I can say that this book has held strong after book one, I'd argue it's better because it builds on what's already such a rich foundation.
I really enjoyed the exploration of what is an aftermath, and the ways such things can realistically influence the characters. Call me sadistic if you wish, but I liked seeing them fall apart. That makes them human; it makes them more real. There is perfection in imperfection. I can say this especially for our MCs and their own relationship to each other.
While this book is faster paced, it gives you room to breathe. There's a lovely balance with all the action and all the fluff that lets us get to know more about their lives. Speaking of, more characters are built upon (for better or worse, considering our dear author likes to torment them) — the twists, lore, and dynamics kept me connected to them.
There are certain characters I love to hate though and would love to punt into the sun. But it tugs on those strings of righteous anger at the injustice and brings back the whole theme of what does it really mean? To be a hero?
Overall, this book was a delight and I highly recommend reading the first book and this, then the third when that comes by.
November 22, 2025
Another stellar installation in the Carbon Chronicles! This book took me from screaming (angst) to screaming (disbelief) to screaming (anger) to screaming (excited) to screaming (you idiots) to screaming (despair) to screaming (hell yeah!) to screaming (oh no) to screaming ( HELL YEAH!) to screaming (shocked) to just screaming.
Not that the above isn't a real review, but let's get to the constructive review. The Carbon Chronicles has an incredibly diverse cast of characters and it's easy to get lost in them, but I had a pretty clear favorite from when I started reading Warm-Blooded. I was really hoping Hot-Blooded would feature said favorite and I got what I asked for - see the screaming above.
The pacing in this installation felt really good. It was slow when it needed to be and quick when it called for it. There was also a few incredibly well-written fight scenes that played out like a Marvel movie in my mind, which doesn't happen super often. Very fluid and described really well. I typically have a hard time following fight scenes like these in books, so to actually be able to follow them is huge for me.
Gnawing at the bars of my enclosure for book 3!
Not that the above isn't a real review, but let's get to the constructive review. The Carbon Chronicles has an incredibly diverse cast of characters and it's easy to get lost in them, but I had a pretty clear favorite from when I started reading Warm-Blooded. I was really hoping Hot-Blooded would feature said favorite and I got what I asked for - see the screaming above.
The pacing in this installation felt really good. It was slow when it needed to be and quick when it called for it. There was also a few incredibly well-written fight scenes that played out like a Marvel movie in my mind, which doesn't happen super often. Very fluid and described really well. I typically have a hard time following fight scenes like these in books, so to actually be able to follow them is huge for me.
Gnawing at the bars of my enclosure for book 3!
September 1, 2025
I was a beta-reader for this book, SO :
Please give me the next one I need it like, yesterday,,,,,
A strong follow-up to the first one, which is one of my favorite books of all time, you can see all your favorites come back for a gut-wrenching wonderful sequel.
Except me, because mine has 4 lines in the whole book... Though it gave me the opportunity to know and appreciate other characters. Or hate them.
Not spoiler, but don't read if you wanna go blind into it :
I should also point out that, I loved it, it was great and riveting, and the nice parts were VERY nice and fluffy and good. But... a sizeable part of this book is a bummer. Not as "the book is a bummer" but "what happens suck so much that I'm depressed for the characters". It's not bad, not one bit, but the raw feeling of injustice is a very strong pillar of this trilogy and you should be prepared to be infuriated by it.
** Potential spoilers for book 1, stop reading if you havent read it **
This book contains a strong topic of grief that hit very close to home. Like, a homerun through my front window kind of close. It's one of the best depiction of parental grief (when you loved your parent at least) I've ever seen and it stings a whole lot. Beautiful, but ouch.
Please give me the next one I need it like, yesterday,,,,,
A strong follow-up to the first one, which is one of my favorite books of all time, you can see all your favorites come back for a gut-wrenching wonderful sequel.
Except me, because mine has 4 lines in the whole book... Though it gave me the opportunity to know and appreciate other characters. Or hate them.
Not spoiler, but don't read if you wanna go blind into it :
I should also point out that, I loved it, it was great and riveting, and the nice parts were VERY nice and fluffy and good. But... a sizeable part of this book is a bummer. Not as "the book is a bummer" but "what happens suck so much that I'm depressed for the characters". It's not bad, not one bit, but the raw feeling of injustice is a very strong pillar of this trilogy and you should be prepared to be infuriated by it.
** Potential spoilers for book 1, stop reading if you havent read it **
This book contains a strong topic of grief that hit very close to home. Like, a homerun through my front window kind of close. It's one of the best depiction of parental grief (when you loved your parent at least) I've ever seen and it stings a whole lot. Beautiful, but ouch.
September 27, 2025
An absolutely stellar follow up to Warm-Blooded. I love these boys + their supporting cast so much, and I am so happy to have a continuation of their story. The plot twists! The reveals! I was ready and I was not disappointed. It can be so hard for me to read stories with huge fight or battle scenes, especially when you have a large cast of characters to manage -- and for this reason I often do not gravitate towards superhero stories, but the fight scenes in this are written in such a way that makes sense for me and keeps me hooked. There are still some portions that are slower and take time to get into, but that never takes away from the enjoyment or entertainment. Overall, great pacing and had me on the edge of my seat so many times.
You should start with Warm-Blooded, but read them both if you love:
- fighting to change the world for better
- superheroes with unique powers
- great disability rep
- cool technology
- college/academic setting
- grumpy small x sunshine tall
- queernormative worlds
- angst, pining, and the like
- found family
- slowburn romance that enhances instead of overwhelms the plot
I was a beta reader for this book, and am so thankful to J for that opportunity! This review is voluntary :)
You should start with Warm-Blooded, but read them both if you love:
- fighting to change the world for better
- superheroes with unique powers
- great disability rep
- cool technology
- college/academic setting
- grumpy small x sunshine tall
- queernormative worlds
- angst, pining, and the like
- found family
- slowburn romance that enhances instead of overwhelms the plot
I was a beta reader for this book, and am so thankful to J for that opportunity! This review is voluntary :)
December 11, 2025
Thank you to the author and BookSirens for the ARC!
I am absolutely captivated by this book.
It’s similar in form and substance to the first, but it feels overall more polished and cohesive. With the focus more centralised on Kirin and Ifrit, the large cast of characters doesn’t feel quite as overwhelming although a character list would still have been appreciated.
The book splits between Kirin and Ifrit’s POV, and both are solidly written and distinctive and I’m so happy that their relationship continues to go from strength to strength following the events of the previous book. It’s an intriguing plot that moves quickly and maintains high levels of tension when needed but also the lingering undercurrent of things not quite being right, while also adding in some moments of lightness.
It’s a gripping story and I am once again so looking forward to the next book.
I am absolutely captivated by this book.
It’s similar in form and substance to the first, but it feels overall more polished and cohesive. With the focus more centralised on Kirin and Ifrit, the large cast of characters doesn’t feel quite as overwhelming although a character list would still have been appreciated.
The book splits between Kirin and Ifrit’s POV, and both are solidly written and distinctive and I’m so happy that their relationship continues to go from strength to strength following the events of the previous book. It’s an intriguing plot that moves quickly and maintains high levels of tension when needed but also the lingering undercurrent of things not quite being right, while also adding in some moments of lightness.
It’s a gripping story and I am once again so looking forward to the next book.
November 19, 2025
This was a great continuation of the story. The way we got to see things from both character's perspective was interesting and well done.
Some of the battle scenes were a little confusing at first, but then I realized I was just reading them too fast!
The way other characters came in to fill the role of Force from the last book was one of my favorite parts. (That, and how clueless our MCs are about their relationship!)
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Some of the battle scenes were a little confusing at first, but then I realized I was just reading them too fast!
The way other characters came in to fill the role of Force from the last book was one of my favorite parts. (That, and how clueless our MCs are about their relationship!)
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews