I really wanted to like this book more than I did, but unfortunately it just didn't hit for me!

I couldn't get into the story or really care about the characters at all. Vanessa seemed like a completely different character after she was bitten, there was no trace of her old self that was set up in the beginning. She also had no growth and didn't learn any lessons at all! Every time she faced consequences, or was proven wrong, she just went straight back to the exact same behaviours.
I also felt no chemistry between her and Sin - I was just told it's there. I also didn't love that they didn't seem to care he was to be engaged - whether it was a loving relationship or not.
It was also marketed as a love triangle, but she was unreasonably angry at Calix from the very beginning. She went straight to absolute loathing, for him more than anyone else, save Evie. It felt forced, especially when he was positioned as a potential love interest and then there was no interest.

I liked the idea of the world, but I felt the actual worldbuilding got pushed to the side during the majority of the book. It would have been nice to see more of the actual court politics, rather than a "that's how things are" approach, and just dumping random bits of information when it was needed.

I think another big problem I had was that the 'twists' at the very end were obvious from the prologue, so I spent the whole book waiting for the shoe to drop, for the betrayal to happen. By the time it actually did, I was annoyed at everyone and didn't really care.

I was a bit surprised at how explicit the sex scene got for a YA. As a bookseller I often have to ease parents minds about the contents their kids are reading. Kids as young as 12-13 are reading from this section, and I've always told parents that if it's in YA, there might be sex but it won't be too explicit, but this felt like it pushed it a bit too far. It could have been more vague, or faded to black, or if the author wanted to write smut she could have aged the characters up and made it an adult book.

Overall I think the idea was interesting, but the execution just didn't pull me in. I do have a small hope that it's just the first book in a series, and is just for setup. Maybe the following books will explore things more, now that the big twist is out of the way.

2.5 stars rounded down

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher/author for this ARC copy in exchange for an honest review. I sadly did not enjoy this one. I probably should have looked at other reviews for this before I requested it but alas here we are. I found the story to be lacking in depth. I also found that the story read very YA but then randomly included spicy scenes that were not really appropriate for a younger audience in my opinion. I think the book itself was written okay and the author has potential for future works. I found the twists a little predictable as well and did not really connect with or like any of the characters. I was hoping for a fun silly time with this one but it just had too many issues for me to look past them and simply enjoy the book.

Thanks again to Netgalley for this review copy!

🩷 Book Review 🩷
📚 Bitten

💫💫💫

Thank you Netgalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

If you never got over to watching Teen Wolf or reading Twilight, this is for you.

Its a super easy read that doesn't require much to understand the plot.

I found the FMC annoying and I understand why she was but still, if she decided to listen... a lot would've been sorted sooner.

Where do I even start? I have been craving a wolf book for months and nothing was hitting the spot. Every time I would start something I just couldn’t get into it because it wasn’t what I was looking for but my lizard brain didn’t know what it was wanting from a wolf book. Well let me tell you, this has HIT THE SPOT! I absolutely loved this, the mystery plot, the romance, me screaming at this book 20 times because I kept wanting more and each time it was delivering. I can’t wait for this to hit shelves! I feel like as a bookseller for QBD we get so many customers coming in asking for wolf books and we really don’t have much but it looks like OUR TIME HAS COME GUYS! We are getting some epic titles coming up and I can’t wait to get this one! Thank you so much for this amazing book, also, Calix is my new book boyfriend 😭

OVERALL RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4/5
SPICE RATING:🌶️🌶️ 2/5

*This review contains spoilers*
When I say I devoured this book, it would be an understatement. I read it in less than half a day.
It was a fun ride filled with lots of twists and turns, court plots and scheming, and academic rivals!
One of the first notes I wrote about this book was — “We all need a friend like Celeste” — and well, didn’t that go down like a house on fire. The author ripped my heart out and stomped on it — just for fun…
Vanessa’s story was great – I love a powerful FMC and because of that I was getting annoyed with her character a lot, but she has a lot of potential to grow and from the ending, I’m excited to see what comes next in her story! I can’t wait to explore her powers more and finally find out what her eye colour means!
The plot twist at the end was amazing! I did not see it coming at all! For the whole book I was theorising what could be happening, but I was nowhere near close!
Sinclair, Sinclair, Sinclair…. What am I going to do with you. I loved your character so much, the love story between our MC’s was so sweet – and the yearning *swoon*. SO WHYYYYY did he have to turn out the way he did? The betrayal stung! Not only from him but also from Calix – WHYYYY?
Why did he manipulate her so much and fabricate everything? Why???
That seems to be the question I keep asking right? I need answers!
Poor Vanessa, she just needs to boot the both of them and the queen. Maybe just take the throne for herself? I will riot if she forgives either Sinclair or Calix.
But I could be tempted to accept a Calix redemption if he had an EXCEPTIONAL reason! What can I say, I’m a sucker for dark and broody bad boys – especially princes! Plus, the chemistry was ELECTRIC between them 😉
I feel like this could have been a standalone book but obviously the author has more of the story to tell – I look forward to reading the next book and seeing how the story progresses!

Bitten was an action-packed adventure with so many twists and turns that it was hard to tell what was up and what was down. For a debut novel, it was an incredibly well written book, and had me utterly enthralled from start to finish.

Vanessa, our FMC, was the personification of feminine rage, and I felt her emotions clawing (pun intended!) at me as if they were my own. Her entire world had come crumbling down and then she was thrust into a world fraught with intrigue and mystery, with court politics and danger at every turn.

The romance was love triangle adjacent and I couldn’t decide which of the MMCs I liked more, Calix or Sin. They both had undeniable tension with Vanessa. Sin was softer and kinder at times but Calix had his vulnerable side too. It will be interesting to see how this all plays out in the next book.

The last 20% of the book had me on absolute tenterhooks. I actually had to stop reading at one point because I was terrified Vanessa was walking into a trap. Little did I know, it was so much worse than what I’d imagined. The ending was a plot twist I just didn’t see coming and I’m going to be crying on the floor in the foetal position until book 2 comes out.

I’ve always been a fan of the way Jordan weaves words together so I shouldn’t have been surprised that her debut novel was anything short of amazing. Bitten isn’t out until September but it is available on Netgalley so if you’re looking for a fast-paced, angsty, werewolf romantasy then I’d suggest running to request it right now.

Perfect for fans of Leia Stone and Holly Black!
Bitten blends fantasy with horror to conjure a kingdom of werewolves. There’s a bit of romance, vengeance and strong themes of friendship. I throughly enjoyed this book, I particularly like seeing female werewolves. Gray did an excellent job at subverting some tropes but still leaving enough to make this a fun (but also heartbreaking) weekend read.