So much more than a shifter story
Elinor Wilder’s first full-length novel is as wonderful as I anticipated. In “The Onion Came First,” Wilder takes every piece I expect in a paranormal story featuring a male wolf shifter and a female human who will get together by the end of the book, then turns those pieces 90 degrees to twist them into something new that I didn’t anticipate.
That also makes this review difficult to write because I don’t want to ruin any of these delightful surprises for other readers. In general, these are my favorite pieces of the story:
• Time for a relationship to build. I will always love a fast-paced suspense tale where the adrenaline brings the hero and heroine together within a week. In “The Onion Came First,” I found the fact that Reed and Annelie get to know each other over a period of months deeply satisfying.
• Reed is an alpha wolf, a key element of the drama, but in no way is he filled with bravado. Instead, he is very much a protective alpha. Annelie is a brilliant, independent woman who finds it hard to fit anywhere. They each have their pasts, demons and secrets. The twist comes when Reed’s “alpha-ness” can’t fix every situation. This definitely is not a “Fifty Shades” type of relationship where the heroine’s values fly out the window when faced with brute force that turns her on.
• Small gifts, a picnic, Annelie’s white board — all play into scenes that made me go back and reread just for the joy of experiencing them again.
Secondary characters — some met in the prequel novella “Not A Free Ion” and others who are sure to appear again — are just as interesting and serve to move the story along and set up storylines for future books.
Anyone who enjoys stories involving shifters should definitely try both of Elinor Wilder’s books — “Not A Free Ion” and “The Onion Came First.”

This was such a charming and cozy debut from Elinor Wilder. I loved the mix of small-town comfort, slow-burn romance and the sprinkle of paranormal intrigue. The dyslexia representation was beautifully handled, and the dynamic between Annelie and Reed was tender and believable.

Some pacing moments felt a bit repetitive and I wish the big reveal had been explored more deeply. I also would've liked to see Reed groveling a bit, but overall, this was a lovely, easy read that left me both content and curious for what comes next.

Miss Congeniality the parrot and Scout the dog totally stole the show and made the story even better? 10/10 for this.

Solid 4 stars from me for the plot and delivery + 1 extra star for the reference at the beginning of the book.

Now... I will wait (not so patiently) for the next book.

Full review on my Goodreads page. ^^

I'll be honest, the title made me wonder if I wanted to read it or not. I figured there would be an explanation, and there is. And I'm so glad I didn't let that first impression sway me because it was a BEAUTIFUL story.

I didn't want to do anything but read the novel; I even took it to work for when I had a free moment. No, no, it was amazing.

First of all, I want to keep reading this author and whatever she writes because she really managed to capture everything I love in a novel that has a story, a plot, main and secondary characters, an interesting backstory, and then, the romance. It's there, obviously, but I felt it accompanied the characters' journeys through their lives and what was happening around them. I liked that it was a slow burn; what can I say, it's my favorite trope.

I loved everything about it; I didn't want to put it down. I was going to bed late. I think if it had 200 more pages, I would have read them all.

Congratulations to the author on her debut novel, which I consider a complete success. I know it's not always good to rush authors because they have their own writing process, but I really want to read more. If I have to wait three years, so be it. But it will be worth it.

Many thanks to Victory Editing for the ARC I read on NetGallery in exchange for an honest review.