Este libro es la definición de: me ha gustado, me ha enganchado, pero me ha sorprendido por cómo se lleva la trama. No diría que es rompedor, pero sí que tiene algo que te hace pasar páginas sin parar.

Para empezar, los personajes. No os voy a mentir, Nessa me ha gustado bastante, aunque sigue muchos de los estereotipos que están de moda últimamente. En teoría intenta ser badass, pero no termina de dar las vibes. El libro pide a gritos una protagonista fuerte e independiente, pero con la situación que se plantea... pues en fin. Se queda corta. Lo intenta, y se nota, pero le falta esa presencia que hace que una prota se te quede grabada.

Los protas masculinos me han gustado, aunque siendo honesta, no creo que hayan aportado mucho más allá de su papel romántico en la historia. Es un triángulo amoroso, y esta vez los dos chicos (Calix y Sin) son primos. Lo cual ya es… curioso. Pero Sin se lleva claramente la atención en esta primera entrega.
Y no os voy a mentir: Sin no me ha gustado. Para nada. Ya me daba mala espina desde el principio, y su evolución solo confirmó mis sospechas. Su personaje me ha recordado un poco a Red Queen de Victoria Aveyard… en la peor/mejor manera posible???

En cuanto a la trama y los plot twists… me vi venir casi todo. Así que si buscáis giros inesperados y mind-blowing moments, este no va por ahí. Eso sí, se disfruta igual si entras con las expectativas adecuadas.

Espero que el segundo libro venga con más fuerza, más drama, y sobre todo, una Nessa más enfadada, más cabreada con el mundo y más dispuesta a tomar el control de su historia. Porque a veces el odio sí que es un motor potente. Y yo quiero una prota con fuego en las venas.

Lo recomiendo si…
💔 eres (o fuiste) Team Jacob en Crepúsculo
💛 te gustan los triángulos amorosos con drama de familia incluida
💇‍♂️ caes por protas rubios que ocultan más de lo que muestran
📚 y no puedes resistirte a un setting académico con secretos

Bitten is a magnetic, pulse-pounding debut that merges razor-sharp world-building with fierce romance and white-hot vengeance. Vanessa Hart’s journey—from a devastating wolf attack to her harrowing transformation at the Wolf Queen’s Court—is full of emotional depth and relentless momentum

I absolutely loved Bitten by Jordan Stephanie Gray! From the first page, I was drawn in by the fast-paced story, the gripping tension, and the incredible characters. The mix of romance, danger, and mystery kept me hooked—I just couldn’t put it down!
Vanessa is such a strong and compelling character, and I loved following her journey
The world-building was so immersive, and I felt every moment of excitement, suspense, and emotion. The twists kept me on my toes, and the chemistry between the characters was so well done. I was completely lost in the story and already can't wait for the next book!

If you love books that pull you in and don’t let go, a must-read. Highly recommend!

*thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

Bitten is a YA fantasy/paranormal debut by Jordan Stephanie Gray. The title immediately reminded me of one of my favourite TV Shows by the same name so I was very excited to dive in. It has been such a long time since I have read a werewolf book so I found this book to be extremely refreshing.

For the most part, I really enjoyed Bitten and am very eager to see where the series goes. The plot was fast paced and kept me hooked and I liked the elements of romance. I really liked Vanessa and thought she was such a loveable FMC. At times, the writing did feel a little bit on the younger side of YA, which was confusing given the explicit content featured in this book, which made me question what age group this book is written for.

Overall, Bitten was an enjoyable read reminiscent of some of my favourite 2010s werewolf books. It is a solid debut novel and I am looking forward to reading more from this author.

DNF at 28%

Unfortunately this just wasn’t working for me. From what I did read, the story seemed unique and fast paced although the writing style felt better suited to a younger YA audience. It gave me a similar feeling to Crave by Tracy Wolff which also wasn’t for me, but if you enjoyed that then this might work for you.

Unfortunately I felt I could not continue with this book after reading the first 15%. With the FMC being the age she is, I think this story might be YA which is not an issue for me when the prose is high quality and the dialogue clever. However, with Bitten, the the modern iterations, curse words and slang just screamed 'too young' for me - and I am only in my early 30s. I rarely refuse to finish a book but something about this one had me deciding life is too short to read poorly written books when so many other, better written narratives await me. Perhaps this one might appeal to much younger reader? I'm not sure and frankly, I don't want to spend any longer ruminating on this one.

What a fun book! Stephanie has truly written such an exciting debut with Bitten which is full of female rage and vengeance.

Bitten follows a teenage girl who is propelled into a mysterious world of werewolves, following the murder of her best friend, and having to deal with the reality of becoming the very thing that killed her. All Vanessa wants to do is avenge her best friend's death, but is caught in a web of court politics, forbidden love and enemies at every corner.

Normally werewolves aren't my cup of tea when it comes to fantasy books, but I must say, Stephanie has written them so well that I had to keep reading! It's very much a nostalgic feeling book, and any lovers of Teen Wolf and The Vampire Diaries would eat this up!!

If you love tension (especially that one scene between Vanessa, Calix and Sin... iykyk), werewolf court and royals, paranormal elements, love triangles and murder mystery, you'll absolutely love Bitten🐺 I need the second book asap because what was that cliffhanger ending Stephanie?!?!

I really enjoyed this book — once I started, I couldn’t put it down. Bitten is a well-written story packed with court politics, betrayals, mysteries, twists, vivid world-building, and a touch of romance. I especially loved the murder mystery elements. Vanessa is exactly the kind of protagonist I’m drawn to: fuelled by rage and grief, yet fiercely determined to avenge her best friend.

There are two main reasons I have given this book 3 stars: I don't like reading about teenagers having sex, which this book surprisingly (as it is marketed as YA) contained and that the love triangle felt like a YA checklist item rather than an actual part of the plot. Vanessa spends all her time with and prefers one from the start, the other one is kind of there sometimes but not as anything but a friend so I didn't really see this as a love triangle. Although these didn't stop me from reading, finishing and enjoying this book I thought that the marketing was misleading because of them and I wish that the characters had been aged up.

Summary: After a werewolf attack kills her friend, Vanessa is taken to their court—where vengeance, danger, and desire await at every turn.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC of this book, all thoughts are my won.

Thank you Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton for the eArc and a chance to read Bitten early.

Firstly, I want to say a big hallelujah for the return of werewolves!🙌 As teen in the 2000s I grew up loving paranormal romance authors like Kelly Armstrong. And was even team Jacob when everyone else was team Edward.

Vampires and witches have been dominating the fantasy genre lately so I was excited to read a werewolf story. Unfortunately, Bitten didn't live up to my expectations.

The writing was good and definitely has potential. The beginning immediately drew me in and the ending took me on a wild rollercoaster ride.

However, the in-between I just didn't connect to the story at all. The world building was lacking and the author heavily relied on the "it's just the way it is" to explain away any questions. For a YA book, the content could get a little too graphic and the sex-scenes were too explicit for the genre. I was very surprised this wasn't marked as NA as Vanessa easily could have been 18+. Also, it felt like Vanessa had a complete personality transplant after she was bitten. She started off as a shy good girl and then all of a sudden became a confident girl with attitude. There wasn't much character growth for her.

On the plus side, her rage was absolutely palpable and I constantly wanted to punch people on her behalf. However, there really wasn't much relief from that. Everyone was just so MEAN, seemingly for no reason other than they're scared of the queen and that's just the way things are. No one has a mind of their own or are way too scared to change things. This is usually fine if in the end there's a coup or something but the court felt more like a cult than a "kingdom".

And don't get me started on the love triangle. What love triangle?! Both Calix and Sinclair treat Vanessa like garbage. Sin is a complete coward and we didn't have enough moments between Calix and Vanessa to justify their connection.

Bitten will hit with a certain reader group and I'm here for the 2000s paranormal romance vibes but sadly this book must wasn't for me.