Okay so… Bitten was one of those reads where I was intrigued enough to keep going, but when I finished I just kinda sat there like… that’s it? 😅 It had so much potential (forbidden romance, enemies-to-lovers, werewolves, political court intrigue 👀), but overall it just didn’t hit the way I wanted it to.

The writing style is where I first started to struggle. I read a lot of YA, but this felt VERY YA, almost borderline cliché at times. Vanessa’s whole arc didn’t always make sense to me. On one page she’s out for vengeance because wolves literally murdered her best friend, and the next she’s swooning over Sinclair like: babes, which is it? revenge or romance? pick one pls 😭

And speaking of Sinclair (Sin)… the book is marketed as a love triangle but let’s be real, it wasn’t. I liked Calix (Sin's brooding, disgraced cousin, very much more my type of chaos), but he was barely in it. The whole spotlight was on Sin, so it read way more as a standard forbidden romance than any kind of proper love triangle. Who knows, maybe book two will lean into it a little more considering where this book left off, but here it just felt like false advertising tbh.

Characters:

Celeste deserved better. One of the more interesting, fun characters and she’s killed off basically immediately 🪦
Evie had potential, but I couldn’t get past how easily Vanessa forgave her... Like girl, she may have literally plotted your death???
“I hate that I feel a flicker of understanding for her. Hate that she could plot my death, perhaps murder my best friend, yet remain human enough to appear normal.” Exactly my point...
Oona was honestly the nicest character in the whole book 🥺 my little cinnamon roll.
And to be fair, the author did make everyone feel shady in their own way, which kept things interesting, even if the “plot twist” didn’t surprise me in the slightest.

Now. The spice 👀 I wasn’t expecting the level of steam we got for a YA label… like, hellooo?? Some of those scenes had me double-checking the genre 😂 Not necessarily a bad thing, just… may be unexpected for younger readers.

But yeah. It all felt a bit flat. I wanted court politics, big betrayals, jaw-dropping twists, and instead I got a story that was fine but never fully wowed me.

✨ Some fave quotes though, because the banter was a highlight when it was there:

“Last time we went out, you drank almost an entire bottle of tequila yourself and came home missing your underwear.”
“That was years ago!”
“That was two nights ago.” (I cackled at this ngl)

“Were you out to ruin my favorite slippers, or is this simply a kink of yours?”

“Monsters aren’t born, Vanessa. They’re made. And you… you’re not yet a devil. You still have time.” (probably the most quotable line in the whole book tbh)

“What is life if not lessons disguised as mistakes?” (actually love this one 💡)

So yeah, if you’re after a YA-leaning paranormal romance with wolfy politics, a sprinkle of sass, and some unexpected spice, this might be worth a go 🐺 But personally, it just didn’t give me the vibes I wanted.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for my honest opinions.

Thank you, NetGalley, for the chance to read this book.

I’ve not read a lot of werewolf books, but the ones I have read I have thoroughly enjoyed. This was no different; it started off slowly but soon picked up some pace. I thought I had worked out the direction the book was going, but boy was I wrong.

The author created a few twists and managed to keep me engaged the whole time of reading. You are taken emotionally on a ride with the main character, Vanessa. This book definitely sets up for a second one; I can’t wait to see what direction it goes.

Thank you to NetGalley, Hodder & Stoughton and Hodderscape for the ARC!

This book sounded right up my alley and I really liked the beginning of this but unfortunately this book didn't work for me.

I'm sure other people will absolutely love this book though!

Thank you again to NetGalley, Hodder & Stoughton and Hodderscape for the ARC!

Great debut from this author, lots of drama and intrigue that kept you guessing who to trust and what the hell was really going on right to the end! All in a good way.
Main character was strong but weak at the same time and it was a great take on werewolves. Different approach to how the live, shift etc which was refreshing.
Will be waiting patiently for the next instalment!!

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC.
This book was quite hard for me to rate. The story was interesting enough to keep reading, but there were many little things that annoyed me. The first one was the writing style. I didn't vibe with it. I didn't connect with the characters the way I hoped I would. I know this is a YA book, so maybe the problem is on me, but some choices the FMC took made me roll my eyes. The other two MMC were frustrating sometimes, too. This is not a "bad" book overall, but I hoped to like it much more.

✨ Blood, betrayal, and a Wolf Queen’s court — Bitten delivers a fast-paced YA werewolf tale with teeth.

A dark and somewhat gory werewolf tale, Bitten follows teenage Vanessa as she seeks revenge for her friend’s death, all while caught in the grip of a ruthless Wolf Queen.

The story is fast-paced and has the feel of solid YA fantasy. While at times the characters felt a little flat, there were glimmers of promise — particularly in the dressing scene, where Vanessa shows courage and cunning in front of Sin and Calix. Her loneliness, too, is a well-captured thread that grounds her story as she navigates a court full of potential suspects.

As for the love interests: Calix offers the brooding, menacing type, while his cousin Sinclair brings golden retriever charm. Both lean into familiar YA archetypes, but they complement Vanessa’s journey and set the stage for further development in future installments.

Overall, Bitten offers a classic mix of betrayal, revenge, love, and friendship that will appeal to fans of werewolf and paranormal YA tales. A solid start for readers looking for a dramatic, atmospheric read.

Many thanks to Hodder Books UK and NetGalley for the ARC.

Thank you to Hodder & Stoughton for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for a honest review.

After a vicious werewolf attack on the night of her seventeenth birthday party, Vanessa Hart loses everything she loves in a split second. Her best friend, her father, and even her home. Bitten and imprisoned without explanation, Vanessa endures an agonizing transformation into the very beast that maimed her, and her captors make it clear she cannot escape: she will either swear her life to the Wolf Queen’s Court, or she will die. With no other choice, Vanessa joins their enchanted Castle Severi—where flowering vines grow through the walls, gifts are bestowed by the stars, and a claw can break through skin as easily as silk—but she hasn’t forgotten what they stole from her. Vanessa still seeks vengeance, scheming in the shadows even as she finds herself mesmerized by the golden prince Sinclair Severi, who threatens to steal her heart though he is promised to her nemesis. And by his brooding, disgraced cousin, Calix, whose smoldering gaze hides even darker secrets. Immersed in the magic of their whimsical yet cruel society, Vanessa soon learns not all is as it seems. The Court is at war, and she may simply be a pawn in its lethal game.

Vanessa goes through quite the trauma in this book. She relies heavily on her rage to get her through which I totally understand, but there was this slightly petulant manner to her that did frustrate me a bit. She is clever - that’s obvious when she talks about school and her career dreams - and yet she doesn’t use her brain to think about how she can get the revenge she seeks. She instead allows her emotions to overtake her and then allows sadness to consume her when her ill thought out plans don’t turn out well. It’s a new world and new rules to follow but she doesn’t make it easy for herself.
Sin and Calix were a bit too similar for me. Big egos and bull headed. Sin, at least, had his eventual kindness in his favour but it took so long to see that in the private moments. I think both could have been different. I’m all for a broody, cold exterior for a male character but they need to soften. Calix just felt permanently cold until right at the end where it suddenly changed.

So, I was never a big werewolf girl growing up. Never really liked the Twilight books and was much happier with regular fantasy books. But, I’ve recently been finding more enjoyment in them. So when I stumbled across this one, I knew I wanted to give it a go since the synopsis drew me in. I really liked that this plot is a blend of typical and tradition werewolf lore and modern day. I also always enjoy some political intrigue and this book has it in spades. Add in violence, enemies around every corner and learning a new world and I felt sucked in. I won’t lie, for quite a while it did feel slow for me - so much so I did consider DNFing - but once it eventually picked up, it felt easier to read. I think the characters were very well written and engaging. I rather liked that they weren’t all likeable and personable. Werewolves are a territorial bunch and I really appreciated that this was a common theme! I was not aware this story would be a love triangle. If I had been aware, I very likely would have avoided this book… I’m really not a fan of love triangles. I adore enemies to lovers and I do love competition, tension and angst but there is something about love triangles that drive me absolutely crazy with frustration. There were some spicy moments here which I was slightly shocked by. I love me some smut but considering this is a YA novel, I was definitely expecting more of a “fade to black”. Instead it was a lot more detailed which I don’t mind but younger readers may not enjoy? I’ll admit that the ending was a plot twist for me but when it happened, it just felt a little … flat to me. There was this huge build up that I expected a massive impact and whilst it was a hit, there wasn’t as much power as I’d hoped which is a shame.

Overall, Bitten is a promising werewolf story that I think with a bit of reworking could be great.

⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Thank you again to Hodder & Stoughton for an advanced copy of this book. Review will be live on my blog on release day.

3.5 stars. This one started out really strong, but the ending fell a little flat for me. A couple of scenes also felt uncomfortably saucy for a seventeen-year-old FMC - especially since the two MMCs are clearly older. Because of that, I’d classify it more as New Adult than Young Adult.

That said, there were definitely things I enjoyed! I’m loving the current wolf trend in fantasy, and this book added some fresh touches - the born vs. bitten wolf dynamic, the eye colour hierarchy, and the unique magical abilities. Our bitten FMC being a truth-slayer was especially clever, given that she spends the story unravelling a murder mystery. I also loved how the “Truth. Truth. Lie.” rhythm was written into the narrative.

The story hooked me from the start, but the final act felt rushed and a little confusing.

Overall, it had great potential with its worldbuilding and character abilities, but the choice to keep the FMC so young pulled me out of the story.

oh i loved this book. i had a feeling from the moment the author started talking about it that i would love it and i was right!!! honestly it’s one of the first times the comparisons (ccity x fourth wing) actually felt accurate, i got the exact same vibe reading this as i did with those. vanessa is kinda dumb let’s be real, but i’m SO excited to see where her arc goes in book 2! i also loved both mmcs, around the 50% mark i started to get a weird vibe from one of them and turns out i was right lmao. can’t wait to see how the romance develops in the sequel 👀 anyway, this ended up being one of my favorite reads of the year!

“The flaw of looking at Lucifer and seeing a devil is that you’re missing the nuance of his time as an angel.”

When I saw this pitched as Crescent City meets Fourth Wing I thought ‘wow…that’s ambitious!’ 😳

Whilst it definitely has elements of both, to me it felt more like a YA version of Bloodwing Academy but with werewolves instead of vampires! 🐺

Due out in September, Bitten is the first book in a fantasy romance series by Jordan Stephanie Gray. The story follows Vanessa, a normal teenage girl celebrating her 17th birthday with her best friend Celeste.

But their night takes a brutal turn when they’re attacked by werewolves, leaving Celeste dead and Vanessa bitten, imprisoned in the Wolf Queen’s court, and forced into a terrifying transition 🫣

Realising she’ll never be allowed to leave, Vanessa swears allegiance to the Wolf Queen so she can uncover the truth about her friend’s murder and take revenge 💔

You can expect:

💘 Forbidden romance - with a (sort of?) love triangle and SO much yearning. Sinclair is the crown prince of the court and Calix is his brooding cousin and bodyguard. I definitely got Kitt and Kai vibes!

🏰Political intrigue - pack politics are no joke and despite the appearance of order, everyone is scheming for power and dominance.

🔎Murder mystery - Vanessa is determined to find out who killed her best friend, but her investigation unravels far more than she bargained for. Definite Crescent City energy here!

😵‍💫Twists and betrayals - some a little predictable, and others I absolutely did not see coming. The ending left me reeling and I need answers like, NOW.

This book is filled with mystery, intrigue and A LOT of yearning. It definitely sits firmly in the YA category for me, but I really enjoyed it and can’t wait to see where the story goes 💜

If you’re a fan of The Mortal Instruments or Powerless, I’d definitely recommend this one.

Holy hell in a handbasket, what did i just read?

I love Werewolf books, they are my favourite genre of books and so i was thrilled to read this one, reminded me very much of Kelley Armstrongs writing and that should be taken as a compliment because "Bitten" by Kelley is one of my favourite books of all time.

This is a YA book, which if im honest it shouldnt be, the lead FMC is 16/17, still in high school and it always makes me slightly icky to read romances between kids. Would have been better had Vanessa been 22 or something. There is also an incredible amount of violence, much more than im comfortable with teenagers reading, this should be marketed as adult fiction and the age of Vanessa and Celeste changed.

Anyway, this is a good read, i enjoyed the drama and the intrigue, I hated the Queen with a passion, she was vile, i cant remember when i was last so disgusted by a book character, but this book provoked really strong emotions in me. i very much enjoyed the love triangle with Sinclair and Calix, and had they all been older i would have been advocating for a shared arrangement honestly, not sure how anyone should be forced to pick between them.

This ends with an absolutely enormous twist that i did not see coming at all, it was like The Sixth Sense, you sit there and go, wait what just happened, you, you were the one, what the hell, brilliantly executed though, so well done to the author, very clever. I had to go back and re-read the last 25 pages to make sure i was in fact reading the ending and not some dream she was trapped in.

Overall i liked it, didnt like the ages of the characters especially as they get it on, but the book itself was brilliant. There had better be a sequel because that ending cant stand!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC copy. Wow where is book 2? I need it now! I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and it's world. At the beginning I wasn't sure I would like this as much as I did, but it gets so good, Having read so many books in this genre I usually spot twists and turns early on and although I caught a few, I definitely was still in for some surprises. If you like sizzling hot romance and fantasy intrigue this book is for you 5/5.

Remember the werewolf phase of the 2010’s? This gave me early Maggie Stiefvater vibes along with all those other novels we grew up with. The nostalgia really hit which made this book a quick, easy read that took me back to my teens—werewolves, love triangles, heartbreak.
Just when you think you know what’s coming next the story flips itself upside down. And it’s definitely a book where the more times you read it, the more small details you notice and appreciate. I’ll admit, for most of the book, much left me confused, although it did all come together and make sense in the end.
That being said, nostalgia aside, I didn’t feel anything particularly special here. The plot itself was intriguing, however it also felt a bit drawn out and repetitive at times. The characters were mostly enjoyable, though I felt myself not particularly interested in either of the male leads. But I did find some of the other side characters entertaining and full of personality, which helped keep me engaged with the story.

A gripping shifter read. I really like the way they aren't just werewolves but have powers as well. The twists keep you wanting to read more to find out what happens. Can't wait for more

Bitten had a lot of promise, but what I couldn't get past is how annoying Vanessa is. Forget the wolves, I wanted to kill her myself. She made the book a struggle to get through and by the time we got to the best bit (an interesting twist - probably the only bit I properly liked) I was thoroughly finished with her. Also, the romance was very boring and contained no actual chemistry.

I like werewolves, this was an interesting take on them and the only reason my star score isn't lower.

I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Rating : ⭐⭐⭐.5
Spice : 🌶️
Tropes : Forbidden love, shifters, enemies to lovers.
Vibes : Werewolves, urban fantasy, pack politics.

I want to start with saying that whilst this is marketed as YA with characters around the age of 17, it does contain some open door spice. I think this story would have benefitted greatly from aging characters up a few years, and adjusting to lean more into a new adult/adult audience.

That being said, I did enjoy this book! It really scratched that werewolf shaped itch I've been feeling lately. This is an urban fantasy where werewolves exist in a pocket realm, and use portals to travel between our world and theirs. The pack politics system was brilliant and I loved the set up of the ascension ritual determining your future in a pack. I also really enjoyed how the shifting was handled throughout the book - it's messy, it's gory, and it's incredibly brutal. We get some really detailed scenes for Vanessa's transformations and I loved that it wasn't quick and watered down.

This book does fall victim to a few of the classic YA tropes - the FMCs eye colour making her stand out instantly, and her being skilled at fighting with minimal effort and training compared to other people who have trained their whole lives for this.

After her transformation Vanessa gains the ability of Truthseer. I initially really enjoyed this ability and was excited for how it would play out, but it quickly got a bit heavy handed in how it was incorporated. Vanessa repeatedly verifies "Truth/Lie" during conversations, which had me second guessing and reading between the lines of what characters were saying to the point of allowing me to predict a couple of key plot points. Despite this there were still a few twists and turns that I did not see coming!

Overall this was a fun and quick read that had me hooked. It ends on pretty juicy cliffhanger so I'll definitely be waiting for book two. If you're in the mood for an easy read with some great werewolf vibes, I recommend giving this a go!

Thank you so much for the ARC!

The ending of this book has been so excited for the next one. However I did find that the book dragged and I was waiting for something to happen.

thank you to netgalley, the publisher, and the author for this arc.

3 stars.

listen. i liked the premise, but the execution was not it.
the characters should've been older. i don't want these explicit scenes between teenagers. it's so icky to me.

the writing is pretty good tho.

This book had everything I love packed in to the synopsis. Urban setting, werewolves, NA and a lot of mystery.
The plot was there, the world building was there.
Where it fell flat was the characters. It was pages upon pages of internal angst and zero growth. Now don’t get me wrong I know first hand how hard to face loss and guilt. Been there. But the lack of any kind of character growth and making stupid and stupider decisions wore me down by the end of the book. It was also very predictable but since it is YA-NA that isn’t unexpected.
The writing style was great and again the world building and unique twists on werewolf folklore and a bit of bridgerton-esque style intertwined with the originally urban setting was amazing.
I am hoping to see more depth to the characters in the following books.

3/3.5

This is book 1. It's not written IN BOLD anywhere, but this is a series, and the book ends on a cliffhanger (sort of).

This was an enjoyable read, and the plot is okay. If you have been around fantasy books for a while, you can smell how it goes a mile away, but it does the trick, and the unraveling is done well. The writing is good, and the book reads well.

I got an Advanced Copy of this book, so I don't know if everything will stay the same. However, a note about the "sex". The main character, Vanessa, is 17, and the boys (Sin and Calix) are 19. There is some tension between all of them, and the scenes are not too graphic, kind of fade to black. However, the book is advertised for Teens & YA. Yes to YA, but I might not let teens read this.

The gore: that's something I was not expecting AT ALL. It's bloody, it's gory, and it's graphic. You have been warned. As a horror reader, I'm not bothered, but I wanted to highlight it, just in case you think it's all pretty dresses and castles.

The characters:
-Celeste...Vanessa's best friend is insufferable. Yes, I said it. I just can't. I know this is a book, but the character is a cliché, and I just can't.
-Vanessa is your typical fantasy main character, might save the world, might fail (or die) doing it, and it serves the plot.
-Sin is this beautiful prince, cocky but with a tender side (or does he?).
-Calix, hopefully, we get more of Calix in book 2, morally grey and devastating.

Overall, I enjoyed reading Bitten, even if it's nothing "new", it's still a good story. If the series is not too long and the story doesn't get too diluted, I will follow along.