| Genre | Gay / Bisexual / Urban Fantasy / Elves/Fairies/Sidhe / Magic / Shifters / Vampires / Wizards & Witches / Erotic Romance / Action/Adventure / Mystery/Suspense/Thriller |
| Reviewed by | Serena Yates on 09-March-2019 |
Fate has given them an ultimatum: bond or die.
A fox raised among wolves, Sebastian has spent his life fighting to survive. His skills with magic, his quick wit and instincts, all keep him on the move until fate leads him to Liam.
Alpha werewolf, Liam, is everything Sebastian has spent his entire life avoiding. But there’s a magic between them, a spark of something beyond a fox or a wolf; an awakening energy. But when Seb’s past catches up, a darkness arises none of them know how to fight.
Can the two of them find a way to work together to defeat rogue wolves, fae monsters, and a couple of demons bent on destruction?
Warning: Mentions of past partner abuse, blood, and violence.
This first novel set in a world that combines witches and magic with kitsune lore and shifter myths is a promising start to a new series. With rules all its own, characters that pulled me in from the moment I “met” them, and an intriguing mix of love story and action-adventure, it had me spellbound from the start. The story and suspense build fairly slowly over the first half of the novel, but there is an underlying feeling of dread to come combined with an inevitability about the final confrontation and its consequences from the start. The story is told by Sebastian, a young man who struggles with his nature, the consequences of the abuse he has suffered, and a bone-deep fear that he is unlovable. It made his experiences come alive and had me feel everything in an unfiltered way that made reading some of the story emotionally challenging. It’s a great way to experience the events as they unfold, and I recommend reading this book to everyone who likes to completely immerse themselves in what they read.
Sebastian is a fox shifter with some unusual and unexpected traits that cause him to be misunderstood and abused almost from the moment he is born. In a world where werewolves and other supernatural beings are plentiful (if not known to exist by humans), a kitsune with witch magic has a tough position. Some try to protect him, though their motives are debatable, and some try to use him for their own benefit. With so many agendas and nobody in his corner, Sebastian grows up trusting no one and unsure if he can ever feel totally safe and at home anywhere. On top of all that, Sebastian has powers that nobody understands, least of all himself, and his journey of discovery is as heartbreaking as it is fascinating.
Liam is a strong werewolf alpha who has been waiting for Sebastian to find him after they shared a powerful kiss that changed both of them. His perseverance is admirable, but Liam also knows that going after Sebastian the way he wants would be counterproductive. So Liam prepares as best he can, tries to learn about mating bonds, and makes himself be patient – not an easy feat for an alpha werewolf! And even when Sebastian finally makes his way to Liam’s pack territory, the wait isn’t over and Liam has more issues to deal with than he expected.
Between Sebastian and Liam trying to figure out how they fit and the underlying threat that looms over all the wolves, this story is a great mix of action/adventure and romance. Some of it is quite gruesome, as you would expect in a struggle between dark and light. The romance is not an easy one despite the mate bond both Sebastian and Liam can feel pulling at them – and I liked that they had to deal with their human as well as their shifter nature. A solution had to include both and it made this version of “fated mates” a lot more challenging than some.
If you like well thought-out supernatural worlds with a set of rules different from the norm, if you think that two strangers with very different expectations and backgrounds can learn to work together and even love each other, and if you’re looking for an exciting, suspenseful read with surprises, revelations, and a promise of more to come in the next installment, then you will probably like this novel as much as I do. I certainly hope the next one will follow soon!
DISCLAIMER: Books reviewed on this site were usually provided at no cost by the publisher or author. This book has been provided by the author for the purpose of a review.
| Format | ebook, print and audio |
| Length | Novel, 350 pages |
| Heat Level | |
| Publication Date | 08-March-2019 |
| Price | $4.99 ebook, $13.99 paperback |
| Buy Link | https://www.amazon.com/Witchblood-Kitsune-Chronicle-Story-Chronicles-ebook/dp/B07NZ8RBQ1 |
