Book: Bitten by Jordan Stephanie Gray
Reviewed by Your_bookish_fantasy
Rating: 5/5
๐
ฝ๏ธ๐
พ๏ธ ๐๏ธ๐
ฟ๏ธ๐
พ๏ธ๐
ธ๏ธ๐
ป๏ธ๐
ด๏ธ๐๏ธ๐๏ธ
๐ป๐๐ฅ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ฃ๐๐ง๐๐๐จ ๐ ๐- Bitten
โ๐๐ฅ๐๐๐๐ค-
๐ฃ (out of 5 stars, my rating scale is at the end)
๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ โญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธ.5/ 5
๐ก๏ธ ๐ฆ๐ฝ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ถ๐ถ/ 5
โ๏ธ๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ธ๐ป๐ฒ๐๐ ๐น๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐น- ๐๐โ๏ธ๐โ ๏ธ
๐: ๐ถ๐ข๐ก๐๐ ๐ฆ ๐ ๐ก๐ฆ๐๐ ๐ฃ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐: ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ฆ ๐๐๐๐ฆ โ๏ธ: แตแตแตสฐสฐสฐ หขแตแตแตแตสธ แตแตแตแตหกแตโขโขโข ๐: ๐
๐๐๐ ๐กโ๐ MฬถEฬถNฬถUฬถ ๐ณ -๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ !!
โ ๏ธ: PอIอTอCอHอ FอCอuอKอIอNอGอ BอLอAอCอKอ!
๐๐๐ช ๐๐๐๐ :
โข๐# 384 ๐ฃ๐ฎ๐ด๐ฒ๐
๐ง# 17 ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ๐ 08 ๐ ๐ถ๐ป๐๐๐ฒ๐ (I ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ 1.45 ๐๐๐๐๐)
โข๐๐ผ๐ ๐น๐ผ๐ป๐ด ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฑ ๐ถ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ธ๐ฒ ๐บ๐ฒ ๐๐ผ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฑ ๐ถ๐? DEVOURED IN 1 sitting
โข# solo ๐ฃ๐ข๐ฉ / # ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ข๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ by Avery caris, Chase brown, Katherine Chin, Marni Penning, Matt Mercurio (each character has their own voice)
โข๐ฅ๐ฒ๐น๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ- September 30, 2025
โข๐ฃ๐น๐ผ๐ or ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ driven? CHARACTER
โข๐ฆ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ ๐ก๐ฎ๐บ๐ฒ & ๐๐ผ๐ผ๐ธ ๐ป๐ผ- book 1
โข๐๐๐ฎ๐ถ๐น๐ฎ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ on ๐๐จ? ๐ซ
โข๐ฃ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฒ- fast
โข๐ ๐ฒ๐บ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ?๐
โข๐๐ป๐ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป? (Disability, plus size, mental health etc...)๐ซ
โข๐ ๐ผ๐ผ๐ฑ๐; ๐บ๐๐๐๐๐, ๐ฌ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐, ๐พ๐๐๐๐, ๐ด๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐, ๐ซ๐๐๐, ๐ป๐๐๐๐๐, ๐ญ๐๐๐๐๐๐
๐๐๐
๐จ๐ ฒ๏ธ๐ ท๏ธ๐ ด๏ธ๐ ฒ๏ธ๐ บ๏ธ ๐๏ธ๐ ท๏ธ๐ ด๏ธ ๐๏ธ๐๏ธ!๐จ
โ๐โ๐โ๐ผ๐
๐๐๐๐๐ฃ๐๐ฅ๐ค & ๐น๐๐ฅ๐ฃ๐๐ช๐๐๐ค
๐ฎ๐๐ฏ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ฅ๐ข๐ ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฐ ๐๐ซ๐ก ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฐ
๐ชงPแดสษชแดษชแดแดส Iษดแดสษชษขแดแด
๐โโด๐๐ถ๐ โ๐๐๐๐พ๐ฐ๐โฏ
โ๏ธโโฏ๐พ๐ ๐โด ๐๐ฝโฏ ๐๐ฝ๐โด๐โฏ
๐ชฆ๐ณ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ฐ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐
๐ซ๐ถ๐๐๐๐๐๐/๐ด๐๐๐๐๐๐ฆ ๐ ๐๐ก๐ก๐๐๐
๐แดสสแดษดษขแดแด
แดแดสสษชแดษขแด
๐บ ๐ฟ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ก๐๐๐๐๐๐๐
๐ฅ๐๐ฅ๐จ๐ฐ ๐๐ฎ๐ซ๐ง
๐ก๐๐๐๐ฃ๐๐๐๐, ๐ธ๐๐๐ค๐ฅ, ๐๐๐๐ค๐๐ ๐
๐๐ป๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ก
๐ก ๐๐ฃ๐๐ข๐๐๐จ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐๐ค๐ซ๐๐ง๐จ
๐ค๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐น๐๐ถ
๐๐๐๐๐๐ค๐๐๐ ๐ โ๐๐๐ก๐๐๐
โจ Tแผแดแฐแดี โจ
Crescent city x fourth wing ish..
๐บ๐๐๐๐๐
๐๐๐ ๐น๐ฌ๐จ๐ซ ๐๐ ๐๐, ๐ณ๐ฐ๐บ๐ป๐ฌ๐ต ๐๐ ๐๐?
(๐โ๐๐ก๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ก- ๐ต๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ด๐ข๐๐๐?) audio book definitely!
๐ธ๐ฆ๐๐๐ ๐น๐ ๐ ๐ โ๐๐ง๐๐๐จ:
Duet narration- Even though this book is all told from Vanessaโs point of view, there is more than one voice actor, and it was nice for each of the characters to have their own voice instead of having the one narrator voice everyone.
Each narrator did a great job, with frequent all tonal changes and inflections and enthusiasm in their pitch you really felt the drama crescendo and the sorrow hurt!
๐ ๐๐ ๐ฃ๐๐ ๐๐ฆ๐๐๐๐๐๐, ๐จ๐ฃ๐๐ฅ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ก๐๐๐๐๐:
Itโs a pretty intriguing dark romantasy with a layered plot, that would have been very easily made better with more background, lore and aged up characters and/or an older target audience. The story is fast-paced and has the feel of solid YA fantasy. (BUT IT IS NOT YA AT ALL!)
While at times the characters fell a little flat, there was moments of great potential and promise if developed further (as i hope book 2 will be)Overall, Bitten offers a classic mix of betrayal, revenge, love, and friendship that will appeal to ADULT fans of werewolf and paranormal YA tales. A good read for adults looking for a dark, dramatic, spicy, atmospheric story.
The world-building is the usual paranormal one, with werewolves living in secret among humans, however different to all those other shifter books, this one had portals to fairy built realms where the shifters could live in peace from humans. And along with a few other bits of remaining but historic fairy magic, there were other pieces of information surrounding their history and politics that were told, but not explained. We were just told the information in a โitโs just the way it isโ manner, I would have enjoyed more explanation and background to understand the story better rather than the tell not show approach.
I adore enemies to lovers and I do love competition, tension and angst so this was right up my street, however I was hoping for more of a triangle in my love triangle- this was a flirtatious non committed relationship with another guy who wants the girl on the side.
The vocab in this book was probably my main issue. At the shifter school itself-Characters would use a variety of modern and traditional language like calling each other โbitchโ then using โacquiesceโ in the same period. The whole teenage, jealous mean girl drama was a bit annoying, it did fit with the story - kind of, however I think it would have been better to create real problems for them to fight over rather than juvenile stuff considering the level of gore and spice leans to an older reader. I enjoyed them figuring out pack hierarchy in most books but again this was done via mean girl situations arising rather than shows of strength and leadership. Reading about teenagers going to school, insulting each other with their friends behind them for support, and throwing paper balls with insults written on them when the teachers not looking just brought the rating down a notch for me.
The romance is very mean girl love triangle. Vanessa hates the popular boy Sinclair on sight, but whenever he touches her she gets tingles, he is very hot and cold- sometimes flirting with her, even though he is engaged to the mean girl of the court, next he pretends sheโs not there. And then Cas is into her-ish, I thinkโฆ with the odd bit of flirting-esq behaviour the back to being enemies โฆ confusing for the reader let alone the character.
Iโll admit that the ending was a plot twist for me, I was expecting this twist throughout the story but then gave up on it, but when it finally happened, it just felt a little โฆ flat to me. There was this huge build up and I expected a massive imposing impact and whilst it was initially a hit, there wasnโt as much detail leant to that final moment meaning it soon lost its dangerous feel.
๐งโโ๏ธ โ๐๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ฅ๐๐ฃ๐ค:
Vanessa is quite a simple and uninspiring main character.
Vanessa goes through quite the trauma in this book. She relies heavily on her rage to get her through everyday life and everything being thrown at her, which I totally understand, but there was a really petulant manner to her that often frustrated me. Her inner monologues were monotonous and repetitive, but I did enjoy her character growth and personality changes as the story developed. She started as a shy girl who couldnโt talk to people, and then after transitioning she became stronger in her opinions, confident and far more independent.
She is clever - thatโs obvious when she talks about school and how quickly she learns and uses her knowledge- and yet she doesnโt use her brain at all outside of school. instead she allows her emotions to rule her and then lets rage and sadness consume her when things donโt go right. Her deep and unbidden loneliness, too, is a well-captured thread that grounds her story as she navigates a court full of potential suspects.
Vanessa says Celeste is the other half of her soul, they were so close that I thought they were going to become a couple at a few points in the story, but we didnโt get to see why they were like that because we werenโt offered enough time to feel their connection or detailed history to back this up. Vanessa is obsessed with finding her best friendโs killer, but, for the reasons above, I was not invested in her investigation and didnโt care about who the murderer was. Although I was intrigued in the mystery behind all of the bites.
As for the love interests: Calix offers the big brooding, protector, scary and menacing type of male, while his cousin Sinclair brings golden retriever, slightly socially weaker/awkward, not offering to get in the middle of arguments but still charming kind of male. Both lean into familiar YA archetypes, but they complement Vanessaโs journey- even if they could have been developed further, they did set the stage for further development in the next book.
As above 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. Iโm 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.
I liked that the characters werenโt all likeable and personable. Werewolves are a territorial bunch with strict pack hierarchy and rules and so going from human to shifter was a big deal for Vanessa and for the wolves around her to get their heads around, hence the mean girl attitudes.
โณ ๐๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ ๐ ๐ฃ๐-๐ฃ๐๐๐ ๐ ๐ฃ ๐ฃ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐?
Yes but only to adults not teenagers, and yes Iโd re listen to this over and over
๐ชง๐ฝ๐๐๐๐ ๐ฅ๐๐ ๐ฆ๐๐๐ฅ๐ค:
On the whole I enjoyed it. I liked the plot and the twists were great. The pack hierarchy was fascinating and our FMCโs journey and steep learning curve was very intriguing. If you like YA books, gore, modern language, spice, supernatural school and political intrigue then this book is for you!
๐น๐๐๐๐๐ค ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ค๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ ๐ข๐๐๐๐ ๐ก๐๐๐๐ ;
๐๐๐๐๐ ๐
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๐๐ช โ๐๐ฅ๐๐๐ ๐๐ช๐ค๐ฅ๐๐๐ค:
โญ๏ธ DNF
โญ๏ธโญ๏ธ
I managed to finish it but it was rubbish. I won't keep a physical copy and won't recommend it, but it's a shame as the plot could have made a good book in another author's hands
โญ๏ธโญ๏ธ.5
It was OK. I wish I didn't start this one as it didn't do it for me as I struggled to read it. It had an interesting premise that fell flat but I had to see what happened in the end.
โญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธ
I don't regret reading it, and I will read the next one, but this one did have a few flaws. [These could be repetitive writing, gaps or plot holes, better character growth or world building, areas needing more detail]
Generally, the book lacked depth and became confusing. The plot resonated with me even though it annoyed me on the whole.
โญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธ.5
I'm glad I read it. I enjoyed it and would recommend it to the right people, but I wanted more! Sadly, it's easily forgettable with a few issues I just couldn't overlook/get past.
โญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธ
Good book! I loved it, but... I needed more! I really did enjoy it, but it had a few parts that needed more detail or added history/background or lore. But that's because the story or characters were memorable, and the plot was strong with brilliant twists. I would re-read if I needed to catch up for the next book and would recommend.
โญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธ.5
Great book! I truly wish the story had been thought about more, or the author had been given more time as this book is so close to brilliance! I will likely read again and will definitely be recommending it to all!
โญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธ
WOW! Absolutely amazing book! Well written with great characters and a plot so memorable that it will stay with me. I will definitely read this again, I will be recommending it and sharing it with the whole world! Also- I NEED A PHYSICAL COPY!
๐ฅโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธ๐ฅ
This is my God level tier. The book must be perfectly memorable. Even after reading 50+ more books, I will remember character names and emotions along with the plot. If there is a special edition, then I need to own it! If there is a conversation on books- I'm talking about this!
SPICE SCALE:
๐ถ๏ธโ segsual language and a little on-page action
๐ถ๏ธ๐ถ๏ธโ a lot of segsual language and some on-page open door action, may be occurring a couple of times
๐ถ๏ธ๐ถ๏ธ๐ถ๏ธโ a lot of explicit action and dirty talk, occurring frequently with 2/3 lurvers
๐ถ๏ธ๐ถ๏ธ๐ถ๏ธ๐ถ๏ธ โ super graphic and explicit, occurring 4 or more times, can be more grey and taboo themed.
๐ถ๏ธ๐ถ๏ธ๐ถ๏ธ๐ถ๏ธ๐ถ๏ธ โ Kinks and Fet!shism, explicit and super graphic. It is likely to be tushy play, toys, playrooms, and more dark / taboo fantasies and realities.
may