"Maybe Delilah's the moon to my sun, drawn to me inexorably despite our differences. Maybe even things that normally stay apart can come together."
Bite Back is the debut paranormal romance from Jenna Booth, and it's a great time! I love the supernatural normative society that Booth created, where vampires and other paranormal beings are known to humans. They even sit on city councils! There are specially trained slayers, who handle supernatural crime instead of the police.
The FMC, Delilah, is turned into a vampire and abandoned by her boyfriend. In order to get justice for herself and the other women he's take advantage of, she teams up with Asher, a slayer with a personal hatred of vampires. Be mindful of the following TW/CW: Violence, domestic manipulation/psychological abuse, PTSD, anxiety, panic attacks, and more. A complete list is available on the author's website.
Bite Back is a dual POV paranormal romance with easy to follow worldbuilding, and a perfectly paced plot. The characters all have survived different types of trauma. Booth depicts these with care, including how debilitating migraines can be. I love how Delilah and Asher's relationship evolves over the course the story. Their hesitancies are understandable given each of their histories, and I love how they take care of each other.
There is a great focus on female friendship, and righting wrongs done to women. I love how Booth incorporated these themes into the story. Delilah, Sarah, and Kirby are an amazing trio. I'm so intrigued by both of their stories, and I hope that they each are the focus of a later book! Asher's friendship with Claude is another high point in the story, and it's great to see platonic friendships paid so much time in a romance.
Bite Back has a great mix of action, justice seeking, character growth and healing, and of course, romance. Paranormal romance readers, definitely check this one out!! It's available on KU, ebook, and physical copies.
"When he makes you feel small. We'll be there. Me and Kirby. And together we'll be large. We'll be strong. We'll be together."
"I like you this....Happy."
"He inhales, drinking me in, lips parted, like a prayer or a prophecy. All the reasons we can't, we shouldn't, we won't fall away, and all I'm left with is this. Him and me. Us. Almost together."
"We can't erase our pasts. But we get to write our own futures."