BITTEN BY DECEIT is the first novella in Shawntelle Madison’s self-published Hadley Werewolves series. I enjoyed her debut, COVETED, which I am totally going to write up at some point soon, so I jumped on the opportunity to try something new from her. Unfortunately, BITTEN BY DECEIT was somewhat lacking for me. It’s hard to pinpoint why since the novella has Madison’s characteristic smart, witty writing and good characters but the formula didn’t gel for me the way I’d hoped.

Madison is an extremely talented writer and she does a great job of creating a sense of place and people. Like her Coveted series, this novella is all about werewolves, though there’s no connection with her traditionally published books. The Hadley werewolves are pretty standard in most respects, except for the fact that Emma is on the run from the wolf in charge of her pack, who’s gone bananas. That’s a bit less standard, and the explanation we get for this wasn’t much of a surprise. In fact, it reminded me of a couple other books, which I won’t name since it might spoil your BITTEN BY DECEIT reading experience.

The romantic leads in BITTEN BY DECEIT come off as pretty standard as well. Emma is the damsel in distress, searching for her lost love Kyle, with the hopes that he will save her and the rest of the pack. Kyle, for his part, is broody since he is the rightful alpha and got run off by the current leader of the pack and his cronies. It’s a combination that you see in a lot of romance novels and I was hoping that it would feel fresher in Madison’s hands. I don’t mind tropes but I prefer it when authors add their own special flavour to them, which unfortunately wasn’t the case in this novella. This isn’t to say that BITTEN BY DECEIT is poorly done; rather, I think my expectations are just a bit too high after reading Madison’s full-length work.

For me, BITTEN BY DECEIT was a pleasant but predictable read. If you’re interested in trying this author, I would encourage you to start with COVETED, which is a fantastic book. I’ve got a review copy of the next novella in the series and I hope that it will be a bit more exciting. I’ll keep you posted. :)

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After Kyle loses a fight with the alpha and the woman he loves more than anything refuses to leave town with him, he sets up shop elsewhere, in the hopes of starting over. He doesn't want to hope that things will get better, even when Emma shows up fleeing the pack because a virus is being spread amongst the werewolves. Emma is desperate for help because now that she has been bitten, Emma knows that her time is limited and she can already hear the dark thoughts in her mind, as the infection spreads. Even with the history of disappointment between them, Kyle cannot help but come to her aid when she is threatened by the pack that drove a wedge between them and ousted him.

Since Bitten By Deceit is a novella, this isn't really going to be a long review. I chose to read this book because I am fan of Madison's Coveted Series. Fans of Coveted, will find that there is little resemblance to Bitten By Deceit, though Madison does once again return to werewolves. Bitten By Deceit is the typical paint by number paranormal romance novel with no ingenuity and little to recommend it. To be fair to Madison, I must admit that while I adore her Coveted series, I am not a fan of paranormal romance per say.

From the start of Bitten By Deceit, Madison makes it absolutely clear that Kyle and Emma are in great danger. They even get attacked in a diner of all places, but what do they do after they escape? Can you guess? They stop for sexy times, cause nothing says your life is at risk, like getting off on the ground, so that you can establish true and forever love. This is something that happens frequently in paranormal romance and each and every damn time, it gets on my last nerve. It breaks the flow of the story and makes me doubt that the characters are really in peril.

As in far too many paranormal romance stories, Bitten By Deceit, is straight, White, cisgendered and able bodied. There weren't many characters in the novella, so that gives it somewhat of a pass, but it would have been nice to have in a little diversity. Dominant bodies always seem to be the default in this genre. In this respect, I found the novella disappointing, given that the Coveted series has some of the best treatment of disabled characters that I have ever read.

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(Originally published on SnarkyMomReads - copy given to read in exchange for an HONEST review!)

"BITTEN BY DECEIT" by Shawntelle Madison is a 61 page short story priced at 99 cents. This is a fun, quick read - just perfect for sitting at soccer practice or in the carpool lane!

Emma is a wolf shifter who has been bitten by her Alpha, Liam. However, she hasn't been bitten in a "good" way -- Liam is in cahoots with a Black Witch in an effort to control his pack completely, and his bite initiates zombie-like actions. (Okay, really - how cool - way to get two fun paranormal things together... shifters and zombies LOL!!) She goes searching for her one true love, Kyle - who was injured and then beaten in an alpha challenge against Liam, and thus banished from the pack. Liam is hot on her trail... and Kyle isn't sure he can forgive her for not leaving the pack with him.

This is a story of.... ZOMBIE SHIFTERS!... (I just like to say that) and redeeming love. Like I said - quick read, fun read, sexy read... and a great price. Check it out! And here's some advance notice -- as a member of Shawntelle's Street Team, I have seen the smokin' hot cover of the next story in the Hadley Werewolves series - "Bitten By Treachery"! ( )

This was a very fast read at only about 60 pages. I enjoyed it for the most part, but I would've enjoyed it more had it been longer and went a little deeper into the relationship between Emma and Kyle. I would've liked it better if there had been a little more after the big showdown, too. I guess I'd recommend it to anyone looking for a short wold shifter fix. I'll keep my eye out for other books by this author to see if there are any follow up books about either this couple or the pack that needs fixing. ( )

what a great novella, I really enjoyed this, right from the start you are sucked in to lots of action, drama and romance. I would highly recommend this as a great afternoon short. ( )