Reviewed by Cindy
TITLE: Taming the Fox
AUTHOR: Amelia Bishop
PUBLISHER: Self
LENGTH: 239 Pages
RELEASE DATE: August 10th, 2023
BLURB:
Centuries of interbreeding with humans has weakened shifter magic. These days, they can barely shift, only producing partial animal forms: fuzzy humans with an animal edge. Those who can manage to sprout some fur stick together in tight clans, focused on strengthening their bloodlines.
Harlan is a fox shifter who’s supposed to settle down with a vixen and make a litter of fox kits. But he longs for a male partner, and he refuses to live a lie – a stance for which his clan ostracizes him. Alone and hurt, Harlan resigns himself to a life without love, and moves into the woods where he spends his days hunting, reading, and painting in his ramshackle cabin.
Shane is a gay wolf shifter longing for a mate. He decides to move into his wealthy family’s luxurious hunting lodge…which just happens to be right next door to Harlan’s place.
When the two meet, they develop a friendship with a strong sexual attraction. But Harlan’s insecurity about his poverty, and his fear of being hurt again, keeps them from being the partners they both need.
A wolf who has everything. A fox who’s lost it all. Will they take a chance on love?
A spicy contemporary m/m Romance with two fuzzy, sweet shifters who have a bad habit of snuggling by the fire.
REVIEW:
These two characters are pretty adorable.
Harlan is doing his best to live a good life, and even though he struggles financially, he’s still a really good person who tries to help people when he can. If only he had a little more confidence in himself, but that was destroyed long ago.
Shane is big hearted and because of his wolf shifter heritage, it’s only natural that he is looking for companionship. And when he sees Harlan, the attraction is sweet and hot!
These two characters are fun to get to know. They are both trying so hard to do the right thing and in romance, that usually leads to all sorts of miscommunication. This story is no different. Harlan can’t get over his own insecurity and Shane is trying to hard not to push that Harlan, that they both get the totally wrong ideas.
I was thinking that this story could be longer but I don’t really think that’s the issue. It’s a complete story that has a proper beginning, main frame and ending. It just needs a little more fleshing out, a little less “ignore reality” sex. I would have liked more talking between the two main characters and I would have liked Harlan to have at least one friend he could talk to about his situation. Because he’s so alone, it makes him seem a little more desperate than I think he really is.
I loved Shane’s family. They support Shane and take Harlan into their family without question, recognizing a soul in need.
It fell a little short for me and I’m not totally sure why. It felt a little like fanfiction maybe. But the characters were really relatable and the premise was interesting. I liked the idea of the “shifting but not quite”. It made the story a little more unique, which it needed.
I will be on the lookout for Amelia Bishop’s next story. I think she has excellent potential and I look forward to seeing where she goes from here!
RATING: 
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