Love Bites is the first book in a sarcastic rompy paranormal romance thriller/mystery by Cynthia St. Aubin. Originally published in 2019, this reformat and re-release from Macmillan on their Tor imprint is 304 pages and is available in paperback, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. For Kindle Unlimited subscribers, this book is currently included in the KU subscription library to borrow and read for free. The other books in the series are also currently available on KU.
The author has a good grasp of "Bridget Jones" type situational girl-y comedy, and the elements of paranormal romance (exotic locations, wealthy lifestyle, mysterious but very attractive boss, art gallery with exceedingly quirky patrons and stable of artists) are all present.
There's some graphic content, both paranormal violence (body horror + physical violence), and sexual content. Nothing extreme for the subgenre, and it's not really egregious, but it is there. The action driven plot moves very quickly and it manages to surprise a giggle/snort more than rarely (along with some eye-rolls for over the top silliness and camp).
The unabridged audiobook has a run time of 8 hours 15 minutes and is read by series narrator Stella Hunter. She has a well modulated, husky alto neutral American accent in this read and does a good job of the different character voices over a range of ages and genders (and species).
Four stars, with five books extant and a sixth due out in first quarter 2027, it would make a nice binge or buddy read, as well as a good candidate for public library acquisition.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
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