ARC Review: Forbidden Bond (They Bite #1) by Lee Colgin

Blurb:

Vampires and werewolves are historical enemies. When the Peace Accord that imposes an uncomfortable armistice between the species is threatened, the entire supernatural community must respond. 

Young vampire heir Sinclair Davis successfully petitions the council for permission to attend a werewolf dominated university. Surrounded by a pack of unwelcoming wolves, Sinclair’s first meeting with their alpha doesn’t go well. The handsome wolf hates him. 

Alpha wolf Mitchel Edgehill is furious when the university sends a vampire to be housed among his pack, even if he is cute. But there’s nothing he can do since the paperwork has been signed. They’ll have to find a way to coexist. 

As tension rises within supernatural society and violence escalates between vampires and werewolves, an uneasy truce develops between Sinclair and Mitchel. The pair attend a peace conference in hopes of preventing war, but when a rogue group of humans attacks, Sinclair is kidnapped and held for ransom. Can the alpha wolf work with vampires to save Sinclair, or will war break out after all? 

~Forbidden Bond is an enemies to lovers MM urban fantasy in a college setting. 

~It’s the first of a series but can be read as a standalone, no cliffhanger.
~Contains violence and adult scenes intended for a mature audience.

Todd's rating:

Werewolves are prickly, obnoxious assholes. Until you get to know them.

After the Great Wars, there was absolutely no love lost between the vampire and werewolf races, but 26 y.o. Living vampire Sinclair insisted on earning his PhD from Borson University, an esteemed werewolf school, and would not be deterred.

Upon arriving at Borson, Sinclair was immediately met with hostility from his werewolf roommates, but he refused to let them run him off, as he had a degree to earn, and no amount of snarling and snapping would keep him from his goal.

Things began looking up when Sinclair finally met 32 y.o. dorm Alpha Mitchel, in spite of their extremely confrontational initial interaction. Much like the rest of the wolves, Mitchel wasn't happy to have a vampire under the same roof as his pack. At least until he let himself give in to the draw he had to the smaller, younger supe.

I enjoyed seeing how Mitchel's animosity toward Sinclair changed over time, working their way past old prejudices and seeing one another as kind, caring individuals, then maybe even as mates. This happened slowly and felt believable and organic to me.

Much of the drama in the story was due to the vampires insisting that the existence of supernatural beings be divulged to humans, breaking the Edict of Secrecy. Something strongly opposed by the more fearful werewolves.

Then, after an inter-species tragedy occurred, the entire supernatural community was forced to come together, which culminated in an even greater disaster that required their unity to overcome.



There were also some familial prejudices and disapproval to surmount, but I especially loved Sinclair's parents and their efforts to support their son, regardless of their own initially-reluctant feelings.

The story was well-paced, but I would've honestly liked a slightly more expanded pre-epilogue ending, as that part felt a bit more rushed than the rest of this mates story.

I'd rate this story at around 3.5 stars and am hoping that the next book in the series will be Nathan and his vampire doctor's. : )

My ARC copy of the book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for a fair, unbiased review.

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