Review: Once Bitten

Once Bitten by Kate Owen
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

I hate giving negative reviews, but every so often I find a book I did not enjoy as much as I had hoped to. It is rare for this to happen, but it does occur occasionally. Sadly, it happened with Once Bitten.

Once Bitten sounded like the kind of book I would love: a paranormal element and an underground fighting ring. Those two things combined sounded like a lot of fun. In fact, I created so many scenarios in my mind. I anticipated truly explosive scenes, endless action, and a lot of violence. Unfortunately, the story wasn’t quite what I had hoped it would be.

I’ll admit that there were some interesting elements in this one. There were some new aspects added to the paranormal world, elements that intrigued me. Despite these new elements, I found myself unable to enjoy this one as I had hoped. The occasional little element intrigued me, but the overall story failed to pull me in.

I believe my biggest issue is that I never came to connect with the characters. Our leading characters had the potential to be amazing – both were female powerhouses, one being a doctor and the other a lawyer. Instead of thinking ‘yes, powerful women’, I found myself rolling my eyes at the choices they were making and their behaviours. They seemed to fall into clichéd female roles, doing the kinds of things we’ve seen many times before – namely the complete turnaround from the start of the story to the end.

Whilst there were some good elements, being unable to connect with the characters meant everything felt like it was dragging. My interest in the new elements was overshadowed by my desire for something more – hence my disappointment in the story.

I’m sure there will be some out there who will enjoy this story; alas, it was not for me.

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