Bronze Fox (Rifters #1)

Diana
Green
Genre: 
Paranormal

FANTASY:  “Bronze Fox” is anything but an ordinary, run-of-the-mill paranormal romance story. One gets nothing of the alpha hero syndrome or the over-the-top angst readers might expect from this genre. Instead, one is gifted with Tobias, a Fox-shifter who is hunting for a map of portals that allows users to travel to various different worlds. He hires Etty as his assistant, a girl who has a talent for mimicking speech patterns after only hearing it once.

The characters and world-building really make the book shine! Etty and Tobias are not the usual, expected couple in this genre, and as such, they make for an interesting pairing. Both characters have a rich background and history, and they have more things in common than the reader would think at first glance. They seem like real people, with their own flaws and stories. 

Unlike in most shifter novels, “Bronze Fox” features no insta-love. Instead, the romance grows slowly as the characters connect and get to know one another.  

The world-building is the book’s other strong suit: it is set in a fantasy/steampunk version of Victorian England, and with the addition of portals to travel to another world, the setting became one of the most interesting parts of the book. The plot was decent and had a few unexpected twists here and there. After a somewhat slow start, the book picks up when Tobias and Etty go on a mission. 

A solid start to a new series, "Bronze Fox" has this reader hooked and waiting for the next installment!

Majanka Verstraete