[Emily’s Review]: A Denmate For Dylan by Emory Winters

Welcome to Foxwood Hollow. In a world of fox shifters sits a small, quaint town where everyone knows your business. Often stifling, always safe, and forever a place to call home.

Dylan
Axel is the love of my life; he just doesn’t know it yet.
Ten out of ten do not recommend spending your formative years pining after an alpha who’s your brother’s best friend. But alas, here we are.
My only solution is to leave Foxwood Hollow and start afresh. So what do I do when I have no choice but to return home, only to realise all of those years and miles haven’t doused the flame?

Axel
He’s your best friend’s little brother. He’s your best friend’s little brother.
It was a mantra I’d repeated to myself for years, ever since my brain had shifted from omega smells good to omega smells like mine.
I’m happy for Dylan when he leaves Foxwood Hollow to chase his dreams. I always knew he was destined for a life larger than this little town can offer him. But I feel his absence like a gaping chasm, and the silence that follows has my alpha instincts going into overdrive.
When Dylan finally comes home, a lot has changed. But the soul-deep longing is as present as ever.
Can I really let him slip through my fingers again?

I received this book for free from Author in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

So very cute.

I could have used some more “shifter”-ness from this book- but that didn’t take away from my enjoyment of the book. Not even a little bit.

I loved the fact that Axel was just so unaware. For so long. What a doof. He was a hottie and I liked that he just needed to come to terms with things and that he had the space to learn about himself and accept himself. #selflove

Dylan’s pining was absolutely incredibly done. I mean this baby’s love transcended almost a decade. He was so invested and loyal but it also didn’t stop him from living his life. He made a comfortable life for himself, he grew and matured and learned exactly what he wanted and deserved and he didn’t accept anything less. It was a story of growth for Dylan and I really think the timeline of the novel was done really well.

Den Mate spanned over years, but the pacing was perfect. I was never bored

I really like Emory Winters. I’ve only read a few of her books so far, but I feel really lucky that I am on her ARC team now.

I am very excited for the next book (fingers crossed there is one) because I am INVESTED in Dylan’s brother.

Definitely a good “stand alone” novel, with the potential for more installments.

Emily

Emily is a coffee loving, cat snuggling, hairstylist and book-a-holic.
Having always been a voracious reader and devouring books at a breakneck speed, joining the bookish and blogging community seemed like a natural next step. She loves giving recommendations to friends and family and then very gently (and not forcefully at all) asking for their opinions after they complete each chapter.
Her reviews tend to be goofy, a little sweary, on the more impassioned side and maybe sometimes a little self deprecating.
Emily typically enjoys reading almost every genre, including (but not limited to) monster romance, literary fiction, rom-com, contemporary, LGBTQ+, low/urban fantasy, paranormal, dystopian, sci-fi, gothic romance or basically any book that will make her cry.