Accidental Bonds (Elemental Bonds, #1) by Marie Reynard

After reading Accidental Bonds, I have a feeling paranormal fans are going to be chanting for more after reading this debut book from author Marie Reynard. 

From the blurb:

It was meant to be temporary. Fate had other ideas.

Victor Mills would do anything to protect his pack, even work with magic he detests. When the wards

safeguarding his territory start to deteriorate, he's forced to hire a local mage to fix them. He could tolerate the abrasive stench of sorcery, if only the mage didn't also smell like everything his wolf has ever wanted.

Elijah Lauring has no intention of tying himself to a shifter pack; his neutrality pays the bills. Repairing the Mills pack wards should be a one-off job, but the spell he casts to tap into Victor's energy stubbornly refuses to fade. The intoxicating connection that lingers between them plunges his magic into chaos right when he needs it the most.

As they grapple with their conflicting desires, they soon discover the wards aren't the only thing decaying. An evil is infecting the pack land, and they must learn to trust each other and their growing bond to defeat it. If they fail, Victor's pack will pay the ultimate price.

Accidental Bonds is a steamy 115k M/M paranormal romance featuring a broody wolf shifter, a headstrong mage, meddling friends, a perpetually unimpressed cat, and knotting. It's perfect for readers who love thrilling action, snarky banter, and characters who rub each other in all the wrong ways before they realize the right ones are much more enjoyable. While it guarantees a happy ending for its main couple, the overarching plot does contain cliffhangers. Please look inside for content warnings. (This series does not contain mpreg.)

Jacqueleen the Reading Queen's Review:

Author Marie Reynard has created a rich, magical world featuring shifters and mages as the focal point of the Elemental Bonds series opener. The fact that this book is a debut makes it that much more impressive. It certainly doesn't read like one. The writing is extremely descriptive. I was sucked into the plotline, while also being frustrated by how slow burn the romance was. Victor and Elijah fought their connection tooth and nail. It didn't matter that everyone surrounding them, including Victor's pack, were well aware and often vocal about how compatible they were. What frustrated me even more was that both of them were wary due to the past actions of others, not themselves.

Though this is most definitely a slow burn romance, that doesn't mean it was lacking in steam. There's plenty of fantasizing and even a few vivid dreams to keep us on tenterhooks wanting the real thing. Speaking of tenterhooks, the plotline in this one is not all wrapped up in a neat bow by the end. Something sinister is happening. It's leaking into the pack lands and so far nothing has worked to eradicate it entirely, only slow its progression. It's this fact that is bringing forth a mingling of pack and Elijah's mage friends, which I can only hope is going to lead to more mage/shifter bonding in future books.

This book definitely did what I assume every author hopes for a reader after finishing. It has me hooked. I'm invested in the world and it's likable characters. I want to see the ickyness infesting the pack lands gone. I want Elijah's mage friends and a few choice members of Victors pack to meet. I want to see them fall in love and hopefully put up less of a fight about it than Victor and Elijah did. I honestly can't wait for more and highly recommend paranormal fans checking this new author out.

Rating: 5 Stars

SNik's Review:

First in series (Elemental Bonds). Paranormal. Slow burn. Dual POV. Heed content warnings. 

Young Alpha wolf shifter Victor has his reasons for not trusting mages, even though his family has had true bonds with mages in the past, there has also been horrible abuse of the mage/shifter bond, but he needs a mage to repair his failing territory wards. 

When Elijah performs the ritual, his connection to Victor doesn’t sever like it should, the ease of magic and the bond forming is unexpected along with their strong attraction to each other. Elijah and Victor are in a constant struggle to keep Victor’s pack and territory safe, while trying to deny the pull towards a more permanent relationship. 

Really a fantastic world build, with interesting secondary characters, and compelling main characters that have their own personal histories and backgrounds that cause them to hesitate becoming romantically involved. 

I became very invested in Elijah and Victor, their slow romance and getting to know and trust each other, along with wondering how this overarching plotline will develop and continue with more action and possible romantic couples finding their forever people. 

This ends with a HFN for the main couple but a soft cliffhanger as the series continues.

Rating: 5 Stars

Miki J's Review:

What an absolute stunner of a debut novel!!! Just fantastic!!! Love the world building, the epic proportions of the novel and with plenty of suspense and action to keep the reader entranced by the story.  

The characters are perfect - they aren't stereotypical (mage / alpha pairing) and it's not an insta-mates plot either, as there is intention from both parties that come into play, which I just loved!  The story is very well written - it was like the scenes were popping out of the book. And yes, while this did have suspense and action, there was also humor and silliness (especially from the friends / pack / found family)... oh the humor - Adan and Kade are just classics!!! Had me cracking up plenty.  

It is a bit of a slow burn... but that is part of the storyline but does get spicy, very very spicy. And there's a few threads left open in plot, obviously ongoing for series.  

Seriously a fantastic read and I can't wait for the next book!!!  

Rating: 5 Stars

Accidental Bonds is available to buy as an ebook or to read with Kindle Unlimited subscription.