As a girl growing up in the 1970s, while most of my friends were into Sindy or Barbie and aspiring to be air hostesses I was very much the odd one out with my interest in science fiction and the supernatural. Having discovered the Usborne Supernatural Guide to Vampires, Werewolves and Demons in the long-disappeared Roys of Eaton shop down the road from me, I read and re-read that book until it was indelibly etched upon my mind and even now I remember the thrill it brought me.

At that point in time, gender stereotypes were much more prevelant than they are now and books for girls might have contained magic and witches but werewolves and suchlike were almost exclusively reserved for boys. How older me rejoices that reads for today’s children and young adults are aimed at everyone, with this opening title in a fantastic new series being the perfect choice for all readers 11+ who are after something with a definite scare factor.

Our story opens on Confinement Night in April as Sel checks the security measures in place around his home – not to prevent intruders getting in but to prevent his mother getting out. Heading to the basement to feed her, Sel curses himself for not preparing her meal properly and on reaching her cage forces through the slab of beef she is to eat. Rushing to get the job done in record time so he can go out, Sel pauses a moment to watch the monster that is his mother devouring the meat before leaving to hang out with friend Elena.

Meeting up with her, the two of them head to Shady Oaks Retirement Community to play cards with their friend Harold – the only adult in the community of Tremorglade who doesn’t Turn – trying to shake off the doldrums, the feelings of anxiety and nausea that come around this time each month for those not old enough to change but who have been infected with the virus that has brought about this situation. Heading home afterwards, the two of them bump into Sel’s nemesis Ingrid who threatens to tell on them for not staying home – a capital offence – but is stopped in her tracks when pigeons start to drop from the sky and crash into her.

When this strange occurrence is put down to freak weather conditions, Sel initially doesn’t think to question the explanation but when other odd things start to happen around him he begins to wonder just what is going on. As he and Elena start to investigate, the pair of them begin to uncover the truth of Tremorglade – a truth neither of them could ever have dreamed of…

Stories of werewolves have existed for hundreds, if not thousands, of years and we are all familiar with what usually goes alongside them but here, other than the monthly change from human to savage beast, there are none of the standard themes you might expect – making this a fresh and highly original take on the story. Here, the monsters are portrayed far more sympathetically – victims of a virus who are still much loved family members and are cared for and locked away each month as much for their own protection as for that of those around them. With the medicalisation of the condition comes a certain clinical feeling as scientists in the background search for a cure but, as is so often the case with scientific advancement, Sel comes to realise that what he initially believes is a humane endeavour may not be that at all.

This is such a great read – one that was recommended to me by one of my Twitter friends and one that I am now recommending in turn. Action-packed, delightfully scary in places and the perfect start to the series, this will appeal enormously to those who are looking to move on from middle grade but are possibly not ready for the full-on horror of some young adult reads. I adored it and cannot wait to find out what happens to Sel next.

As always, my enormous thanks goes to Net Galley and to publisher Simon and Schuster for my virtual advance read. Bite Risk publishes 8th June.

Ah. Words to try and do this book the justice it deserves! It’s sometimes hard to write a review for a book that was just so damn good and enjoyable, that writing ‘it was great, I really enjoyed it!’ doesn’t quite cut it! Although it really was great and I enjoyed it from start to finish.

It was such a greatly crafted middle grade/ children’s book (but also a book a fully grown adult *ahem* me could enjoy). It had all the twists and turns, an ending I didn’t expect (I loved the turn of events this took!) and a promise for further books in the series which I think will make for spectacular reads.

I’m so intrigued into the direction these will take and can easily say I’ll be eagerly awaiting and on the lookout for follow ups. I can’t wait to join Sel, Elena and Ingrid again as they were such great characters navigating a really great landscape and the plot was epic. Enough said!

If you think of this book as a mish-mash of Teen Wolf and the Maze Runner, you will absolutely enjoy it! And me, coming off a six-season binge of Teen Wolf, absolutely devoured this (pun unintended, but I absolutely did appreciate the Sheriff Derek Hale pun myself).

It was such a cute but freaky romp into the supernatural, with kids having to face a werewolf phenomenon and just trying to honestly get through the note, mysteries abounding and parents conspicuously missing and found family. But the twist really surprised me, but in a good way, and really honed into the whole teenagers/kids know best and probably the most reasonable trope. Sel was a great main character, and I absolutely adored his friendships and his perspective on the world and plot.

Would wholeheartedly recommend this one!

Sel lives in a small town just being a teenager but once a month, when the moon is full, he takes his Mother to the basement and locks her into her cage.

In a world where a virus has made almost every adult a werewolf, the children lock up their parents and older siblings to protect themselves every month for the Confinement. But then the Turned start to escape and someone is watching, can Sel and her friends find out who before things really go to hell.

This was a really great read, it’s YA so although there is gore it is mild and this is really a character study on the teenagers. Their lives are so controlled, they cope the best they can knowing any day they could Turn. They enjoy their freedom when the moon is full but they are isolated, cut off, their location easily separated from the wider world. It seems like they have everything under control until they don’t!

Fast paced and a fun take on the werewolf genre, it is exciting and not too scary, a thriller that teens will love.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ebook to read and review.

Loved, loved, loved it! I absolutely love stories about the supernatural (werewolves, vampires etc). So I was really excited to dive into this one,
This one turned out to be an entirely different and fresh take on the subject. I zoomed through it, pretty much reading it in a day so that tells you everything,
Sel is such an endearing and likeable main character too. I'll definitely be picking up any sequels.

Bite risk, damn what a fun read this was
I'm not really one for werewolf stories as most of them are marked as adult and are just aren't for me.
Bite risk however was fun, funny with just that hint of horror and gore that puts it in the children/teen category but can be enjoyed by all people.
Reading from Sels' perspective works really well and he's beautifully written along with most of the side characters, my only issue is that I wish there could have been chapters from Elenas and Pedros' perspectives aswell.
I think that would have really rounded out some of the story near the end if it had Pedro's perspective on some events in there

But overall I absolutely loved this novel and hope that in the future we get more stories from this world and characters