Australian sheep farmers regard them as an enemy to be shot on sight and hung from the branches of an old gum tree.
But not all foxes are just foxes.
Connor Coutts could be the last surviving male Furborn in Victoria, maybe in the whole country, a heavy burden for a teenager. His life’s path is clear— protect what’s left of the Furborn line. That is until someone new arrives at the MacKenzie sheep farm. Spencer MacKenzie, with his long black hair and gothic style, is a strange sight in Connor’s forest, but Fate throws the two teenagers together to save their families.
Can Connor trust Spencer to keep his life-or-death secret, or will he hang on the tree?
If a thoughtful YA with a shifter theme is ringing your bell, then this might catch your interest!
Set in Australia where urban meets rural clashes with nature, what no one knows is that there’s fox shifters inhabiting the national forest whose kind (along with regular foxes) are systematically being killed due to their predatory instincts that directly go against the local farmers in the area.
Spencer’s family has moved from the city to his grandparents to help the family business of raising sheep, and he’s confronted with some well established and unsaid rules - foxes are the enemy when it comes to keeping the sheep safe and they’re free game to those who want to hunt. When Spencer spies a familiar figure from his childhood in the nearby woods, he can’t help but be intrigued by the strange teen who stirs all sorts of unknown feels within.
Conner (a Furborn) is quickly and sadly becoming a rarity amongst his own kind, with very few loved ones remaining. He feels the burden of responsibility to protect who’s left and has no time for forming friendships, especially with the newest inhabitants at the Mackenzies. However, when Conner gets injured, his life is suddenly more complicated than ever as circumstance intertwines it with Spencer’s, and Conner has no choice but to rely on those who are basically deemed the enemy.
This has typical teen angst about the first stirrings of sexuality, the anxiety regarding coming out, and those tentative steps towards exploring lust and perhaps more. Vivid imagery with a light spiritual tone abounds, as Rowan can definitely color the atmosphere and setting. Conner is a stalwart kind of character, practical and literal and always putting others first, always doing what must be done. Spencer is simply navigating his teen life, sorting out feelings and all the amazing revelations that come with knowing Conner.
Again, circumstance forces these two together in a mutually joint effort that’s ultimately wholly necessary. Can they eventually be the much needed support that each needs when they’re confronted with their own personal crisis?
Despite an underlying melancholy to this and its chaste romantic progression, please don’t be put off by that because this does end on a hopeful wistful note. Bridging tradition and the need for some progression for improved survival and happiness, change is not necessarily a bad thing and often, it can aid happiness and healing a tragic painful past.
Overall, if you don’t mind tame YA and desire a bit of a twist regarding shifters, then give this a go!
A copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
