A Fox In the Orchard

[ermingarden]

My first review of a Kalikoi Press book! (Also posted on Amazon.) I received an advance copy of this book to give an honest review.

A Fox in the Orchard by Layne Baker
My Rating: ★★★☆☆

A Fox in the Orchard is short and sweet, a lovely way to spend a lunch break (or an evening, depending on how fast you read).
The plot is fairly standard, and there's never a real question of how it's going to resolve, but it's fun to watch Angela and Cade figure out how they feel about each other.

Angela – the non-shifter – is remarkably blasé about the revelation that there is an entire society of humans who can shapeshift into animals. I would have liked to see more of her reaction. (She was also strangely willing to let a wild fox into her home.) But exploring these elements more would be difficult in such a short book – and honestly, if you're reading this, you're here for the romance, not the worldbuilding. The limited length of the book also doesn't allow for a great deal of character development: Angela and Cade are instances of familiar archetypes (the self-sufficient small business owner, the drifter with a difficult past) more than fully fleshed out individuals.

A Fox in the Orchard shines brightest in its depiction of Angela's everyday life and how Cade gradually comes to fit into it. Despite the paranormal elements, this is at its core a very domestic book – a fluffy cottagecore romance.

Comments

[shirebound]

That's a nicely-worded review. :)

[ermingarden]

Thank you!

[feast_of_regrets]

<3 (A like for you!)