Once Bytten

Once & Forever #1

by Scarlett Walters

Former Marine turned ethical hacker James is in a race against time, trying to intercept an illegal shipment of arms from the USA to the war-torn nation of South Sudan. His top suspect? Christian Hoover.

After six grueling years of marriage to Christian, Ella has had enough. Escaping from her controlling and possessive husband, she hides in plain sight, carving out a new life in New York - on her terms. A chance encounter with James upsets her carefully bland, but peaceful routine. And then, her husband finds her.

With Christian threatening the safety of her friends and family, the irritatingly insistent James offers to help. But Ella cannot afford to believe in coincidences. She must decide if she can trust James or if she will have to give up her freedom to ensure the safety of her loved ones.

290 pages, ebook

First published May 9, 2021

About the author

I started writing a couple of years ago, as a hobby to share with my daughter. I soon realised the 'therapeutic' potential of writing and am now a much more prolific writer.

So, here I am, after having written, re-written and then again re-written close to 80,000 words and stumped for putting together a few words. The difference? This is not a story - this is about me.

I am an indie author living in Melbourne, Australia. I love reading romance - well, duh! But, I also love reading science fiction, historical fiction, political thrillers - okay, let's put it this way. Give me pretty much anything, other than horror, and I will happily dive into it.

Apart from writing whenever I can sneak a little bit of time, I work as a web publisher with the Australian Public Service.
My latest fad, I can't promise how long it will last, is making bread. Yep, you read that right - I can be found trawling the internet for recipes of different types of breads!

Reviews

[Kat · Rating 5 out of 5]

In ONCE BYTTEN, Ella has restarted her life in New York after escaping an abusive marriage to her high school boyfriend/later husband Christian. The narrative splits between present day and flashback, so we see scenes of her earlier relationship with Christian, which are chilling and very well done. Now in New York and in hiding, she runs a bakery and is determined never to go back to Christian, who has not allowed her to get a divorce. She has a strong circle of friends (really enjoyed the group scenes in this book) and is intrigued by James, who comes into her store one day. Like Christian, he’s also former military, and also a dominant type, but the similarities end there. I really enjoyed both the romance plotline in this, as Ella and James grew closer and Ella had to deal with being stalked by Christian. (This was quite harrowing towards the end!) There was also a secondary suspense plotline involving illegal arms shipments to Sudan that was well done.

Please excuse typos/name misspellings. Entered on screen reader.

[Coco.V]

🎁 FREE on Amazon today (11/7/2021)! 🎁

[S.P. Dawes · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars

This is a brilliant story. I loved it from start to finish. It really drew me in right from the beginning and I couldn't wait to read what would happen next.

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was kindly given a copy of this book for an honest review by voracious readers.

Ella escaped from domestic violence and opened up a coffee shop, made a new terrific supportive network of friends forging her new life. James a former marine on assignment is trying t bring down her husband and mets Ella by chance without immediately realising she is the wife of his suspect. He offers to help her but Ella has serious trust issues, especially as James is an "alpha male" and military like her husband. She has tough choices she needs to make in order to keep her freedom and keep the safety of herself and those she loves. Will she make the right choices and accept the help from James?

The novel had well developed characters who deserve their own story. The author gives excellent insight into abuse; Drawing out the contrast of the "good" alpha male (James) and the "bad" alpha male (Christian). What constitutes controlling, manipulative behaviour. How it starts and develops into something much more serious and violent. How the perpetrator isolates the victim from friends and family. What it does to the victim and how they react to everyday situations and try and stay under the radar (be invisible) so harder to track and keep tabs on.

It had good pace, intrigue and romantic suspense. If you like an alpha romance with more story to it then this is the book for you.

[Lois Jackman · Rating 5 out of 5]

[No spoilers]

I’m a long time fan of the (ever-expanding) romance genre, but this was actually my first time reading a romantic suspense novel! As such, I wasn’t totally sure what to expect, but what I got is a unique, suspenseful and original tale about a passionate baker, the dangerous men in her life, and the trials they face together.

This book has lots of intrigue. It explores the darker themes that can be found in romance novels, and looks at the range of things people will do for love (the good, the bad and the evil). Ella's actions in the last couple of chapters were what I hoped for as a reader; no spoilers, but I'm glad she took the action she did after the events of the story!

Bottom line: The author’s passion for writing shines through in this book, and I hope she uses this passion to release more in the series!

[Sarah Avadhoot · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received an Advance Reader Copy of Once bytten and thoroughly enjoyed reading it. It's a fast paced story with just the right amount of suspense and romance. The characters, even the secondary characters are well developed to the extent that their personality shines through. I especially loved the ending. Given the background of Ella, and the little amount of time she'd spent with James, the end makes so much sense. I'd love to say more, but that will mean spoiling it for others! So, I'm going to zip up and say that I would love to read a continuation of their story.
All in all, and amazing, fast, un-put-downable romantic suspense.

[Mfelovesstories:) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received an ARC of this book in return for an honest review.

And wow! I was pleasantly surprised. I didn't expect to enjoy the book as much because it's not my usual genre but I did. I finished it in two days because I just couldn't put it down.

I loved the fact that even though Ella was a soft woman, she eventually stood up for herself and it had nothing to with James.

And, the story was easy to read and flowed really well. Oh, and I love the friends. At first I was like who are all these many people, they could've been introduced better but when I got to know them, I enjoyed their additional personalities in the story.

It's an awesome book!

[MyDogAteMyBookReview · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one heck of a debut!

Ella escapes her very possessive and controlling husband but she’s not in the safe just yet.

James. I was afraid I was going to hate him, I didn’t want to feel like Ella ran from her prison with Christian just to run into James’s. BUT he isn’t like her husband. Yes, he’s a hacker spy and very protective but not possessive.

I don’t want to spoil anything but this book is fast paced, a little nerve wrecking and some hot moments!

I’ll definitely tune in for book two!

[The Independent Book Reviewer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is full of suspense, keep you on your toes page turning situations from the beginning. It’s a book you won’t want to put down because it constantly pulls you back in to find out what happens next. It is a sweet romance as far as bedroom scenes but does have memories of abuse just not in explicit detail. Definitely worth the read. Ella is sweet but naïve in a way because she’s been hurt in more ways than one. James is an alpha male. Can these two find their happily ever after or will her past come back with a vengeance.

[Sloane Virago · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was given an Advance Reader Copy of this book, and I was really glad that I did. The story is a page-turner that keeps moving at a good pace. I like the character development of Ella and James a lot. While I enjoyed the romantic suspense, I really want to hear what happens next! I enjoyed seeing how everything ended up though--I'd just love to hear more about it.

[Annie Miller]

I will not include spoilers but the book left me with a lot of questions. I am unsure if this is book one in a series, but I'd like a stronger ending and perhaps an epilogue that is beyond one year out.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Virginia Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book does have some triggers, the way the author told the story draws you into the book instance. Our characters find a second chance at happiness but cant lasts forever. The suspense we are drawn into with the complexity of this story has me hooked for the next book

[Lana Short · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent story, well written.

[Lady S · Rating 3 out of 5]

Though it was a good read, only dropped the rating because it has a follow up, yet doesn’t appear to have been released despite saying it’ll happen in 2022.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had the opportunity to read an ARC of this book sent to me by the author. I really enjoyed this book! It was so interesting and captivating. She does a great job at grabbing the reader's attention from the very beginning. The main character was very likable, and I loved her best friend. The love interest, James was very sweet and I loved the two together. This book is about abuse and mentions an abusive relationship that happened in the past. Overall, this book was very good. If you love dark romance, I highly recommend this book. I can't wait to see what the author writes next.

[Barbi Lazar · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the story! I loved to read the character development of Ella! She turned her life around for the better. I absolutely loved how the author showed us the contrast between Christian and James, both from the author's point of view and Ella's. Both men are manipulative and controlling, but the way they use these characteristics is what makes them different.
I hope there will be more to read about them and about the other characters as well.

[Scarlett Walters · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've had the pleasure of reading this wonderful story simply because of the fact that I've had the pleasure of writing it :-)! So....I'm certainly giving myself 5-stars! I hope the readers feel the same :-P

[Stacey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Open storyline

I started liking this book but got really lost with the so called pirates, then who Hoover and James are supposed to be. The storyline is wide open of everything, no finality.