A review by acozynook
A Den Mate for Dylan by Emory Winters

lighthearted sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No

4.0

• fox shifters
• brother's best friend
• quiet alpha + spunky omega
• nests and dens with fairy lights
• supportive families and friends
• very light angst before they figure things out
• stormy confession

This book was a warm hug, a cup of coffee (or tea) on a rainy day, a fuzzy blanket, a crackling fireplace in a snowy cabin, and a comfortable bed all wrapped up together. 

The book starts out with Dylan's POV at 14 years old - Dylan has loved his older brother's best friend, Axel, since he was old enough to know what love is, but Axel has always treated him like a little brother. So Dylan accepts his fate, lives his life, goes to college, meets other alphas, and grieves the lack of Axel for years. Then the book changes to Axel's POV, and we find out that Axel has also loved Dylan for years but he couldn't justify loving his best friend's brother. He tried to move on with his girlfriend of 4 years, but finally admitted that he would never love anyone the way that he loves Dylan, so he goes through some tough times, takes over the bar from his family, and watches Dylan live his life from afar. 

After finishing college, Dylan returns to his hometown to figure out his next step, and Axel offers him a job as a bartender. They both pine for each other, but a rainy confession exposes their feelings for each other, and the rest of the book is just a fluffy story of these idiots falling more and more in love while figuring out how they fit together. 

“I love you, Dylan.” I stroked a thumb along his bottom lip and watched as the words landed, his eyes widening in surprise before his lips curled up in a smile that I had to kiss.  “I’ve never not loved you,“ he replied.

It's a cozy book that feels like a warm hug, and there's not much to it outside of that. While they're both fox shifters, we don't get a lot of shifting. They both shift separately, but we never see them both as foxes together, which I sorely missed. The author wrote some really sweet den and nest moments, and I felt warm and cozy for a few hours. Can't wait for Cooper's book!