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queenofgotham's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
lkkirk75's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
emilyforrer's review
Might try again another time as a physical book. The audiobook's narrator had such heavy breath inhales that it ruined the listening experience and I think gave the book weird intonations that weren't for me.
angethology's review against another edition
3.25
"There is monstrous beauty in the blood-spotted skin, and beneath, an intense desire to live. A desire unfulfilled."
When Yaya Betancourt discovers a secondary set of teeth in the most unsuspecting part of her body, she has two find out what exactly is happening to her and how AlphaBeta Pharmaceuticals and their experiments have contributed to this ... and she's not going to like the answer.
'Queen of Teeth' conveys body horror in a way that highlights Yaya's discovery about herself and how she's slowly losing that identity — whether to ABP or the monster consuming her. The writing is gritty, raw, yet doesn't cross a line that lends itself absurd, especially with the incorporation of sci-fi elements. With a world becoming more dystopian-like, Yaya becomes embroiled in a dilemma constituting her agency and freedom.
Do her newfound bones protruding with a mind of their own give Yaya more power, or is she becoming someone she never wanted to be? Yaya's conundrum blunders even more when she realizes she's falling for someone that's supposed to be her enemy. Her transformation, even if not "the true her" displays all her struggles she managed to repress. She's been moulded, prodded, tested on, judged all her life. And now she's doing the molding.
While I do like Yaya's journey and the writing overall, at some point I started losing interest and couldn't really click with it. Especially when Doc came in the picture — considering her position and role, I do understand her being pulled in different directions, yet her closeness to Yaya felt undeserved and too rushed.
It's a fun body horror novel that's quick to read and definitely for those who seek gore, but akin to how Yaya feels, it's just a little unfulfilling.
When Yaya Betancourt discovers a secondary set of teeth in the most unsuspecting part of her body, she has two find out what exactly is happening to her and how AlphaBeta Pharmaceuticals and their experiments have contributed to this ... and she's not going to like the answer.
'Queen of Teeth' conveys body horror in a way that highlights Yaya's discovery about herself and how she's slowly losing that identity — whether to ABP or the monster consuming her. The writing is gritty, raw, yet doesn't cross a line that lends itself absurd, especially with the incorporation of sci-fi elements. With a world becoming more dystopian-like, Yaya becomes embroiled in a dilemma constituting her agency and freedom.
Do her newfound bones protruding with a mind of their own give Yaya more power, or is she becoming someone she never wanted to be? Yaya's conundrum blunders even more when she realizes she's falling for someone that's supposed to be her enemy. Her transformation, even if not "the true her" displays all her struggles she managed to repress. She's been moulded, prodded, tested on, judged all her life. And now she's doing the molding.
While I do like Yaya's journey and the writing overall, at some point I started losing interest and couldn't really click with it. Especially when Doc came in the picture — considering her position and role, I do understand her being pulled in different directions, yet her closeness to Yaya felt undeserved and too rushed.
It's a fun body horror novel that's quick to read and definitely for those who seek gore, but akin to how Yaya feels, it's just a little unfulfilling.
theduchess93's review
5.0
WOW this was great! I read so much horror that it's always delightful to read something truly unique and that brings something new to the genre. Very weird and bloody.
enkiiii's review
2.0
the generic cyberpunk worldbuilding and aesthetic made it hard for me to take the book seriously. That and the character writing made it read like unusually sexually explicit YA. The main heroine was kind of a girlboss and the whole theme of the work was bodily autonomy as far as i could tell, but she ended up pursuing a relationship with a woman, Doc, who's working for the institution that took away her bodily autonomy and had repetedly attempted to perform medical procedures on her against her will. When the two Characters started to cozy up to each other again I put away the book because i found that more repulsive than the tentacles coming out of Yaya's vagina.
I didn't find Doc's inner conflict regarding her affiliation with the institution that literally owns people's bodies worth exploring. Her dynamic with Yaya was really unsexy to me and i honestly wished Yaya would just kill her. Kill more people in general. I like books that explore women's rage but this one didn't take it far enough imo, especially for a horror novel. Yaya stopped someone who tried to subdue her in order to send her to a prison where she would be experimented upon, and then Yaya was like "oh no, she must have been so scared of me :(". As someone who's experienced a lot of discrimination in the healthcare system, I WANTED MORE BLOOD. I liked the body horror aspect of it. That's one of the few good things i can say about the book. The biology was creative, some of it was based on the real phenomenon of genetic chimerism.
But the pharmaceutical company responsible for the illness that afflicted the MC was too... generic evil dystopian corporation. It's literally called "alpha beta pharmaceuticals" and its board of directors is referred to as "The Board" in a classic YA dystopia fashion. I expected a bit more creativity there. A bit less apologism for the company's "goons". More rage in general. I didn't finish it because i lost all interest like 1/3 into the book when i realized that Doc was going to be one of the core characters and Yaya's love interest.
I didn't find Doc's inner conflict regarding her affiliation with the institution that literally owns people's bodies worth exploring. Her dynamic with Yaya was really unsexy to me and i honestly wished Yaya would just kill her. Kill more people in general. I like books that explore women's rage but this one didn't take it far enough imo, especially for a horror novel. Yaya stopped someone who tried to subdue her in order to send her to a prison where she would be experimented upon, and then Yaya was like "oh no, she must have been so scared of me :(". As someone who's experienced a lot of discrimination in the healthcare system, I WANTED MORE BLOOD. I liked the body horror aspect of it. That's one of the few good things i can say about the book. The biology was creative, some of it was based on the real phenomenon of genetic chimerism.
But the pharmaceutical company responsible for the illness that afflicted the MC was too... generic evil dystopian corporation. It's literally called "alpha beta pharmaceuticals" and its board of directors is referred to as "The Board" in a classic YA dystopia fashion. I expected a bit more creativity there. A bit less apologism for the company's "goons". More rage in general. I didn't finish it because i lost all interest like 1/3 into the book when i realized that Doc was going to be one of the core characters and Yaya's love interest.
theangrystackrat's review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This was a wild ride from start to finish - I don't know what I was expecting but I enjoyed the story and liked the body horror aspect.
soy_ahoy's review
5.0
Of all the books with the "oops we had a one night stand and it turned awkward when we found out who the other person really is" trope, this one takes the cake for me. It's funny, gory, emotional, scary and short. It hurt me in the best way. Loved it.
agonychristie27's review against another edition
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0