Scan barcode
mld12's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Minor: Self harm and Suicidal thoughts
cleot's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.75
Moderate: Torture, Stalking, Sexual content, Medical trauma, and Kidnapping
Minor: Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, and Self harm
alex_baker's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Death of parent, Violence, Murder, Stalking, Mental illness, Grief, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Abandonment, Confinement, Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Biphobia, Gore, Body horror, Cursing, Alcohol, Genocide, Gun violence, Bullying, Death, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Classism, Kidnapping, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Murder, and Stalking
anaisqsn's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
- two queer young men madly in love with each other and achingly bad at communicating
- like really, really bad
- one is a vampire
- mutual pining slowburn
- some (definitely platonic) bite kink
- great narrator making it ten times better
exactly what i needed for long car drives this week. probably will listen to the second book, especially if it's also narrated by Simon Dornet
Graphic: Blood
Moderate: Grief and Death of parent
Minor: Bullying and Self harm
znrtr's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Violence, Blood, Sexual content, and Murder
Moderate: Stalking, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Torture, Gore, Death of parent, and Medical trauma
Minor: Self harm
savvypotions's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Moderate: Death of parent and Hate crime
Minor: Self harm and Homophobia
booksthatburn's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
HOW TO BITE YOUR NEIGHBOR AND WIN A WAGER has a self-contained and very satisfying story, featuring a slow exploration of the boundaries between "liking someone who is a vampire" and having a vampire fetish. The romance builds slowly, held back for a while by mutual distrust and fascination which eventually turns into passion. I get very stressed out by stories where at least one of the characters in a relationship is lying, but this was handled in a way that meant I was able to finish the story without being too stressed to keep reading. I like a lot of things about how this was handled, from the worldbuilding sneaking in info about how vampires have existed for hundreds of years (or longer), to Wesley's long-distance best friend who can provide emotional support but can't solve the logistical problems. A lot of excellent storytelling decisions were involved, and I had a great time reading this.
I'm pretty sure one of the minor characters is the protagonist of the next book, but even if I'm wrong, there are some pretty big things that Vincent and Wesley weren't able to handle which could be addressed in future books. I'm looking forward to the next one!
Graphic: Murder, Death, Blood, and Violence
Moderate: Gaslighting, Confinement, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Classism, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Sexual content, Physical abuse, Torture, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Medical trauma, Homophobia, Excrement, and Medical content
madscientistcat's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
My review via tropes:
- Extremely slow burn
- Mutual pining
- Definitely totally platonic biting kink
- Everything could have been easily resolved if anyone had the tiniest bit of communication skill but where’s the fun in that
Graphic: Blood, Violence, Murder, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Gun violence, and Hate crime
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Homophobia, Confinement, and Stalking
Minor: Self harm and Torture
Additional CW: Non-consensual bitingandy2_27's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Self harm
Minor: Homophobia
mrshays's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Kidnapping and Blood
Minor: Grief, Death of parent, Trafficking, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, and Emotional abuse