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micaelacccc'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: Blood
Moderate: Sexual content, Abandonment, Violence, and Death of parent
Minor: Suicidal thoughts
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
thereadingpan's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I disliked how self centered Wes was but recognize it was needed as a plot device. Also how does he just have money to live a whole year before this book with no job??
Minor: Violence and Child abuse
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
kimduindam's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
I loved this book and couldn't put it away. It's 01:35 at night and I just finished it.
I will read the second book too, but not right now.
Content warnings: Sexual content. there is only one detailed sex scene in this book and it is the bonus scene on the end, so if you don't like to read spice you can still read this book and just not read the bonus scene. There are some more scenes throughout the book talking about sex and getting horny but nothing detailed.
Graphic: Sexual content, Blood, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Death of parent
spaceseal's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
The rest of the book drops it clearly under 4 stars, and if I didn't like the set up so much, I would give it 3. The ending chapters highlight that the genre of this book is more simple romance rather than a mix of romance and mystery/adventure, and after such an interesting building and storytelling, I just felt myself crunching my nose, slightly dissatisfied, and the last 45 minutes I was actually disappointed. It is FINE for the romance genre, since the bar is not that high, but I felt like the whole world and the relationship was simplified to a very general happy ending (and not the spicy kind!) that was not specific to these characters or this story in any way.
Also I think that the whole biting kink at the beginning felt a bit spicy, but it desperately needed to evolve into something more, chemistry wise. I think that the book tried to dip its toes in there a bit, but lacked the courage or will to explore it more, which kind of left it feeling a bit... well, like a racial kink, when you take into account the rest of the world.
Still, I think that this world is worth getting into. It's not anything too deep, but interesting and different. And the characters are lovely!
Moderate: Hate crime
Minor: Death of parent, Violence, and Self harm
melonmachinery's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
The characters are all 1 dimensional. Wesley is Mexican American and you can tell because he says Sí-Yes when he's rushed. Vincent's line about not wanting to exist if it harms others fell flat in its delivery and how it changed Wes's opinions instantly. The real world internet references and usage is so incessant, the characters must have gotten their education at Tumblr University. The romance is rushed, which I did expect since most romance novels do, loving the "insta-love" plotline. The entire moment on top of the mausoleum roof was embarassing. You just wanted to shake the characters and ask why they suddenly are so relaxed about being chased by bad guys they can get each other hard in the cemetary. Wes's vampire kink tended to be embarrassing at best and uncomfortable at worst given the in world context of vampires and what he specifically wanted to do. Vincent is supposed to be sexy and predatory in these moments but most of them made me laugh.
The whole thing with the pharmaceutical company and dead mom was trying to take on something large but failing to deliver, which is also how the story ended for Wes and Vincent. I didn't particular care for Wes's struggles about the revelation of his mom's death since he seemed very blasé himself about selling all her items and changing things once it was confirmed. Their choice to leave the company be and take care of themselves because they wouldn't get support since the government doesn't see vampires as people with rights in particular was discomforting in ways hard to describe.
I could go on. It was an easy read, but not in a good way. Wouldn't recommend this to anyone but wouldn't actively stop people from reading it. Hopefully the author will grow in time.
Moderate: Hate crime, Homophobia, Stalking, Classism, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Medical content, Murder, Racism, Violence, Self harm, Blood, Death of parent, Religious bigotry, and Trafficking
adrienanthony'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: Suicidal thoughts, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Kidnapping, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Gore, Death, Stalking, Slavery, Abandonment, Blood, Violence, Death of parent, Torture, and Self harm
princejello's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Violence and Racism
Moderate: Gaslighting and Sexual content
Minor: Death of parent