Reviews with content warning for Murder - How to Bite Your Neighbor and Win a Wager

i went into this book with no expectations and unfortunately, it didn't leave much of an impression on me. the premise was interesting, albeit underdeveloped, and i felt that despite this not being labeled a YA book, it felt very juvenile both in writing style and how the characters behaved. somehow i felt like i was reading fanfiction of a fandom i am not privvy to, or maybe someone's bedtime fantasies of vampires. also there was a huge focus on gaming as a shared past time with pretty much... everyone? in the book, which i am just not the audience for. maybe if you read this and are also a gamer, it'll be relatable, but to me it felt like a barrier to a wider reaching audience.

finally, let me just say this: no one should be writing anything even remotely spicy if one of the chosen words for a dick is "tingly pingly" which was used multiple times, mostly in jest, but also talk about major ick.

and one teensy little spoilerish thing, the closest these characters got to an actual spicy time happened WHILE being hunted - i'm sorry, you’ve lost me. it just didn't feel necessary for the plot! which is why i will reiterate, this felt like the author's bedtime fantasy.

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booksthatburn's review against another edition

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emotional reflective medium-paced

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

Vincent has been sneaking into Wesley's house to bite him at night because his blood tastes so good he can't stay away. Wesley needs a vampire to hand in to a shady pharmaceutical company which experiments on vampires. Wesley wants the access to get information about his mother's disappearance after she signed up for one of the drug trials, but as he gets to know Vincent he starts seeing him as a person rather than just a means to an end. Vincent doesn't trust Wesley enough to confide that he's sleeping rough, hounded by someone who hates him for being a vampire and starts spreading that information to make his life impossible. The vampire hunters who work for the pharmaceutical company use classist tactics to make it impossible for vampires to live stable lives, then further take advantage of the precarity caused by being unhoused and unemployed to further the fear of vampires due to their diet.

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!

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madscientistcat's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny tense medium-paced

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

The audiobook was great! The narrator’s slight voice adjustment for each character was a nice touch that felt true to their personalities.
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

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mrshays's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

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kimduindam's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny mysterious sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

it was kinda obvious that his mother was a vampire. I don't know how Wes didn't see that. But I kind of hoped that she was still alive and Wes would be reunited with her.

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.

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melonmachinery's review against another edition

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fast-paced

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

At first the story is fun, very reminiscent of things you'd find on Quizilla and Wattpad (for the younger generation) in an endearing way, but once the middle school nostalgia wears off mid to 3/4 of the way through the story is rushed, flat, uncomfortable in its dealings with both real and fantasy racism, and the resolution is just sloppy.

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.

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adrienanthony's review against another edition

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adventurous funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious tense fast-paced

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

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readingwithtemperance's review against another edition

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emotional funny tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes

3.5

I liked that the author spun a twist on the typical vampire story. Where in this world vampires are known about but ostracized by society. And not the monsters that humans deem them to be at all. Definely darker than I originally anticipated, but still had some sweet moments. I didn't like that the corporation didn't really have any consequences to the atrocities they committed. And it definitely felt the characters were moving a bit too fast at the end. Personally I wanted more rage from Wesley. But this was fast paced, well written, and very enjoyable! I'll probably pick up the sequel.

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