Reviews

How to Bite Your Neighbor and Win a Wager by D.N. Bryn

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ashjreads's review against another edition

funny 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

3.75

4/5 stars

“Please, you assume they’re a dude? I’ll have you know that I’m happy to get my blood sucked by vampires of any gender. Or all vampires, of all genders! Bite me up, baby.”

I have no idea what took over me but I read like... 99% of this book in one day. I don't know if it was a combination of "I found out this book was based on a ship I was obsessed with" stop asking the ship, it was klance and "this is a book about vampires", but once I picked it up? I was having a hard time putting it down. I also have been reading all of these tense Sci-Fi/Fantasy books and it had been a minute since I read something like this.

Is this book a romance book? I think so? There is a huge plot of taking down a pharmaceutical company who are unlawfully testing on vampires. This probably sits on that like between being a Romance book and a Fantasy book; I really wish someone had come up with a term for that...

All jokes aside, this was just wildly entertaining. I can tell this author used to write or still writes fanfiction. However, that is not a dig or a critique. This just really had the energy of a fanfic I would've DEVOURED in one sitting on AO3. I was obsessed, frankly.

This is a fade-to-black style book. There is a lot of discussion about sexual things they WANT to do to each other, but it doesn't happen exactly on the page. There is a smut scene thrown in the back of this book if you are looking for spice, but it's placed there so that people who want that closed-door style romance don't have to read it. There is nothing wrong with closed-door romance or a fade-to-black situation, but if you're marketing a book with one of those trope graphics and describing characters as "dom", or "sub" and using the term "bite kink"? You have to know that people are going to assume this book is spicy. If that is what you're looking for in a book, you are not going to be a huge fan of this. However, the tension between them is literally palpable. It was a little unsatisfying for that to... not really go anywhere if I am being honest with you.

Will I read the rest of the books in this series? Probably. I would feel guilty about that but I don't think I do.

vaguefizzle's review against another edition

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emotional lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

A modest book that is an easy two or so day read depending on your session lengths. I found the CNC themes a bit odd, forced, and honestly cringey. But I may be biased because I genuinely don’t enjoy CNC. I went into this book blind, as it was a random recommendation and seemed to suit the season, but it’s safe to say despite my love for vampires, it just wasn’t quite my cup of tea.
That being said, I think the author shows a talent at writing characters that feel like actual people. They’re flawed, they often wallow in self pity, and need extra pushes to get up onto their feet - Wes and Vinny needed community like all of us do. I finished this book because I adored that aspect of it, and that’s where all the stars are from.
My biggest gripe, by contrast, was the sorry lack of world building.