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issymaae'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: Violence, Sexual content, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Drug use, Murder, and Homophobia
Minor: Fatphobia, Blood, and Animal death
not_another_ana's review
- 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
2.75
Brian is going through a rough patch. A minimum wage job as a server, a bad relationship with his family, an unifinished degree, oh yeah and the fact that every month he transforms into a werewolf and mauls people to death. One day he crosses paths with Tyler, a fellow werewolf and entrepreneur, who seems to not only be in control of his lycanthropy but is also willing to help Brian out. But Tyler's ideas of how to manage the change take a concerning turn that will put Brian in a difficult and dangerous position.
I liked the main concept of this book but I just couldn't get into it. It's a satire of toxic masculinity, the grind, and the monetization of all facets of life. Tyler is a caricature of a white cis straight male entrepreneur, the kind that talks big game yet never says anything. The book confronts what happens when these kind of people get told no and I did enjoy that, it made me laugh at times while also ringing quite true. I think it's the werewolf bit that disappointed me. It was one of the main reasons why I picked it up so I was frustrated that the author rarely went into the specifics of it. The transformation, the pros and the cons, the loss of control, etc.
The tone of this book felt odd at times. It had all these funny moments and little quips that were well done but clashed with these supposedly serious situations. It came across as a Marvel movie at times, the crucial plot points never had time to breathe and unfold. I did enjoy the characters, though I liked Nik and Darby more than our protagonist. Other than that it was fine but predictable, I saw the big plot twist at the end coming from a mile away and was incredibly displeased with the closing scene. Bottom line if you were interested in this because of the werewolf aspect I recommend you skip it.
Graphic: Gore, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Death, Alcoholism, Animal death, Alcohol, and Sexual content
Moderate: Drug use, Medical content, Gun violence, and Bullying
mooncxrx's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Moderate: Murder, Alcoholism, and Drug use
Minor: Homophobia
grets_reads'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
4.0
Graphic: Homophobia and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Physical abuse, Gun violence, Violence, and Murder
Minor: Drug use, Alcoholism, and Blood
atomicbritt's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Moderate: Gore, Violence, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Drug use
Minor: Animal cruelty
ophycore's review
- 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
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Cursing, Stalking, Murder, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Drug use, Gore, and Violence
Moderate: Blood, Misogyny, Sexism, and Animal cruelty
Minor: Death, Mass/school shootings, Animal death, and Infidelity
snootle'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
3.0
Graphic: Death, Violence, Gore, Toxic friendship, Cursing, Body horror, Sexual content, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Gun violence, Alcohol, Homophobia, and Drug use
firstsiren's review against another edition
- 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
4.25
I love that it doesn't take itself too seriously but also forces you to accept the off-kilter world that these people live in and take that seriously.
I would say that this book could benefit from a little bit of added length to tie up some loose story ends and better transition through some of the later pacing and theming but I'm hoping that a prospective sequel deals with that!
Final note: It was so nice just how gay Brian was, which sounds silly given the title of the novel but I really appreciated how his sexuality felt tangible and consequential to his situation.
Graphic: Drug use, Alcoholism, Toxic relationship, and Stalking
Moderate: Homophobia and Infidelity
Minor: Vomit and Fatphobia
readthesparrow'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? No
4.5
As a gay person who has experienced that same frustration regarding straight perception of gay culture and identity, this scene—and several others—were deeply relatable.
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Homophobia, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Alcoholism, and Violence
Moderate: Classism and Drug use
reeeno's review against another edition
Moderate: Drug use
Minor: Mass/school shootings and Classism