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3.73 AVERAGE
3.73 AVERAGE
Utterly enjoyed this book - loved the main cast and, of course, Piper. It was fast paced and an over all cute read. Will definitely read again.
It’s definitely an aftg au!
But writing is kinda weird. So dnf @ 15% for me
But writing is kinda weird. So dnf @ 15% for me
Thank you netgalley for this book!
Slight spoilers ahead
“For you to take back what was stolen from you,” he says. “Your body, your life, they’re yours, no one deserves them but you.”
I really enjoyed this book! Part of why I wanted to read it was because of the comparison to all for the game, which I love, and I definitely saw the similarities. It also showed vampirism in a way I thought was interesting, especially with the idea that it can be easy for them to gain too much power. The found family in this was amazing, and I particularly loved Mari and Killians friendship.
I found the romance to be really well written and believable, and appreciated how queerness seemed normalised, both with the mcs and side characters. I highly recommend this, especially for fans of books like aftg or hell followed with us.
Slight spoilers ahead
“For you to take back what was stolen from you,” he says. “Your body, your life, they’re yours, no one deserves them but you.”
I really enjoyed this book! Part of why I wanted to read it was because of the comparison to all for the game, which I love, and I definitely saw the similarities. It also showed vampirism in a way I thought was interesting, especially with the idea that it can be easy for them to gain too much power. The found family in this was amazing, and I particularly loved Mari and Killians friendship.
I found the romance to be really well written and believable, and appreciated how queerness seemed normalised, both with the mcs and side characters. I highly recommend this, especially for fans of books like aftg or hell followed with us.
This book made me fall in love from the very beginning. I devoured it, and now I’m sad there’s no more. The plot was original and the characters perfectly flawed. Plus who doesn’t love queer vampires and heartbreaking secrets. Ezras doubt in himself is refreshing and relatable and the love for his dog piper makes you love him even more
DNF @ 31%// 100 pages. what a waste of time.
the main reason i picked this book up (besides
it being on KU and fulfilling my desperation to make this subscription worth it) was because it was heavily compared to all for the game. and like- sure. ezra’s runaway nature, name changes, and family history are an obvious nod to neil. but he is no neil josten. ezra is far from cautious, easily swayed, and (imo) pretty helpless. if you do want to read this, don’t do it in hopes of a aftg comparison- you will be disappointed.
i’m also not a huge fan of the way vampires are portrayed in this. killian is supposedly over 100 years old, but can share basically no info about what it means to be a vampire when he changes ezra? also, why did ezra have, like, no reaction to being changed? dare i say, that is a revelation requiring at least /some/ drama. what we do learn about this species is so cliche and overdone that i’m not even seeing the point of making them vampires. it’s really not adding anything. on the topic of killian- talk about underdevelopment. we know literally nothing about him, even tho he’s the 2nd lead. and his friend, mari- is seemingly there for no reason. she could have been totally excluded from this story and i don’t think it would’ve made a negative difference.
now, let me talk about this relationship development. or rather, lack there of. i was already not really buying killians weird obsession with ezra from the second he sees him, but then we go straight to “my heart beats for you/ you’re my beloved” (whatever he said in irish) like two days after meeting him? bro, chill. the one bed trope couldn’t even do its thing because the instalove was so prominent.
my biggest issue with this story really comes down to underdevelopment. nothing in this story feels thought out. the setting is so dull, the characters are incredibly one dimensional, and its overall flat and emotionless. the opening scenes were interesting, which gave me a glimmer of hope- but i’m positive this is not going to get better. the author didn’t pay special attention to any aspect- and instead threw down the scenes in their head and didn’t care to develop any of them.
sooo yeah im super annoyed to have wasted my time :) but a lot of people seem to have at least tolerated this book, so go for it if you want i guess.
the main reason i picked this book up (besides
it being on KU and fulfilling my desperation to make this subscription worth it) was because it was heavily compared to all for the game. and like- sure. ezra’s runaway nature, name changes, and family history are an obvious nod to neil. but he is no neil josten. ezra is far from cautious, easily swayed, and (imo) pretty helpless. if you do want to read this, don’t do it in hopes of a aftg comparison- you will be disappointed.
i’m also not a huge fan of the way vampires are portrayed in this. killian is supposedly over 100 years old, but can share basically no info about what it means to be a vampire when he changes ezra? also, why did ezra have, like, no reaction to being changed? dare i say, that is a revelation requiring at least /some/ drama. what we do learn about this species is so cliche and overdone that i’m not even seeing the point of making them vampires. it’s really not adding anything. on the topic of killian- talk about underdevelopment. we know literally nothing about him, even tho he’s the 2nd lead. and his friend, mari- is seemingly there for no reason. she could have been totally excluded from this story and i don’t think it would’ve made a negative difference.
now, let me talk about this relationship development. or rather, lack there of. i was already not really buying killians weird obsession with ezra from the second he sees him, but then we go straight to “my heart beats for you/ you’re my beloved” (whatever he said in irish) like two days after meeting him? bro, chill. the one bed trope couldn’t even do its thing because the instalove was so prominent.
my biggest issue with this story really comes down to underdevelopment. nothing in this story feels thought out. the setting is so dull, the characters are incredibly one dimensional, and its overall flat and emotionless. the opening scenes were interesting, which gave me a glimmer of hope- but i’m positive this is not going to get better. the author didn’t pay special attention to any aspect- and instead threw down the scenes in their head and didn’t care to develop any of them.
sooo yeah im super annoyed to have wasted my time :) but a lot of people seem to have at least tolerated this book, so go for it if you want i guess.
I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Cutting Your Teeth is the kind of book that makes me remember how irritated I am by the vagueness of star-ratings. I’m rounding this up to a 3, because a 2 simply feels too low, but whilst there are plenty of titles I’ve rated 3-stars that I would still recommend in certain situations, I unfortunately don’t think Cutting Your Teeth is amongst them.
Cutting Your Teeth started strong for me. I like MacRae’s fresh twists on the vampire genre: there were some simple, yet entertaining and believable worldbuilding elements, such as the vampire support group, and I felt like the vampires themselves felt a bit more believable than those I’ve come across in similar media, simply for the breadth of responses to their new way of life (or undeath)- rather than all being “old souls,” or modernising without a problem, they responded diversely. On the other hand, a few magical elements- such as supernatural bonds- were intriguing, but not used in a particularly interesting way, and felt more like a cheatcode to speedrun relationship development- but I'll get to that. I did also appreciate that the cast was fairly diverse- vampires can sometimes look a bit homogenous. Another element I really liked was the casualness of the queer representation- no coming out or health class exposition here.
Unfortunately, I found it really difficult to get invested in these characters. I love found family stories, and romances that grow from that dynamic even more so, and especially romances that evolve from a transactional relationship into one of genuine affection. On paper, I should have been head over heels for Ezra, Killian, and Marigold, but I simply wasn’t convinced by their relationships. There was some cognitive dissonance with Ezra’s apparent lone wolf attitude and (reasonable) trust issues and his immediate absorption into this trio: the insta-love wasn’t relegated just to the romance, although I would say that Marigold and Ezra’s bonding moments actually made their relationship feel more meaningful to me than that between Ezra and Killian.
Some of the themes also felt a bit heavy-handed: certain parallels between the main trio felt a little bit inorganic and I think similar ideas could have been explored without making their commonalities quite so overt. The result was that they blended together a little bit for me.
The prose in Cutting Your Teeth was serviceable. Some occasional awkward turns of phrase and overwrought similes, but I often find issues with action scenes in self-published debuts, and MacRae’s flowed well and were easy to follow. I think MacRae’s writing was at its strongest when Cutting Your Teeth leaned into its horror elements: Ezra’s initial transformation sticks in my head as one of the strongest moments of the book. For a book marketed as horror, I wanted more eerie scenes like that one, but the novel felt more action-oriented as it drew on, which made it feel less like horror to me- in a way that reminds me how giving a player in a horror game a weapon makes them braver, and act like they’re playing an FPS game instead. The fast-pace made this a quick and compelling read… To begin with.
Sadly, as Cutting Your Teeth dragged on, I think some of its strengths also worked to its detriment. With so much constantly happening, and in such a short timespace, there was little time spent with the characters and I found myself unable to care. Ezra and Killian’s voices were a little bit similar, and everyone felt a bit vague and depthless- a lot of focus on tragic backstories, which I honestly adore, but less thought put into what these characters are like in a normal conversation, what their hobbies are: what they’re actually *like*. More than once, I confused Ezra’s ex and his sister, because they were only ever described in generic positive terms, and used as a plot device to pressure him into making his next move. And though many were intriguing, there were also a huge number of side characters in this fairly short novel, none of whom I really felt invested in. I hadn’t grown attached to anyone at all by the time the denouement kicked in, and I found myself more invested in reaching the end of the book than unravelling the mystery and determining the fates of the characters. This is a shame, because there were some twists and turns that I’m sure would have entertained me if I had felt at all attached, but as it was, I kept glazing over. The resolution fell flat- I just didn’t feel like these characters knew each other well enough to have earned an ending of that tone.
Overall, Cutting Your Teeth was a bit of a letdown for me, but not a dealbreaker- I would absolutely be interested in MacRae’s future work based on the strengths I mentioned… But I probably wouldn’t read a sequel, which was heavily teased at the end of this narrative. I wholeheartedly expect this series to improve as it goes on, but I’m just not willing to stick it out based on the overall malaise I’m left with after feeling the first novel.
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
3.75!!
An Irish Vampire who has his eyes set on a runaway? A vampire who had nefarious plans but is thrown for a loop? Yeah, I'm here.
This was a joy of a debut book. It definitely reads YA, so if that's not your thing, you've been warned.
Cutting Your Teeth follows Ezra, a fighter on the run from his family. Ezra has one last fight before he skips town and takes on a new identity. But then he dies.
Ezra is brought back to life by Killian, a vampire he had unknowingly just fought. Killian takes Ezra under his wing, introducing him to his human companion Marigolde and fellow vampires. As Killian teaches Ezra all about being a vampire, other types of feelings emerge. Unfortunately, both Ezra and Killian's pasts are catching up to them.
This book was SO fun. It did start a little slow for me, but because the chapters are fast, it kept me entertained. I liked Ezra as a MMC a lot - but Killian really carried the book for me. I wanted to know everything about his background and why he moved the way he did. If you're not into miscommunication - the romance aspect might be a tough read for you. But, as two early 20-somethings figuring it out - I think the relationship build up was smart.
The Vampire and introduction to other paranormal creatures was definitely something I wanted more of and where the star rating really shows. I think if there was more world building on the paranormals this could have been a stronger book - especially with all the tugs at twins and their relationship.
All and all this was a great, fast read. I definitely would continue the series whenever the next book comes out!
An Irish Vampire who has his eyes set on a runaway? A vampire who had nefarious plans but is thrown for a loop? Yeah, I'm here.
This was a joy of a debut book. It definitely reads YA, so if that's not your thing, you've been warned.
Cutting Your Teeth follows Ezra, a fighter on the run from his family. Ezra has one last fight before he skips town and takes on a new identity. But then he dies.
Ezra is brought back to life by Killian, a vampire he had unknowingly just fought. Killian takes Ezra under his wing, introducing him to his human companion Marigolde and fellow vampires. As Killian teaches Ezra all about being a vampire, other types of feelings emerge. Unfortunately, both Ezra and Killian's pasts are catching up to them.
This book was SO fun. It did start a little slow for me, but because the chapters are fast, it kept me entertained. I liked Ezra as a MMC a lot - but Killian really carried the book for me. I wanted to know everything about his background and why he moved the way he did. If you're not into miscommunication - the romance aspect might be a tough read for you. But, as two early 20-somethings figuring it out - I think the relationship build up was smart.
The Vampire and introduction to other paranormal creatures was definitely something I wanted more of and where the star rating really shows. I think if there was more world building on the paranormals this could have been a stronger book - especially with all the tugs at twins and their relationship.
All and all this was a great, fast read. I definitely would continue the series whenever the next book comes out!
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I don't like vampire romances, even as subplots, this one however, this one hit different.
Regular Review Style
1. Killian has my heart, I loved him, new book boyfriend acquired
2. Ezra was such a fun character to read about, the way his past ended up turning him into a vampire was interesting
3. Aly was the most realistic out of all of them, gets turned in into a werewolf and is just like 'Well that sucks' honestly me
4. Found family
5. I feel so bad for Nora but I hate Fran with a passion
6. I spent the first 80% of the book wondering what was on the cover, I spent the last 20% realizing what was on the cover
7. A book with a dog and the dog doesn't die??? 10/10
8. Sunflowers
Regular Review Style
1. Killian has my heart, I loved him, new book boyfriend acquired
2. Ezra was such a fun character to read about, the way his past ended up turning him into a vampire was interesting
3. Aly was the most realistic out of all of them, gets turned in into a werewolf and is just like 'Well that sucks' honestly me
4. Found family
5. I feel so bad for Nora but I hate Fran with a passion
6. I spent the first 80% of the book wondering what was on the cover, I spent the last 20% realizing what was on the cover
7. A book with a dog and the dog doesn't die??? 10/10
8. Sunflowers
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Blood, Toxic friendship
Moderate: Trafficking
Minor: Sexual content