Reviews with content warning for Gore - Lycanthropy and Other Chronic Illnesses

Took me longer to read than I wish it had, but that had nothing to do with the book itself. It is a great read with a lot of wit, it is very targeted towards Gen Z and their type of humor and at some points was a bit much.

I really enjoyed it and I felt like I learned a lot about Chronic Illnesses that I didn’t know before.

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amberinpieces's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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csevet's review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny hopeful 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

5.0

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theespressoedition's review

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adventurous challenging slow-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

3.0

I have such incredibly mixed feelings about this book.

On the one hand, I absolutely loved the representation. As a spoonie myself (for all you healthy people, that's what some of us with chronic illnesses call ourselves), it was really refreshing reading about others who deal with some of the same challenges that I do. From obnoxious MLMs telling us we can solve our health issues with essential oils, to the way it's so easy to fall into depression when going through flare-ups, to just feeling all the feelings (and all the pain). I appreciated it so much because I felt seen in so many ways.

I thought that creating a "chronic illness" out of lycanthropy was incredibly creative. It definitely manifests itself similarly to spoonie symptoms with "flare-ups" each month, strange changes in the body, not feeling yourself, etc. This low fantasy that read more like contemporary was really well done!

On the other hand, it was so slow. I couldn't believe how long it took for the werewolf discovery to occur. I'm used to contemporary novels being about 6-8 hours tops on 2x speed narration. This one was almost 11 hours on 2.5x speed! And the reveal didn't happen until 3 hours in! I was baffled. I also found it really annoying to listen to the Discord chat conversations - reading a physical copy would've been better for that (that's not a diss on the book, just a personal thing while listening to an audiobook). It got obnoxious every time someone did a keyboard smash or shared a link because hearing "adscxzhuiweufbjdksfj" read aloud is just... ridiculous-sounding!

In addition to that, I definitely felt my age. The fact that the oldest person in the chat was 25 (26?) and I'm several years older than that right now had me feeling distinctly millennial grandma (cue laughter). Yes, I realize this was YA (though I guess it's more technically NA since the main character is 19), but I hoped I'd be able to relate a bit better. It just really screamed gen-z.

I would definitely recommend this in a physical format for spoonies looking to feel seen and for others who want to learn more about what it's like to have different chronic illnesses.

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aviery's review

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious tense fast-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

4.0

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tristonleeann's review

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adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

It is a great, inspiring, relatable book if you struggle with chronic illness. I am few years younger than the main character and have a different chronic illness, but I could still really relate to how she is struggling both mentally and physically while trying to come to terms with her new reality and trying to learn to cope with and manage her symptoms.

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mar's review

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adventurous emotional funny fast-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

3.0

respect 2 the author for putting a rickroll in her book

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ninjamuse's review

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emotional funny inspiring medium-paced

4.0

If you’re looking for great chronic illness rep in YA, a chaotic delight of a best friendship, or a climax that is absolutely off the charts, add Lycanthropy and Other Chronic Illnesses by Kristen O’Neal to your TBR. (Out in March.)

Fair warnings for realness re: chronic illness especially as it pertains to mental health, and for gore/body horror because, well, werewolves. This might be a funny book, but it’s also very serious.

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