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A review by lennie_reads
How To Bite Your Neighbor & Win A Wager by D.N. Bryn
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
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
5.0
I received this arc in exchange for an honest review.
I'm *always* here for angsty self depricating queer vampires & after all the snippets of this story on Bryn's insta, I was soo excited to read this!
Vincent is a shy, awkward, lonely, gay vampire who has no friends or family and, due to the prejudices against vampires in this world, he struggles to find work. This also means that he lives inside a mausoleum which I found equally funny & upsetting.
Vincent is a precious baby who needs to be protected at all costs. I've only read one other book by Bryn (Odder Still) so far but I love how they write their tragically troubled & backed-into-a-corner protagonists, who always seem to have fingerless gloves 👀
Vincent can't go out on the pull for blood because he's a shy awkward baby (with no access to a regular shower) and he can't get steady work due to the aforementioned vamp prejudices meaning he can't afford black market blood bags. This leads to him desperately sneaking into people's houses to feed from people whilst they sleep.
Obviously this isn't ok but the issues of consent & lack of options in the book are discussed and dealt with very well imo.
Wes is one of the people Vincent happens to feed from. Wes is a seemingly happy-go-lucky bisexual disaster with no job who loves gaming. However, he is also lonely and grieving the sudden loss of his mum under what he feels are suspicious circumstances.
To uncover the mystery, Wes has to get a job at a secretive pharmaceutical company but to do so, he needs to prove he can 'recruit' vampires by bringing one in. When Wes finds Vincent in his room he decides to befriend him to take him to the company.
I really appreciated how these characters were very nuanced & not portrayed as 100% good. They are people with flaws who just want to be loved & allowed to live their lives.
I loved Wes & Vincent sooo much. Their romance was very up & down but I was 100% here for it. I love me some mutual pining! And, considering this book is fade to black, they had some intense chemistry & the sexual tension was 🔥🔥🔥
I especially loved the soft D/S aspect of their relationship.
Whilst Wes & Vincent's story is fairly wrapped up by the end, the situation with the vampires in San Salud and the big pharma company is still very open ended so I'm looking forward to that being explored a bit a more in the sequels.
Especially after reading the short story, Glorious Monsters, (loved Andres' lil cameo btw) and the snippet for the next book at the end of this one.
This is a dual pov, mlm, soft queer slowburn vampire x human romance with a slight mystery / thriller (?) aspect.
CW: blood, murder, past homophobia from both of theirs families, forced imprisonment, homelessness, self harm, mental health issues and grief.
I'm *always* here for angsty self depricating queer vampires & after all the snippets of this story on Bryn's insta, I was soo excited to read this!
Vincent is a shy, awkward, lonely, gay vampire who has no friends or family and, due to the prejudices against vampires in this world, he struggles to find work. This also means that he lives inside a mausoleum which I found equally funny & upsetting.
Vincent is a precious baby who needs to be protected at all costs. I've only read one other book by Bryn (Odder Still) so far but I love how they write their tragically troubled & backed-into-a-corner protagonists, who always seem to have fingerless gloves 👀
Vincent can't go out on the pull for blood because he's a shy awkward baby (with no access to a regular shower) and he can't get steady work due to the aforementioned vamp prejudices meaning he can't afford black market blood bags. This leads to him desperately sneaking into people's houses to feed from people whilst they sleep.
Obviously this isn't ok but the issues of consent & lack of options in the book are discussed and dealt with very well imo.
Wes is one of the people Vincent happens to feed from. Wes is a seemingly happy-go-lucky bisexual disaster with no job who loves gaming. However, he is also lonely and grieving the sudden loss of his mum under what he feels are suspicious circumstances.
To uncover the mystery, Wes has to get a job at a secretive pharmaceutical company but to do so, he needs to prove he can 'recruit' vampires by bringing one in. When Wes finds Vincent in his room he decides to befriend him to take him to the company.
I really appreciated how these characters were very nuanced & not portrayed as 100% good. They are people with flaws who just want to be loved & allowed to live their lives.
I loved Wes & Vincent sooo much. Their romance was very up & down but I was 100% here for it. I love me some mutual pining! And, considering this book is fade to black, they had some intense chemistry & the sexual tension was 🔥🔥🔥
I especially loved the soft D/S aspect of their relationship.
Whilst Wes & Vincent's story is fairly wrapped up by the end, the situation with the vampires in San Salud and the big pharma company is still very open ended so I'm looking forward to that being explored a bit a more in the sequels.
Especially after reading the short story, Glorious Monsters, (loved Andres' lil cameo btw) and the snippet for the next book at the end of this one.
This is a dual pov, mlm, soft queer slowburn vampire x human romance with a slight mystery / thriller (?) aspect.
CW: blood, murder, past homophobia from both of theirs families, forced imprisonment, homelessness, self harm, mental health issues and grief.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Homophobia, Self harm, and Grief