A review by katherineshawwrites
The Erstwhile Tyler Kyle by Steve Hugh Westenra

adventurous challenging dark funny mysterious tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Well, that was a bit of a wild ride! This is a book that keeps you guessing, from its unusual splicing of diary entries and possibly unreliable narrators, to not knowing who the real villain is until its almost too late. 

I very much enjoyed the writing style. The author really captures Tyler and Josh's characters and different senses of humour, and I especially enjoyed Tyler's snarky and comedic commentary of the events as they unfolded.

There's a fantastic queer romance running alongside the supernatural mystery/horror plotline, with that classic "just kiss" frustration throughout. I wanted to shake Tyler by the end, but that's the kind of stress we readers love, right? The moment where they both finally got on the same page was worth waiting for.

My only criticism of the book is that the pacing is uneven, with the first half being very slow, and then a sudden escalation of events, with certain mysteries being revealed very quickly after a long build-up. Similar happens right at the end when Tyler and another character fix a long-standing problem remarkably quickly, which feels a bit unsatisfying. It doesn't ruin the story by any means, but dulls what could've been a truly excellent read for me. 

I will also explicitly include a content warning for body horror, as a couple of things happen after a relatively low-violence story that some readers might not enjoy. 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings