And you may ask yourself, ‘Well, how did I get here?’ I may, David Byrne, I may.

Hi, my name is Kelly and I don’t like anything lately. Actually this 3 Star is pretty much like seeing a unicorn at this point in my sea of 2s and there were things I dug about this one. Particularly Rory. I love dry, droll humor and she really delivered. I also figured this would be a werewolf story wrapped up in a metaphor for trauma simply from reading the first couple of sentences of the blurb and I was pretty much spot on there too. But then there was some mean girl stuff that just wasn’t necessary to the story whatsoever and other bad stuff and things from childhood and also the miracle of life???? Yeah. Simply too many ingredients spoiling what could have been some pretty delicious soup for me.

ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you, NetGalley!

LOVED!!!!!

What a great story — full of rage and trauma and violence and brutality. This is a powerful love story between sisters, mothers, friends, and lovers. It’s a meditation on the violence that shapes us (especially women), and the monsters it makes us. It was bloody and brutal and brilliant - werewolves (& their transformations) are a perfect allegory for pregnancy, and I loved the various metaphors for violence and trauma and the ways they shape us. This book was unexpected, and also exquisite. I can’t wait to read more from this author!

Thank you to @berkleypub, @letstalkbookspromo and @netgalley for the #gifted copy of the book.

Rory, the big city girl, is returning home for some downtime, but also to help out her sister, Scarlett, who is having a baby soon. She is in an accident shortly after arriving and has been bitten by some kind of animal. Rory knows whatever bit her was not normal and neither is the healing of her wound. She notices things changing and is trying not to freak out, but with her mom coming into town and her sister pushing her to date an old friend from school she is at wits end. What happens next is something you won't want to miss!

This is the first book I have read by Rachel Harrison and it was right up my alley. It was scary, strange and disturbing! It fits all the spooky vibes for this Halloween season. If you love horror and paranormal this book is for you!

Actually 4 1/2 stars.
Rory Morris had returned back to her hometown, taking a leave from a job in New York City she loves. Her twin, Scarlett, is pregnant and claimed the baby’s father had moved out, so she needs support. After running into Ian, who she had a crush on for years, she hits an animal while driving home. When she gets out to check what she thinks is a dog, maybe a deer, she is attacked by something that is neither and bitten, luckily surviving when the beast gets distracted. At the hospital, her wound heals. She then finds out she is strong, has an aversion to silver, and is hooked to the moon. Rory soon realizes she is becoming something not human.

There is no doubt the author was inspired by Little Red Rising Hood and the movie Ginger Snaps. It's a tale that contains finding one’s self, love for family, finding true love that was always there, trauma, rage and vulnerability, and mixing those ingredients with a werewolf horror story. The reader gets a new read perfect for the fall, a fairy tale for the 21st century that one can sink their teeth into.

The nitty-gritty: A most unusual werewolf tale that combines body horror, romance and humor in surprising ways. If you aren't reading Rachel Harrison, you need to get on that, stat.

I love being surprised by a book, and Such Sharp Teeth was the perfect Halloween surprise. I was blown away by Rachel Harrison’s writing, her ability to convey raw emotions, her pitch perfect dialog and wry humor. The book is full of messy characters who don’t exactly know what they’re doing or what they want, and yet they keep moving forward—is there any other choice? This is the story about a woman who turns into a werewolf, but more than that, it’s about family ties, recovery from trauma and learning how to forgive, even when it’s the hardest thing you’ve ever done.

Rory Morris has returned to her hometown to care for her pregnant sister Scarlett, after Scarlett’s boyfriend left her high and dry. She’s isn’t thrilled to be back—she loves her exciting single life in New York City—and being home brings back all sorts of memories she’d rather not deal with. Like Ian Pedretti, for example, who’s had a crush on Rory since they were in middle school. When Rory runs into Ian in a bar, sparks start to fly. And Ian still has a crush on her, so why not? But later that night, Rory accidentally hits an animal on her way home, and when she gets out to investigate, something attacks and bites her.

Later in the hospital, Rory is shocked to find the terrible bite wound has healed. And other weird stuff is happening to her body. She bleeds silver, she’s hot all the time, and when she looks in the mirror, there’s a red-eyed wolf lurking over her shoulder. She only wants to eat meat—she craves it. And why does she stink of wet dog? It all adds up to something terrible: Rory was bitten by a werewolf, and she has until the next full moon to figure out what to do.

There’s a lot to unpack with this story, but I want to talk about the supernatural elements first. Harrison’s werewolf mythos isn’t glamorous or pretty. It’s dark, visceral and painful. Rory is overwhelmed by all the smells around her. Any food other than meat makes her want to throw up. She constantly sweats. The descriptions of her change into her wolf form are shocking and gross. She grabs anything that moves, including squirrels and rats, and later after she’s back in her own body, she vomits up the teeth and tails of the animals she’s gorged on. If you’re looking for a sexy werewolf story, you won’t find it here. This is as close to what I imagine the experience would be like if werewolves were a real thing.

So yes, this is about Rory coping with the harsh new reality of being a werewolf, but the meat of the story is about navigating relationships and the ups and downs of loving someone fiercely, even when they disappoint you or piss you off. I absolutely loved Rory’s relationship with her twin sister Scarlett. They are best friends, but they’re both hiding big secrets from each other. When their mother is added to the mix, the emotions become palpable. Rory suffered familial abuse as a child and she blames her mother for it. She’s never been able to forgive her, although she loves her mother dearly. It was heartbreaking to read the scenes between them as they try to deal with something that’s been swept under the rug for far too long, and I applaud Harrison’s decision to add uncomfortable topics and conversations to her story.

I also loved the romance between Rory and Ian, which isn’t the focus but adds a nice dynamic to the story. The sweet, sexy moments between them were a nice contrast to the more horrific werewolf elements, and Ian was such a funny, understanding guy, I sort of wanted to jump into bed with him myself!

The story also deals with more serious topics like women’s rights and equality, and Harrison uses the tried and true metaphor of change to show character growth. Scarlett and Rory bond over the shared experience of their changing bodies (pregnancy and turning into a monster), and neither one of them is happy about it. Scarlett isn’t completely certain she wants a baby, and Rory just wants to find a cure and go back to the way she was. It might seem like all of this in one story wouldn’t work, but trust me when I say each element is perfectly balanced. It’s rare to find an author who can successfully mix romance, horror and humor with weightier subjects, but Harrison succeeds brilliantly.

In the end, there are no easy solutions to the characters’ problems. Instead, each one is resolved in a believable way. I would love to see Such Sharper Teeth morph into a series—some things are left open just in case—although I suspect this is where Rory’s story ends. And it’s perfect.

Big thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy.

After reading Cackle by Rachel Harrison and falling in love with it, I was SO excited to get an ARC of her newest novel. It definitely did not disappoint. I love her writing style, she has such a way of sucking the reader in...and also making being a werewolf seem very believable 😆 I really enjoyed Rory's journey into accepting her new reality and her relationships along the way. Definitely recommend! (And if you haven't read Cackle yet...it's the perfect Halloween read!)

This was a fun quirky story about a female werewolf. I liked the main character Rory who was battling identity issues when she was bitten after a night back at home. What ensues is a novel that investigates the many layers of girl friendships, sisterhood and what it means to be a woman. There’s literally transformations and some romance but it’s Rory’s biting humor that keeps this book interesting. She is mostly trying to deal with her past horror colliding with her present horror while also trying to help her sister on a new journey into motherhood. Being a woman is tough and sometimes it Involves being a werewolf

I love a feminist werewolf story, and this book here was an excellent one. I started watching Rachel Harrison with The Return, and I'm glad that she's continued her strong focus on relationships among women and where horror can be found there, especially within one's own body. I was fascinated by the way Rory's werewolf transformations were held up against her twin's pregnancy, and how each were shown as an uncontrollable and irreversible transformation.

This book is thoughtful, scary, gross, and laugh-out-loud funny in turns. The dialogue is so deeply naturalistic - I was absolutely thrilled when Rory's sister, upon seeing Rory's new werewolf-like state, responded with a page and a half of variations of "what the f*ck". Meanwhile, the way that Rory withdraws and distances herself from the trauma of becoming a werewolf with detached humor was both funny and a little heartbreaking. The romance is believable and compelling, the family drama is faced with a maturity that I rarely come across, and the main character ate half a dozen hot dogs crouching in front of a convenience store. A highly recommended read.

I really enjoyed this novel! it is a story we know but told in a new way. A way that smooths the jagged edges of trauma and helps us root for the FMC the whole way.

Rory is smart and successful and definitely never going home again, until she does. She is back in her small town from Manhattan to support her pregnant sister and as you'd expect from the" big city girl goes back to her roots" style story she reconnects with someone form her past. An old flame, perhaps?

It has all of the bucolic loveliness you'd expect from a Hallmark movie until Rory gets bitten by a werewolf. Then we begin to deal with a person who has been hurt in many ways but can no longer use her defense mechanisms to cope. There is no stopping the wolf inside!

This book has all the witty banter you could want. I loved Rory's character growth and how this is definitely a feminist story but told in a way that will delight anyone who likes a slightly gruesome read. Its perfect for Spooky Season reading!

Female werewolves for the win! This was a fun paranormal read! I really got a kick out of reading how Rory had to deal with this new transformation in her life, as it was also paralleling the other transformations that were happening: a new niece, a new boyfriend, etc...I would love to read (even a short story) about how Ian and Rory are doing after the events of this book, and if Rory ended up meeting other female werewolves.

This was adorably cheesy in the best sort of way. The perfect spooky season fluffy read that had me giggling as well as enthralled. Rachel Harrison does a great job at incorporating a little gore and humor into her books.

Rory never planned to return to her hometown. But when her sister's partner leaves in the midst of her pregnancy, Rory is the one she calls.

Which is why Rory has returned. And why she has a run in with an old friend who could be more. And why she finds herself getting attacked by a wild animal in the middle of the night.

And after that happens...things start to change for Rory. And not necessarily for the better.

If you didn't know, this is a werewolf book. And it's so much fabulous fun! I love Harrison's style of dark humor. It makes her books such completely enjoyable reads!

Rory recently returned home to help her twin sister with her pregnancy. Rory has a lot of bad memories from her childhood so she never thought she would come back. While in town Rory deals with her issues from the past, her relationship with her mother, she starts hooking up with an almost flame from high school and then she gets attacked by animal. She soon realizes when the moon is full, she was attacked by a werewolf and has become one herself.

This is more of a dark comedy, not a thriller or horror book. There’s romance, wit, humor, drama, blood and werewolves. Rachel is a strong female protagonist and there was a lot of character growth/finding oneself throughout the book. There was also some romance. It’s a fun book to read for spooky season.
Thank you to @berkleypub and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

I have to say I really enjoyed this story. It was different; it was not your typical werewolf story. Rory has come back to help her pregnant sister, and so after an accident, her life changes. Rory has no clue what is going on with her body, but it is not normal. We see how Rory handles her body changing but not in a horrible way but more of a way of, I guess, this is how it is going to be. To helping her sister with her pregnancy to learning how to be in a relationship. As we got towards the end, I was totally wrong about who I thought was the cause of everything Rory was going through. So I did like that little surprise. If you are looking for a nontraditional werewolf story, this is it. I liked the way everything just came together and the way the characters were. I loved the sibling dynamics and the romance between Rory and Ian. I think this is one of my favorite books for Halloween!

I finally dove into a Rachel Harrison novel, and I'm so happy it was this one. There's a bit of everything: romance, body horror, family issues, second coming of age...I loved watching this woman work with the effects of her recent traumatic event while confronting the scars from her childhood trauma. This felt very true to life, just with a werewolf aspect added in.

Such Sharp Teeth was everything that I love in supernatural horror/thrillers. Comedic relief, relatable characters, complicated monsters... But Rachel Harrison went deeper with her story, it became an allegory for healing from trauma, for the lack of control during pregnancy, all wrapped up in a clever bundle. Really, how well would any of us handle being turned into a werewolf?

Special thanks to Berkeley Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

I liked this book from the start. Rory is leaving hometown, not wanting to ever really come back, but her twin sister is pregnant and needs her. So she returns and after a night out at a local bar, she hits an animal. When she gets out to see, she's attacked.

Rory is okay but soon after, she's seeing more clear, has inhumane strength and sharper teeth than my boyfriends who thinks he's playing when he's really hurting me. He's gotten a few smacks outta me for that, and tell him bite himself, he's got some seriously sharp teeth!

Back to the story.....

Folks this isn't your normal werewolf story. Actually shape shifter, I should say. Its also a brilliantly written love story as well. I thought this book was excellent.

I also loved that Rachel Harrison portrayed a woman for this character because as a woman myself, we have to put all our repressed hormonal rage somewher!!!! Men, will enjoy it to as well as all colors of the rainbow. Bravo. 5 stars!

This just did not work for me for some reason. I wanted horror, I got paranormal romance at best.

There's a lot of relationship building, not much warewolf-ing (I know I know, that's not a word, but you get what I'm saying). I felt, the horror was not there - the MC just accepted for who she became and what she is without any freak out. No actual mauling. And everyone around her were like ok, this is new, but I accept it.

See. Romance.

Relationships, family - these are the theme here, not warewolves.

Not bad writing. It's ok. Just the story line isn't for me.

Thank you to PRH for my ALC. All thoughts are my own.

This book is another refreshing take on horror with commentary on female rage wrapped in a wonderful story of love and werewolves. Shifters are often written as male characters processing their own innate anger, and is portrayed as a hinderance. Harrison changes this up in a statement about women's emotional inner demons as well as those imposed upon us against our will. The love story presents a male counterpart that is ready to meet her where she's at, and ready to embrace all the stinky, messy aspects of who she always was and who she has become. Such a wonderful read!

In this novel about a young woman dealing with trauma and change, Rachel Harrison has created a narrative that is gripping and incisive. The voice of Rory is compelling, both tough and vulnerable at the same time, a fighter and survivor. But that survival instinct also makes it hard for her to trust and allow herself love. And it is in exploring, through the medium of her changes and Scarlett’s as a soon to be mother, that the author builds something unique and insightful as she explores the changes in both and how that correlates with trauma and abuse. 

Rory is far from perfect. She is flawed and angry but she also had to deal with her changes, whether she likes it or not. She also must learn to embrace vulnerability, trust, and love. From someone who doesn’t do well with those myself, I found the character particularly compelling and the voice of Rory resonated with me. 

If you’ve ever dealt with trauma, change, or pain, then this novel is worth checking, especially with the inventive way it addresses those themes and concepts. The novel is gripping and incisive. It resonates and breathes life into an old concept, werewolves, in new ways. I loved every moment of the story.