Such Sharp Teeth by Rachel Harrison
@RachelHarrisonsGhost
Pub date: October 4, 2022

“𝘋𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘨𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯,” 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘴. “𝘐’𝘮 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢 𝘨𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘵,” 𝘐 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘢𝘴 𝘐 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦. 𝘐 𝘢𝘥𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧, “𝘐’𝘮 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘳.”

Know that when I tell you I love Rachel Harrison’s writing, it is not an exaggeration! 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑹𝒆𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒏 and 𝑪𝒂𝒄𝒌𝒍𝒆 are two of my favorites and now I’ll be adding 𝑺𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝑺𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒑 𝑻𝒆𝒆𝒕𝒉 to this list. You can scroll down my IG feed to see my reviews and look for my audiobook review of her short story collection 𝑩𝒂𝒅 𝑫𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒔 next week!

When Rory decides to move back to her home town, all to help her pregnant twin, Scarlett, the last thing she expects is a) to be attacked by a wild animal and b) to fall for her childhood sweetheart.

As Rory slowly transitions, old friends come into her life – some are good for her, some not so much but she’s determined to face this on her own. Bleeding silver blood and catching sight of the wolf in the mirror every time she looks, she knows this is something she must face. Despite her habit of locking herself in her room and waiting for the bad to pass, Rory is a badass, make no mistake.

Following Rory throughout her journey combined with the drama that surrounds other aspects of her life makes for a page turner. While this is at times serious and filled with horror, there’s Rachels trademark humor imbued in every chapter. She is whimsy combined with blood and guts, what’s not to love?

I cannot recommend this book or author enough! Rachel has the perfect sense of horror and humor and when this combination happens, it is pure magic!

My sincere thanks to @BerkleyPub for this gifted DRC!

Thank you so much to Berkley Publishing and Rachel Harrison for my copy of this book. Weird, disturbing, creepy, and wonderful, Such Sharp Teeth is the perfect book for spooky season. Rory Morris is moving back to her childhood hometown to help out her pregnant twin sister Scarlett. As soon as she is back in town, two things happen almost at the same time. The first is she reconnects with Ian, an old high school friend who could have been so much more. The second is that she hits a large animal with her car and ends up in the hospital after being bit.

Now, strange things are happening. Rory is starting to become much stronger than she was before. Her blood looks silver and she is constantly craving meat. She is changing into something new, a monster with uncontrollable urges. In conflict with her unnerving situation, Rory is trying to prepare her home for a baby and start a new relationship.

Thoughts: Rachel Harrison is one of my favorite authors to read near Halloween. Her writing is hilarious and relatable and the dark comedy is perfect for the subjects she chooses. Harrison is the master of pairing a horrific plot with fun and witty writing. She layers the deeper subjects of vulnerability and trauma and rage within the story in a way that is stunning to read. I felt myself having a range of emotions while reading a book that should have been a simple scary story.

The romance in the book served to show a power dynamic that was so different in other characters' relationships. I loved the characters in this book and it was easy to imagine their looks and voices. The character development in this book was particularly enjoyable and if you’re looking for a dark comedic horror with powerful feminine themes, this is the book for you! 5-stars!

#netgalleyarc This was a fun and quick supernatural, with a little romance thrown in, read. The characters were likable and not moody like characters often are in this type of genre. This is definitely a good read to get you in the Halloween spirit and headspace.

I'm normally a fan of Ms. Harrison's books but this story wasn't quite up to her previous novels. The plot moved at a snails pace and the characters were difficult to connect with. Her main protagonist was off-putting even though the author tried to make her sympathetic with a backstory of abuse. I hope her next book is a bit more engaging.

I absolutely adored this book. At its core, it's about a young woman learning to deal with the trauma of the past... while dealing with trauma of the present. Both times represented a time when Rory was not fully in control of her own body. At the surface, it's obviously about Rory's adventures as a werewolf, which I found to be both laugh-out-loud funny and appropriately gory. I had an extremely hard time putting this book down, and thought the character development was top-notch. I'm genuinely excited to look for future books by Rachel Harrison, as both this novel and Cackle are in my top 20. 10 out of 10, easily.

Rory loves her life in New York, but commits to temporarily moving back to her hometown where her pregnant sister, Scarlett, needs hers support. Rory runs into an old high school friend who is much more handsome and rugged than she remembers. Maybe things are looking up? Absolutely not. Rory is attacked in the night and miraculously survives but starts feeling a little…off.

I loved Such Sharp Teeth. Rarely do the components or gory horror, comedy, and romance intersect in such a successful way. I laughed at Rory and Scarlet’s wit, while was deeply impacted but the overarching themes of female vulnerability and self-ownership.

There are plenty of vampire and ghost stories to be read, but this is the first werewolf/romance/thriller that I've read. It was also sweet - the interaction between the two sisters (one werewolf, one not) made me smile and even laugh out loud a few times. It was a quick read as I could not put it down because I couldn't wait to see what would happen next. I would definitely recommend this for horror fans who don't like it TOO scary. There are definitely psychological aspects to this novel - parallel to family and trauma. But I prefer to focus on the supernatural.

This is one of my favorite books that I’ve read this year. The way that Rachel Harrison writes about Rory’s changing body and transformation following a brutal attack by a “monster,” is both fantastic and realistic, as though it could happen to any of us. Rory’s experience is visceral and terrifying, and yet it’s softened by the relationships she has (her sister and best) and is working on building (the long time love interest from her youth). I very much enjoy Harrison’s story telling and will be recommending this book to all my friends and patrons, especially since it will be released right in the middle of Spooky season!

I didn't expect this book to be a Paranormal romance and I think that threw me off a little bit. It was okay but predictable and dragged on for too long. 3 stars.

Rory goes home to look after her abandoned pregnant sister. During a night out, she encounters a werewolf that bites her. She comes to terms with changing into a werewolf while dealing with issues that being back home raises.

This book is a mixture of women's literature and body horror. It didn't work for me. Rory dealing with her problems with her mother was riveting. But there was a disconnect when switching between Rory's personal issues and her body's changes.

This review is based on an advanced reader copy provided through Netgalley for an honest review.

I love a good werewolf book! Not enough in a market full of vampire stories. Incredible story development, twist and turns, and the character development *chefs kiss* ! Would love to see a sequel!

I'm waffling with this book! I completely devoured it, much like The Return. It's a horror-romance, and a novelization of an academic chapter on feminism, trauma, and werewolf lore. Overall, a fantastic combination.

I missed the real gory body horror of The Return, which literally killed my appetite for the day. I loved that she explored the "monsters we create" (also very much like The VVitch) but the metaphors took me out of the horror ultimately. I loved the parallels between Rory and Scarlett's control over their bodies, but it also somewhat dampened the thrill of a werewolf story. Would have loved 100% more dismemberment.

On the romance side, the tropes were fun and Ian was a bit swoony, but there wasn't a lot of ~spice~. If I'm here for the body horror, I'm here for the romance too! It could've added an interesting facet to the ~thesis of the book.

Is this a new genre "dark rom-com-horror? I liked it. I liked the writing, it was funny and entertaining but I was expecting a gruesome horror and instead got a 2nd chance romance peppered with some goriness. I wish i had known that beforehand but it was a fun read nonetheless! I haven't read Cackle by this author so I think maybe I'll pick that one up soon.
As always, a huge thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and author for my copy.

Actual rating: 3.5

Wow. This book is the perfect blend of horror, female rage, and family drama peppered with hints of second chance romance.

Even when some of the werewolf parallels seemed much on the nose, none of the reading enjoyment was sacrificed.

So good! I really love Rachel Harrison's books. Loved this take on the werewolf story, looking forward to what the author will come up with next.

I absolutely adore the idea behind this book and its premise. But Rachel Harrison's writing and I...just do not vibe. This is the third book of hers I've tried to get on with, and it's just not working out. It's fundamentally me, and not her books, and I'm so glad she's writing these weird, feminist, horror-hybrid novels.

SO good! Such Sharp Teeth was a dark romantic comedy with some very real emotions. It really sucked me in as soon as I started reading it. Rory is a really great character and following her life as she moves back to her hometime to help her twin sister and then goes through this insanely traumatic event was so so good.

Hmm, I'm not quite sure how to rate this one. If I'm thinking of it as a horror novel, I didn't really care for it. It was tonally off for me - perhaps too cozy? I'm not sure, but if I think of this as a more graphically detailed paranormal romance, I thought this was fun enough. I liked the family dynamics, and I liked Rory & Ian together. So it didn't scratch the horror itch I picked it for, but I thought the writing was very nice and it was a well constructed book

This author! So good! I’ve been in a reading slump and started this because it sounded very different from what I’ve read lately. I just flew through it - it’s the kind of story/writing that sucks you in and you keep making time to get back to it. So many books have been a chore to get through but Rory’s tale is interesting, witty and very entertaining. I love how the author creates the romance parts - so different from the usual drivel I have to wade through. Believable but not barf worthy. Rory’s character is great, so independent and strong. Just a pleasure to read. I will continue to look for and promote this this author!

Scarlett and Rory may be twins but their personalities are like night and day. Scarlett remained in their hometown while Rory loved living and working in NYC. But Scarlett's pregnancy combined with the split from her partner, Will, has left her upset and alone. Rory takes a leave of absence from her job, sublets her apartment, and moves in with her sister. But Rory finds herself in the wrong place at the wrong time. Attacked, bitten, and left for dead, her life is about to get much more complicated. It wasn't a bear or wild dog or any other creature you might imagine, it was a werewolf.

As Rory tries to deal with her fractured relationship with her mother, her sister's moods, the boy she left behind, and oh yeah, controlling her violent urges, especially when the moon is full will not be smooth sailing. Rory already had, shall we say anger issues, and becoming a werewolf is not any kind of recommended therapy to calm down. On the one hand, she enjoys the power she now possesses, but on the other hand, she doesn't want to hurt anyone.

I wouldn't consider this to be a spoiler( bitten by a werewolf) since it is in the book description. But, I thought it might be all in her head at more than one point. You will have to read the book to find out, or at least find out why I considered that to be a possibility. Did I like Rory? Truthfully, not so much. As more of her backstory was revealed though, I started to see why she was already so angry. The way the people around her reacted to her admission made me wonder about humans in general. It may have wrapped up a bit neater than I expected, but overall, it was a page-turner and a dark, funny, and engaging read. 4.5 stars.