“Death is the easiest thing in the world.”

plot: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
characters: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
writing: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

So incredibly thankful to be able to read a digital arc of this from the publishers.

This is my first five star read in quite literally months. This book was so beautifully written with characters that are tragic and yet beautiful, with so much depth. I read it in one sitting. I could not get enough, every time I would take a break this book was all I could think about. I was drawn to it.

This story has everything I could ever want: romance, mystery, the eerie feeling that something wasn’t quite right, characters that are interesting just as individuals- even when you take away the story.

It was an enticing tale of grief, love and hate- and what separates the emotions… and what doesn’t. I have very few books I would re-read in my lifetime, but this is one of them. Even now, writing this, I am still in awe at both the simplicity and the complexity of this book-and trying to figure out how it can be both at once.

Jenni Howell is incredible at giving the readers fascinating stories that aren’t too complicated and elaborate, but still have teeth.

Be wary of the things that look back from your reflection

| young adult fiction | dark academia | thriller | psychological thriller | philosophy | contemplative | mystery | paranormal | PNR | love and hate | eerie | spooky | reflection | mind bending | lush | gothic | murder | thought provoking | beautifully dark | captivating | debut novel | psychology | emotions | revenge |

Would I recommend it? Absolutely, yes.
Is it spicy? No, this is not that kind of story.

This is not a story of romance, but rather a twisted and teetering push and pull between love and hate, dream and reality. For fans of deep philosophical thought, this story is set in a world of dark academia. You may enter Huntsworth Academy bright-eyed and full of purpose, but inevitably, you will leave utterly reeling, lost, and on the brink of near emotional exhaustion.

This story will have you contemplating the meaning and reality of your existence and asking yourself abstract questions you may have never considered to contemplate. If you know anything about philosophy and the questions that arise in philosophical thought, you will find great meaning in this story.

A story of revenge containing all the twisted, dark, and depraved feelings of someone lusting after retribution. Reading this story felt like a fever dream, leaving me ravenous for its cavernous conclusion. Boys with Sharp Teeth will intrigue and infect you with doubt, lucidity, and delusion. Like a fever dream, you may wonder: Is this happening, or am I crazy?

The writing of Jenni Howell is not to be underestimated. The language, cadence, and complexity of her writing are like nothing I have ever read. It was powerful, beautiful, and lavishly lush. Full of complexities and descriptions that feel the way a secretive whisper lingers, like it is just for you.

I never read thrillers, but I was so intrigued by this story. It was so mysterious and thought-provoking that I could not describe the events or thoughts of this book- only that it is something you will understand, which cannot be explained.

I received a copy of this book via NetGalley for review. This in no way affects my opinion of the book. Thank you, NetGalley and Macmillan, for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Happy Reading, Friends xx

This is a spoiler-free review! This is an ARC review - Boys with Sharp Teeth will be available on April 8, 2025.

I would first like to thank NetGalley and Roaring Book Press for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. The premise of this book - and its gorgeous cover - drew me in immediately, and I was thrilled that a paranormal mystery would be making its way into my pile. This book does not waste any time in introducing the main character and the haunting reason on why she has enrolled in Huntsworth Academy. Right off the bat, I was reminded of how I felt when reading The Secret History by Donna Tartt - there was something sinister in the air, and you could tell that there were secrets hidden between the walls of this school and its students.

Marin has infiltrated this prestigious school in order to uncover her cousin's murderer, and in order to do so, she has enrolled under the alias Jamie Vane, and is quick to associate herself with the group of students she suspects of being guilty. With Henry, Adrian, and Baz at the top of her list, she begins her quest to gain evidence and confessions to the crime that took her cousin from her, all while trying not to tip them off or reveal her true identity. However, things are not as they seem at this school, and something much more unnerving has encompassed the lives of some of these students. As Marin grows closer to her peers, she unknowingly thrusts herself into a paranormal conundrum that has its talons in the very individuals she seeks answers from.

Henry and Adrian's relationship is so incredibly complex and as readers, we are able to see how co-dependent and intricate it is, even without necessarily having their perspectives throughout the book. We see their lives tethered together through Marin's eyes and the slow progression of Marin herself being weaved into their intimate and alluring dependency. My mind kept referring to the trio as the evil Challengers - everything from their interactions to their intimacies are convoluted and go well beyond the surface level. Adrian and Henry go in tandem with one another - where one is, the other follows - and this certainly causes some riffs as the story goes on and Marin develops differing relationships with the boys.

I fell in love with the setting of this book - Howell does an excellent job immersing the reader into the story and making you feel as though you are walking the halls or attending the parties with the students. The introduction of paranormal elements was a great choice - much like Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo, we are able to enter a dark academia setting while experiencing something greater than mortal beings. This addition to the story only solidified my interest and captured me into the plot - we discover everything as Marin does, and it allows us to stay oblivious to the true nature of some of the students until the very moment the information is revealed and we are thrust into the mortifying truth.

Boys with Sharp Teeth was one of my most anticipated 2025 reads and it truly lived up to all of my expectations. Rarely do I see a young adult mystery that captures the true horrors of what people are capable of while also diving into the unknown and paranormal. This is the perfect book for those looking to ease into the genre without being overloaded with information. Howell's incorporation of Decartes and classical literature elevated the undertones of this novel to the fullest extent, and makes me even more excited to Meditations, which has been sitting on my shelf for a few months begging me to crack it open.

🪞ARC REVIEW🪞

• It's a bit difficult to find the words to describe what I think of this debut novel. I was entranced, in awe, disgusted, and felt so many raw emotions as I read this unique story. I was constantly in wonder over what would happen next.

• Boys With Sharp Teeth is a dark novel that intertwines philosophical ideas into its poetic writing, filled with love, hate, obsession, fears, and more. It dives into the complexities of life and death, and how not everything is black and white, easy to trust or understand. It makes you question the true reasoning for the death of the FMC's cousin.

• While I didn't like some of the situations that occurred in the novel, I can understand why the author wrote it the way she did. I'm still in shock, trying to wrap my head around the crazy ending. This novel was a delightful surprise, one that will live in my mind for many years to come.
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🪞If you enjoy these tropes, give it a try:🪞

🪞Thriller
🪞Dark Academia
🪞Plot Twists
🪞Hidden Identity
🪞Murder Mystery
🪞Complex Characters
🪞Messages Exchanged With Unknown Character

⭐⭐⭐⭐💫 4.5/5
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TW: Please be sure to check trigger warnings before reading. Some included are alcohol, drugs, suicidal ideation, death, etc.

I really really wanted to like this book; unfortunately I did not.

✔ The writing style is really atmospheric and lush; it adds so much to the environment and world-building for this world.
✔ Given the dark topics, this was really well balanced between the expectations for YA and a mature storytelling style.

✖ It sometimes felt like the plot went on and on into nowhere. The beautiful writing style didn’t really successfully prop up how boring a significant number of scenes were. I felt like I was far too deep into Marin’s head and not in a good way - especially given how much she second-guesses herself.
✖ Given the slowness of the plot at times, it also didn’t serve the story that we begin with quite a few far reaches in terms of suspending disbelief. How could a 17-year-old successfully leave home, effectively “going missing”, without any police reports/anyone at all recognizing her and how did she fraudulently become a student? The explanation given wasn’t very believable or even sensical.
✖ Some of the characters read as “trying too hard to be edgy” in a way that didn’t always make sense. I appreciate a messed-up morality system as much as the next reader but you can be morally gray/interesting without being at the extreme of any given archetypes/personality traits.

2/5 stars.

Overall, I really hyped up this book and it did not live up to what I wanted out of it. I suspect that I would feel similarly with a reread or even future sequels.
Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Boys with Sharp Teeth was honestly one I was anticipating the most to read this year. That cover was obviously what grabbed my attention first. It is so stunning. As for the story, just when I thought I knew where it was going I was completely shocked by the twists. I really didn't expect a lot of it coming from the description. Im going to be terrified of mirrors for a while. It's definitely dark but stays in the YA lane. I understand that it is a standalone but it really didn't need to be so long. The short chapters with mini cliffhangers is honestly what kept me reading it. I pushed through because I needed answers and was overall happy with the outcome. I hope this finds its audience. I think the blurb needs to be revised for that to happen.

This was god awful. I don't recommend it in the slightest.

I spent so much of my reading time wondering, "What in the ever loving fuck is going on?" The prose feels so forced. It feels like the descriptions were trying too hard to give atmosphere to the story, to drive the story, to make the story more than it actually was. The dramatics of teenagers never ceases to amaze me (in a bad way). I think if I was 15 years younger I would've eaten this up, but I think I'm just too old or too skeptical of the language and behaviour presented here. I know teens are angsty and moody, but man, have a brain.

Howell wrote the main character with massive main character syndrome, which shouldn't ever be as obvious as it was. It just reeks of I'm-not-like-other-main-characters plus some incredibly immature thoughts provided to us from said main character. The main character is too aggravating for me. One moment she's at a loss, the next moment she's doing something that feels out of character for her. It doesn't feel as though the author has who she is locked in enough. I am aware of our pov and main character's limits here though.

The character interactions are either so blase they work against the story, or they're leaning in too hard with the dramatics. I often find myself much too distracted with the smallest things the characters end up doing or saying because a lot of it doesn't feel natural. The diaglogue feels so forced as well. It feels like the author is using that as a means to explain the character rather than other descriptors or actions. It's weak writing. There's entirely too much telling and not enough showing.

The relationship between the main character and the other three is not genuine. It is point blank forced for the plot. And I get that she's there to solve a mystery (she's a terrible detective) so she doesn't really need a real relationship with the trio, but she's not getting very far without it. The author does very little in trying to develop their relationship and make it help progress the plot. There's either too much focus on the characters or too much focus on the plot and not enough of a mix of both working well together. There's also very little, if any, character development on anyone's part.

It's entirely too bold of the main character to go to this school with like a very half-baked (if that) plan that starts with having no plan when she arrives. I find it incredibly absurd to swing from the death in one week to being like, "Yeah, I'm going to chase this mourning period with finding out what happened to him." ????? like girl your plan is non-existent and you're already shoving your foot in your mouth. The school setting was also not the best idea, it really hindered the story, whatever the story is.

The writing is too eager to explain and tell things the main character is thinking or assuming and it's entirely too obvious. It leads to poor writing. The scene transitions were also lacking. Much of the time it was too much description or the lack of description. Sure we can imply she got on the bike, but a lot of the choices the author made for stuff left me wondering what the hell.

The comparison to The Raven Boys is a little insane, besides the whole latin usage, and at best that's not even a good comparison. The Latin being used in here also feels rather.....bad? Poor? Weak? It's being used to move the plot along but not in a sufficient enough way where you NEED it. You could easily remove it and the plot seems to function just the same. I think this is reaching too hard to be like TRC.

Halfway through and I still had no idea what the plot was about. There wasn't even a slow reveal of parts of the plot really. Yes, mirrors scary, but okay? Not enough of it was in the plot. While I understand the main character is oblivious to what happened and how the school functions and the other three's relationship to one another, there is far too much time spent dancing around trying to get the plot to progress. Way too much of said plot progression is spent on dialogue.

If this wasn't an ARC I would've DNF'd this earlier on.

The only good thing about this book is its cover! The artist did such a wonderful job.

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for the eARC!

i enjoyed this book so much!!! Beautiful writing with a beautiful plot and complex characters. Overall, a wonderful story. I enjoyed the aesthetic of the story and it was truly such a great and fun book. No critiques from me!

ᯓ★ˎˊ˗ net galley review
Thank you so much to Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for providing me with the ARC of this book.

I wanted to like this more than I did. I was very conflicted in my rating for this book, because I love the Raven Cycle Series and will read anything remotely similar, so when I saw this was pitched as being similar, I ran at the chance to read it. I was also excited at the hope that it would be queer but it lacked in that area too for me. If you read this with no expectations and comparisons, it is phenomenal and a really good read, but because I was expecting those things I was left disappointed.

After her cousin's death is ruled an overdose, Marin James decides to enroll in the private school where her cousin was a bodyguard, knowing that the bruises on the back of his arms tell a different story no one cares to listen to. As Jamie Vane, she seeks to uncover the truth of who murdered her cousin and make them pay. Her targets - his closest friends. However, as she gets closer to Baz, Henry and Graves, she learns not everything is as it seems and she becomes entangled in something much darker than anticipated.

Boys with Sharp Teeth is dark and poetic. It raises a lot of philosophical questions as Marin befriends her suspects and tries to find her true self while posing as someone else. I thought the conclusion of the book was wonderful. It was dark and bittersweet and left open ended enough to leave the reader speculating what will happen to the main character. However, the last 10% of the book does not make up for the rest of it. I wasn't fully convinced of the chemistry between the characters, especially considering the short timeline of the book. I know they're teenagers but the dark insta-love wasn't convincing or interesting. Because the focus of the boys with sharp teeth is them being mysterious, philosophical and brooding, they didn't feel like well rounded characters The author knows how to write a good ending, and I loved the plot but the execution of it just wasn't for me.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

This is a story of a girl trying to discover the identity of the person/people that murdered her cousin, but can she keep hold of who she is while pretending to be someone else. Marin's cousin has been murdered while working as a security guard for a prestigious boarding school. She has three suspects in mind when she infiltrates the school to solve the crime. As Marin pretends to be Jamie Vane, she gains the trust of those she suspects, but can she solve the crime before she loses who she is completely to the person she is pretending to be. Will she survive solving the crime?

This book was a dark read that still has me trying to understand exactly what happened with the boys in the story. Someone who likes dark gothic novels would enjoy this story.

When Marin James' cousin is found dead on the prestigious Huntsworth Academy campus, she’s certain Adrian Hargraves and Henry Wu are responsible. Determined to uncover the truth, she infiltrates the academy as a student, seeking justice. But as she gets closer to the boys and their secrets, the lines between truth and deception begin to blur.

I loved how this book unfolded—the character development was compelling, and the twists kept me hooked until the very end.

Thank you to NetGalley, Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group, and Roaring Brook Press for the ARC!

How far would you go to learn the truth? Boys with Sharp Teeth follows Marin as she goes undercover in an elite private school to uncover who was behind the death of her cousin. As she journeys into this higher society to uncover the truth, what she learns might just swallow her whole.

The dark academia atmosphere drew me in & I was mesmerized by the lyrical writing style. Although the pacing is slow for the first half of the book, it starts to snowball into the unforgettable ending that I wasn’t expecting.

This love/hate triangle that’s mingled with obsession was captivating to read about. And I enjoyed seeing a budding friendship occurring along side it. I was really invested in these relationships & seeing how it was going to play out.

However, for certain parts required suspension of disbelief: how easily she was able to get into the school, how the school let her stay to the end of the semester after the check bounced, boys & girls sharing rooms, nobody reporting her missing for the weeks she’s gone. On top of that, the story is told over about a month yet it feels like so much more time has passed by.

Despite the flaws I was able to really enjoy this debut novel. Don’t be fooled by the fact this is YA as this book covers dark themes & readers should check the trigger warning list carefully.

Thank you Net Galley & the publisher for the arc!!

Fantastic ending! Originally I requested this arc because of the cover, it’s absolutely gorgeous. Well, I can tell you that the writing is just as good as the cover is. Obsession, dark thoughts, revenge, flawed characters… this has a little bit of everything in it. It was such a compelling read, I couldn’t stop and got totally absorbed into the story I loved it so much! Easy 5 stars.

Unfortunately I decided to DNF this at 30%. The intriguing premise and beautiful cover is what drew me to this book originally, and I was interested in it in the beginning but it was quite overwritten imo and it became extremely distracting to the point I couldn’t focus on the characters or the story. I think if the plot was a bit faster paced I could have dealt with the purple prose but sadly this ended up not being for me.

It might be for you if you like YA dark academia, murder mystery, character driven stories, and flowery writing.

Boys with Sharp Teeth is a story of a young girl who lost her cousin to a tragic overdose, but she believes that his death wasn't an overdose it was instead, a murder. She blames the students of the school he was employed at - then takes on an elaborate ruse to get into that school and find out the truth about his death, and gets sucked into the seedy magical underbelly of a private high school.

While I loved the premise, the book itself was written in such flowery language that it often didn't quite make sense. It sometimes became hard to keep track of which character was doing what in the long descriptions of action on the page. So much so that some of the twists didn't feel like twists since they were things I assumed because I thought she was talking about one character when she was talking about another. While that may have been a bit intentional -- blurring the lines between the two male leads because of their complex relationship but it was confusing.

I liked the end of the story I thought it resolved in an interesting way, letting the darkness consume Marin/Jamie in a way that the story felt like it built to naturally-- but overall I didn't love the book. It was interesting, but not one of my favorites.

Pretty Little Liars meets The Raven Boys? Sold! Jenni Howell’s Boys with Sharp Teeth is a haunting dive into the dark academia genre, blending revenge, obsession, and even the supernatural.

Marin James remodels herself into Jamie Vane and infiltrates the prestigious Huntsworth Academy to investigate the truth about her cousin Sam’s death. What begins as a mission of justice and revenge soon spirals into a tangle of blurred morality, eldritch horrors, and potentially even some psychological unraveling.

Jamie often left me questioning her reliability as a narrator. (I'm all for Mara Dyer unreliable narrator vibes) Does she truly see ghosts as her mother had? Or is she struggling with inherited schizophrenia? This ambiguity had me flip flopping around for over half the book. I was sort of wrong on both accounts, but I enjoyed the ride. We learn the truth as Jamie does. I'll admit it was beyond anything I predicted.

Don't be fine by the beautiful cover and inexistent settle on love triangle. Jamie's relationships with Henry and Graves feel less like romance and more like a volatile obsession. Henry wants something from her, and everything, including life and death, is a game to him. Graves just wants her gone before she's in too deep and finds out just exactly the horrible secret he hides is.

While some aspects of the plot require suspension of disbelief—such as Marin managing to create an entire identity and fake a check at an elite school that churns out future CEOs and government leaders—the emotional depth and philosophical undertones more than compensate. Howell doesn’t shy away from exploring the darker facets of humanity.

If you're into dark academia and morally gray characters, Boys with Sharp Teeth is a must-read. Just stay away from any mirrors.

Rating: 4.25/5 Penguins
Quick Reasons: gorgeous, atmospheric prose; I couldn't stop highlighting passages; dark, edgy, full- throttle from start to finish; that ending is perfection; this read sucked me in and left me hollow

Huge thanks to Jenni Howell, MacMillan Children's Publishing House, and Netgalley for access to this title! My review is voluntarily written abs in no way altered or impacted by this gesture.

This book crooked its finger at me from the shadows, begged me to step into its pages, then ripped me apart at the end. The prose is almost poetry, sing- song pretty and poignant with every breath. I was caged from the very first sentence, trapped and scrambling toward the answers that were, throughout, sprinkled into every page.

These characters are deep and dark and full of secrets. You will find yourself loving and loathing them. None of them, except maybe Baz, are what they seem, no redemption arcs to graft the way toward happy endings. All of them will break you. This story treads a narrow line between what it means to save, what it means to be saved, and how each can utterly change you.

At the end, you will be left questioning what is real, who is left, and how such decisions are made. This read warped and twisted itself into every crevice of my mind-- and if given the chance, I would let it again. I highly recommend this title-- the prose is poignant, the characters are exquisitely written, and the ending is bound to leave you shuttered. Don't look too long into the mirror, Penguins... you might just get stuck there.

As someone who loves morally questionable characters and dark academia vibes, this book was a relatively enjoyable read. However, the pacing was a tad slow and I did not necessarily care too much for Marin’s character and her endeavors, I did find the group and their tense moments to be the most interesting part of the novel, however, I did not really enjoy the mysterious female lead harem trope as it felt a little flat and overdone.

The winning area in Howell’s novel is how each scene is developed and described to the point where I can feel the gloom and moodiness as the plot unfolds, so If you enjoy books by their aesthetic and scene setting, this is the book for you. Overall, this book is a decently developed debut novel and I’m interested to see Howell’s continuing work.

Thank you MacMillan for allowing me the chance to read and review this book in ARC format!

After the mysterious death of her cousin Sam, Marin James infiltrates the prestigous Huntsworth Academy to find out what happened to him. Trading in her identity for someone else while getting close to the three people Sam was last seen with to unravel the truth. But there's something sinister at play and it might just consume her.

This gave me serious Pretty Little Liars (if it were dark academia) vibes with its obsession, lies, and the blurring of lines between love and hate. This book surprised me in the best possible ways. I was not expecting paranormal elements and I ate. it. up. I loved the writing and some sentences were so beautiful they crawled under my skin and refused to leave. It was absolutely haunting. The main character Marin was an unhinged narrator and the story so infused with lies that you're completely unsure of anything. Her paranoia became mine and it made me question everything that was being revealed as truth.

My only complaint was the pacing felt a little slow at times for my taste and some instances surrounding her faking her way into a prestigious school felt a tad unbelievable.

Emmensly enjoyable none the less. I look forward to more works from this author in the future!


4⭐️