The audiobook narration is probably the only thing keeping me with Boys with Sharp Teeth for so long. You can feel the grief in Jennifer Pickens voice. I ended up wanting to listen to Pickens even if I was kind of avoiding this audiobook. Boys with Sharp Teeth is a book about rage, revenge, and loss. It has a fascinating premise which starts off strong, but unfortunately loses all steam. Spending so much time with the characters ends up flattening them into caricatures and doesn't advance them nearly enough to hook you. Boys with Sharp Teeth is way too much cat and mouse without enough bait to keep me invested.

This was not for me. I listened to about a quarter of this but the author was just taking too long to get to the point. She kept circling it, but wouldn't go there. In the end, I just couldn't keep listening. I'm sure others will like this, but it just wasn't for me.

Unfortunately this one was a DNF for me. This felt like it relied too much on tired aesthetic references instead of building something believable. The story tries so hard to be edgy and profound but ends up feeling hollow and pretentious. I never connected with the characters, and the main character’s revenge plot lacked any real urgency. The world building was inconsistent, and the writing was so overdone it became confusing and too flowery. I was rally looking forward to this one, but unfortunately it just didn't work for me.

WOW! Marin is a baddie. This book is trully a thriller, and a GOOD one at that.

Everything from the ambiance, to the stakes, to the vengeance is drenched in MOODY, thriller, what-is-real vibes.

Maybe it was because of the narrator's voice (who did an incredible job!!!), but Marin reminded me of Ruth from the Ozarks TV show in the best of ways. She's bold, cunning, vicious, and trying to outgrow her own naiveté as fast as possible in order to get revenge.

I loved that there was a spookiness to this premise that makes you wonder if everyone is an unreliable narrator, or if there really is nefarious magic at play.

If you love YA plots where young women battle seductive foes, classism, and sinister secrets, read this immediately!

🪞"But I know boys, and now I know monsters, and there isn't that much difference between them."🪞

🔪HURRY UP! Get in here. There is no time to explain. Just read this review and then read this book. Please and thank you!

📙Boys with Sharp Teeth
👩🏼@byjennihowell
🗣@fiercereads
📅April 8th, 2025

🧠My Thoughts🧠
When you think of a YA book, what are some words that you DON'T associate with them?

Provocative

Seductive

Addictive

Yet somehow.... those are the words that came to mind while reading Boys with Sharp Teeth. And let me tell you, I'm not even mad.

This book alone has shown me how much YA has evolved in the 15 years I've been reviewing books. I am so jealous of today's youth and this being where their reading journeys start.

The gloomy atmosphere and the delicious dark academia setting, oh how beautiful this entire book was. HOW IS THIS A DEBUT NOVEL?! 😭 I am absolutely blown away, and if this is what the author does with her debut.... I'm not sure I'm ready for anything else she writes. I might just lose myself in her beautiful writing.

I can't wait to have a physical copy in my hands so I can reread it and tab all my favorite quotes because, believe me, there are So. Many. Quotes.

Side note: This book was a wonderful start to my birthday month. Here's hoping it continues to be a great reading month!

Thank you so much to @netgalley & @macmillan.audio for this ALC. All thoughts are my own!

💬ⓆⓄⓉⒹ: What's a favorite book from your teenage years?

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan audio for the ARC of this book. I loved the narration and Jennifer Pickens did an amazing job creating a visceral and emotional audio experience for this book. Unfortunately, this one wasn’t for me. I was very intrigued by the murder mystery / dark academia premise, but it became too vague and repetitive very quickly into the story. I believe if this was aged up and not a YA novel, I could have enjoyed more of the cerebral & philosophical moments — but I truly couldn’t imagine any 17 year olds (real or fictional) talking or have inner monologues like these characters. There were a lot of (insignificant, even) plot holes that I couldn’t get past that were distracting (coed dorms, FMC sneaking into an elite boarding school undetected, etc.). Although this book is only 400 pages, it felt more like 1,000 with the way it dragged on. I will say that the writing was very unique and atmospheric, which I loved. I just wish some more actual plot points were established instead of constantly feeling like the meaning of the story was out of my grasp. I would definitely try reading another book from this author, as their prose is very beautiful, but the “I don’t know what is happening” 99% of this book wasn’t for me!

This book completely pulled me in with its dark academia vibe, twisted emotions, and gorgeous, haunting prose. Marin’s journey to uncover the truth behind her cousin’s death at Huntsworth Academy was full of tension, obsession, and blurred lines between right and wrong. While some plot points, like how easily she fakes her way into an elite school, felt a little far-fetched, the atmosphere and character dynamics more than made up for it. Adrian and Henry are both so magnetic and unsettling that I couldn’t stop reading. The pacing is slow at times, but the emotional depth and stunning writing kept me hooked. If you love dark, layered stories with a touch of the supernatural, this one is for you.

This dark academia horror follows Marin and her quest to fake her way as a student at a prestigious boarding school long enough to solve her cousin's murder. Based on the title, I fully expected some vampires to show up, but -spoiler alert- there were none.

I had a difficult time keeping the two main male students straight because they were a bit too similar. The magical bit was not developed enough for it to be very coherent and I felt confused at the end. I didn't find the characters relatable and they were all unlikeable, which I don't mind in a story but some people do. I really liked the whole premise of the story, but it needs to be tightened up for clarity and it dragged in places. I'm still not really sure what happened there at the end.

Good audio narration.

This one was sooooo promising…

When I started this book I was sure I was going to love it. Sadly, the more progress I made, the less I enjoyed it.

The author has a great writing style, quite descriptive, but kind of eerie and storyteller-like.

The main thing that didn’t do it for me was the plot. I was so disappointed !

The ending fell flat and I sometimes asked myself if I was the only one confused about the characters, or if the author was too.

I liked Marin’s character in the beginning and appreciated how she started driven by purpose and ended completely lost. As for the other characters, they felt kind of one dimensional.

Dark, intense, and utterly captivating, Boys with Sharp Teeth dives deep into the complexities of friendship, trauma, and survival. Jenni Howell’s gritty prose pulls you into a world where loyalty is tested and secrets cut deep. A haunting, unforgettable read.

Boys with Sharp Teeth is a unique dark tale that takes place in Huntsworth Academy where Marin is trying to find out what actually happened to her cousin who mysteriously died on campus.
the narrator did an incredible job of capturing Marin’s anger and grief throughout this story. as a listener, I could truly feel her hatred towards Adrian and Henry and her desperation to avenge her cousin’s death.
although I loved the mysterious dark academia setting and the uncovering of twisted secrets that lurked there, half way through Marin’s pov started to feel monotonous to me. I found myself wanting more depth from this story and its characters but many aspects felt surface-level other than the intense emotions Marin experiences. I loved the angst in the beginning but I feel like it never really developed or changed as the story progressed.
thank you Netgalley and Roaring Book Press for this e-arc in exchange for an honest review!

After the main character’s cousin dies, she enrolls in the elite boarding school he had been attending and infiltrates the friend group he was a part of.
I really thought this would be a vampire book and it just wasn’t. The character development was strong and each character had their own personality and backstory.
Honestly this book was just too sad and upsetting for me. I also disliked every single character. I think I may just not have been the audience but I couldn’t get behind it.

Genre: Fiction – Dark Academia, Light Horror, Murder Mystery
Age: Teen
Themes: Dealing with death, revenge, elite schools
Read For: Netgalley
Obtained From: Thanks to Macmillan Audio and Netgalley for the Advanced Listening Copy of this Audiobook
Song Recommendation for the vibe:
Hashtags: #netgalley #boyswithsharpteeth #academia #darkacademia #boardingschoolbooks

This book was enjoyable. I’m such a sucker for dark academia and this book fit that so well! This was 3.5 stars rounded up to 4 stars. For me, I felt as though some of the book was a bit confusing and I didn’t quite like the ending of the book. I think the characters were fleshed out great and you couldn’t guess which character not to trust.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this audiobook.

Amazing cover art, dead body, dark academia. Yet, the plot did not keep me interested. I struggled to finish.
The narrator was amazing and helped me get through this book.

I went into Boys with Sharp Teeth expecting something moody, mysterious, and maybe even a little dangerous. And while the premise had serious dark academia potential — elite prep school, dead cousin, and magnetic, possibly monstrous boys — the execution just didn’t deliver for me.

The protagonist, Marin, starts off with a lot of fire, but her sudden and convenient assimilation into Huntsworth felt too fast to be believable. The chemistry with the two boys, Adrian and Henry, was meant to be electric and edgy, but it read more like chaotic whiplash than tension. I kept waiting for the intrigue to take hold or for the supernatural elements to truly elevate the plot, but things stayed vague and murky well past the halfway point.

Atmosphere-wise, there’s an attempt to mix horror, romance, and mystery, but it ended up feeling like a swirl of tropes rather than a focused story. When the love/hate dynamic overshadowed the actual murder mystery, I realized I was more frustrated than curious — and that’s usually my cue to bow out.

This might work better for readers who enjoy messy characters, toxic relationships, and a slow-burn descent into madness, but it just wasn’t the right fit for me.

Honeslty, this just wasn't for me. The vibes were cool and I get what the author was going for, but I struggled to stay interested.

Unfortunately, I DNFd this book at 60%. While I loved how atmospheric it was and the narrator was great, I found it difficult to connect to the characters or understand what their motivations were. The protagonist was the exception—Marin had a clear goal and a fairly distinct voice. However, the dialogue further distanced the reader from characters that were already unfamiliar. I can't imagine any teens (or adults) who would speak in philosophical debates and literary quotes. It worked for dark academia, but it asked a bit too much suspension of disbelief from the reader. The pacing was another issue for me; I really did enjoy the premise and I wanted to see where it was going, but at over halfway through I didn't feel any closer to answers than in chapter one. Marketing may have contributed to this problem, as it has been marketed as mystery/romance/paranormal, but it felt more like a literary YA with most time spent watching the others and thinking about Marin's past. At this point in the novel, I would have expected more than an unbelievable miscommunication leading to a half-hearted relationship with Henry and a few different suggestions of other deaths at the school.
The comparison to Raven Boys initially pulled me in, but I needed the characters to feel more like actual people, even in their unique setting and circumstances.

I wanted to love this book, but it was a struggle to get through it. The narrator of the audio was awesome, but I found the writing to be "purple prose" and quite clunky/convoluted at times. The book is more vibes than anything. And yet, the setting/description was lacking.

I definitely think I enjoyed this book more by listening to it than I would have reading it. I can see how sometimes it would seem long winded but I really did enjoy the story and the voice actors.

“Boys with Sharp Teeth,” by Jenni Howell

A girl going to a private school to find her cousin’s murderer is a solid plot and I was glued to the story. I love the dark academy mixed in with a bully type romance and tons of mystery. I loved how the school had a supernatural quality to it where the students were doing tarot and stuff, it was a nice touch. I loved the complicated main characters and not being able to trust anyone, even just being a reader I felt the lack of trust in each character when they interacted. I think readers who like RuNyx or Kaylie Smith’s books would love this book.

I listened to the audiobook version and the narration was so good. I loved the pacing and voice. It really brought the book to life in my mind.
5 out of 5 stars, so good.

-Academy
-Ghosts
-Secret Identity

Thank you for the ARC, Netgalley.