Thank you to MacMillan Audio and Jenni Howell for providing me with the opportunity to listen to this advance listening copy of Boys with Sharp Teeth.

I purposely went into this story without reading the full synopsis. Due to my intentional ignorance, I had no idea that there weren’t any vampires in this story. I was slightly disappointed but I quickly got over it.

I love dark academia, so that description made me dive in but I was left a bit underwhelmed. I loved it at the beginning but as the story went on, I started to get confused and a little bored. I understood Marin/Jamie’s grief but I got to a point where I felt like the story was becoming a bit disorganized. It seems like the author wanted the story to be so many things at once but everything seemed so rushed and surface level, which led me to stop caring altogether.

Maybe I need someone else to explain it to me, but I don’t think the paranormal activity was explained well. I understand we were learning from Marin/Jamie’s perspective, but that was my biggest frustration, like what the hell is going on here? Then the ending was so rushed and she just went back home from missing for TWO WEEKS and her dad doesn’t even blink an eye? What?! Like what did I just read?! I’m lost. 😂

A dark YA mystery with a twisted plot and complex characters. For fans of dark academia and character based thrillers.

Unfortunately the setting wasn’t fully developed and it tried far too hard to be as dark as possible. The set up is extremely far fetched and the plot swings with a whiplash effect in order to bring the reader along on the wildest ride it can. I was pulled out of the story several times when the tone and writing was actually really compelling.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy. These opinions are my own.

If you’re into dark academia with gothic vibes this book is for you. There was so much buildup as the mfc infiltrates the school to solve her cousins murder and get close to the suspects. About 80% in you’ll understand why everything has a slow pace. There’s a fine line between love and hate and this book nails it!

I lost interest in this one pretty early on. Perhaps YA is simply not for me anymore but I found the main character's instant judgments on people she didn't know (in re her cousin's killer) unconvincing and illogical. It was also incredibly unbelievable how she was able to sneak into the private school - institutions like that are much more careful about admissions.

Thank you Macmillan Audio and Macmillan for an audiobook ALC and a digital ARC respectively!

Boys with Sharp Teeth is a dark upper YA novel of revenge, obsession, and hunger.

To start off with praise; Jenni Howell has a descriptive prose that matches this gritty atmosphere. Paired with Jennifer Pickens’s narration of Marin, you feel our main character’s anger and angst. With the gorgeous cover of the characters and my limited ability to visualize in my head, it felt like Marin telling me this story. I had the pleasure of attending Jenni’s release party, and I appreciated hearing the journey of her writing and the book.

Charlene Thomas,at the event, had a perfect description that this book is a fever dream. I found the concept and the characters intriguing and but I felt slighted hindered in my understanding with just the audiobook initially. I did request if MacMillan would kindly give me a digital arc. Generally, I understood the plot and Jamie/Marion‘s motivation, but I had a harder time believing and understanding some of the foundations of the story. I was confused how her cousin l, whom was one of the academy’s security guard, became close with Henry, Adrian, and Baz to the point of like staying over in their dorms and being best friends. I’m not sure an elite academy would hire a 16 year as a security guard (I had to check that cause I missed that and thought he was like in his 20s+). I think this honestly would have made more sense if these characters were in college. I liked getting to know some background of the guys by the end, but I wanted to learn about everyone’s relationship sooner which I think would have helped my foundation questions.

Overall, this was a good debut—an instant NYTs Bestseller!—and I look forward to Howell’s future books!

I finished this Friday and I do not know what to think about the ending. It is kind of beautiful in the tragedy. I love the narration so much. I cannot even get over that performance.

Dark. Gothic. Academia. Revenge. The twist at the end. It was a wild ride.

Some stuff at the beginning was a little hard to believe. Like how a 17 year old girl managed to con her way into a super elite boarding school. But once I got past that, it was a really great listen.

What a fun take on dark academia with a ton of tension. This is the first book I have reads from this author, and TRUST I will be back for more.

Well this wasn’t at all what I expected! I can’t really tell you what I expected vs what I got, because I may give away too much. This story is full of so much pain, regret, hate and darkness. Is death the end, or just the beginning of truly feeling everything? I went into this thinking humans would actually be monsters, but it turned out the humanity was the real monster. This is a perfect YA dark academia. I was gifted an ALC of this title from NetGalley and the publisher and all opinions here are my own.

*received for free from netgalley for honest review* This was a good read, definitely kinda creepy lol im a sucker for books like this tho so i really enjoyed reading it

<boys with sharp teeth is about dangerous boys, the people drawn to them, and what happens when love turns into something harder to survive.>


i expected so much more than what i got. there is a boarding school, a mystery and all of that but it fell so short from what i imagined. and with a title and a cover like that i expected a lot more.

After the mysterious death of her cousin, Marin is out for revenge. With a little hacking and manipulation, she has found herself enrolled in the prestigious Huntsworth Academy. Marin knows exactly who is responsible, she just needs proof. Can she find the evidence she needs before she’s found out?
This was very dark and twisty and felt like the true dark academia I was promised. Morally gray, untouchable rich boys quoting Shakespeare?? I don’t know what else you would need. While it’s not a romance, the push and pull between attraction and revulsion that Marin was experiencing hooked me from the beginning.

Thanks to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for the ALC!

After her beloved cousin, Sam, is found dead in a shallow creek on the campus of Huntsworth Academy, Marin James vows to get revenge. She knows his death was not an accident, and better than that, she knows who is responsible. Adrian Hargraves and Henry Wu, two untouchable rich boys, who are among the most socially elite in the school had befriended Sam, and pulled him into their toxic world.

Marin is determined to find the truth of what happened to Sam. She ends up infiltrating Huntsworth as a totally new person: Jamie Vain. She's after one thing, revenge. From the very start, this novel gave me HEAVY Foul Is Fair vibes. Everything from the set-up, to the strong focus on getting revenge, and the narrative voice, all reminded me of that book, which I loved.

I listened to the audio and thought the narrator did a great job with the initial tone; it was morose, and felt heavy and serious. However, as it continued, I couldn't help but feel that it was too one-note, which started to get old. I feel like the further I read, the more it started to lose me. It was a progression of disinterest. The first half was really strong, I did love the set-up and how mysterious it all felt, but the closer it got to the end, the more it went off the rails for me.

I will say, I do feel this is categorized well as Dark Academia. Over the years, it seems a lot of books get called that, but only loosely fall into that category. This does have all the necessary components of a solid Dark Academia, even though the execution fell a little short, IMO. I enjoyed the philosophical concepts that were incorporated into the story. I liked how much of a personal battle the MC was having with her own mission and place in this story. That aspect was really well done. I think if you enjoy this sort of dark tone, paired with a more cerebral storyline, you'll like this one a lot. Sadly, for me, the ending just left me lost. IDK what the heck happened.

Nevertheless, I am glad that I picked this one up. I would definitely read more from this author in the future, and I know a lot of Readers are going to enjoy this one. Thank you to the publisher, Roaring Brook Press and Macmillan Audio, for providing me with copies to read and review. I really appreciate it!!

I got lured in by the cover and the comparison to the Raven Boys, but sadly it didn’t live up to the hype. It felt too long and pretty predictable. The story/premise had potential, but it was way less supernatural than I expected and the characters weren’t as fleshed out as they could be. I wanted to like it more - it was fine, but nothing memorable. I listened to the audiobook and the narrator was good. Thanks to NetGalley for the audiobook.

First off, thank you NetGalley for this Audio-Arc of Boys With Sharp Teeth by Jenni Howell. This was a highly anticipated read for me, and I’m so happy I got to read it early.

Review:

As an ARC reader, I went into Boys With Sharp Teeth with high hopes—and while there were moments where the writing truly shined, I found myself struggling with the overall story. There were lines that made me pause in a good way, ones I wished I could highlight or annotate if I had a physical copy in hand. Jenni Howell definitely has a style that can hit beautifully when it lands.

That said, the plot itself didn’t work for me. A lot of the events felt rushed or disconnected, almost as if things were happening just to keep the story moving, rather than unfolding naturally. I often found myself confused or questioning the logic behind certain developments, and by the end, it unfortunately left me feeling more frustrated than satisfied.

There’s definitely talent here, and I’d be curious to see what the author writes next—but this particular storyline just didn’t land for me.

I’m thinking it’s a 2.5, but rounded up to 3/5 in some cases for me🥲

Unfortunately, this is not what I had hoped to read. Firstly, I thought this was queer based on the cover andddd I was so wrong.

Now, the beginning of this story had me hooked. But when things got paranormal … I just couldn’t really take it anymore.

Absolutely fantastic read! I was captivated since the beginning and couldn’t stop reading it. Had vibes of My Darling Dreadful mixed with When Stars Come Out. The narrator was also *perfect* for this book.

Boys with Sharp Teeth written by Jenni Howell and narrated by Jennifer Pickens is a YA tale about secrets and revenge at an elite boarding school. Boys with Sharp Teeth did not live up to the hype. I understand the vision. It felt like a tv series that went on two seasons too long. Some editing to cut down unnecessary chapters would have helped me get through the book with a higher rating. Narration was fine. It was difficult to distinguish between the two males, Adrian and Henry.

I really wanted to like this because the blurb/description sounded so good but it just felt flat for me. The characters were bland and the plot was stale and did not suck me in. The writing style also seemed to jump all over the place when it came to the character thoughts.

Thanks, Macmillan Audio, for the ALC!⁣
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Happy Pub Day, BOYS WITH SHARP TEETH by Jenni Howell! I had quite the reading experience with this audiobook, narrated by Jennifer Pickens. It was fantastic, even overwhelming and intense at times, but that is expected with dark academia.⁣
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I enjoyed listening to this book because the narration enhanced the story. I could close my eyes, hear the voices, and fall into Howell’s descriptions.⁣
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This book made me discover a sub-genre in YA of “Why Choose” that I didn’t realize we had, but I greatly enjoyed it.⁣
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The four MCs intrigued me. When you are in Marin’s head, the main FMC, she guides you to see what she’s seeing and what she isn’t so you can make some guesses before her. It’s a fun challenge to see if you can figure out the mystery or if you were completely led astray.⁣
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BOYS WITH SHARP TEETH has so many unexpected twists. Some are little ones, but some you are like, “Wait; pause; rewind; I need to hear that again.” Howell is creative, and with this being her debut, I can’t wait to see what comes next! I’ll be in line for it!⁣
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Also, friends, while it is a YA novel, it’s VERY heavy at times. Check your content warnings - (in the comments)⁣
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Have you looked at the gorgeous cover by @francesthewren? I think it is S.T.U.N.N.I.N.G.⁣


Content Warnings: (per the author on her website) This book explores justice and revenge as well as love and loss. Death in all its pain and all its forms, including death by suicide, is often discussed–as well as the ways, some beautiful and some heinous, that we try to avoid it. Please read with care.