I’ve read neither We Were Liars nor The Raven Boys; but I have seen Dangerous Liaisons, Dawson’s Creek, and some 21 Jump Street (the good one).  Boys with Sharp Teeth is *kinda like the latter three.  The Goodreads shelves for it are way off, though.  Mind you, don’t go bombing the reviews because some folks didn’t shelve this one correctly because that’s dumb.  As it is, I’m not sure how to feel about it.  Howell’s writing style would feel pretentious if it weren’t so fantastic, but the content, though not explicit, doesn’t read like YA.  I loved the general story concept, the dark academia setting, and the spooky reveal; but the specifics were just awkward.  

Foremost—the premise.  Infiltrating any kind of school nowadays, even private schools, isn’t as easy as just showing up and throwing a bunch of bunk around and sending a fake bad check in the mail.  People would be conversing.  Interviews would happen.  Faces would be seen. All that jazz.  Not to mention, folks from private schools—even the boarding ones—know folks in the towns nearby.  Shenanigans on school grounds like the stuff going on in the book would close the school down for a bit.  I could nitpick all day at the stuff that doesn’t make sense here. It’s not productive.  Moving on.

The writing style and word choice both pleased and grated on me.  On one hand, in combination with Pickens’ narration, the writing felt sophisticated and fraught with tension in every sentence; on the other hand, the writing also felt saturated with suggestively erotic descriptions for almost everything—and I do mean almost everything.  The trees, the desks, the classroom, the library; everything was hypersexualized.  A prude by no means, I still felt a bit grimy after I finished listening.  The characters narrating all this stuff are kids, so, that’s gross.

Speaking of characters, I liked the inner turmoil Marin struggled with once she ingratiated herself with the crowd of suspects.  Readers only get to know about 4-5 students at the school, so the cast is quite small.  Some of their motivation still wasn’t clear at the end of the book, and what little was clear didn’t seem like it was good enough for all the holy cow that went down at the end.  Again, no way that kind of stuff happens and local LEO’s aren't crawling all over the place, inspecting every person, place, and thing that was at the scene.  I laughed at the absurdity of some of the logic and procedure way too much here.   Still, as I said, the writing style pulled me in and had me in a stranglehold.  

Overall, about 2.5 for the story and 5/5 for the narration.  Pickens was perfect, and I think if I had to physically read this or it were read by a different narrator, I might have DNF’ed.  I want to like the book more than I do, but too many things get in the way of themselves and the text reads like a rocket schematic from NASA for what really amounts to a build for a seesaw or something.  Keep it simple, work on the logic, make some of the plot more believable; the story with shine and the supernatural aspect will be peek-over-the-blanket creepy. On the plus side, there was no explicit sexual content (suggestive or otherwise), and there was only a small spattering of explicit language (at least one f-bomb). 

My thanks to Macmillan Audio for the ALC, for which I willingly give my own, honest opinion.

The audiobook reader made it even harder for me to connect with the story. The slow plot was matched by the reader.

In Boys With Sharp Teeth by Jenni Howell, Marin James is deceitful in her admittance to Huntsworth Academy. She lies and manipulates her way into her recently deceased cousin Sam’s friend group. She becomes obsessed and questions Graves, Henry and Bas about Sam’s overdose. Will her revenge plot lead to murder? The sharp teeth don’t refer to vampires. I wasn’t a fan of the main character’s poetic, stream of consciousness, internal dialogue. The narration felt flat, monotone and too whispery. I didn’t understand the paranormal aspect of the story. The dark academia vibe was on point though. ALC was provided by Macmillan Audio via NetGalley. I received an audiobook listening copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Marin Jones is an outsider in her small Kentucky town. Her family is poor and broken, never drawing attention to themselves. But when Marin's cousin, Sam, a high school student at an elite boarding school a few towns over, is found dead on school property Marin takes it upon herself to bring Sam justice. Under an alias, Marin enrolls in the school for a semester, long enough to infiltrate Sam's alleged friend group and get them to confess to his murder. But she quickly falls under the spell of Adrian Hargraves and Henry Wu, the "it" boys of the richest and most power families in the town. Now, she cannot recognize herself when she looks in a. mirror. And now, She is seeing, hearing things she cannot explain.
This book is YA Cruel Intentions. These characters are obsessive, manipulative and absolutely cold blooded. All in the best ways possible. The teenage angst is overly dramatic and the longing is at level 10 at all times. The narrator did an amazing job of pulling out all the darkness in this dark academia novel. I will say at about 70% of the way in, we lost the plot a bit from all of the aforementioned angst and longing. This did cause the rest of the story to drag on toward the end. I will say this, I had fun for the first half of the book so, come for the vibes and stay for the haunting desperation.

Rating 2.75 rounding up to 3. Thank you NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for the audio ARC of this book for my honest opinion.

This was DELICIOUS. I loved how philosophical and mature these little weirdos are. The whole revenge plot really hit for me and I loved the dark academia setting. Everything about this book gave me the dark academia vibes I was loving plus the creeping up your spine feeling of dread. The narrator of this book was also incredible! Her voice was absolutely perfect!

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ALC.

First, the things I liked. The narrator was great. I loved their inflection and how they changed their voice to match the FMC’s mood.

Also, this was a beautifully written story. An atmosphere was created and I could feel it. It was intriguing and pulled me in right away at the start.

Now for the things I didn’t care so much for. The story just got a little repetitive with some things. Her obsession didn’t quite make sense. And then that ending was just bleak. This book didn’t read as a full horror story, but the ending felt like something you’d find at the end of a horror book. Nothing was resolved really. It just left me feeling bleak.

The book started off interesting, and then dwindled. The main character was repetitive and got annoying as the plot continued. Couldn’t buy the fact that she lied her way into the school and none of the people remembered her.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this ALC.

I loathe DNFing a book. I could not make it past 15%.
Jennifer Pickens reading was sleep inducing, and I listen at a 2.0x. I adore revenge stories. This one might be best read in a physical book, which I will be purchasing for my upcoming birthday!!!

I was sold by the cover, the title and the premise of the synopsis, the beginning was also promising. It has a good start i was hooked but then it started to drag out, it felt like the main plot went missing throughout the book, like it was there one minute but then gone the next and then it would come back into play but for what meaning?

AND where was the vampires and queerness i heard/seen it was suppose to have.
I mean i feel like the vampire stuff was at the end of the book mainly but than again i could not tell really, if anything i heard more about ghosts than anything.

AND what was with the ending, with her wanting a certain person even though he was a no good person and she knew that.. like contradicting yourself there much?

I really wished i could love this book more and it was up my alley but sadly this book was not for me.

When her cousin's death is ruled an overdose, Marin James is convinced that he was actually murdered by students at Huntsworth Academy, a nearby school for the wealthy elite. To prove her theory and bring Sam's killers to justice, Marin forges a check and enrolls in the school under the alias of Jamie. As she becomes entangled with the students that Sam was closest to, she discovers that Hunstworth Academy is home to something even darker and more sinister than she ever imagined.

I'm not entirely sure what I was expecting going into this one, but it wasn't this. I was full engrossed in the story from the get-go, and could not put it down. However, the ending threw me for a loop and not necessarily in a good way. It felt very rushed and unbelievable which was disappointing after such a strong start. I listened to the audiobook version and while I thought the narrator's gruff, gravely voice perfectly matched my idea of Marin, I had a really hard time imagining it working for "Jamie" and that created a bit of dissonance for me.

I 👏🏻 LOVED 👏🏻 THIS 👏🏻 BOOK 👏🏻

It’s giving angst. It’s giving revenge. It’s giving grief and heartbreak and trauma and darkness. It’s spooky and dark and everything I wanted it to be and more.

It reminds me so much of Riverdale when Jughead goes to boarding school and there’s a murder he has to solve but it’s so much more than that. It’s like Pretty Little Liars and Gossip Girl and Riverdale all came together and had this beautiful dark gothic poetic baby. The audio was fabulous.

Boys With Sharp Teeth is a dark academic story involving Seventeen-year-old Marin James who infiltrates the local exclusive Huntsworth Academy. A school her family could never afford to send her to as only the rich or those who acquire admission through a scholarship are allowed to attend.

Under the guise of a new student with a false name, she goes to the Academy on a mission to uncover what happened to her best friend and cousin who was found dead on the school's property. His death was ruled an accident of his own making. She is convinced he was murdered and she is determined to find out who did it, how, and why it happened. Her suspicion leans toward the most popular students and she works her way into their friend group to discover the truth and avenge her cousin's death. Unfortunately, the cost of getting close to these students is high and she puts herself in harm's way in her attempts for the truth.

According to the description, this debut is compared to We Were Liars meets The Raven Boys. Although I am not familiar with We Were Liars, I did read The Raven Boys and much to my dismay, I did not love it as thousands of other readers. With that said, I can agree that this debut is dark, mysterious, and at times haunting and gripping as a thriller should achieve, however, the writing style isn't my cup of tea. I do feel that people who loved The Raven Boys will most likely enjoy this book, so I encourage fans of that series to read this book.

I received an ALC via NetGalley and Macmillan Audio in exchange for an honest review.

A beautifully interesting exploration about academia, privilege, and the effects of interpersonal relationships. The characters are the standout with this one.

I must admit when I saw this cover and the title, I was automatically sold. There was beautifully written prose. The author definitely knows how to write dark academia. The vibes and atmosphere was everything I love about dark academia. The mystery and murder was the perfect touch. Howell knows how to write to private school students. It was definitely giving self centered pretentious kids.

The beginning definitely had me hooked and engaged. However, it started to dwindle downhill in the middle. Somewhere along these lines, the plot was a bit lost. The end picked back up again, but at that point I was so bored I didn't care much. The story fell kinda flat and I found it predictable. I also needed more clarity as to what the motive was and other elements happening in this book. Not to mention the fact that I didn't connect with the characters. On Goodreads I saw this listed as "queer" and "vampires" however that was not the case. I feel that the title and cover is a bit misleading. I went in thinking this would have vampires, but it didn't. I will say there was something paranormal/supernatural about it. However, I went in thinking it was one thing, but got something else.

I will say that Jennifer Pickens did a good job narrating this. Somehow, her voice fit the FMC so well. Jennifer was able to narrate the FMC's character so well. She sounded stoic, while also sounding like that's how the FMC would talk. She was able to bring that dark academia vibe.

Thank you Macmillan and NetGalley for sending me this audiobook for my honest review.

This was the first audiobook that I actually enjoyed! 😆 even if it was at a 1.75x speed!
I liked the narrator! I could feel all the emotions she expressed as the story progressed.
When the body of Marin James’ cousin is found in a creek on the Hundstworth Academy property she is determined to find the cause of his death. She is convinced he died because of his friendship with Adrian Hargraves and Henry Wu. Determined to seek justice she infiltrates Hunsoworth as a new student. During her time there, she begins to uncover secrets and draws closer to both boys. What else is hiding within the walls of Hunstworth Academy? What does it have to do with Adrian and Henry? Why did her cousin have to die?
Right away I was drawn in with the dark academia YA setting! This book definitely leaned into the more mature side of the YA genre. There was a great balance between the YA setting and the dark academia theme. For the most part, the setting was rich and immersive. I could imagine myself in the school. I was sucked into the story. The plot was quick and well-paced, although, a few times the writing felt a bit chunky and heavy.
I felt that most characters were well thought out and developed. Seeing the different sides of these characters was great. Overall as a debut novel, this was great!

I was provided an ALC by the author, Jenni Howell, and the publisher, Macmillan Audio, through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was unfortunately not for me. I tried for a bit but it’s not my kind of story. Also, it reminded me a lot of Where Sleeping Girls Lie that I couldn’t get over that concept. It could just be me though! The audio narrator was great so nothing wrong there. If the concept is interesting to you definitely check it out!

Thank you SO much NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy in exchange for my review.

A strong 3⭐️ read but not quite a 4⭐️ for me. Without summarizing the book, here are my thoughts:

* Beautifully written prose. There is no doubt the writing is well done and moving.

* The beginning grabbed me right away however the story lolled in the middle. The end picked back up but nothing met the engagement of the first 25% for me.

* I received an audiobook arc from Macmillian Audio. The narrator was incredible. This book is set in a private high school so there was a decent chance of YA tones overthrowing the novel if it had certain narrators. This was not the case and the narrator even brought an element of maturity or “not a teenager” to it, which I appreciated.

* For the story itself, the FMCs desire to find out what happened to her cousin is admirable but her obsession got a bit weird after a while. Like were these cousins closer than they should have been?

* I see people talk about Dark Academia books all the time and often I’m left questioning why a certain book is considered such. THIS is dark academia. It’s also totally those kids in high school that read one philosophy book and made it their whole personality and became so full of themselves. Kind of funny even thought it’s not meant to be.

All in all if you’re a fan of dark academia this is a solid choice.

Boys with Sharp Teeth is a dark academic steeped in the philosophical grapplings of contradictions. Love and hate. Disgust and fascination. Murder and suicide. The premise paired with strong, poetic writing made for a strong introduction and a level of intrigue that I have not felt towards a YA book in some time. In fact, for me this book beat nearly all of the YA downfalls, save a level of melodrama and self-absorption that still managed to feel earned within the atmosphere built around the elite, immoral academy juxtaposed with the supposed squalor of townie life.

Our main character is well established from the get-go, and her self reflection and inner conflicts paint a clear picture. The philosophical quandaries paired with the academia setting do sometimes leave Jamie un-relatable and certainly detached from the small town connections of her past. The toxic draw of Jamie to Graves and Henry is potent, but perhaps established too early and without sufficient affliction for a character who supposedly suspects them of murdering her cousin. Basil’s character is a necessary motivator and distraction from this triangle, and she is unfortunately not fully developed, leaving the impact of certain plot-points lacking in conviction.

In terms of plot, pacing is a huge downfall. The hook of the dark fantastical elements is somewhat lost to its late and unclear introduction. Where I think the author was shooting for puzzlement and intrigue, the lack of clarity even late in the novel resulted in an anticlimactic feeling overall. Although I had lost hope of surprise by the final quarter, I was pleasantly surprised by some final act plot-twists; however, they failed to weave a completely logical or coherent story.

Overall, this was a strong debut novel, particularly within the realm of Young Adult novels. Potent atmosphere and writing style persist above some inconsistencies in plot and character development, and I would definitely give this author’s next book a chance. 3.25 stars.

Jesus Christ. I can honestly say this has been the worst book I’ve read so far this year. I will never get those hours of my life back reading this shitty racist book.

To start: There is barely any chemistry between the characters. The plot is a mess and there isn’t much character development. I was snoring throughout this entire book.

More egregiously: The main character is a white girl who is in a love triangle/square with a white boy, an Asian boy, and a Black girl (but there is no queer romantic tension - the Black girl is portrayed as just being in the way of the white girl getting what boy she wants). The Asian boy is described as having “hooded eyes” and the Black girl has “frizzy spirals” of hair - can white authors PLEASE stop writing like this?

In the end, the Asian boy is the ultimate villain, the white girl attempts to murder the Black girl for no fucking reason… and white girl gets with the white boy, who calls her the most beautiful thing he’s ever seen (despite having history with the Black girl). The multiple subtle racist tropes just kept building up throughout this book that the racism became not-so-subtle in the end.

Lots of parallels and references are made to philosophy and Shakespeare… neither are which my jam. Maybe someone else who is more into philosophy and Shakespeare (and who is white) would appreciate this book more.

This book was an author’s debut attempt to write a book with a modicum of diversity, which just went so awry that it’s offensive.

I enjoyed Boys with Sharp Teeth for its haunting atmosphere and lyrical prose, but I felt it was missing some key elements that would have helped me better understand the 'why' behind the story. While the mood and characters were compelling, I wanted more depth or clarity in the underlying themes and motivations.
If you enjoy stories that feel like a fever dream—beautiful, eerie, and unsettling—this book is worth picking up.