Boys With Sharp Teeth

I had high hopes for this boarding school revenge book, but I was left unsatisfied by Boys With Sharp Teeth.

I’m going to date myself with this analogy, but readers of a certain age will understand exactly what I’m talking about when I say that BWST reminded me of a Christopher Pike novel. Basically, in every Pike novel, things would start out like standard teen horror novels but slowly devolve into madness and things would just get WEIRD.

And that’s exactly what happened here: our intrepid protagonist infiltrates an exclusive boarding school to find out what really happened to her cousin. She’s got a fake name and a fake check and she’s looking for answers. Everybody is super serious about everything, from philosophy to partying.

But things start to get WEIRD. I’m being deliberately vague to avoid spoilers but there’s a mirror and there are pacts and the whole thing takes place in a span of weeks but it feels like months.

There was a coed dorm. I went to boarding school and yes, it was at the turn of the century, but members of the opposite sex could only come over at specific times and doors had to be open AND there had to be 3 feet on the floor. I could believe in a coed dorm with single-sex floors, but coed suites sharing jack-and-jill bathrooms is just silly.

Sadly, I did not enjoy Boys With Sharp Teeth.


I received an audiobook ARC from Macmillan/NetGalley

This was not for me.

Initially I was hooked, but I quickly lost interest. The prose seemed so long winded and was just trying too hard to be atmospheric and dark. I didn’t care for the love triangle or the relationships at all. There was way too much telling and not showing.

2 Stars
This started off promising - the premise was intriguing and the first few chapters pulled me in but as it went on I was just so confused by what was happening and I found this hard to follow (and I still don't even understand what happened to Sam lol or even Jamie aka Marin). I wanted more Dark Academia than I got and I couldn't connect with any of these characters or the romance in this (and also why did this feel like it was a whole school year and not just a few weeks lol).

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ARC!

Audiobook review. I am writing this through watery lashes and the highest hopes for MORE gripping my heart. The vice grip this haunting book had on me is not one I’d ever really experienced before.

It held me by the throat as I simultaneously devoured it while telling myself to slow down so I could savor it. I wanted to unravel the mystery as soon as possible but never wanted it to end. It was agony and frustration and yearning and rapture.

The prose was absolutely stunning and titillating in a way that was SO intellectually stimulating. The characters and their struggles burrowed so deep into my heart that I fear I will never be the same again.

Jennifer Pickens, the audiobook narrator, did a phenomenal job with bringing this story to life. The details from the whispers to the emotions were so vivid and the transitions, pacing, cadence, and tone were on point.

The fact that this was a debut author is incredible and it makes me feel like luckiest ARC reader out there. Jenni Howell has made an instant fan in me and I genuinely recommend this book to all who would listen. It is my top read for the year and will forever be in my favorites.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and Netgalley for sending me an early copy of this audiobook! All opinions are my own!

I wish I knew how to feel about this book. I think I was expecting it to be more on the supernatural side, but that doesn't really come out until far too close to the end of the book for my liking. Then I thought it would be more of a regular murder mystery, but the supernatural aspects came out just as I resigned myself to being without them. I kept getting confused on where this was going and what the vibe of the story was supposed to be.

I really did enjoy the characters and thought they were relatable and loveable/hateable in all the right/wrong ways. I just wish I had gotten a little more understanding up front along with the more mystical aspects a lot sooner. It kept losing my attention and then regaining it when I realized just how lost I was. I really wanted to like this book a lot more than I did.

This book was such a wild and captivating read! The story was dark, gripping, and filled with an eerie, almost hypnotic energy. The writing was immersive, and the characters were unforgettable. It kept me hooked from start to finish, blending mystery and emotion in such a unique way. Loved it!

Howell does an amazing job of crafting an atmospheric tale! The prose in this book was just gorgeous. If you like dark academia with a bit of horror dashed on top, this is for you.

*Thanks to Net Galley and Macmillan Audio for audiobook for review*

The narrator did a good job maintaining the atmosphere of this twisty dark story of revenge. Our main girl goes into the Academy with a new name for vengeance for her cousin and the beginning of this had me on the edge of my seat. The middle felt like a fever dream that the narrator guided me through. The end, however, was underwhelming. What should have felt like an explosion lacked the dramatic atmosphere that happened during an earlier car scene. I would still recommend for fans of darker teen shows, but as someone who loves The Raven Boys the dynamic of relationships does not compare.

There seems to always be a fascination mixed with hatred for the rich prep boys who think they are above everything. That is true for this book as well. Marin/Jamie is on the hunt for the killer who murdered her cousin Sam. This book did not go as I expected. Which I am glad for. I was worried that it would be typical, girl falls for bad boy (two in this book, Henry and Adrian) and dives into the darkness, becoming unraveled and losing herself in her search for justice. It took that and twisted it much farther and while I got a bit bored and confused in the middle with Marin jumping from one boy to the next, it got really dark and really fulfilled the title, but not in the way I expected. Very morally grey characters (except maybe Baz) and a nice touch of the paranormal but also tragedy.

The narrator did a good job of voicing Marin and really brought her character and this academy world to life. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the chance to listen to this audiobook.

Jenni Howell writes such delicious atmosphere. There's something very sharp about her prose. On a sentence level, this had me on the edge of my seat. The plot and character arcs were muddy, but the writing alone kept me going. I can't wait to see what she does next!

“They’re wicked. She’s worse.” The only thing wicked about her is how wickedly bad she is at being a detective and playing Jamie Vane. Every move she made I wanted to scream because she was so miserably awful at being a prep school girl.

To start, I’d like to mention that I don’t know what was going on for most of this book. We spend SO much time inside Marin’s head that the plot is a backdrop to her endless, repetitive monologue. Sam, sam, sam, sam, I GET IT. What I don’t get is the motivations for literally anything the other characters do.
Everything is told & not shown. It tries to be so edgy but it really says nothing.

She keeps saying things like “if i was still human” as if she’s not the most bland, boring ass character that is even bad at PRETENDING to be evil.

I feel like the best parts are stolen directly from Summer Sons by Lee Mandelo & some sprinkling of direct Raven Cycle plotlines.

Now, I did enjoy the end. I thought it was cool and interesting. However, by 11 hours of an utterly insufferable main character, I was literally praying for it to end.

Boys With Sharp Teeth is a YA supernatural dark academia thriller/horror that got 4 🌟🌟🌟🌟 from me! I listened to the audio and I really enjoyed this book! It reminded me of a couple of other paranormal dark academia novels that I’ve read and enjoyed. (If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.) 👻🏫🩸

Synopsis:
Seventeen year old Marin James has spent her entire life living in the shadow of the exclusive Huntsworth Academy. And when her cousin’s dead body is found in a creek on school property, Marin knows exactly who’s to blame: Adrian Hargraves and Henry Wu, the enigmatic yet dangerously alluring leaders of the school’s social elite.

Swapping her ripped jeans for a crisp prep school skirt, Marin infiltrates Huntsworth to seek justice. But her quest is quickly muddied by a confusing attraction to her new life, and to the two dysfunctional and depraved boys who somehow understand her better than anyone ever has.

When Marin uncovers an otherworldly secret the boys are hiding within Huntsworth’s ivied gates.l, the lines between right and wrong, love and hate, and nightmare and reality begin to crumble — and nothing is as it seems.

Welcome to Huntsworth Academy.

Thank you so much to @netgalley and @macmillan.audio for proving an ALC! 🖤

Okay, so this book was supposed to be like We Were Liars meets The Raven Boys, which sounds amazing, right? Elite boarding school, dark secrets, revenge... But it didn't really work for me. The whole thing felt messy. I got the revenge part, but then there was this weird "otherworldly" thing that felt totally out of place. The characters were all over the shop, I couldn't grasp who I was supposed to care about. Honestly, it felt like the author couldn't decide what kind of book it wanted to be. Maybe I'm just too old for this one! Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC – it just wasn't my thing.

When Marin James's cousin is found dead in a creek at Huntsworth Academy, she knows exactly who to blame and decides to take matters into her own hands. She infiltrates the school under an alias in order to get close to those she holds responsible, Adrian Hargraves and Henry Wu, the leader's of the school's social elite. But the closer she gets, the more confused Marin becomes as she starts to fall for her new life and the two boys she initially set out to destroy.

I'll be honest - this has been one of the hardest reviews I've written in a while. I absolutely loved the vibe of this book. It's dark and gritty, and the obsession that surrounds Marin's every action feels so tangible. It was 100% not at all what I was expecting...but not in a bad way.

Does a lot actually happen in this book? Not really. And the reveal at the end remains a bit mysterious. But honestly, for me, this book was more about the emotions and the blinding obsession that takes place within this little group Marin becomes a part of than the everyday actions of the characters.

I listened to this one on audio, narrated by Jennifer Pickens, and she does such a credit to the vibe of this book. The entire book (minus one chapter) is told from Marin's POV, and the way she speaks makes you feel like you're really there in Marin's head.

Read if you like:
YA dark academia
Love triangle
Obsession
Fake identity
Paranormal

Hello Dark Academia Fans! I wasn't sure how I'd feel about this book, but I really enjoyed it. The atmosphere throughout the novel was great (definitely dark academia vibes). Also anything relating an academy, dark secrets, and mystery - sign me up! I will say this was a bit predictable and long winded. The premise was great and writing wonderful, but didn't fall in love with this one.

This one had a beautiful writing style, and the audiobook was well done. The beginning hooked me, the ending was interesting, but the parts in the middle lost me a bit. This is also definitely not about vampires (sad). It's also the case of 'I have no idea what's going on' but in a bad way? Not in the 'my mind is blown' kind of way, but more of a frustrating 'why is this happening.' There were also many points where you really had to ignore how certain things were playing out because they just weren't realistic at all, including the ending.

Extremely well written dark academia, YA murder mystery. I love the inner monologues, the mysterious characters, the dark feels. Following the FMC undercover in a dark feeling academy seeking answers to solve a murder is a read that feels interactive. I wanted to solve the murder with her. I highly recommend this read.

Oh man I was so excited to read this but the narrator actually drove me up the wall. Her voice is the most depressing thing I've ever heard - any intrigue in the prose itself was actually decimated by her delivery. I would consider picking the book up to read on page because I actually found the subject intriguing and I love dark academia!

I greatly enjoyed this. I found the story to be engaging and I liked the way the narrator was. I love dark academia-style books, and I think this book is a great addition to the collection of dark academia books out there. I liked the layers of each character and the story that we learn as the story continued.

I thought the audio was well done on this book. The narrator had an accent that fit with the character and their narration kept with the pacing of the story. It definitely helped immerse me and I could see it actually being the voice of the MC!