A pandemic commentary meets Teen Wolf, a murky but predictable plot, a sprinkle of insufferable characters, and a very predictable breakup is what’s in this book.

The story felt like it had some good and juicy ideas, but it barely touched them, and fell flat on the ones it did touch. It had me wanting more substance. I did enjoy it a more than I thought I would, it’s entertaining in the way reality shows are. However, I probably would not pick it up again.

I liked this neat pandemic-based take on werewolves - it felt very accurate after the COVID pandemic. The author definitely nailed the angry teenager vibes which was very relatable! I liked how action-packed this was, and would love to see a movie adaptation.

My big con was that the romance subplot with Cam felt a little forced, but the breakup plot line with Luca was great.

Moonsick is a fast, feral YA horror that throws a privileged teen into a brutal werewolf outbreak. When Heidi is infected at a party gone wrong, she’s forced to flee the government’s kill squads—and confront everything she thought she knew about safety, power, and survival.

O’Donnell’s world is part viral panic, part body horror, and all bite. It’s gory, gripping, and sharply observant about class and crisis. The pacing is relentless, and the transformations are disturbingly vivid.

If you like horror with teeth, social edge, and a wild survival arc, Moonsick should be on your radar.

I'm excited for this book to be released and to hear what others are saying about it! the characters were relatable especially with how Heidi felt about her life, and the hurt Cam has been feeling! I am also excited to see if there will be a sequel to continue and explore the story further! Thank you to Netgalley for the arc!

This was a pleasant surprise. I enjoyed it much more than I expected to. This is a YA werewolf horror novella. Quick enjoyable read. Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book

3.5 stars.

I really liked the premise of this book, and I enjoyed how fast paced it was throughout. I never really had moments where I felt myself getting bored. I liked some of the messages in the book, like Heidi growing up and finding her inner strength, and some of the commentaries regarding the pandemic. There were moments that I felt like it was too heavy handed in comparison to the covid pandemic as that was a very blatantly obvious mirror, but I did enjoy the parts regarding the rich and the way society and the priviledged get upper hands. (spoiler) I also loved the bit at the end with them spitting into the food and infecting the rich people. Because we all know thats the only way that things are going to change, and i thought that was a really clever touch.

There were multiple times in the dialogue that I could tell this book was written by someone who was not a teenager. While I thought the bantering back and fourth was pretty hiliarious, there was so much use of dude and bro, both from female and male characters that it made me laugh and not in a positive way. I also think Heidi frustrated me quite a few times, with her wishy washy nature regarding her boyfriend. I also think that Cam, as a character and second lead, really didn't evolve in any way or learn much at all. I would have liked to see more development from his character becaus while I liked him, I don't think he served any purpose in the story besides to be an accessory to Heidi, and I didn't particularly care about what happened to him.

It was okay. It wasn’t my favorite but don’t mean other people won’t enjoy it. I hope all the success of this author. And best wishes

The plot completely lost me after the first 20%

The dialogue was cringey and you can just tell a man wrote this. I also felt like there wasn’t a clear story here and many missing parts about the “Werewolf pandemic” for me to take any of this seriously.

I started off loving it, but it slowly just lost my interest. Not enough to warrant a bad rating though. The gore surprised me

Absolutely loved the writing style of this book, was funny, angering, sad, heartfelt! The MC was very relatable and I found this book to be very similar to what we all had experienced during COVID, the same fear, denial, it was truly a great read. The multiple POV's finally came to a great conclusion and I would love to have read more about what happened after all the drama! Highly recommend!

3.5⭐
I liked that this book read like many of the supernatural TV shows I watched in my early 20s, It gave the reading experience a nostalgic vibe and kept me turning pages when I was struggling to stay invested in the story.
The writing style just wasn't a great fit for me but I feel like this could definitely work for the right audience.

Thank you for Tom O'Donnell, Net Galley and St. Martin's Press | Wednesday Books for providing me with an ARC of this book.

Moonsick was a quick read about a girl trying to survive not becoming a werewolf. It was a interesting take on the apocalpse world.

So I really wanted to love this, the premise sounded so good-but it did not meet my expectations. This was another take on Covid, but with a werewolf virus. Also, the characters were all annoying from the start, and the dialogue was very dated.

BOOK REPORT
Received a complimentary copy of Moonsick, by Tom O’Donnell, from St. Martin's Press | Wednesday Books/NetGalley, for which I am appreciative, in exchange for a fair and honest review. Scroll past the BOOK REPORT section for a cut-and-paste of the DESCRIPTION of it from them if you want to read my thoughts on the book in the context of that summary.

Oh what fun!

I didn’t want this book to end. Really wish there had been more about the group out in the national forest. And more about the backstories of members of the VCTF. Sequel, maybe? But with some new and different characters?

All that said, this is the perfect novel for our times in a couple of ways: Takes on the monied interests of U.S. society, parallels the Covid-19 pandemic, nails (unfortunately) a certain sort of “bro” who joins ICE or the like.

I reckon if I were marketing the book, though, I would draw parallels to Buffy the Vampire Slayer and True Blood (esp the books) and The Vampire Diaries, instead of Teen Wolf. Never seen The Last of Us, but that tracks.

Delighted to know there is more out there for me to read by Tom O’Donnell. Sorry I’m late to his party. Because who wouldn’t want to hang with a dude who acknowledges that his kids are “just plain funny as hell”? 🥰

DESCRIPTION
The Last of Us meets Teen Wolf in this fast-paced horror debut about a young woman who realizes she's been turned into a werewolf and must choose to turn herself in or live a life on the run.

High school senior Heidi Mills seemingly has it all: a charming (albeit pompous) boyfriend, loving (wealthy) parents, and an acceptance letter to Harvard (well, not yet). With her mom and stepdad away on vacation, this weekend she’s going to host a rager at their mansion to celebrate the end of high school. There’s just one catch: she has to make it through the next 24 hours. The full moon is coming tonight, and the worldwide werewolf epidemic that’s been running rampant for the past few years will awake those who are infected.

Safe in her home, with its state-of-the-art lockdown system to keep the monsters out, Heidi expects to wait out the night. But when two intruders show up to loot what they think will be an empty home, the life of privilege, ease, and safety that Heidi has taken for granted comes crashing down. Suddenly exposed to the realities of this virus and the way that the rest of the world has been living all this time, Heidi embarks on a dark adventure accompanied by the mysterious— but alluring—boy who broke into her house. But as she fights to survive the underbelly of a post-pandemic society, she'll learn that not all monsters have fangs.

With flourishes of Wes Craven and The Purge, this horror novel is perfect for fans of Gradie Hendrix, Adam Cesare, and things that go growl in the night.

Didn't really care for this one. The werewolves are supposed to be a metaphor for the coronavirus pandemic, I guess. And how the rich people weren't as touched by the pandemic as the rest of us. I will fully admit to being biased—I wish we could move forward without the shadow of covid hanging over us ALL THE TIME—but this wasn't for me.

Also, the dialogue was terrible. Teenage girls don't call each other "dude." Teenage boys, sure, but I was a teenage girl and know teenage girls, and that just struck me as an odd thing to include. It also was painfully obvious that all the female characters were written by a man. They just didn't ring true.

For some reason I knew there would be a mention of Nicole or Nicci in this book so I kept reading (Nikki eventually shows up). Bonus points for Ron and Nevada. IYKYK.

Anyway, the book is fast paced. I liked that. The werewolf attacks are a bit weird. Why so much foul language? People talk like that, but mostly the ones who would become werewolf food.

This is not going to be the average werewolf fan’s cup of tea and may be a little hard to get into, but it was okay.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of Moonsick!

This isn’t the kind of book I normally reach for, but I’m glad I gave it a shot. It was fun, unique, and had such a different tone than what I’m used to—and that made it a really refreshing read. The story kept me curious the whole way through, and I ended up enjoying it more than I expected.

A weird little ride in the best way.

Rating: 3.5/5 stars!

[arc review]
Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review.
Moonsick releases September 23, 2025

Having stayed home during the Lunar Cycle Curfew while the rest of her family vacations in Hawaii, Heidi falls victim to a home invasion and werewolf attack.

Not wanting to turn themselves into the VCTF to be indefinitely quarantined, Heidi and Cam must make it through the supermoon as newly infected werewolves, and then decide if they want to run off together in search of a cure, or try and survive amongst their friends and family without rising any suspicion.

This story was a bit contrived at times and didn’t pan out the way I was expecting it to, but I still found it to be decently entertaining, and I really liked O’Donnell’s unique take on a world navigating an ongoing pandemic from a deadly virus.

Wowie. Well, that was different! No, but really, this was a lot of fun. The characters were compelling and felt very realistic, considering the circumstances. But also... it was so funny!

I'm sorry, but I will never get over how hard I laughed when reading:
"What the *fuck* was that?" asked Cam.
"What?" said Heidi.
"You did some kind of rich-girl Jedi mind trick,"

I was going through something, and that one interaction of wit and irreverent humor turned around my whole day for the better.

I loved Heidi because, girl, I, too, would be crying that much. I would be crying WAY MORE. I say that, but my god, the girl was smart and resourceful, and despite everything, she never really lost her way. Cam is actually the sweetest. This poor, sad boy is just trying his best!!! I can't even get mad at him for his minor lapse in judgment because I would have been a wreck, too. (I also observe his mantra, and I'm paraphrasing here: "Prepare for the worst and hope for the best." ERIK IS TERRIFYING!!! (An insanely cool, chaotic evil character, though!) Olivia is the friend we love, need, and want, but seldom deserve. I would go on about some of the other side characters who do deserve a mention, but I don't want to spoil some of the smaller twists and turns that were perfect popcorn moments.

There were a couple of nitpicky things here and there. An example could be *the confession* [redacted due to spoilers] or how the pacing felt a bit kinda rushed at the end—that being said... I had fun, so I don't care.

Very Enthusiastic Four Stars! I can't wait for the next one! (There will be a next one right?)

Thank you, NetGalley and Wednesday Books, for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Rating ⭐5
Spice 🌶️ 0
Cover 4/5

Disclaimer: I received this book for free from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a review, that being said I will not let that affect the content of my review, My thoughts and opinions shared here are my own, and I am committed to offering a fair assessment that does not aim to detract from the author's work.

Moonsick is a young adult horror fantasy novel that plunges readers into a world ravaged by a global werewolf epidemic. The story centers on Heidi Mills, a seemingly privileged high school senior who is about to have her world turned upside down.

Heidi's wealthy parents are away on vacation, leaving her with the perfect opportunity to host a lavish graduation party at their mansion. However, the full moon is tonight, and a deadly, contagious werewolf disease has been spreading for years, transforming the infected into savage beasts. Heidi believes she's safe within her family's state-of-the-art lockdown system, designed to keep the monsters out.

Her illusion of safety shatters when two intruders, aiming to rob what they believe to be an empty house, break in. This event thrusts Heidi out of her sheltered existence and exposes her to the brutal realities of the werewolf pandemic and how the rest of the world has been struggling to survive.

As she navigates this terrifying new landscape, Heidi discovers she has been infected and begins to transform herself. Now a werewolf, she must make a difficult decision: turn herself in to the authorities or go on the run. This choice forces her to confront not only the literal monsters around her but also the monstrous duality within herself. Accompanied by the mysterious boy who broke into her house, Heidi embarks on a dark adventure where she learns that in a post-pandemic society, not all monsters have fangs.

I loved how COVID inspired this werewolf book, reimagining the werewolf mythos as a contagious, worldwide epidemic, that was a smart concept. I'll definitely be on the lookout for more of Mr. O'Donnell's books.