Thank you, Berkley Publishing, for the gifted copy of Such Sharp Teeth {partner}

Genre: Horror/Fantasy
Trope: Werewolves
Format: 📖
Pub Date: 10.4.2022
Star Rating: ☆☆☆☆

Summary:

“Rory Morris isn’t thrilled to be moving back to her hometown, even if it is temporary. There are bad memories there. But her twin sister, Scarlett, is pregnant, estranged from the baby’s father, and needs support, so Rory returns to the place she thought she’d put in her rearview. After a night out at a bar where she runs into an old almost-flame, she hits a large animal with her car. And when she gets out to investigate, she’s attacked.

Rory survives, miraculously, but life begins to look and feel different. She’s unnaturally strong, with an aversion to silver–and suddenly the moon has her in its thrall. She’s changing into someone else–something else, maybe even a monster. But does that mean she’s putting those close to her in danger? Or is embracing the wildness inside of her the key to acceptance?”

Review:

“My strength doesn’t come from the bad things that have happened to me. It defies those things.”

Such Sharp Teeth is my first novel from author Rachel Harrison, and it will certainly not be my last.

Yes, this book is categorized as ‘horror,’ but in my opinion, I’d classify it as fantasy first and then maybe horror. There were some graphic (or gross) mentions throughout the book, but it didn’t feel too over the top. Such Sharp Teeth felt relatively tame for a werewolf story.

I loved the characters in this book; I particularly enjoyed the dynamic between Rory and her sister, Scarlett. I’m often irritated with twin sisters as MCs in books because it can become somewhat annoying. But, the bond between Scarlet and Rory felt very real, and I savored every bit of their dark humor.

Besides the classic girl getting bitten by the beast and becoming a werewolf part of the story, the author brought several heavy topics into the storyline – sexual abuse, prepartum depression, parental neglect, and just what forgiveness might look like. Whew, pretty heavy stuff for a werewolf book, right? I wasn’t prepared to have all these emotions while reading, but I did, and I can’t complain. As I read through Such Sharp Teeth, I had to let go of how I ‘thought’ a character should act or what I ‘thought’ a character should say and instead focus on the dual perspectives that were brought into the book.

My only complaint is after all the author packed into this story, I thought it ended quickly and perfectly. After all the depth and character growth, I just needed something a little more from the ending.

😈 Dark humor
👯‍♀️ Twin sisters with parallel problems (very well done, IMO)
🥰 A tiny bit of romance
✨ More fantasy than horror
🥺 Underlying storyline on trauma
💨 Quick ending

❌ sexual abuse, parental neglect, prepartum depression

If you’re looking for one last book to sneak into your ‘books of October’ stack, I suggest grabbing Such Sharp Teeth. It’s a quick read and wasn’t overly horrific (if that’s why you’ve been avoiding it).

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BOOK INFO
Format: 336 pages,
Published: October 2022
ISBN 0593545826 (ISBN13: 9780593545829)