Unfortunately, Boys with Sharp Teeth did not work for me. I had the highest hopes for this thrilling mystery with a hint of paranormal. But the pacing threw me off completely. Keep reading this book review of Boys with Sharp Teeth for my full thoughts.
Summary
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, the lines between right and wrong, love and hate, and nightmare and reality begin to crumble — and nothing is as it seems.
Review
(Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)
The audiobook narration is probably the only thing keeping me with Boys with Sharp Teeth for so long. You can feel the grief in Jennifer Pickens voice. I ended up wanting to listen to Pickens even if I was kind of avoiding this audiobook. Boys with Sharp Teeth is a book about rage, revenge, and loss. It has a fascinating premise which starts off strong, but unfortunately loses all steam. Spending so much time with the characters ends up flattening them into caricatures and doesn’t advance them nearly enough to hook you. Boys with Sharp Teeth is way too much cat and mouse without enough bait to keep me invested.
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In general, Boys with Sharp Teeth has a great premise, but it feels de-clawed. It feels like I wanted to know the side characters more and see their allure more than I did. I also think that while I saw this as mentioned for dark academia, I don’t think it engages enough with that sub genre for me to consider it so. It’s definitely a school setting and criticizing the pretentiousness of characters and the school. However, I felt like it lacked some of the larger themes about the dark academia for the name. I’m sad about this one since I had so many high hopes. Find Boys with Sharp Teeth on Goodreads, Storygraph, Amazon, Bookshop. org, Blackwells, & Libro. fm.