ebookreview | [ 642 ] (Reply)

Boys with Sharp Teeth by Jenni Howell

Genre:
Contemporary, Dark, Fantasy, Vampires, Novel/Standalone, Young Adult, Paranormal, Mystery, Thriller

Publication Date:
April 8, 2025

Page Numbers:
400

Read/Finished Date:
April 13th, 2025 - April 15th, 2025

Rating:
DNF @ 45%

Premise:

We Were Liars meets The Raven Boys in this mind-bending YA debut about dark revenge, twisted desire, and the sinister secrets lurking behind the walls of an elite boarding school.

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.

Welcome to Huntsworth Academy.

Review:

When her cousin is found dead with drugs on him, Marin makes it her mission to uncover how and why her cousin died and who sent her that text. She trades her jeans and t-shirts for the prestigious uniform of Huntsworth Academy, determined to find out who was behind her cousin's death.

I won't lie; I've had this book on my radar since the beginning of March. I saw the cover and read the premise of the novel. Eagerly, I awaited its arrival. I even had the book ordered and delivered the next day at four a.m. So, why the DNF? I couldn't connect with the female lead at all. There were times I found her absolutely annoying and had to put the book down. The plot felt draggy and predictable.

Will I come back to it? Maybe, in the future. For now, I'm going to toss it onto my DNF pile.