Such Sharp Teeth by Rachel Harrison is a horror with a twist of dark comedy that made for a really fun and entertaining read. When Rory's pregnant twin sister calls her in desperation and begs her to come back to their hometown, a place filled with dark memories for Rory, she puts her misgivings aside and heads for home, determined to support her sister in her time of need. While there she reconnects with an old flame at a local bar, but on the way home she hits a large animal and is savagely attacked when she gets out of her car to investigate. Although she survives, Rory is changed in unexpected ways by the experience, and soon figures out that she is becoming a werewolf. How will she handle this, how can she share this secret with her twin, and how will her potential love interest react if he finds out? All of these questions are cleverly and often humorously answered as the book unfolds. The pacing is sharp, the characters engaging and the plot is fun, so this book moves along rapidly and definitely kept me turning the pages. I found the comparisons between pregnancy and lycanthropy interesting, focussing on the changes to the body that are beyond the person's control, and also the idea that people can be more monstrous that "monsters" at times. This was a really fun and entertaining read and I would definitely recommend it.
I read an reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

Having read this authors previous books and enjoyed them, I really hoped this would live up to my expectations and I'm pleased to say that it did.
This was one of my most anticipated reads of the year and right from the start I was hooked. I love when a book dives straight into the plot, doesn't hang around, and just generally gets on with telling you the story.
As always with this author, I liked the writing style. I find it to be so readable and almost quite light. Another thing that I have always enjoyed with this author is the dark, sarcastic humour that is included in her stories, and it was no different with this one.
This was however not quite a 5 star read for me and that is because overall not a lot actually happens. It felt more like a character study, following Rory the woman who just happens to be a werewolf, not a story about a werewolf. If that makes sense!
Another thing that this really reminded me of was the TV show Wolf Like Me and it really felt like that was the inspiration for this book.
If you are looking for a cosy, paranormal contemporary romance, then I highly recommend this!

Thank you to the publishers for the ARC. I was really interested to read this as the synopsis reminded me of Nightbitch and that was a book that really messed with my head. So I was curious to see if this would be just as weird, and it was. It's quirky, chaotic and wild from the start. I actually enjoyed it a lot more than I thought. It reads like contemporary fiction mixed with horror and laced with humour and wit. A fun and easy read!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the review copy!

I didn't love Cackle as much as I hoped I would, but I've listened to enough interviews with Rachel Harrison to know I want to keep trying her work and I'm so glad I did. In all honesty I've never been much of a vampire or werewolf girl, despite going through the Twilight phase in my youth, and Such Sharp Teeth made me realise that the reason I've never been drawn to werewolf stories is because they're primarily about men who turn into some form of beast. In this story, though, it's 27-year-old Rory Morris who finds herself with a brand new time of the month to worry about after a vicious attack in her hometown.

As soon as she could, Rory left home and has been living in Manhattan, pursuing her dream career, treating herself to fine clothes, going out with friends and casually hooking up with strangers. When her pregnant twin sister reveals her partner has walked out, Rory takes a break from her job to return home and support her until the baby arrives. After bumping into Ian, an old friend from school who always had a soft spot for, at a local bar, Rory is attacked on her way home when something throws a deer carcass onto her car. Mauled and left for dead, she's found the next morning by a dog walker and wakes up in hospital.

What's initially thought to be a bear attack that's left her with surprisingly few injuries, despite Rory's memory of the attack, turns out to be something much more sinister when she finds herself craving meat and detesting silver.

The best way I can describe this book is slice-of-life horror. It's a classic city girl returns to hometown story, but the city girl in question just so happens to be a werewolf. I loved it.

Rory herself is a brilliant character and I loved her sense of humour. She's not entirely happy about coming home - she loves living in Manhattan - but she doesn't detest her hometown either, and she doesn't need to start hating the city when the town she grew up in starts growing on her. Like all good return to hometown stories, Rory ends up re-examining some of the darker moments from her childhood and her complicated relationship with her mother--especially with twin sister Scarlett on the verge of becoming a mother herself--and I was fascinated by the way Harrison used lycanthropy as a way to comment on the repercussions of sexual assault.

After being found bruised, bloodied and left for dead in the woodland, one of the first things Rory's asked when she wakes up in hospital is why she got out of her car. As the novel progresses and she realises the predicament she's in, she's constantly punishing herself with questions like 'Why didn't I run faster?' or 'Why didn't I scream louder?' and that rage has an outlet every full moon.

The way Rory transforms isn't pretty either. In fact Such Sharp Teeth has a lot to say about the ways women's bodies can change, for better or worse, with Rory's bones and muscles painfully readjusting themselves once a month, Scarlett literally growing a human in her belly and their mother going through the menopause. This isn't an 'alas, being a woman is so difficult' book, though, but a tribute to the things our bodies can put us through and the way we can adapt because we literally have no other choice.

And then there's Rory's blossoming relationship with Ian, which is so darn charming. It's so easy to believe that these are two people who've known each other for most of their lives and they're so easy to root for. Anyone who's a fan of the likes of Emily Henry who'd like to dip their toes into horror would do well to start with this one.

Such Sharp Teeth worked for me on every level. I loved what it had to say and how it said it without ever losing its ultimate goal to be an entertaining story. It's left me craving more werewolf stories and I can't wait to read whatever Rachel Harrison does next.

Rounded up from 3.5

I was very excited to read Such Sharp Teeth as I absolutely loved Rachel Harrison's previous book Cackle. Unfortunately it didn't quite have the same impact on me.

The book follows Rory as she tries to navigate lycanthropy, moving back home to help her sister and dating her former highschool friend.

I felt like this book was simultaneously exactly what I expected and not which made for a bit of a weird reading experience. I really enjoyed the journey that Rory was going through and how it impacted her on top of all the other things she was dealing with. However, I felt like most of the other characters were a bit underdeveloped. Everyone has a lot going on and I feel like Rory just kind of blows them off so we never really get to know them except when it's relavent to the story. I also didn't really feel the chemistry between her and Iain. Most of their history was pre-book so it felt like I just had to assume it was there, even though Rory didn't like him in school. I don't know, it just didn't do it for me.

I also felt that the pacing was a bit off. I think that is probably to do with the side characters not really having a moment until it was relavent. Or at least that's how it felt to me.

I feel like I've got a lot of criticisms but honestly I did enjoy this. I kept reading because I was invested in Rory and I do think this is good if you want some low stakes casual horror.

Utterly underwhelmed, I quite liked the writing style but it felt like I’d read this story before. There was nothing different, unusual or interesting, it was totally generic and the ending felt unfinished.
I’d heard good things about Cackle and I was excited to read a new werewolf adventure by this author. If you’ve not read much in this genre then I’m pretty sure you will enjoy it, I will be recommending with caution.

A perfectly entertaining read that is both scary and quirky in the most addictive way! A paranormal body positive tale that had me wanting to grab every one of the author's works instantly!

Everything is fine
Everything is not fine.

Rory (Aurora) is forced to return home, where bad memories lurk as her pregnant twin sister. Scarlett is estranged from the babies father and needs her help. On the way home from meeting an old friend, Ian, although she is driving very carefully she thinks she’s hit a large deer if the front of her car is anything to go by. She then realises the deer carcass is cold, she further appreciates she’s not alone. There is an upright something, the size of a bear but the proportions are all wrong. The fur is too sparse, the feet have talons, the knuckles are bald and yikes it has red eyes and fangs. It can’t be real can it? It attacks, bites, it’s utterly monstrous. What on earth has she been bitten by? And, post bite why is she craving meat and has an aversion to silver?

This is a brilliant modern fusion of a fairytale blended with the supernatural, some romance and a family/smalltown drama. It’s original and quirky with razor sharp wit, which makes you laugh out loud, then it makes you wince and sometimes horrified! There is atmosphere in abundance, especially around the lunar calendar then it teeters into the scary. The is the vibrant and vivid utilising all the senses and sometimes you wish didn’t! I like the authors writing style which engages me and makes you believe even when you know it’s hard to believe. Anyone that can make you laugh, then gasp in amazement has to have a load of talent! It’s fresh, entertaining with the yucky parts counterbalanced by some on/off romance courtesy of Ian who is a well grounded character. I really like Rory, she’s funny, fierce and yet vulnerable and her issues on returning home are relatable, especially in regards to family though there is also some trauma in her past. Scarlett is very likeable too and similar to her twin, she is flawed and believable as a character. You’re with Rory all the way in this and I really like the fairytale ending with such sharp teeth grandma, sorry grandpa!

Although I enjoyed Cackle a tad more than this, it’s still a very good book and I can’t wait to read what Rachel Harrison imagines next.

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Titan Books for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.

Post to GR and Twitter on 1/5
To retail on 9/5

Such Sharp Teeth is a novel about a woman who returns to her hometown to help her pregnant sister, only to get bitten by a werewolf. Rory moves back from New York City to stay with her pregnant twin sister, Scarlett, even though she wishes she was far away from the past. When she runs into the guy who had a crush on her in high school, Ian, things could be looking up, but then she hits something with her car, and she's attacked. When she wakes up, she feels different, and it starts to become clear that she is changing into someone else, someone who transforms once a month.

This is a book I'd describe as a werewolf novel, as it doesn't really fit any other genre: there's hints of horror, romance, and comedy, plus exploration of trauma and anger and body horror. Told from Rory's first person perspective, it moves between a narrative of becoming a werewolf and trying to reconcile your previous life with what you can do now, and a story of returning to your hometown, facing the past, and reconnecting with people. The clever thing is that the way these are entwined, particularly around the twins' respective experiences with werewolfism and pregnancy, works really well, focusing on what happens when your body doesn't feel the same any more and you are facing a future very different to what you first imagined.

The characters are fun, the book combines humour with a look at trauma, anger, and relief, and it doesn't shy away from the body horror elements of both being a werewolf and childbirth. Such Sharp Teeth shows that you can create a gripping book that's hard to put down which explores a lot of powerful stuff whilst also being a fun werewolf comedy and love story. I love books that put supernatural creatures in a really normal setting and explore what it means to deal with that, and this book does it well.