Book Review: Bored Gay Werewolf

Mrs P

Jun 25

Tony Santorella ~ Bored Gay Werewolf

Synopsis

Brian, an aimless slacker, works doubles at his shift job, forgets to clean his room and lays about with his friends Nik and Darby. He's been struggling to manage his transition to adulthood almost as much as his monthly transitions to a werewolf.

Really, he is not great at the whole werewolf thing, and his recent murderous slip-ups have caught the attention of Tyler, a Millennial were-mentor determined to take the mythological world by storm. Tyler has got a plan, and weirdly his self-help punditry actually encourages Brian to shape up and to stop accidently marking out guys who ghosted him on Grindr as potential monthly victims.

But as Brian gets closer to Tyler's pack, and alienated from Nik and Darby, he realises that Tyler's expansion plans are much more nefarious than a little lupine enlightenment...

Review

A little book with a huge message.

Bored Gay Werewolf is - shockingly - about a bored, gay werewolf, but it's so much more than its title. It's also about self-acceptance, found family and being your authentic self.

Brian is fed up, stuck and single. He also happens to be a werewolf, which isn't really helping the situation, especially when dead bodies keep turning up after the full moon.

When he meets Tyler, a fellow werewolf with big ambitions, he thinks that this is his chance to become the person (or wolf) he's always wanted to be. However, Tyler is ambitious, ruthless and not as good of a friend as he claims to be.

Author Tony Santorella uses the concept of being a werewolf to discuss a journey of self-discovery where he realises that while his life may not be exciting, it is good. His friends - Nik and Darby - support him, no matter what.

Characters are good, but we never feel like we know enough about Darby and Nik, as the story focuses so much on Tyler and his clique. I loved the dynamics between Brian, Nik and Darby and would have liked more of them throughout.

Santorella's style is unique and the book is well-observed, with a nice contrast between the privileged set (self-absorbed and irritating, but a little one-dimensional) and Brian's colleagues (creative, spontaneous and sincere).

However, the ending is a little rushed and cheesy, as we cross a line into higher fantasy than the rest of the story, but many readers will welcome the possibility of a second.

Although I enjoyed this book, and I'm sure Santorella's prowess as a writer will improve, I'm not sure I'd rush to pick up the sequel.