A horror graphic novel is nothing I can say no to. This book is not perfect but pretty darn near. I loved the plot and the illustrations and it was actually quite frightening at times.

I deeply apologize for my review being this late. i thought i had already submitted it and only recently found out i never did, so i decided to buy the book and read it again (:

Cutting Your Teeth is an amazing paranormal /horror story that had almost everything i was looking for; magical creatures (such as vampires), found family, an intriguing story and a bit of side romance.

not to mention a lot of angst, and characters who haven’t had an easy life. i love it when the characters are flawed and make each-others lives better by simply always having the others back. Ezra and Killian absolutely have my heart, though i would say my favorite character has to be Marigold (im just totally in love with her)

overall this was a great book, which is why i’m giving it a 4.5 rating.

if you like vampires and found family i’d recommend you to immediately this book and start enjoying it (;

I read about 50% of this story before finally putting in the towel! I found certain aspects of it really interesting like the main character’s backstory and history with his family, and how he was turned into a vampire to save him from being revenge killed by one of them. I liked the dynamic between him and the other vampire, and the other part of their little found family. I just struggled to stay captivated by the story and struggled with the writing style at times. Maybe one day I’ll come back to this story and try again, but right now, it’s not for me

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.

Cutting Your Teeth is the start of a new series that I am potentially interested in continuing, flaws and all.

The writing is solid and, at times, the imagery and atmosphere really pulled me in. It's a cool setting and the grittiness, darker underbelly of the supernatural world comes across well to the reader. I feel equally about the romance, it was solid with some really good moments.
Now, the plot, otherwise, I felt more mixed about. There is a strong element of found family and getting a second chance in life that I enjoyed, some of the more bloody scenes worked well but there were a lot of vampire-related sideplots I cared less about.




I received an advanced reading copy from the author through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a free advanced copy of this book to read and review.

"𝘌𝘻𝘳𝘢, 𝘸𝘦'𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘯𝘰𝘸, 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘮𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘮𝘴."
𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥 '𝘷𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘦' 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘮, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵-𝘶𝘱 𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. 𝘌𝘻𝘳𝘢 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘥 𝘯𝘰 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘪𝘯 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘴, 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘩𝘦'𝘥 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘥.

It’s giving all for the game, it’s giving Fight Club, it’s giving Supernatural—all around a good time. It’s got my bittersweet taste to boot. I love a book that’s got the good and the bad tied up in a bow.

Ezra and Killian are compelling characters—I enjoyed their dynamic. It’s definitely a slow burn because Ezra is dealing from his family fallout and is in hiding—everyone is suspect. I love the development throughout the story. Killian giving him small things to help gain his trust, his protectiveness, Ezra realizing he can in fact trust him (even though he’s a vampire as well) and the eventual ties of a solid found family make this an emotional read. The characters really make this story pop.

Also there’s a dog who is relevant to the story. How can you not love it. There’s a DOG.

Overall an enjoyable read—I’m going to be keeping an eye out for more from the author!

I'm wondering if this just wasn't the right book for me at the right time. I didn't finish, but I will go back and try again another time.

Cutting Your Teeth is a fast paced story that features paranormal characters and wonderfully written relationships. The issues that Ezra has to tackle in this book were quite the intriguing read and the plot point was well-written. The delivery of information to both Ezra and the reader was well-spaced throughout the story.

The characters in this book were flawed but those who were to be lovable were definitely lovable and a certain antgonistic character still had understandable motives. I loved that though one antagonist while not redeemable was understandable while the other was firmly rooted in a villainous position with selfish motives and horrible methods.

The romance between Ezra and Killian could have been developed a bit more but what we got was still enjoyable to read. I do have to say the angsty elements of the relationship were possibly the most well-developed part.

Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC Copy of this book

I couldn't connect with Ezra and the narration didn't make me feel or care about anything that happened. I tried to keep on reading but I just felt lost as if I was reading a random sucession of events.

This one did not live up to my expectations. I thought the writing was very stunted and couldn’t keep my attention like I wish it had

✰ 3 stars ✰

“The look on Killian’s face when he said the words ‘I promise’ and the brief flicker of hope it seared into him. It’s the thing about him that scares Ezra the most, honestly, the easy way he makes him want. Wanting more than a life looking over his shoulder.

Wanting a self that’s more than a mask. To not be alone all the time.”

It's a shame that for a book I was waiting so long to read, there was just something missing from Cutting Your Teeth that would have made it a pleasant read. I think, as a reader, my biggest issue, will always be with the writing - not even the plot or characters affects me as much as if the writing style does not suit my palette, or it's not written in a way that is literally understandable. If that makes any sense. 😔 The point I'm trying to make, that Caylan MacRae did have an interesting premise with a unique cast of characters that could have held my interest even more - if it just had a more comfortable pace to it.

“Ezra shifts his weight to test Killian’s hold. It’s hard as iron. He wonders if this is how rabbits feel when they’re cornered.

“Oh Ezra, I’m just so glad I found you.”

Ezra was intense - sitting still for him was never in the cards - running from his past and his father - hiding his identity - getting lost in the scuffles of a fight ring - he was simply a man of action. It didn't help that one fatal blow landed him in the corner of one very charming Killian, so much so, that everything irrevocably changed with that one meeting. And with it, he enters a whole other world that consists of age-old vampires, werewolves hunting down humans, and vampires wanting to kill other vampires, simply to survive. If he thought his life was hard to get through before he met Killian, he was in for a toothy awakening. Yes, I worked hard on that word usage - don't judge me. 😁

“Obsession is still obsession; it’ll burn you out all the same till there’s nothing left to take.”

Ezra is beginning to see what he’d meant. Fear is easy. Run, fight, or die. Simple, take your pick. But watching someone destroy themselves over you? That’s a unique flavor of hell Ezra hopes to never get a taste of.”

What was interesting about this is that Ezra and Killian didn't exactly fall in love with each other, more that they were just comfortable around each other, and just became a part of each other - the ease and comfort that they were able to have - that soft dance, the blood-sharing, the intensely fierce caring. And while, I would have liked to have seen a little bit more intimate moments between the two of them, the Tether that they shared - that they could feel their bond and connection, with just a thought - was a nice idea. 💘💘 It made Kilian's protective urges even stronger, and Ezra's understanding into his past even more believable and when, the two of them eventually reunited, it made their feelings for each other, even more apparent and palpable.

“What is it?”

“I—I worry I can’t keep my promise, can’t keep you safe. I’ve taken so much from you, Ezra. Your time, your blood, your life.” Killian gently curls his fingers around the fabric of Ezra’s jacket sleeve.
“I don’t want to hurt you more than I already have.”

Ezra and Killian - ah, they had a nice dynamic - not so much intense, but accepting and caring - Killian, being who he is, genuinely just cared for this broken soul, he chanced upon. The repeated usage of 'boyo' became a little annoying after awhile, but if that's his term of endearment for Ezra, I'll have to get used to it. Some of the action scenes were lit - I especially loved the train scene with the werewolf - very gripping, very moving, very Ezra-style. Seeing him bound into play with his quick-thinking was captivating and he grew on me, then, especially, as he learns more about his past and family.

“Here. You’re still here.” “You’re not alone, I won’t let you drown,” Killian whispers and gently touches his forehead to Ezra’s. “I promised you, Ezra. I’ll keep my word if it kills me.”

As other reviewers have pointed out, that there are slight similarities to AFTG, which I did feel, but, it wasn't enough to mar my overall enjoyment. 😊 The pacing of the story is very quick - with hardly, any time to relax, no moment of calm, which kept the flow going. I liked how we were introduced to the characters, with a killer punch, that made our two MCs, Ezra and Killian, connect in more ways than they thought possible. The supporting cast consisted of some fascinating characters that shared some fun and engaging interactions with both the MCs. There is an intriguing history to the vampires and werewolves, which I hope will be elaborated more in the sequel. So, overall, not entirely a time badly spent, just lacking that certain hit to make it a more memorable one. 🤷

Enjoyable, but reads like fan fiction. I did not finish it because it wasn't quite compelling enough to keep my attention while other, newer titles were becoming available. (Not that fan fiction is bad, this would probably do very well on Ao3, but it's not something I would handsell).

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC copy of this book :)
I was hoping I would enjoy this book more than i did I'm not gonna lie :/ I didn’t specifically “hate” anything about it, it just didn’t keep my attention and i never fully got into the characters or storyline. I might revisit the story at some point when im in a horror mood to give it another chance but for now i’ll leave it at this.

[4.25]

This was such a fun read!

I'm a big fan of the "All For The Game" trilogy by Nora Sakavic and this book has a very similar vibe, in terms of the found family trope, running away from an abusive family and finding love in unexpected places. I think fans of the series would enjoy this book as well.

The characters were all immediately likeable and I was rooting for them from the start. They all had their complexities, and were lovingly fleshed out.

I don't usually gravitate towards urban fantasy/paranormal stories but it was very accessible for someone who doesn't read the genre often which I really appreciated. It was easy to follow along and the concepts weren't too abstract for me to grasp.

One thing I didn't enjoy –although this is merely a personal preference– is the fast-paced nature of Ezra and Killian's romance, I felt like the development of their feelings was a bit rushed but it did make sense on a large scale as the novel itself was a fast-paced adventure.

Overall, I really enjoyed this and I'm waiting impatiently for the continuation of the series!

vampires! complicated family dynamics! a ragtag group brought together by spooky shit! romance...?

i loved sinking my teeth into this book. it's fast-paced, offers a fresh take on vampire lore, and the characters were just *chefs kiss*

definitely a recommendation from me!

Definitely looking more from this one, the author really did well in the storytelling. I can't wait for more from this.

this is really interesting and i think the authors writing is really cool! definitely looking out for more from this author and excited for more like this!

I really liked Cutting Your Teeth by Caylan MacRae.
It was a fast and fun read that was well written.
I also really liked the characters especially Killian!
I definitely recommend this book especially if you love Vampires, Werewolves and found family.

I could not get into this book. I was incredibly bored. I would read for what felt like hours only to find myself only a couple pages further in. I have made at least 5 attempts to finish this book but I just can't. I'm about 30% of the way through, this is the furthest I've ever gotten and I just can't continue with it.