2 / 5

I really don't think this is being marketed in the right ways. I went into this expecting a paranormal/horror/comedy, but what I got was a satire - which is fine, but the moments I knew were supposed to be funny were crickets for me. What's left after that is little plot development, uninteresting characters, no horror, and the paranormal aspects never felt fleshed out. I can see why Bored Gay Werewolf will be a hit for some folks, but unfortunately it wasn't for me.

Thank you to NetGalley, Atlantic Books, and Tony Santorella for sending me this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book. Such a fun’ and light read. It was really funny and made me laugh out loud. I feel like this would make a great movie - think warm bodies. I would definitely recommend this to a friend.

Thank you net galley for the digital arc. 🖤

This bThis book explores Brian's journey from, as the title says, a Bored Gay Werewolf to an honest and understanding werewolf. I enjoyed the overall story, but the plot wasn't that good in my opinion and could be improved. I only brought myself to finish this because of Nik.

ARC Review: A werewolf satire about toxic masculinity with the title of "Bored Gay Werewolf"...Admittedly, I went into this with a lot of expectations. I expected a lot of humor, some lovable and some deplorable characters, and a lot of werewolf action.

Sadly, I ended the book feeling very...mid. Despite what the title suggests, this is not really a book about werewolves and it definitely didn't have the humor that the title seemed to me to promise. In the full book, there were three werewolf scenes and two of those were only a few short paragraphs in length.

Where the book did deliver is in the commentary on toxic masculinity.

Tyler is the exact type of guy that I despise, which is intentional by the author. He is a stereotype of reasonably rich, white, CIS male entrepreneur: always talking while actually saying and doing nothing, yet somehow also doling out tasks and taking credit for everything that happens anywhere in his vicinity. Brian, unfortunately, is not much better. He is selfish, self-centered, and self-destructive. He ignores his friends, doesn't care about who or what he hurts, and drinks and does drugs to exist in a perpetual state of oblivion.

Brian's coworker friends, however, I did greatly enjoy. They aren't perfect either, with some realistic character flaws, but they aren't annoying in the way Tyler and Brian are and are responsible for the only real elements of humor within the book.

It wasn't until around chapters 6 or 7 when I started enjoying the book for what it had to say, though I didn't fully engage with the story until the climax near the end. Ultimately, my disappointment in this book lay in my own expectations with it. Don't go into this looking for a fantasy/action werewolf book or even a humorous satire (because the humor is scarce). If you go into this expecting a commentary on toxic masculinity with a slight fantasy element, you will likely enjoy it.

I think I expected there to be more focus on the werewolf part, and thus got a bit mislead or started this book with different expectations...

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!
3.5 stars
Disclaimer: I am not at my peak review writing abilities right now, and also I'm not entirely sure how to review this book, so this review is a bit all over the place.

I was immediately intrigued by the synopsis, which sounded like lots of fun! I am generally a fan of supernatural creatures being depicted as lameass losers struggling to cope, so this was right up my alley.

This book didn't really hit the mark for me in terms of humour. I liked Brian's humorous narration, but there were a few scenes that were probably supposed to be funny that came off kind of awkward instead, including a pretty wacky sex scene that I had to skim because of the secondhand cringe it induced.

The main themes of this book appear to be critiques of capitalism and toxic masculinity, which I love, because I hate capitalism and toxic masculinity. I think these themes were explored pretty well. The book is pretty blatant in its critique, which is fine, unless you are looking for subtlety, which I was not, so it works out!😁👍

Overall, this book was pretty enjoyable, all the elements individually are interesting enough, but I can't help but feel that there is something lacking. This book delivers on its premise, but the execution just wasn't there.

Also, I would like to know how Brian can afford to rent an apartment in a big city all by himself on a waiter's salary. (For real. This is literally my dream.)

Audiobook & E-Book Review: Bored Gay werewolf by: Tony Santorella - @ boredgaywerewolf
Narrated by: Anthony Nyro
Release: June 1, 2023
Format: Hoopla Audiobook & E-Book
The Low-Down: M/M. Adult. Suspense. Werewolves in modern times. Some graphic v!olence.

I have to say that Bored Gay Werewolf started off extremely strong. I loved that it was in modern times, and while werewolves were a secret, there wasn't the usual life-changing werewolf transition/ struggle.

We meet the main character, Brian, as an adult bored gay werewolf (a fitting book title.) Brian is trying to find where he fits in the world, especially as a lone werewolf with no future goals, until he meets Tyler. Tyler takes Brian under his wing to help build his werewolf pack. But is the life Tyler is offering what Brian wants? and what is Tyler not telling him?

Notable moment that had me cackling: Brian's clapback at Tyler's girlfriend after she harassed Brian over if he's a top/bottom. Brian then asks her if she takes it in the 😸 or the 🍑. Questions like this always seem to only be appropriate when asked to a Queer person, but inappropriate when asked to someone who isn't. It needed to be said 🤷‍♀️😂👏 .

This book was vastly different from any other werewolf story. Sometimes, it was hard to remember that they were even werewolves, and I appreciated that.

There were dark themes and a lot of suspense, but also plot twists that you could see coming. By the middle of the book, I was no longer hooked. I think plot points introduced toward the end could've made the characters way more interesting had it been presented earlier on. The ending felt rushed, but again, I wish the ending had been spread out and allowed more of a build-up to create the suspense this book was going for.

As always, check the author's TW before reading.

thanks to netgalley for providing me with a copy of the ebook in exchange for a review!

this book was so much fun! i thoroughly enjoyed the core three characters (brian, nik, and darby) and how they interacted with each other. the dialogue in this book stands out as a strong point, and i loved watching how much these three love each other as they try to figure out how to get brian out the sticky situations he has gotten himself into.

while there are tons of werewolf-y things going on, this book had a lot to say about finding your path, fitting in (or trying to force yourself to fit in somewhere), and growing into your best self with the people that actually care. the end of this book was truly pleasing, and wrapped up the current plot while seeming to set up for more books in this world. based on how much i enjoyed this, i would pick up the another book both by this author and/or set in this world!

2.75/5

Brian is going through a rough patch. A minimum wage job as a server, a bad relationship with his family, an unifinished degree, oh yeah and the fact that every month he transforms into a werewolf and mauls people to death. One day he crosses paths with Tyler, a fellow werewolf and entrepreneur, who seems to not only be in control of his lycanthropy but is also willing to help Brian out. But Tyler's ideas of how to manage the change take a concerning turn that will put Brian in a difficult and dangerous position.

I liked the main concept of this book but I just couldn't get into it. It's a satire of toxic masculinity, the grind, and the monetization of all facets of life. Tyler is a caricature of a white cis straight male entrepreneur, the kind that talks big game yet never says anything. The book confronts what happens when these kind of people get told no and I did enjoy that, it made me laugh at times while also ringing quite true. I think it's the werewolf bit that disappointed me. It was one of the main reasons why I picked it up so I was frustrated that the author rarely went into the specifics of it. The transformation, the pros and the cons, the loss of control, etc.

The tone of this book felt odd at times. It had all these funny moments and little quips that were well done but clashed with these supposedly serious situations. It came across as a Marvel movie at times, the crucial plot points never had time to breathe and unfold. I did enjoy the characters, though I liked Nik and Darby more than our protagonist. Other than that it was fine but predictable, I saw the big plot twist at the end coming from a mile away and was incredibly displeased with the closing scene. Bottom line if you were interested in this because of the werewolf aspect I recommend you skip it.

Enjoyable, funny character main character. I’d recommend to lots of people who want a fun read, and would love to read more from this author.

This is one of those books that is meant to be super funny but ended up missing it's mark. This becomes a critical flaw when the book is very character focused and the way the "bored gay werewolf" copes is to deflect with humor. The book also didn't seem to able to decide what it wanted werewolf to be a metaphor for. One moment it's about the gay experience with conservative parents and the next it's an allegory for alpha male business bros.

Overall I was bored and gave this 2 stars for some of the representation in the book, but really found myself not caring about the characters.

This is a completely original entry into the urban fantasy sub-genre, and I’m calling it now; this is one of my favourite books of 2024. Bored Gay Werewolf is funny, acerbic, and insightful. Santorella perfectly skewers optimisation culture, finance / tech bros, and examines community building from different viewpoints without being heavy handed. I got the impression this is going to be the start of a series, and I hope that’s the case. 10/10 do recommend!

I was intrigued by the premise, but this did not hit at all. Brian is an absolute charisma suck, a complete waste of space. I'm all for unlikable characters, but he's not even unlikable: he's just a void. The risk of having a character whose main personality trait is "bored" is, in retrospect, glaringly obvious. Give me something to root for! Nik and Darby are two-dimensional, and Tyler is so transparently villainous that there's never really any tension. The satire is low-hanging fruit. The writing is proficient, with occasional glimpses of genuine insight and humor that are, unfortunately, lost in too-clever-by-half showiness.

This is not a romance, and is not pitched to romance readers. Which is fine! But if anyone stumbles across this review and wants excellent stories about gay werewolves that actually do interrogate masculinity, patriarchy, and the friction between secretive, closed societies trying to navigate the unknowing world -- with the bonus of lots of banging it out -- then I highly recommend Charlie Adhara's excellent, funny, incisive Big Bad Wolf series; SP Wayne's exquisite, heart-wrenching (but HEA!) Axton and Leander series; and Kaje Harper's brutal, dystopian Hidden Wolves.

The promotional material indicates that this book has already been picked up by Netflix, so even though I don't like giving debut authors bad reviews, I comfort myself that the author is laughing all the way to the bank. 4-star premise, 1-star execution, 2 stars it is.

Were it not for the very charming characters I might not have been able to finish this book.
Bored Gay Werewolf spent an awful lot of time getting where it’s going. There is very little drive or conflict throughout most of the book. It very slowly builds but it’s not until the latter 3rd that things really pick up and get interesting. I had just about completely written the book off as being a dull meandering mess when the plot kicked in. Finally some conflict. Some fire. And from that point it was mostly great. There are some moments such as Brian’s coming out, to his friends, that feel like they are maybe played a little too light. There’s build up to that moment and it’s robbed of its dramatic weight. The ending feels like a good place to take things and I’d be interested in reading the further adventures of these characters so long as it’s not another story where the first two thirds are the so painfully slow.

I did not particularly enjoy this book. Especially the pacing. But I did really like the characters.

This was a wild and adventurous book about how toxic masculinity is really the true horror of our modern day. The book explores feeling lonely, without a direction and portrays how desperate we are to really fit in.

I really enjoyed the sarcastic M.C and how nonchalant they are about transforming into a werewolf, it was just another thing they had to deal with on top of a job they despise. The story felt a little slow at times and I was a bit confused about where it was going, but the ending really saved the day. I will say the P.O.V that the story is told from feels little odd and took me out of the story; I think it could have benefited from a first-person POV so we could truly see how Brian (M.C.) developed as a character.

Overall, this was an okay read. I enjoyed all of the queer characters and the strong bonds of friendship that can happen if you just let it.

Thank you NetGalley and Atlantic books for the E-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley for the eBook.

This book was a bit of a wild ride and a fun concept that doesn't take itself too seriously whilst still exploring more serious topics like toxic masculinity and found family.

To summarize: a college drop out accidentally joins a self help pyramid scheme cult for werewolves.

Going in, I had no idea what to expect. Normally I am a romance girlie to the core. But this book really sucked me in! Watching Brian get sucked into this toxic “relationship” was fascinating, and I couldn’t put it down. For a book with mostly serious themes, it did have a somewhat silly ending. But I found it to be mostly endearing.

Really fun read. Thank you NetGalley for sending me an advance copy in exchange for an honest review!

This book was frustrating to say the least. The plot was great, the sardonic witty tone and characterization of the MC was enjoyable, but what killed this book was being written in second person. You never truly got to know or connect with any of the characters. I was in the beginning of the book this title has already had the rights did for a TV show, and at times it felt as of the second person narration was used to make it easier to option for TV. Overall, the book was fun and enjoyable but because of the awkward narration at times I couldn't taste it any higher.




****Thank you to Netgalley and Independent Publishers Group for an eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.*****

Thanks NetGalley for the arc.

This book was a great depiction of how lost in life you can be when you struggle to find your place. Brian is a wreck, he’s drinking too much, can’t do his laundry and sometimes he kills people when he turns into a werewolf 🫠. No big deal.
He’s also super sarcastic.

I really found it fascinating how easily he got endoctrined into a cult by Tyler. Even if he was aware of how sketchy all of his male alpha bullshit, he still fell for it.
He distanced himself from his friends, adhered to everything that Tyler shot at him, became more snappy, and yeah basically he became an asshole.

I loved how the toxicity was depicted here, it was insidious, little things becoming more and more aggressive to culminate with Brian cutting his friends off from his life and rely only on Tyler.

Anyway it was a really good take on werewolf and toxic masculinity.

I requested Bored Gay Werewolf because it sounded like a fun take on werewolves. I also saw a lot of good reviews on it on NetGalley. I can see the appeal, but it turned out to not be a book for me. I didn't engage with it and I stopped reading about a third of the way in.

I liked the character of Brian- I thought his backstory was really well done- and I liked his friends Darby and Nik, but the overall plot didn't grab me.