I wanted to read this just by the cover! I was really going into this hoping for a sort of poly dark academia with that only being slightly fulfilled. I finished the book but I skimmed over the last 80ish pages. This had a lot of potential but I think it was a little too convoluted in its attempt to throw plot twists. The relationships between everyone interested me but the big "reveal" did not really make a ton of sense to me and I did not feel that one of the friend's death was necessary. I was hopeful that the class commentary would come through more but it could have been done better. That being said, there is definitely an audience for this so it will be easy to sell. I just won't recommend it as being one I really liked.

Boys with Sharp Teeth is a stunning, darkly beautiful, gorgeously written paranormal novel about love, hate, revenge, and obsession. When Marin's cousin is discovered dead in a nearby creek and authorities declare it an accidental drowning due to drugs, Marin is irate. She knows that there was nothing accidental about Sam's death; in fact, she not only knows it was a murder but also knows who the murders are. Now, determined to extract her revenge, she infiltrates the elite academy where her cousin was a security guard and seeks out her version of justice. What Marin was not expecting was to find a likeness with those she was targeting. Darkness seeks darkness. What is reality and what is nightmare? Boys with Sharp Teeth has the reader questioning themselves, their reality, their perspectives, and what they're reading.

I am obsessed with this book! Reading Boys with Sharp Teeth instantly brought me back to my amazing philosophy classes of undergrad. I just wish I was in a reading group to discuss all the characters, themes, actions....everything in this book! The characters are well-developed, morally gray, and extremely complex. The ending of this book is absolutely perfect. After reading it, I think I would have been disappointed if it ended any other way. I will definitely be reading more by Jenni Howell. I just hope all her characters are as deep, brooding, and, in my opinion, as lovable as Adrian. Boys with Sharp Teeth is already one of my favorite books of 2025. I will be recommending this book to everyone! Easy 5 stars!

I really wanted to love this! The cover of this book immediately grabbed my attention, and I was excited to dive into this ARC that promised dark academia goodness. However, I ended up feeling a bit disappointed.
For anyone expecting a sexy or queer story based on the cover, that's not what you'll get. There are a few awkward kisses, but they don't add much to the plot. The characters are far from the "sharp-toothed" ones you'd expect from the cover.
The premise had potential: Jamie sneaks into a prestigious boarding school to investigate her cousin Sam's suspicious death. Armed with a fake identity and forged documents, she targets Sam's closest friends. However, the story quickly feels unrealistic, with a huge check slipping through without question, and a school environment where teachers ignore rampant underage drinking.
Jamie is placed with Adrian, who’s the prime suspect, and on the same floor as two other suspects. The author fails to develop any other characters, so it feels like there are only a handful of students in this entire school… The plot takes a while to get to the supernatural elements, and by the time they arrive, it's almost too late.
While Jamie struggles with her growing feelings for the three boys, the mystery of Sam's death gets sidelined. The focus shifts too much to Jamie’s inner conflict, and Sam's story feels secondary.

The Boys with Sharp Teeth are Adrian and Henry, two boys at an elite boarding school in Tennessee, and who Marin believes have murdered her beloved cousin Sam. With a new name, dye job, fake transcript, and forged check for twenty three grand Marin becomes Jamie and slips into the lives of these boys and their dear friend Baz.

Marin did endear herself to me very quickly, which lately has been a tall task for some new release YA protagonists. It’s pretty clear from right off the back that Marin is running off the rails with 1/8th of a plan and 7/8ths of a prayer. Her character spirals between profound grief and any obsession that will save her from having to feel that sorrow.

I would not say this story is particularly grounded in realism, but if you’re someone who is going to ask a lot of questions about the student body makeup outside our main cast and how transfer credits work, I don’t know if you will click super well with this. The Raven Boys is a fair comp for me here vibes wise. I never really latched on to either magic systems at work, but I did click with the prose and the way the stories made me feel that I ended up not caring about precise mechanics and found myself happy to be along for the ride.

I think the style of this is absolutely gorgeous and works well with the academia vibes. There is some really fun stuff happening with class-based exclusion. I would also give the caveat that this focus isn’t philosophy so much as it is Descartes, and I hope it’ll be accessible for people who weren’t foolish enough to pick up philosophy minors in college.

This book will really scratch the itch of people who complain that main characters are too hinged. Marin is on a fast track reckless revenge with any lie to get her there. Apologies that everyone who is suspicious is hot.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan for the eARC.

DNF at 35%.

I tried so hard to get into this one but I just couldn't. I wanted to DNF around 21% but persevered... for nothing it appears.

The entire premise of this is wack. Our FMC's cousin dies literally less than a week ago. She changes her entire identity and forges a check to get into this elite private school where she thinks the people responsible for her cousin's death reside. How she got into this elite school with a blank check and false identity?? Not touched upon. It was just too unrealistic for me.

And then the characters. Oh my word, they all made me want to pull my hair out. It seemed like the author was trying waaayyyy too hard to make them broody and mysterious to the point that was ALL THEY WERE, and I honestly just didn't care about any of them at all.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan for providing me with this e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Boys with Sharp Teeth
•spoiler-free review•
3.75 ⭐️

Boys with Sharp Teeth immediately caught my interest: I adore any attempts at YA dark academia, and I loved the comps— We Were Liars and The Raven Boys. The premise, while a bit unbelievable, painted a great picture of a girl seeking revenge for her cousin and the depths she would go to reach it.

Some scenes I adored, and the tension? Stunning. But also, there were plenty of scenes and pacing issues that I didn’t love. It started to go into a direction that felt lukewarm. The ending, without spoilers, also felt underwhelming.

Ultimately, the book felt like a bit of a letdown: a series of promises left undelivered. Still, this is the author’s debut, and I’m definitely not writing her off. Actually, I’m excited to see how her writing grows. If she can come up with amazing premises like this, it’s worth looking out for.

Thank you NetGalley for the e-ARC!

#yabookstagram #bookstagram #bookreview #arcreview #netgalley #youngadultfiction #booksbooksbooks #boyswithsharpteeth #newbooks #newbookreleases

Thank you so much NetGalley and Roaring Brook Press for the eARC.
2.5 stars
This was one of my most anticipated books this year.

Marin finds her cousin dead in the forest and although it is ruled an accidental overdose, she suspects foul play by his friends at the prestigious academy. Going undercover to seek revenge and find out what happened to her cousin, Marin is swept up into the orbit of her cousin’s friends, Henry, Baz, and Adrian. With supernatural elements coming into play, she doesn’t know what is real and what’s not, especially who killed her cousin.

The writing was very much like the beginnings of all the books in The Raven Cycle, and the story was if Blue and Ronan fell in love instead and told in first person. This had the dark academia feel to it, but that’s all it got right. Even with the first person, I didn’t feel connected to any of the characters, they all felt distant but had the potential of multilayeredness that was cut short. There even seemed like a disconnect between the trio and their only connection was that they were on the same floor. Henry and Adrian had a stronger connection but we were just as lost as Marin about it which made it more frustrating rather than mysterious as the book continued on and we didn’t know why or got any clue until 80%. I also don’t know why Baz is not being on the cover even though she was more present in the book than Adrian.

The pacing was way too slow. I felt as if she was at a stand still or walking in circles for a majority of the book and we were given small crumbs to occasionally to try to keep us going but it was nothing of substance. How she did it was not how you continue the mystery. Give clues, false or not, to try to guess the mystery. What we were given was more weird interactions and a lot of her befriending Baz, which was surface level at best. I almost DNF’ed this and I’m pretty sure others will. It only picked up at 80% and a majority of it had the most confusing prose. It was trying to be mysterious and ominous but was actually just confusing and frustrating, where the gist of what was happening was good enough.

I understood what the author was trying to get at with the philosophy of existence and truth that the characters were studying, but after the halfway point the philosophy portion ended, but I wish it was more prevalent throughout rather than just quotes to announce the parts. I honestly forgot about the philosophy so connecting a bit of it would have helped remind the reader or help connect the dots.

I liked that when the mystery was solved, it made sense and ended as well as you think it would.

This was just not what I expected or was hoping for, but I’m sure others would enjoy it if they are okay with the slow pace. Maybe I’ll try it out when it’s published if there’s been more editing.

Boys with Sharp Teeth was nothing like what I expected and everything I needed it to be. This story was dark and emotional, dragging you down with Jamie and her crew. Desperation and obsession consume Jamie as she tries to uncover the truth behind her cousin’s death. Full of unexpected twists, Henry and Adrian kept me on the edge of my seat as I watched their stories play out. Like Jamie, I knew I couldn’t run away from Huntsworth Academy without finding out what happened to Sam. I wanted more and more of this story, worried I wouldn’t be satisfied with any conclusion but in the end everything tied together very nicely. As the pieces all fell into place, I realized all of the clues I had been missing from the beginning. Howell’s story was dark and beautiful.I only wish I could have made it last longer so that it wouldn’t already be over. Thank you so much to Netgalley and Macmillan Publishers for the eARC!

Alright. I love the atmosphere, the academic setting and the vibes—it is dark-academia aesthetics. It is also beautifully written and the cover is very attractive (at least for me!). I honestly enjoy reading this, the mystery, the obsession, the longing and the thrill are enough to keep me engaged. But towards the ending, it irritates me.

This book defintely has so many issues for me. Not gonna lie, the first 40% I feel like reading The Secret History x If We Were Villains (I saw people compare this to We Were Liars but I haven't read that so I don't have say about it).

First of all, don't let the title deceive you. The title and the cover give gothic vampires vibes but this book is not about vampires. (And I'm so angry about this idk why). Maybe the author means something else with the "sharp teeth".

The characters feel a little bit bland. For me, it feels like they don't have personality—felt distant, nothing special, just rich kids with bad attitude (yes, and Henry kinda reminds me of Henry, iykyk). I was assuming that it will revolve around Adrian Hargraves, but I feel like he's barely there in the 70% of the story? (He's still my first love in this book, though). And as for the supporting characters (like other classmates, teachers, staffs, town people), they feel nonexistent. It feels like the classes were attended only by the four of them and not the other students.

The plot progresses very slowly, it takes halfway of the book to get somewhere other than our MC suspecting & arguing with her "classmates". And when things started to pick up, it quickly went down again (and yes it is frustrating). The event happens over the course of weeks, not months. But I fail to grasp the time and lost halfway thru it. I think it should be 100 pages shorter so it won't drag so much.

Another issue is with the MC, she's a con, ok. She "infiltrates" a prestigious elite boarding school, I'm assuming a "prestigious elite boarding school" would have high security, no? But she just waltz in with fake id and fake check, and the school is like "ok, come in my lady"?? There is no explanation of how she acquired her fake credential. Let's not forget that she's just a random girl from town without money and connection, but suddenly she can "enroll" to this school as one of the students (with said fake id & check). Also, the reason why she wants to get into the school is because she suspected one of 3 particular students have killed her cousin, and somehow she was placed in the same suite as one of these 3? How convinient. This just doesn't sit right with me.

I remember seeing this book was advertised under queer category but I don't think there's enough representations in it (yes, I actually hope it was gayer, I'm disappointed). It was also under romance category but is the romance in the room with us? Because I don't see it. It's not even slow burn. It's just sick obsession.

And last but not least, the supernatural aspects in it, it's barely there. You don't really get anything supernatural until you hit 70% mark of the book. Yes there were shadows in the mirror throughout the book but it feels like a filler rather than the main focus of the plot. However, it's not even explained, there's no lore behind it, why this supernatural things happen, did the boys make deal with the devil? We got nothing about this. (Well maybe we got something about this, but NOT STRONG ENOUGH)

So if anyone's interested in this book thinking it's dark academia with queer vampires, no it's not. It's a twisted philosophy–dark academia and problematic kids with toxic friendship.

This book is definitely not for everyone, and it just doesn't work that well for me. But if you can ignore all those issues I mentioned, maybe you'll enjoy it more.

3.25⭐ rounded down.

My attention was caught by the beautiful cover while scrolling through NetGalley.
I went in to this book blind, only knowing it was a murder mystery/dark academia.
Marin is our very troubled FMC, she is mourning the death of her cousin who worked at Huntsworth Academy (an exclusive school). Marin is sure that she knows who is responsible for his death and decides to infiltrate the school posing as a student. Befriending the supposed killers (Adrian and Henry) is harder than she thinks, posing as a gifted Huntsworth student while trying to break into their inner circle wears on her mentally/physically.
I was having a very hard time pushing myself to complete the book. In my opinion, the story didn’t pick up until about 80% in. I could tell what the author was trying to do but it just didn’t grab me until I got that far into the book.
It was confusing and I didn’t get invested in a character until the last 25% of the book, Adrian stole my heart!!!
The paranormal aspect of the book didn’t really make sense either, the explanation of it was rushed and left me confused.
For this reason I’m rating it 3/5.

I was captivated by Jenni Howell's Boys with Sharp Teeth from the very first page and couldn't put it down. It's a tale of temptation, retaliation, and the sinister secrets that lie beyond the gates of a prestigious boarding school, and believe me, it delivers on all three.

I liked Marin James since she isn't your average prep school kid. She is irate, resolute, and prepared to take on any role necessary to learn the truth about her cousin's passing. It was like entering a lion's den to see her sneak into Huntsworth Academy, especially when Adrian Hargraves and Henry Wu were involved. They are wealthy, untouchable, and just scary enough to pique your curiosity—everything you would expect from the school's social elite. To be honest, I couldn't determine if I wanted Marin to defeat them or fall for them. She probably couldn't either.

One of my favorite aspects of this novel is the atmosphere. Huntsworth Academy feels like a genuine, breathing character rather than merely a setting. Rich and unsettling, Howell's writing infuses each scene with a sense of dread. I had the impression that I was strolling along the same ivy-covered hallways, wondering what mysteries lay beyond. And when did the supernatural turn come? It worked even though I wasn't prepared.

Even though this novel is YA and does use certain popular YA clichés, I thought the narrative was sufficiently developed to avoid coming across as unduly childish. It is strongly advised to check trigger warnings because there were some extremely dark themes that would not be suitable for a reader who is too young.

What am I supposed to do after finishing this? Just LIVE?! Go about my day like I wasn’t just completely dismantled from the inside out? Don’t be ridiculous. I will need multiple business days to recover.

When Marin’s cousin turns up dead in a creek she knows it was no accident. Posing as Jamie, a new student at Huntsworth Academy, she’s determined to get close to the people she knows are at fault. The life she finds within the academy’s walls is almost as alluring as the pull she feels from Henry Wu and Adrian Hargraves and pulling off her plan becomes increasingly difficult.

The tension, the mystery, the thrill. It’s all here. There are moments that are chilling and other moments that are reckless and without a care in a way only teens can be. There are secrets on secrets on secrets while they’re attempting to play different games of 3d chess simultaneously.

It’s obsession, it’s longing, it’s a desperate aching want that you know will destroy you, and giving in anyway.

Jenni Howell’s debut is an excellent entry into the dark academia catalogue. It had me tight in its clutches from page one.

“I wish my dreams didn’t have such sharp teeth.”

Let me start off this review by emphasizing that this is probably going to be nothing like what you think it’s going to be like. This book is not a love story in a traditional sense. The love between friends and family can drive you to lose a part of yourself, a part of your soul. The drive to protect those you love can become a dangerous obsession. Secrets, lies, and twists fill the pages of Boys with Sharp Teeth.

“Why do you love him that much, and how can I make you love me more?”

I found myself craving this book, trying to figure out where the plot was headed. None of my guesses were ever right. Jenni Howell’s dark academic-style of writing cultivated a dark and twisted world full of dark and twisted characters.

“He’s letting me hold his jagged edges for him.”

In the end, I loved Boys with Sharp Teeth. I’m still mind blown I was able to read an early copy of it, and I don’t think this is something I’ll be able to shut up about for a long time coming. I can’t wait to see Jenni’s journey as an author, because I know she is sure to flourish if BWST is any indication.

Also, I will forever be an Adrian apologist and I’m not even sorry.

“I only ever played for you.” “Even before I knew you, the music was always yours. You don’t know how much I needed -- I could never find you ugly. You’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever dreamed.”

Boys with Sharp Teeth is a book that lingers—both in its hauntingly beautiful prose and the emotions it evokes. I appreciate that I didn’t have the time to devour this in one sitting because it gave me space to truly sit with my thoughts and process how each chapter made me feel. Every time I put my Kindle down, I found myself still wrapped in its world, the weight of its tension and beauty settling in my chest.

The vibes? Immaculate. The tension? Chef’s kiss. The characters? They will live in my heart eternally. This is the kind of story that is so well-written, so deeply affecting, that I know I will be thinking about it years from now.

🪞“So much life in you,” he says. “I want it all.”🪞



୨ৎ Hot broken people 

୨ৎ Unlikable hot broken people

୨ৎ Ghosts, devils, vampires oh my

୨ৎ Unreliable narrator

୨ৎ Boys who play the violin and ride motorcycles

୨ৎ Secrets, lies, betrayal

୨ৎ Hidden identities

୨ৎ Philosophy and Shakespeare 

୨ৎ Horror and mystery

Rating ➡️ 3.5 ✨


What in the frickin frack did I just read?



This book took me some time to get into, and even then, I wasn’t quite sure of what I was reading. Honestly, I just vibed. I surrendered and let the story take me. The prose is often so verbose and meandering that if I stopped too long to puzzle over what was going on, I’d have dropped out of the story. Much of this book will feel like word soup. This story is disorienting and tedious just as Jenni wanted it to be, I suspect. Because of that, this book will be very divisive and probably won’t be palatable to a wider audience. However I have just enough freak in me I fucked with it.

I was captivated by the toxic push and pull between the characters and the dark games they played. I was rooting for Marin’s pursuit of justice as she untangled the dark web of lies she found herself in.
I have confidence that this book will find its right niche of people despite its misleading blurb.


Much of this book’s plot requires you not to ask too many questions and suspend your disbelief in order to enjoy it. Is it believable that Marin could so easily enroll into an elite boarding school by simply dying her hair? No, babe. Shh, don’t think about it too much. Just go with it.



Is it believable that the events of this story could take place over barely a month’s time? No. That’s not long enough to infiltrate a tight-knit group of friends and build enough trust that people would want to divulge their darkest secrets. But we vibe, we go with the flow, and we settle into the fever dream.



🪞“I wish my dreams didn’t have such sharp teeth.”🪞



While this book is YA and does lean into some well-known YA tropes, I felt the storytelling was mature enough that it didn’t read overly juvenile. There were some very dark themes that wouldn’t be appropriate for too young of a reader, and checking trigger warnings is highly suggested.



It is quite clear that Jenni Howell is a talented writer, and for this being a debut novel, I am impressed. With more heavy-handed plotting and editing, I think there is a very bright future for her stories, and I’m excited to see what she comes up with next.

Thank you, Net Galley & the publisher for the arc.

thought I was getting dark academia and vampires, and while we definitely got dark academia I kinda wish the vampires were there. As a mostly fantasy reader it’s admittedly hard for me to suspend disbelief for stories set in our own world.

I can accept that kids at a boarding school may have murdered someone, I can accept some of the actions of the characters and even their elitist, pretentious and aloof attitudes about life and philosophy. I cannot accept that an elite boarding school wouldn’t require tuition to be paid up front. I mean, even my kid’s daycare requires that!

Even without vampires, these boys do have some sharp edges and the story maintains a constant state of tension and unease. You know something is off, but can’t put your finger on it. The thing I found so impressive was the way I could feel Jamie’s desire and the tension between her and Henry and Graves and simultaneously still feel her hesitation of getting to close to their sharp edges. I don’t know how I feel about the paranormal aspects of the book- and the mirror and what is seen or not seen and who is viewing what was confusing at times- but it’s a cool concept that helps makes sense of the overall creepy vibe and I like the imagery it creates.

If I'm being honest, I don't know how to rate this book. I don't even know what to think about this book and it took me some times to write my review.

At first, Boys With Sharp Teeth had me. The premise was everything I wanted, and everything I loved: a prestigious and secretive boarding school for the elite, a murder mystery, a girl infiltrating that world and hiding herself behind a false/new identity to find her cousin's killer, a we were liars meets the raven boys mention in the blurb, and a gorgeous, gorgeous, cover. On paper, this book had everything I could ever want and dream for, but in reality? Not so much.

I was all in for a little while. The eerie atmosphere was there and I loved it (it's my guilty pleasure, really), the setup was intriguing and there were just enough hints of something dark lurking beneath the surface to keep me invested in the story for a while, and then.. nothing. If I'm being honest, it's the biggest problem I have with the book. Nothing happens. Or, if I want to be more precise, things happen but the way they unfold is so devoid of actual tension, so repetitive, so slow, so.. hollow, that it feels like nothing happens at all. And the plot was, unfortunately, predictable. I wanted to be surprised, for the paranormal/surnatural elements to take over and leave me speechless but instead of tension building, everything felt messy. At some point even their dialogue didn't feel real and the main characters lost their depth and became more vibes than people. I didn't like Jamie—I don't know if I just wasn't in the mood to appreciate that kind of character when I read but I found her insufferable—and the boys were.. a cliché. Pretentious and dull at the same time.

As I said earlier, the plot and major twists were, unfortunately, predictable. For a long time, supernatural elements were barely there, it felt rushed and underdeveloped as if it was added after to fit the story, and not as a part of the plot. It felt.. too late, and the pacing didn't help. The first half was promising and then the plot lost itself in repetitive scenes, dragged conversations and a lot of overused metaphors. And.. I won't spoil anyone about the ending, of course, but I was ready for something devastating and instead I got.. that. I'm speechless, but not in a good way.

As always and as I said in several previous reviews, it's my own opinion, nothing else. I wanted to love this book and it didn't happen for me, but I'm sure others will love it.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Boys With Sharp Teeth is a truly dark take on Dark Academia with an an unusual and gutsy female main character. Although it uses the familiar dynamic of an economically disadvantaged newcomer striving to adapt among wealthy students, it diverges from the usual patterns in appealing ways.

After her cousin's mysteriuos death, Marin enters an elite boarding school under a false name and a confident, monied persona. Getting close to the privileged boys she suspects of killing her cousin is her best hope for learning the truth about the neglected case.

Seductively written, Boys With Sharp Teeth performs a striptease, revealing glimpses of the suspects, the school’s mysteries, and the Marin’s past. Vivid, disturbing scenes flash through the mundane academic surface. The gothic vibes and creepy horror imagery create tension and dread.

I could relate to the push-pull of wanting acceptance and not trusting people. I liked that Marin isn’t fluffy, ‘nice,’ and likable in the ways girls and women are often expected/pressured to be. Her alter ego gives her freedom to be bold, tough, and biting toward the kinds of people who look down on her.

The flirting banter and teasing--complete with all the gestures, feelings, uncertainties, glances, and skin contact that's so fraught in undefined passion--work well. Nearly everyone is keeping secrets and playing games. These are largely selfish people, and at times Marin is naive about herself and her motivations.

There are toxic dynamics and high-risk, dangerous behaviour and drug use for kicks. I have mixed feelings about some of it.

The novel wasn't as compelling as I’d hoped. The MC going into rhapsodies over each of the guys, vacillating about her feeling, and then resolving to focus on solving the murder becomes repetitive.

The glimmers of a dark undertow driving the events kept me interested. Fortunately, the novel pays off in the final third. It's a promising debut. I enjoyed it enough to get the ebook after finishing the audiobook. Boys With Sharp Teeth has a magnetic complexity and unsettling moral slippages that live up to the cover's tagline.

I gave this 3.5 stars. I’d read more book books from Jenni Howell. Recommended for emotionally-stable YA readers and adults patient with slow-burn books–who are comfortable with detailed disturbing material.

Thank you, Macmillan Children's Publishing Group | Roaring Brook Press, for the eARC for consideration. These are solely my own opinions.

I will not be finishing this book and not posting a rating beyond Netgalley. I got about half way through before ultimately deciding this wasn't for me. I do think I thought this was a queer story and also more adult than it turned out being.

Unfortunately, the writing style wasn't my favorite and my suspension of disbelief was not strong enough to overcome key aspects of the story. It has an interesting main plot but felt like it was trying to hard with everything else.

Absolutely gripping from beginning to end. I couldn't stop myself, i had to know where this rollercoaster was leading to. Marin is multi-layered protagonist, i honestly quite liked how she juggled between all the grey areas of her personal life, trauma and the persona she gave to huntsworth academy. "when the real and supernatural begin to crumble". yes, absolute yes. from the beginning, the author is working crescendo with her blurred lines -- until you cannot say the sky from the earth. Marin never loses her reasons for her presence at the academy and that's really refreshing. we, as reader, are like her, we know what is our end goal and we know one thing: we are ready to do everything and more to see it through. until the castle crumble and give Marin the reality-check that she is human and is dealing with other human beings, she may be chasing the truth for someone who's dead -- but she's still well alive and the people she needs are too. catching feelings is the most human thing: love, hate. Marin doesn't play in between, at least that's what she wants to believe, but as the reader, you see the cracks in her walls, all the potential of who she could be if. always if. the end is as fitting as it could have ever been, the circle is circling.