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Series Review - Teeth: The Complete Meal by Chele Cooke

Greetings and welcome to Reviews That Burn: Series Reviews, part of Books That Burn. Series Reviews discuss at least three books in a series and cover the overarching themes and development of the story across several books. I'd like to thank longtime Patron Case Aiken, who receives a monthly shoutout, as well as returning patron Chris Alvarado. Full Audio Here   Teeth: The Complete Meal by Chele Cooke TEETH: The First Bite Being dead just got complicated.   Spencer’s life began after his death. Being a vampire is better than any teen flick made it out to be. After all, what’s not to like? He’s stronger, faster, and deadlier than any predator. He has a job, a home, and he’ll be young and pretty forever. When Thomas wakes up in the throes of transitioning, Spencer is assigned to train the newly sired vampire. He thinks it’ll be fun, but it could turn the afterlife upside down for everyone, even the people Spencer didn’t know existed. Spencer is about to learn that the rules he ...

Wicked Fox by Kat Cho (Gumiho, #1)

Family is fraught and friendships are complicated, especially when you're a gumiho. Wicked Fox is a romance with bite; negotiating with the past for the possibility of a future. A bit of mystery just might hurt someone after all.

It feels very high stakes but also languid at the same time. There's a time limit, a ticking clock for them to figure out a solution and work together, but also the time is long enough that a lot happens while they wait for it to run out. The romance is awkward and endearing, Jihoon’s earnestness is a great counterpoint to Miyoung’s standoffishness. There's a lot of negotiation of boundaries, both in healthy and not-so-healthy ways. It felt very earnest and messy, but good. I like that Jihoon has important people in his life, there's a lot of value placed on friends and family in a way that's positive and supportive. It makes for a great contrast with Miyoung, but without making it so stark that one of them has everything and the other has nothing. 

I appreciate a good interstitial narration between chapters, and this example was very satisfying. I enjoyed these as an alternative to getting infodumps of the mythology from either of the gumiho. As for the pacing of the book as a whole, I was thinking of this book as kind of languid after a very dramatic opening, and I thought I knew where it was going. I successfully guessed one twist and then was almost immediately surprised by several additional layers that made a bunch of slightly confusing things from earlier click into place all at once. I like the twists and I love the ending. It was a really sweet conclusion as the first book in a series and I'm intrigued by the prospect of where it might go next.

CW for bullying, parental neglect, major character death.

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A girl in a school uniform and long flowing hair stands back to back with a boy in front of a full moon.

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