Thursday, February 29, 2024

Book Review: "Bored Gay Werewolf" by Tony Santorella

Like I could resist a book with this title? And when I saw it described as like “Scooby Doo with Grindr,” I couldn’t download it fast enough.

Brian is a waiter, prone to late-night drunken binges, furtive Grindr hookups, and mostly just avoiding the responsibilities of everyday life. He once had real promise, but he dropped out of college and now has minimal ambition. Oh, and he’s a werewolf, so once a month he needs to navigate his “transition” and his insatiable hunger. Which he’s not doing successfully.

One day a dude-bro named Tyler shows up at the restaurant, telling Brian that he empathizes with his struggles, because he, too, is a werewolf. But he has figured out the ways to conquer his lupine sensibilities, and as a life coach, he wants to share his knowledge with Brian.

While Brian appreciates the chance to finally be completely open with Tyler, he’s immensely dubious about his regimen of daily mantras, extreme exercise, and meditation. But it actually works, and while Brian feels better about himself, he’s become more of a jerk, which alienates his two closest friends and coworkers, Nik and Darby.

It turns out Tyler has a vision of creating “The Pack™️,” essentially a community of werewolves that’s part lifestyle experiment and part recruitment for strength in numbers. But little by little, Brian realizes that Tyler’s plans aren’t quite as selfless as they seem, and his vision for recruitment is pretty unhinged.

I thought this honestly was such a fun book, a story about chosen family, self-acceptance, and finding your own pack. Sure it’s silly and a bit outrageous, but I hope we’ll see more Brian in the future!

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