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A review by aryelee
Hunger Pangs: True Love Bites by Joy Demorra
adventurous
hopeful
lighthearted
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
This novel started off as a joke, a fun little exercise in poking at tropes, but you can see the moment Demorra starts taking it seriously and gets swept up in the characters, the worldbuilding, the plot. It's incredibly well written and the characters are all full of life and personality. I never thought I would read about a disabled werewolf recovering from a war, but now I'm not sure how I read other supernatural romances when someone like Nathan wasn't there.
And Vlad? His character growing from tired and uncaring of life to being free of toxic people and being able to open up fully to Nathan? Top tier. Unparalleled. No one does it like them. I'm so obsessed with these two and being able to see their relationship grow and develop, paired with the way they pined after each other before finally getting together for some truly well written sex scenes? If the next steamy romance novel I read doesn't have the characters really work through their feelings like this, I'm going to be upset.
The worldbuilding! The worldbuilding is so good, well thought out, and the political aspects of it all are described and integrated so well. The magic parts were just as fun, and I know there's much more still to be revealed (book two, I'm ready for you whenever you come out).
The only reason this isn't a 5 star book is because Ursula was not involved for a vast majority of the story, and the few chapters she was in the main storyline, they went by too fast. I would have loved to see her relationship with Nathan and Vlad have more time to develop, to go a little slower so they had more time to get to know each other and flirt. As it is, I'm excited to see more of her in the next book as she's such an interesting character!
If you want a well written queer romance novel with werewolves and vampires, this is the perfect book for you.
And Vlad? His character growing from tired and uncaring of life to being free of toxic people and being able to open up fully to Nathan? Top tier. Unparalleled. No one does it like them. I'm so obsessed with these two and being able to see their relationship grow and develop, paired with the way they pined after each other before finally getting together for some truly well written sex scenes? If the next steamy romance novel I read doesn't have the characters really work through their feelings like this, I'm going to be upset.
The worldbuilding! The worldbuilding is so good, well thought out, and the political aspects of it all are described and integrated so well. The magic parts were just as fun, and I know there's much more still to be revealed (book two, I'm ready for you whenever you come out).
The only reason this isn't a 5 star book is because Ursula was not involved for a vast majority of the story, and the few chapters she was in the main storyline, they went by too fast. I would have loved to see her relationship with Nathan and Vlad have more time to develop, to go a little slower so they had more time to get to know each other and flirt. As it is, I'm excited to see more of her in the next book as she's such an interesting character!
If you want a well written queer romance novel with werewolves and vampires, this is the perfect book for you.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Toxic relationship
Moderate: War