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A review by heyjaycee
Hunger Pangs: True Love Bites by Joy Demorra
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
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? No
3.75
Another hefty novel, I motored through Hunger Pangs just revelling in the sweetness of queer supernatural men falling in love with hardly a hiccup to their romance. I lost momentum three quarters of the way through, partly just my own reading slump, and partly because it was an uneventful period between the romantic climax and the end of the book. I picked it up again two months later and devoured the ending, hardly able to believe it was over.
Not only does Hunger Pangs give us a healthy queer m/m romance, it also delves deep into disability and chronic pain—dying from it, living with it, how society treats you when you have it. Since I follow Joy Demorra on Tumblr, I know this is her personal experience shining through. Her refusal to compromise on her disability representation in this novel—to water it down or shove it into a back seat for marketability—enriches the story and Nathan as a character, and I'm grateful for it.
Not only does Hunger Pangs give us a healthy queer m/m romance, it also delves deep into disability and chronic pain—dying from it, living with it, how society treats you when you have it. Since I follow Joy Demorra on Tumblr, I know this is her personal experience shining through. Her refusal to compromise on her disability representation in this novel—to water it down or shove it into a back seat for marketability—enriches the story and Nathan as a character, and I'm grateful for it.
Graphic: Chronic illness
Moderate: Ableism, Alcoholism, Blood, Emotional abuse, Medical trauma, Panic attacks/disorders, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Drug use