The werewolf lore was a great allegory for how toxic MLMs and cults prey on vulnerable people and this book does a great job exploring that in a really humorous and smart way.

Bored Gay Werewolf by Tony Santorella is a fun and reflective queer fantasy about the service industry, capitalism, toxic masculinity and being a bored gay werewolf in your 20s. I wish we'd got to know Mark somewhat more, as I felt there was more to know maybe after the first time we meet him. It feels that way in the beginning, but it touches on issues of wealth distribution, toxic masculinity, and classism, and immediately becomes not only a very fun read but a very relevant one as well.Struggling with the aftermath of his transformation, he finds himself back at his parents' suburban home, contending with secretive shifts and awkward nighttime encounters. I’m more bored than the werewolf, the writing is incredibly stiff, it feels like reading a report honestly. The focus on Brian's relationships dominates most of the story, and parts of the middle can feel slow with sequences of exercising, meditating, and hiking.

Being my first experience with Tony's work, and after reading this story, I'm eager to explore more of his books in the future. Santorella’s style is unique and the book is well-observed, with a nice contrast between the privileged set (self-absorbed and irritating, but a little one-dimensional) and Brian’s colleagues (creative, spontaneous and sincere). Bored Gay Werewolf does what it says on the tin: the main character, Brian, is bored, he’s gay, and he’s a werewolf. I picked Bored Gay Werewolf off the library's June pride display, because who could resist a title like that?

I think these two wildly varying tones conflicted too much with each other for the book to feel cohesive. Dissolving toxic masculinity, having a sassy group of found family friends, and slaying the fucking house down what more can you want from a book? The protagonist isn’t the most self-confident lycanthrope in Oregon, but he is a sweetheart and very relatable and his friends are just lovely.