Horror Is For The Girlies - "Such Sharp Teeth" by Rachel Harrison

My life-long conquest to get the girlies to love horror is often fraught with difficult roadblocks. With a seemingly limitless selection of horror novels written by men who love to talk about female autonomy in ways that simply aren’t scientifically accurate, it is often difficult to find horror novels with a leading lady written by a female-presenting person or a protagonist who is not inhibited by her stature, immediately has her bodily proportions described, overtly masculine, or is an actual child. 

I am thrilled to say that I have found an author who writes wonderfully diverse, complex, and unique feminine characters that most women will find extremely relatable! Rachel Harrison has introduced me to an incredible subgenre of horror that marries feminist fiction with absurd horror situations that simultaneously maintain simplistic beauty while also sending profound messages about womanhood and the feminist struggle. Much like the “romance” novels of Emily Henry, the women at the forefront of Harrison’s novels are niche and complex characters that encounter a life-altering situation and get a bit of horror mixed in. 

As a disclaimer, I am in no way attempting to discredit or compare the dark literary fiction masterpieces of other women in horror like CJ Leede, Clair Kohda, and Catriona Ward. However, those queens of the pen write deeply dark and disturbing works of fiction that could put Bret Easton Ellis to shame. In my opinion, Rachel Harrison is a different genre of horror/sci-fi that perfectly blends in modern romance and usually deals with far less “heavy” subjects than the aforementioned authors. 

Sometimes, a girl just wants to giggle, kick her legs, and scream . . . about the perfect love interest that is. So what if I want a werewolf mixed in? 

In Rachel Harrison’s Such Sharp Teeth, we follow Rory Morrison as she goes through a tough transformation. From living in Manhattan to moving back to her small hometown with her pregnant twin sister, our quippy protagonist may have bitten off more than she can chew. After surviving a gruesome attack, Rory begins displaying strange and unbelievable symptoms. A baby on the way, an old flame, and unresolved trauma are the least of Rory’s worries. 

It was refreshing to see “normal” experiences and emotions that the majority of female presenting people can relate to. Rory’s quick wit and career-driven nature perfectly juxtaposed her best friend, Ashley’s, carefree attitude and love of being a mother. Rory’s twin, Scarlette, is terrified of motherhood and lives with regret. These characters seemed plucked from my own life and made the story seem astoundingly rooted in reality for a book about a werewolf. 

In addition to the very valid fear of werewolf attacks, Harrison highlights horrors that many women encounter in their lifetime. The horror of your body changing as you grow a parasite (baby) inside of your womb, fear of losing your freedom to the responsibility of family, new love, being gaslit, living with trauma that others refuse to acknowledge. The women in Such Sharp Teeth display incredible resilience and loyalty to each other.

As for the romance… SO CUTE! Rory’s high-school admirer still holds a flame for her and she finds herself drawn to his continued kindness and friendship towards her despite many years apart. A notorious serial dater, Rory is surprised and frightened by her deep feelings for Ian. Although she finds it difficult, once she allows herself to be open and vulnerable, Ian shows her how deeply he has never stopped caring for her. Harrison creates a modern romance that subtly challenges gender roles and typical expectations of male and female love interests. 

As someone who usually find romance to be insufferably cheesy, I was genuinely obsessed with the “will they won’t they”. Even though Harrison used several classic tropes found in many modern romance novels, it served the plot and added to the high stakes and thrill of the story. 

I was thoroughly obsessed with this story and would venture to say that most people who know how to have fun and love a good small-town horror mixed with a little bit of love would have a wonderful time reading this. I am excited to read more of Harrison’s works and hope she continues writing fun and relatable girly horror vibe books! 

I enjoyed this so much that I will be reading Harrison’s debut novel, Cackle next. Let the next darkly romantic creature feature commence! Time to get witchy. 

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