horrorbutch's profile picture

horrorbutch 's review for:

Running With the Pack by A.M. Burns
3.0

Disclaimer: I received an e-copy of this book on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Finn has just moved to a new place where everything is different. He is quite excited to get to know the woods around his house. He soon makes a new friend, Ivan, whose parents own a local wolf center. After falling in love with the wolves Finn decides to work at the shelter. But he definitely feels more for Ivan than for other friends and it is similar with Adrian. After a short period of confusion he realizes that he likes them both.
The characters are very nicely written and I enjoyed Adrian being asexual. I also loved that there was a nice polyamorous relationship in this novel and how the ace character was included. The only time that anything sexual happens between the two other characters it is off page, which definitely fit the novel.

On the one hand it was very nice that nobody had a problem with Adrian being ace, with them all being gay or with them being in a polyamorous relationship. There wasn't even one bad word from any of the kids in school! It was very nice and sweet, which definitely felt good.

But on the other hand the only conflict that existed in this novel was because of some bullies. And even one of the bullies got a redemption arc... So it felt a bit too sweet for me at times.

All in all this book was quite nice and I definitely love it for portraying a sweet polyamorous relationship featuring an ace character, but it was a bit too short to really get to know the characters. There could have been a bit more going on in the story and it could have been a bit longer. I would love a novel so we could get to know the boys better!

Why I read it: a polyamorous relationship with an ace character? Uhm yes, sign me up!!! (I love nice poly relationships!! And diversity!!!)

Do I recommend it: If you're looking for a sweet and short story, this is definitely the book for you. It is written very well and the wolves are just adorable!