My partner and I listened to River of Teeth on audiobook from the library, and it was fantastic from start to finish.

In an alternate history of the 1890s American South, the government has imported hippos as an alternate meat source to feed America. Winslow Houndstooth, a Black British queer man, is the best breeder of hippos around, until his ranch burns down. Left with nothing, Houndstooth assembles the Avengers--I mean, a crack team of fellow gays--I MEAN, the best of the best hippo-riders out there to seek his revenge.

As other reviewers have noted, the diversity of the cast is top-notch. The fat rep and LGBTQ rep are especially well-done. For the first time in a long time, I read (well, listened) to a book that was simply fun. I could tell the author had fun writing it, and her happiness was infectious. If I had one quibble, Gailey heavily relies on implication to fit so much in such a little novella, but it's not always effective. For example, implication added much depth to con artist Archie's character, but the Civil War is only possibly hinted at in an appendix, leaving readers wondering if slavery exists or not.

Overall though, River of Teeth was an absolute delight. I haven't truly given the alternate history genre a thorough investigation, but I had such a rollicking good time with these hippos that I think I'll give it a go.