Run Boy Run

by Ian Thomas

Proving that privilege is everything, the bored-with-the-pandemic residents of a Point Grey cul-de-sac happen upon an ancient demonic totem and decide a cult will be a fun little group-hang. Neighborhood watch is so last century. Only the group activities are blood-letting, carving ancient symbols into bodies, and keeping a close eye on the full moon. But at least there’s an app for that.
As resident cult expert for the equivalent of Amnesty Supernatural, the Clan Delphae, Dylan Taylor is not everyone’s cup of tea. He’s inappropriate, irreverent, and insanely smart. All of which gets under the skin of resident road warrior and former prophecy boy.
Teaming up with Wisdom, a final girl, and a werewolf-turned-high-school-teacher, Dylan finds this case will challenge him more than he expected. Challenges that may break him, potentially lose the love of his life, and make him face his own worst himself.
As the bodies mount and blood continues to spill, Dylan will have to stop running from himself to end this cult-de-sac.

626 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 30, 2024

Reviews

[whatnolareads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Let me start by saying: it took me a WHILE to get into Run Boy Run. I was this close to DNF’ing because the way the author described the friendship between the white MC and his Black best friend? Gave ✨“Look, I have a Black friend!”✨ like it was some kind of inclusion trophy. That rubbed me all the wrong ways and had me side-eyeing HARD. Like sir… is this what we doing.

But listen. I pushed through. And babyyyy—once this book finds its rhythm? It does NOT let up.

Here’s what you’re actually signing up for:
📍 Suburban demon cult and blood offerings
🧠 A deeply unwell, chaotic queer MC spiraling in real time
🐺 A werewolf turned high school teacher
💔 Emotional breakdowns disguised as witty banter
👀 And um… SPICE. Like… actual jaw-on-the-floor, “did I just read that??” moments
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ scenes that had me on the couch like: 😳😮‍💨😵‍💫

Genre: Queer urban fantasy / emotional horror / demonic cult comedy with a side of therapy
Star Rating: 4/5 — docking a point for the bumpy beginning and that weird friend intro
Spice Rating: 4/5 🔥🔥🔥🔥 — Like… HELLO?? Nobody warned me about that scene. Or those scenes. Plural. Like wth did he just say 🫣🫣🫣
Tears Level: Somewhere between “quiet sobbing” and “emotional nap required”

Final Thoughts:
This book is a slow start, no doubt. The beginning had me rolling my eyes. The pacing is weird but push through.. trust me!!!
BUT.

Once the story gets going? It delivers cult chaos, unfiltered grief, deeply introspective trauma processing, and yes—spicy moments that had me clutching my metaphorical pearls. Dylan is not a typical hero. He’s complicated, smart, inappropriate, and literally fighting demons—internal and external.

If you’re down for a weird, wild ride through suburban horror, emotional unraveling, and unexpectedly hot male-on-male moments? This is it!

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Proving that privilege is everything, the bored-with-the-pandemic residents of a Point Grey cul-de-sac happen upon an ancient demonic totem and decide a cult will be a fun little group-hang. Neighborhood watch is so last century. Only the group activities are blood-letting, carving ancient symbols into bodies, and keeping a close eye on the full moon. But at least there’s an app for that. As resident cult expert for the equivalent of Amnesty Supernatural, the Clan Delphae, Dylan Taylor is not everyone’s cup of tea. He’s inappropriate, irreverent, and insanely smart. All of which gets under the skin of resident road warrior and former prophecy boy. Teaming up with Wisdom, a final girl, and a werewolf-turned-high-school-teacher, Dylan finds this case will challenge him more than he expected. Challenges that may break him, potentially lose the love of his life, and make him face his own worst himself. As the bodies mount and blood continues to spill, Dylan will have to stop running from himself to end this cult-de-sac."

I really enjoyed reading this book. If you like fantasy, like stories about wolves, humans, and cults this is the book for you. Lots of suspense, good characters, storyline was wonderful, don't let the page count full you, its a quick read , it keeps you reading pages from beginning to end, cant wait to read more from this author.

[Danielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don’t think I did the author much good as I started this when I was going through something in my family. That being said, I trudged along and found myself falling away a bit from it, and finally sat down and concentrated. Dylan as a character is kind of a beautiful hot mess. Sometimes I was confused by the inner dialogue I was reading which didn’t make sense to me but was actually completely in character for him.
This story is a slow ride in the beginning. There is a lot of buildup that happens to set the relationships between the characters. While this seems a bit boring, it’s intentional, and you will be rooting for it all in the end. Once the rollercoaster takes off, you will not want to stop this ride.
Check out the playlist at the end of the book to get in the right emotional space. I didn’t know it was there until the end, and after listening to all the songs I wish I would have been in that musical space for the read-along.

[Katherine Beaumont · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is so much to enjoy in Thomas' books and this one is no exception. Unsurprisingly this is yet another fantastic, funny, witty and well written book... not to mention a bit tearjerky. Ian has a gift for character development, witty dialogue, pop culture references, relationships and relatability as well as well paced storytelling. I love the action and drama and the supernatural world but the fun and sometimes sexy quips make it a fun read too.