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Hot Pterodactyl Boyfriend
Prepare to be blown away—or rather, carried away on huge muscular wings—by this blissfully outlandish, bracingly smart, tour de force about a teen who has to come to terms with relinquishing control for the first time as she falls for the hot new…pterodactyl…at school. After all, everybody wants him!
Shiels is very pleased with her perfectly controlled life (controlling others while she’s at it). She’s smart, powerful, the Student Body Chair, and she even has a loving boyfriend. What more could a girl ask for?
But everything changes when the first-ever interspecies transfer student, a pterodactyl named Pyke, enrolls at her school. There’s something about him—something primal—that causes the students to lose control whenever he’s around. Even Shiels, the seemingly perfect self-confident girl that she is, can’t keep her mind off of him, despite her doting boyfriend and despite the fact that Pyke immediately starts dating Jocelyn, the school’s fastest runner who Shiels has always discounted as a nobody.
Pyke, hugely popular in a school whose motto is to embrace differences, is asked to join a band, and when his band plays at the Autumn Whirl dance, his preternatural shrieking music sends everyone into a literal frenzy. No one can remember what happened the next day, but Shiels learns that she danced far too long with Pyke, her nose has turned purple, and she may have done something with her boyfriend that she shouldn’t have. Who’s in control now?
Hilarious and relatable, Hot Pterodactyl Boyfriend is about a teen who must come to terms with not being in control of all things at all times, break free of her mundane life, discover who her true self is, and, oh, find out that going primal isn’t always a bad thing.
Shiels is very pleased with her perfectly controlled life (controlling others while she’s at it). She’s smart, powerful, the Student Body Chair, and she even has a loving boyfriend. What more could a girl ask for?
But everything changes when the first-ever interspecies transfer student, a pterodactyl named Pyke, enrolls at her school. There’s something about him—something primal—that causes the students to lose control whenever he’s around. Even Shiels, the seemingly perfect self-confident girl that she is, can’t keep her mind off of him, despite her doting boyfriend and despite the fact that Pyke immediately starts dating Jocelyn, the school’s fastest runner who Shiels has always discounted as a nobody.
Pyke, hugely popular in a school whose motto is to embrace differences, is asked to join a band, and when his band plays at the Autumn Whirl dance, his preternatural shrieking music sends everyone into a literal frenzy. No one can remember what happened the next day, but Shiels learns that she danced far too long with Pyke, her nose has turned purple, and she may have done something with her boyfriend that she shouldn’t have. Who’s in control now?
Hilarious and relatable, Hot Pterodactyl Boyfriend is about a teen who must come to terms with not being in control of all things at all times, break free of her mundane life, discover who her true self is, and, oh, find out that going primal isn’t always a bad thing.
416 pages, Paperback
First published March 22, 2016
23 people are currently reading
1301 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 316 reviews
October 5, 2019
Nonsensical garbage.
November 8, 2021
I take back every bad thing I’ve ever said about Crave
November 7, 2015
Okay.. so this book is a whirl wind of things that I never imagined.
Also this review will have lots of spoilers in it because there is almost no way of describing the things that happen without a few spoilers so be warned.
So it starts off with the main character Shiels, looking up at the sky mesmerized at a 'crow' coming towards them making strange zig-zag patterns in the sky. However this is not a crow (though the crows come back a couple times), this is a pterodactyl 18 year old teenage boy, who is the first inter-species transfer. His name is Pyke, and somehow every girl and woman in the school (and town) are in love with him.
This book goes into great detail of describing how sexy and ripped Pyke is which confuses me because he is a pterodactyl with wings, a huge beak, and claws.
The whole situation of creating this inhuman character and giving him this sex appeal is just unimaginable. I keep reminding myself that 'hey he has a super long beak and is not human so why are all these women in love with him'.
As the story unfolds, Shiels becomes so obsessed with Pyke that even her boyfriend Sheldon cannot handle it anymore. He realizes that all the women are enamored by Pyke (they have Pyke dreams) but can't understand why,
Pyke eventually becomes a cool kid and is part of the school football team, but no matter what Sheils mom still doesn't like him. This book works in diversity by using Pyke to symbolized the 'other'. They give a speech about how if he was a different race, or identified with a different gender people would be more understanding, but because he is of a different species people are not as forgiving. The school holds a 'meet and great' so people can become more comfortable around Pyke and understand that he is just like them.
This meet and greet goes over very well and people love Pyke more than they did before. Unfortunately right after this meet and great
After this incident Pyke gets put in
Anyway they create a crowdfund to raise money for Pyke and eventually get really close to getting all the money, and one morning Pyke is dropped off at Sheils home door with
While he is in Sheils home, there is a lot of sexual tension between them, and even her mother comes to fancy (and even blush) at Pyke. This book is too much for me.
So things happen with Pyke and Sheils because they share a bed, she thinks its just a very vivid dream but who knows it could have been real. I can't handle. too much for me. Her mom loves him.
Oh there is also this other girl named Jocelyne who was one of the first people to see Pyke as well and she also has a purple nose and wrangle danced with him. But now she has
Pyke takes (steals) Sheils and flies her away (because he had chosen her)took her to secluded place with other pterodactyls.
They dance around a fire, Sheils yells she is human, things happen, she runs finds a trucker, purple skin comes off her nose, he drives her home. the end.
fuck.
literally the worst thing i have ever read. i just do not understand the concept, there is no real conclusion. I just want to know why you turn purple and how you can turn into a pterodactyl. It is just too much stuff and not enough actually solving things. Overall no thank-you, this book was not okay. Maybe others will think differently but we shall see. I left out a bunch of characters and small plot details but overall this was what really stuck with me after reading the book.
Alan Cumyn says thank you to Libba Bray in the authors note... I know this is a small thing to be picky about but Libba Bray is an amazing author whose books inspire me and others, and this book is hardly inspiring.
Also this review will have lots of spoilers in it because there is almost no way of describing the things that happen without a few spoilers so be warned.
So it starts off with the main character Shiels, looking up at the sky mesmerized at a 'crow' coming towards them making strange zig-zag patterns in the sky. However this is not a crow (though the crows come back a couple times), this is a pterodactyl 18 year old teenage boy, who is the first inter-species transfer. His name is Pyke, and somehow every girl and woman in the school (and town) are in love with him.
This book goes into great detail of describing how sexy and ripped Pyke is which confuses me because he is a pterodactyl with wings, a huge beak, and claws.
The whole situation of creating this inhuman character and giving him this sex appeal is just unimaginable. I keep reminding myself that 'hey he has a super long beak and is not human so why are all these women in love with him'.
As the story unfolds, Shiels becomes so obsessed with Pyke that even her boyfriend Sheldon cannot handle it anymore. He realizes that all the women are enamored by Pyke (they have Pyke dreams) but can't understand why,
Pyke eventually becomes a cool kid and is part of the school football team, but no matter what Sheils mom still doesn't like him. This book works in diversity by using Pyke to symbolized the 'other'. They give a speech about how if he was a different race, or identified with a different gender people would be more understanding, but because he is of a different species people are not as forgiving. The school holds a 'meet and great' so people can become more comfortable around Pyke and understand that he is just like them.
This meet and greet goes over very well and people love Pyke more than they did before. Unfortunately right after this meet and great
After this incident Pyke gets put in
Anyway they create a crowdfund to raise money for Pyke and eventually get really close to getting all the money, and one morning Pyke is dropped off at Sheils home door with
While he is in Sheils home, there is a lot of sexual tension between them, and even her mother comes to fancy (and even blush) at Pyke. This book is too much for me.
So things happen with Pyke and Sheils because they share a bed, she thinks its just a very vivid dream but who knows it could have been real. I can't handle. too much for me. Her mom loves him.
Oh there is also this other girl named Jocelyne who was one of the first people to see Pyke as well and she also has a purple nose and wrangle danced with him. But now she has
Pyke takes (steals) Sheils and flies her away (because he had chosen her)took her to secluded place with other pterodactyls.
They dance around a fire, Sheils yells she is human, things happen, she runs finds a trucker, purple skin comes off her nose, he drives her home. the end.
fuck.
literally the worst thing i have ever read. i just do not understand the concept, there is no real conclusion. I just want to know why you turn purple and how you can turn into a pterodactyl. It is just too much stuff and not enough actually solving things. Overall no thank-you, this book was not okay. Maybe others will think differently but we shall see. I left out a bunch of characters and small plot details but overall this was what really stuck with me after reading the book.
Alan Cumyn says thank you to Libba Bray in the authors note... I know this is a small thing to be picky about but Libba Bray is an amazing author whose books inspire me and others, and this book is hardly inspiring.
Want to read
February 4, 2016Take me away to your lair you sexy beast!
March 7, 2016
WHY DID I DO THIS TO MYSELF?
April 19, 2016
I became interested in this book due to the cover, with its hyphenated text and sunset colors. I was thinking it would be a fun and slightly weird, possibly satirical, story with some kind of dinosaur shifter as a love interest.
"What do you mean a pterodactyl is attending your high school? They're extinct! How does he even exist?"
Well, it was definitely weird. And not in a good way. Unless you're weirder than I am, in which case maybe you'll like it.
For one thing, Pyke, the pterodactyl, was literally a dinosaur. No shifting involved. He was purple and had short fur. And glowing pecs. And nothing about this seemed satirical at all. In fact, this book seemed to take itself very seriously.
It wasn't even the fact that Pyke was a freakin' dinosaur that made me not like this. It was the fact that everyone somehow fell prey to his dino-pheremones or something, causing them to behave wildly and dream about him and, in some cases, become sexually attracted to him. And even THAT would have been fine had it been explained. But no, nothing was explained, except for stupid things like the MC's sudden random desire to learn about running and how to breathe when she runs, and quotes from the anthropologist she hopes will mentor her in college, and some other stuff I don't know about because I was skimming at that point.
All the stuff explained is stuff the reader doesn't want to know about. What we want to know is where Pyke came from, and how. He apparently had transfer papers, but the school board or whoever was keeping things secret. But why? How did he even approach these people to get registered as a student? THESE are the details I want to know! I don't want to read a flashback about some random boy the MC liked in sixth grade and then never went out with.
I actually started out liking this. The writing was good and I was interested to see what happened. But this was much too wordy and boring for a YA novel about a girl who's attracted to a pterodactyl that barely speaks English and had only a handful of short lines throughout. There was no basis for the girls' attraction except that it just WAS, because reasons.
It took me a week to read this, but it felt like FOREVER. This was a case of serious wasted potential.
By fate or by luck, this was the year of the pterodactyl.
Well there is a sexual being if I ever saw one. *nods appreciatively*
"What do you mean a pterodactyl is attending your high school? They're extinct! How does he even exist?"
Well, it was definitely weird. And not in a good way. Unless you're weirder than I am, in which case maybe you'll like it.
For one thing, Pyke, the pterodactyl, was literally a dinosaur. No shifting involved. He was purple and had short fur. And glowing pecs. And nothing about this seemed satirical at all. In fact, this book seemed to take itself very seriously.
It wasn't even the fact that Pyke was a freakin' dinosaur that made me not like this. It was the fact that everyone somehow fell prey to his dino-pheremones or something, causing them to behave wildly and dream about him and, in some cases, become sexually attracted to him. And even THAT would have been fine had it been explained. But no, nothing was explained, except for stupid things like the MC's sudden random desire to learn about running and how to breathe when she runs, and quotes from the anthropologist she hopes will mentor her in college, and some other stuff I don't know about because I was skimming at that point.
All the stuff explained is stuff the reader doesn't want to know about. What we want to know is where Pyke came from, and how. He apparently had transfer papers, but the school board or whoever was keeping things secret. But why? How did he even approach these people to get registered as a student? THESE are the details I want to know! I don't want to read a flashback about some random boy the MC liked in sixth grade and then never went out with.
I actually started out liking this. The writing was good and I was interested to see what happened. But this was much too wordy and boring for a YA novel about a girl who's attracted to a pterodactyl that barely speaks English and had only a handful of short lines throughout. There was no basis for the girls' attraction except that it just WAS, because reasons.
It took me a week to read this, but it felt like FOREVER. This was a case of serious wasted potential.
By fate or by luck, this was the year of the pterodactyl.
Well there is a sexual being if I ever saw one. *nods appreciatively*
April 23, 2016
This has to be the worst pile of crap I've EVER had the displeasure of reading. It's actually worse than Black Ice which is saying something! I honestly don't know how this shit even got bought by a publisher!
I was hoping for a hilarious satire making fun of the YA paranormal romance (because let's face it, no matter how much I love PNR, there are a lot of ridiculous tropes that are just begging for someone to take the piss out of them!) but this fails in every possible way.
The writing is horrendously bad (see my status updates for examples), so bad that it took me 2 days to read 20 pages & I couldn't even bring myself to go any further. This is totally scraping the barrel & after reading some of the (many!) other 1 star reviews I'm glad I decided not to carry on reading.
So much potential and it's completely wasted :-(
Thoughts before reading:
Is the dinosaur porn craze branching out into YA? o_0
Okay, I'm sure this isn't going to be porn but a hot pterodactyl boyfriend? That's definitely taking YA shapeshifters where they've never gone before!
I'm definitely going to be stalking the reviews for this because I'm dying of curiosity
I was hoping for a hilarious satire making fun of the YA paranormal romance (because let's face it, no matter how much I love PNR, there are a lot of ridiculous tropes that are just begging for someone to take the piss out of them!) but this fails in every possible way.
The writing is horrendously bad (see my status updates for examples), so bad that it took me 2 days to read 20 pages & I couldn't even bring myself to go any further. This is totally scraping the barrel & after reading some of the (many!) other 1 star reviews I'm glad I decided not to carry on reading.
So much potential and it's completely wasted :-(
Thoughts before reading:
Is the dinosaur porn craze branching out into YA? o_0
Okay, I'm sure this isn't going to be porn but a hot pterodactyl boyfriend? That's definitely taking YA shapeshifters where they've never gone before!
I'm definitely going to be stalking the reviews for this because I'm dying of curiosity
May 20, 2016
I can't! I just can't.
No background, plot, purpose or explanation... just "hot pterodactyl is hot" (imagine that in a zombified voice).
DNF
No background, plot, purpose or explanation... just "hot pterodactyl is hot" (imagine that in a zombified voice).
DNF
January 18, 2016
I don't know what the hell I just read....but I'm pretty sure I didn't like it.
Want to read
March 30, 2016This looks so weird. I MUST READ IT.
probably-not
June 30, 2016I don't actually want to read this book, but I don't have a way of writing a review sharing a few thoughts without adding it to my shelves (edit: I know I can create an unwanted/uninterested shelf, but eh). My question is this: WHY is this a thing? Why is this a thing someone thought was appropriate to publish? Why is this a thing someone thought was appropriate to WRITE? I get that it's probably just making fun of a lot of paranormal books with creatures like vampires, werewolves, etc, but it bothers me when people use their books to make fun of others'. That's not in good taste, and I'm really disappointed if that's the angle they're going with here.
Edited for clarity: Please note this is NOT an official review of the book, which I have not read. That is why I have not rated the book. My concerns about this book stem from a place of worry that someone is making light of the paranormal genre, which is beloved by many, and therefore insulting teens. I work with teens, and they're great (erm, most of the time). I want the best for them and when I purchase books for our teen collection, I want to make sure I'm picking books that they want and books that are important for them. When I see a book with a title and a summary that seems to be mocking them or their interests, it concerns me. Teens don't need that, and honestly, most adults, even the ya-loving kind, don't want to read it either.
Edited for clarity: Please note this is NOT an official review of the book, which I have not read. That is why I have not rated the book. My concerns about this book stem from a place of worry that someone is making light of the paranormal genre, which is beloved by many, and therefore insulting teens. I work with teens, and they're great (erm, most of the time). I want the best for them and when I purchase books for our teen collection, I want to make sure I'm picking books that they want and books that are important for them. When I see a book with a title and a summary that seems to be mocking them or their interests, it concerns me. Teens don't need that, and honestly, most adults, even the ya-loving kind, don't want to read it either.
July 29, 2020
Gentle reminder anyone can publish anything
June 1, 2016
I read this book so you don’t have to. You’re welcome.
Sometimes, a book you think is going to be a train wreck is actually pretty awesome. (See my review of Rampage at Waterloo!) And other times, a book you think is going to be a train wreck is a *glorious* train wreck. It’s so bad it’s awesome. You giggle. You guffaw. You give it a good rating because, even though it was terrible, it was fun to read.
And then, every so often…
You get Hot Pterodactyl Boyfriend.
Guys.
It was bad.
It was SO. BAD.
It wasn’t even a fun kind of bad, where the author had an idea that maybe he was writing a piece of crap and you could giggle along with him while you waited to see where it ended up. It wasn’t, as I thought from reading the cover blurb, a goofy send-up of teen shapeshifter romances, tongue firmly in cheek.
Nope.
First thing’s first – the pterodactyl in question is not a shapeshifter. He’s just a pterodactyl. A prehistoric beastie that shows up at a Canadian high school one day and registers for classes. And somehow, everybody falls in love with him. The student body has bizarre dreams about Pyke the Pterodactyl. His band plays at the big Autumn dance and is the biggest hit ever, even though all he does is scream along to the music. Because he’s A PTERODACTYL.
Our protagonist is also pretty unlikeable. Shiels is a control freak, and she sort of knows it, but she doesn’t really care. She’s determined to get into the social anthropology program of a really elite university and study with this elite professor, and she will step on toes, stab backs, and talk down to the school principal if it helps her reach her goal. (Shiels also has this weird habit of pushing her boyfriend, Sheldon, into a janitor’s closet for…..something. I thought maybe it was sex? But they establish later in the book that they’ve never had sex. So maybe just heavy petting. Either way, Sheldon just sort of goes along with it, but we’re left with the impression it’s not his favourite thing.)
So anyway, we have a girl who falls in love with a pterodactyl. And because she “wrangle danced” with him at the Autumn dance, her nose turns purple and his crest turns red and pulses when they’re close to each other. Meanwhile, Pyke has another, “actual” girlfriend at school – a girl called Jocelyne, whose nose has also turned purple from her hot pterodactyl boyfriend. We the readers are treated to a lot of angsting and longing after this pterodactyl and his amazing pecs and his soft, purple fur.
I just… I can’t even with this book. It’s all written in a vaguely stream-of-consciousness fashion, as Shiels tries to process her reaction to Pyke while trying to maintain control of the situation of having a pterodactyl enroll in the freshman class. (She’s the student-body chair, and takes her duties very seriously, to the point of spontaneously drafting Protocols and Proclamations on her cell phone before handing them to the principal and demanding they be implemented.) We never find out why people have such a visceral reaction to Pyke – whether he’s releasing some pheromone, or tapping into humans’ genetic memory, or whatever. Nope, he just makes girls lust after him and turn their noses purple.
The end of the book is so bizarre I don’t even want to think about it. And you’re not even quite sure what’s going to happen after the last page, so it’s not even a really satisfying ending. Honestly, the most satisfying part of this book was getting to the end of the last page.
Things to Know: SHE FALLS IN LOVE WITH A PTERODACTYL. SHE FANTASIZES ABOUT A PTERODACTYL. Sex – with humans and pterodactyls – is discussed very frankly. The Autumn dance scene, and the morning after, gets kind of weird as people aren’t sure whether or not they were under the influence of anything other than Pyke’s Magical Awesomeness. Honestly, if you’ve read this much of the review and you’re still wondering whether there are any weird topics to know about, just go for it. Bless you.
Sometimes, a book you think is going to be a train wreck is actually pretty awesome. (See my review of Rampage at Waterloo!) And other times, a book you think is going to be a train wreck is a *glorious* train wreck. It’s so bad it’s awesome. You giggle. You guffaw. You give it a good rating because, even though it was terrible, it was fun to read.
And then, every so often…
You get Hot Pterodactyl Boyfriend.
Guys.
It was bad.
It was SO. BAD.
It wasn’t even a fun kind of bad, where the author had an idea that maybe he was writing a piece of crap and you could giggle along with him while you waited to see where it ended up. It wasn’t, as I thought from reading the cover blurb, a goofy send-up of teen shapeshifter romances, tongue firmly in cheek.
Nope.
First thing’s first – the pterodactyl in question is not a shapeshifter. He’s just a pterodactyl. A prehistoric beastie that shows up at a Canadian high school one day and registers for classes. And somehow, everybody falls in love with him. The student body has bizarre dreams about Pyke the Pterodactyl. His band plays at the big Autumn dance and is the biggest hit ever, even though all he does is scream along to the music. Because he’s A PTERODACTYL.
Our protagonist is also pretty unlikeable. Shiels is a control freak, and she sort of knows it, but she doesn’t really care. She’s determined to get into the social anthropology program of a really elite university and study with this elite professor, and she will step on toes, stab backs, and talk down to the school principal if it helps her reach her goal. (Shiels also has this weird habit of pushing her boyfriend, Sheldon, into a janitor’s closet for…..something. I thought maybe it was sex? But they establish later in the book that they’ve never had sex. So maybe just heavy petting. Either way, Sheldon just sort of goes along with it, but we’re left with the impression it’s not his favourite thing.)
So anyway, we have a girl who falls in love with a pterodactyl. And because she “wrangle danced” with him at the Autumn dance, her nose turns purple and his crest turns red and pulses when they’re close to each other. Meanwhile, Pyke has another, “actual” girlfriend at school – a girl called Jocelyne, whose nose has also turned purple from her hot pterodactyl boyfriend. We the readers are treated to a lot of angsting and longing after this pterodactyl and his amazing pecs and his soft, purple fur.
I just… I can’t even with this book. It’s all written in a vaguely stream-of-consciousness fashion, as Shiels tries to process her reaction to Pyke while trying to maintain control of the situation of having a pterodactyl enroll in the freshman class. (She’s the student-body chair, and takes her duties very seriously, to the point of spontaneously drafting Protocols and Proclamations on her cell phone before handing them to the principal and demanding they be implemented.) We never find out why people have such a visceral reaction to Pyke – whether he’s releasing some pheromone, or tapping into humans’ genetic memory, or whatever. Nope, he just makes girls lust after him and turn their noses purple.
The end of the book is so bizarre I don’t even want to think about it. And you’re not even quite sure what’s going to happen after the last page, so it’s not even a really satisfying ending. Honestly, the most satisfying part of this book was getting to the end of the last page.
Things to Know: SHE FALLS IN LOVE WITH A PTERODACTYL. SHE FANTASIZES ABOUT A PTERODACTYL. Sex – with humans and pterodactyls – is discussed very frankly. The Autumn dance scene, and the morning after, gets kind of weird as people aren’t sure whether or not they were under the influence of anything other than Pyke’s Magical Awesomeness. Honestly, if you’ve read this much of the review and you’re still wondering whether there are any weird topics to know about, just go for it. Bless you.
September 20, 2021
Hot Pterodactyl Boyfriend.
This is a book. Somehow. It is in my library system... somehow. I came to know of its existence and I had to read it. I mean, who wouldn't, right? Well... I did read it. I'm not entirely certain what I read, though.
Shiels is our main character. She is head of the Student Council and she wants the reader to know it. This is a job that she takes seriously, and the bulk of the book is her concerned with the various things that she is responsible for as head of the Student Council. These are things such as dances, ensuring new students of any species are not discriminated against, and football games for some reason. She also badly wishes to go to college to apprentice under a political anthropologist that everyone else in the books thinks is insane. Shiels has goals and her life is going according to plan until Pyke shows up.
Pyke is the pterodactyl. He has pecs and abs as well as an extremely long "dangerous" beak and a crest that turns crimson when he is aroused. He barely speaks English and is a freshman at the age of 18. He has maybe 10 lines in the entire book. Why? Again, he is a pterodactyl. Literally a pterodactyl. Where he came from, how he exists - none of that is ever explained. He also has a fetish related to yellow running shoes. This is also never explained.
It's lust at first sight for Shiels and this pterodactyl. The problem is that Pyke is already obsessed with someone else and Shiels is dating someone else - his name is literally Sheldon. The book is all... that. Her lusting after Pyke, Pyke squawking at her and starting a band. Pyke turning people's noses purple when they sexually desire him. Shiels "wrangle-dancing" with Pyke. No, I don't know what wrangle-dancing is. I don't know why people's noses turned purple. I don't know why Pyke is desirable or why people are dreaming about him. I don't even know why Shiels is obsessed with running suddenly.
The book is baffling from start to finish. I want to talk to everyone about it. I want to understand if this is satire or not. I want to just... somehow make sense of the fact that a human and a pterodactyl had sex more than once in this book. Did Shiels ever have sex with Pyke? Well, they wrangle-danced. Whatever that is.
What is this book?
This is a book. Somehow. It is in my library system... somehow. I came to know of its existence and I had to read it. I mean, who wouldn't, right? Well... I did read it. I'm not entirely certain what I read, though.
Shiels is our main character. She is head of the Student Council and she wants the reader to know it. This is a job that she takes seriously, and the bulk of the book is her concerned with the various things that she is responsible for as head of the Student Council. These are things such as dances, ensuring new students of any species are not discriminated against, and football games for some reason. She also badly wishes to go to college to apprentice under a political anthropologist that everyone else in the books thinks is insane. Shiels has goals and her life is going according to plan until Pyke shows up.
Pyke is the pterodactyl. He has pecs and abs as well as an extremely long "dangerous" beak and a crest that turns crimson when he is aroused. He barely speaks English and is a freshman at the age of 18. He has maybe 10 lines in the entire book. Why? Again, he is a pterodactyl. Literally a pterodactyl. Where he came from, how he exists - none of that is ever explained. He also has a fetish related to yellow running shoes. This is also never explained.
It's lust at first sight for Shiels and this pterodactyl. The problem is that Pyke is already obsessed with someone else and Shiels is dating someone else - his name is literally Sheldon. The book is all... that. Her lusting after Pyke, Pyke squawking at her and starting a band. Pyke turning people's noses purple when they sexually desire him. Shiels "wrangle-dancing" with Pyke. No, I don't know what wrangle-dancing is. I don't know why people's noses turned purple. I don't know why Pyke is desirable or why people are dreaming about him. I don't even know why Shiels is obsessed with running suddenly.
The book is baffling from start to finish. I want to talk to everyone about it. I want to understand if this is satire or not. I want to just... somehow make sense of the fact that a human and a pterodactyl had sex more than once in this book. Did Shiels ever have sex with Pyke? Well, they wrangle-danced. Whatever that is.
What is this book?
February 4, 2024
I imagine the title came first. In my head, someone mentions the title with perfect timing and everyone convulses with laughter. But as he's laughing, Alan Cumyn starts getting ideas: characters, situations, scenes … And he realizes, with some trepidation, “Oh, crap! I'm going to have to *write* this, aren't I …” Alan, if you're reading this, let me know how close I got (not very, I'm thinking. But it's a fun scene to contemplate.)
So Pyke is an honest to goodness pterodactyl. Not a human with wings and a pterodactyl head, a la the classic 60's X-Men villain, Sauron, but an actual living fossil with short little legs and everything. He doesn't talk much–and has quite an accent when he does–and is offstage for large portions of the book. There's no real explanation as to how the new student at a 21st century high school just happens to be a pterodactyl. Characters who meet him just accept it and move on. The rest just assume he's some kind of wild animal and potentially dangerous. It's an odd dynamic, but it works. Probably best not to overthink it. Just say, “Magic realism,” and move on.
Our main character is Shiels. She's president of the student council, and one of the first to spot Pyke as he flies in for his first day at school. She's something of a control freak, and unprepared for the effect that Pyke seems to have on all women. The book is more about her personal journey than it is about romance.
I enjoyed this book more than I expected to. I'm not sure why it's rated as low by Goodreads readers as it is. The long claw of the anti-pterosaur lobby, no doubt. I liked it just fine, and the story definitely took some unexpected turns. Recommended!
So Pyke is an honest to goodness pterodactyl. Not a human with wings and a pterodactyl head, a la the classic 60's X-Men villain, Sauron, but an actual living fossil with short little legs and everything. He doesn't talk much–and has quite an accent when he does–and is offstage for large portions of the book. There's no real explanation as to how the new student at a 21st century high school just happens to be a pterodactyl. Characters who meet him just accept it and move on. The rest just assume he's some kind of wild animal and potentially dangerous. It's an odd dynamic, but it works. Probably best not to overthink it. Just say, “Magic realism,” and move on.
Our main character is Shiels. She's president of the student council, and one of the first to spot Pyke as he flies in for his first day at school. She's something of a control freak, and unprepared for the effect that Pyke seems to have on all women. The book is more about her personal journey than it is about romance.
I enjoyed this book more than I expected to. I'm not sure why it's rated as low by Goodreads readers as it is. The long claw of the anti-pterosaur lobby, no doubt. I liked it just fine, and the story definitely took some unexpected turns. Recommended!
Read
March 15, 2016I mean this can only go two ways--either I love the shit out of it (which will be awesome) or I'll buy the book only to burn it (which is not good ever) so yeah.
Update after reading:
DNF @ 26%
There's only so much of this nonsense that I can tolerate. I kept waiting for the MC, Shiels, to make sense to me, or for anything in this book to interest me, but nada. I can't think of one reason why this would be brought into existence, let alone published and bought. Shiels' perfectionism was borderline maniacal, and the way she went about her life worried me quite a bit.
Tl;dr: STAY THE FUCK AWAY.
In other news, here's something actually funny, based on a pterodactyl by The Oatmeal!
Update after reading:
DNF @ 26%
There's only so much of this nonsense that I can tolerate. I kept waiting for the MC, Shiels, to make sense to me, or for anything in this book to interest me, but nada. I can't think of one reason why this would be brought into existence, let alone published and bought. Shiels' perfectionism was borderline maniacal, and the way she went about her life worried me quite a bit.
Tl;dr: STAY THE FUCK AWAY.
In other news, here's something actually funny, based on a pterodactyl by The Oatmeal!
March 5, 2020
I am dumber for having read this book.
dnf
May 18, 2017So far.... this is the weirdest book I have ever read. And the ratings are horrific. It's intriguing but it not really what I feel like reading right now. I'm currently in a reading slump/disappointment hangover/ i'm crazy busy and my reading taste in very erratic and mood based.
It wasn't bad but I don't have enough patience to push through (even though I'd probably end up enjoying it.)
It wasn't bad but I don't have enough patience to push through (even though I'd probably end up enjoying it.)
May 21, 2016
I'm not terribly into paranormal romances. But when I saw the title of this book, I couldn't resist reading it because I had to find out how you could even have a dinosaur as a love interest. I expected this to be funny because the title is so hilarious...but it actually had way more depth to it than I would have thought possible. The main character, Shiels, is the student body president and a complete type-A personality. She's used to being in control of just about everything in her life and at school, including having the principal wrapped around her finger to do her bidding, all for the good of the school, of course. So when this dinosaur named Pyke appears out of nowhere (an exchange student, sort of) and has this inexplicable pull on the student body, she begins to rapidly lose control over everything she thought she had figured out. I see it as a strength that the dinosaur doesn't appear that often in the book and when he does, he has very little to say. There's this air of mystery surrounding him and there's no attempt on the author's part to give Pyke much of a backstory, to explain why he's there in the first place, if he has a family, where he lives, or how he can speak at all. And that helps keep the focus on Shiels and what she is dealing with internally. So while some readers might be disappointed with the dearth of romantic scenes, I felt it was what makes this whole concept work.
So...well done and kudos to this author for successfully pulling off a dino romance that made me think about loss of control as an interesting aspect of teen romance and making me realize that having a dinosaur boyfriend is not any crazier a concept than any other paranormal romance.
There's occasional profanity and a little bit of gyrating and mostly off page...erm, mating, so I'm more inclined to talk about this one with high schoolers.
So...well done and kudos to this author for successfully pulling off a dino romance that made me think about loss of control as an interesting aspect of teen romance and making me realize that having a dinosaur boyfriend is not any crazier a concept than any other paranormal romance.
There's occasional profanity and a little bit of gyrating and mostly off page...erm, mating, so I'm more inclined to talk about this one with high schoolers.
February 4, 2016
SO BAD!!!! Do not waste your life on this horrible book. Why?
1. It took me the whole book to figure this out and only in the acknowledgments I found out: this book takes place in Canada. That explains all the weird expressions and writing style! (And of course the appearance of a moose)
2. It's so stupid. The concept literally came from something Libba Bray (an amazing author) said in a speech. And Alan Cumyn actually believes in his book. He says in the acknowledgments: "Due to the sensitive nature of my research, few of my study subjects agreed to speak on the record, so I am presenting this book in its entirety as "fiction"..." He put fiction in quotes. What?!!?
3. The notion that everyone falls in love with this pterodactyl boy. And that he's hot?? Yeah right.
4. The purple noses...I can't even.
5. The story is about this normal girl who just falls madly in love with a creature and even though she has a perfectly nice boyfriend already, gives him up for this prehistoric hottie. SO unbelievable and moronic!
It was hard to read because it was so dumb. I got really bored listening to this girl ramble on about yellow shoes and this pterodactyl boy. It just about killed me. I'm not sure, but this could possibly be worse than Mortal Instruments. UGH.
1. It took me the whole book to figure this out and only in the acknowledgments I found out: this book takes place in Canada. That explains all the weird expressions and writing style! (And of course the appearance of a moose)
2. It's so stupid. The concept literally came from something Libba Bray (an amazing author) said in a speech. And Alan Cumyn actually believes in his book. He says in the acknowledgments: "Due to the sensitive nature of my research, few of my study subjects agreed to speak on the record, so I am presenting this book in its entirety as "fiction"..." He put fiction in quotes. What?!!?
3. The notion that everyone falls in love with this pterodactyl boy. And that he's hot?? Yeah right.
4. The purple noses...I can't even.
5. The story is about this normal girl who just falls madly in love with a creature and even though she has a perfectly nice boyfriend already, gives him up for this prehistoric hottie. SO unbelievable and moronic!
It was hard to read because it was so dumb. I got really bored listening to this girl ramble on about yellow shoes and this pterodactyl boy. It just about killed me. I'm not sure, but this could possibly be worse than Mortal Instruments. UGH.
January 30, 2016
This was an absolute trainwreck. Not even fun, just....bad.
February 6, 2016
I have nothing to say.
May 31, 2019
3 Stars
Review:
I have mixed feelings about this book.
It started off great. The beginning of this book was absurd and ridiculous, and I loved it. I swear the author just crammed in as many words with a sexual connotation as he could. The word "throbbed" was used at least three times within the first half hour. It was hilarious for its sheer ridiculousness, and the audiobook narrator deserves an award for keeping a straight face (voice?) throughout the entire thing. Also for her amazingly overdramatic and sensual voice performance that paired perfectly with the content.
Also, I thought the pterodactyl would be a shifter and have a human form, but nope. It was a full-on pterodactyl that the main character was attracted to. Honestly, that just made it even better.
But the book got more serious as it went on. It became more about Sheils realizing she couldn't control everything and everyone around her, realizing she was selfish and used people and took them for granted, realizing what she really wanted in life. Except I feel like most of those things weren't really followed through on. By the end, she didn't seem to actually change much except that she liked running. Maybe I just missed something? There was also more serious stuff happening in the plot. But the more serious the book got, the harder it got for me to suspend my disbelief about certain things. And what Sheils felt for Pyke, it didn't feel like love; it felt like obsession. Maybe it was just Pyke's strange powers affecting her, and maybe it was realistic in the sense that some teens feel things very quickly and strongly, but I still couldn't quite understand why she was going to the lengths she was going to for him.
As for the audio narration, the male voices were not the worst I've heard, but also not the best. I'm really picky about that though. Other than that, the narrator (Brittany Pressley) did a good job.
Another thing, the characters kept using the term "wrangle dancing." I have no idea what that is. Either a) it's something the author made up, b) it's a regional term, or c) I've reached that age in which I can't keep up with the lingo of the youngins anymore. Now get off my lawn!
Overall, I think this book would've worked better for me had it kept that silly, absurd tone that it had in the beginning. But some readers might enjoy the character development and the more serious aspects of this story just as much! And let's be honest, if you're anything like me, it doesn't matter what anyone says because you're not going to be able to resist reading what is probably the only book in existence about a pterodactyl boy ;-P
Recommended For:
Anyone who likes YA, uncommon paranormal creatures, and books that combine silly with serious.
Original Review @ Metaphors and Moonlight
Review:
I have mixed feelings about this book.
It started off great. The beginning of this book was absurd and ridiculous, and I loved it. I swear the author just crammed in as many words with a sexual connotation as he could. The word "throbbed" was used at least three times within the first half hour. It was hilarious for its sheer ridiculousness, and the audiobook narrator deserves an award for keeping a straight face (voice?) throughout the entire thing. Also for her amazingly overdramatic and sensual voice performance that paired perfectly with the content.
Also, I thought the pterodactyl would be a shifter and have a human form, but nope. It was a full-on pterodactyl that the main character was attracted to. Honestly, that just made it even better.
But the book got more serious as it went on. It became more about Sheils realizing she couldn't control everything and everyone around her, realizing she was selfish and used people and took them for granted, realizing what she really wanted in life. Except I feel like most of those things weren't really followed through on. By the end, she didn't seem to actually change much except that she liked running. Maybe I just missed something? There was also more serious stuff happening in the plot. But the more serious the book got, the harder it got for me to suspend my disbelief about certain things. And what Sheils felt for Pyke, it didn't feel like love; it felt like obsession. Maybe it was just Pyke's strange powers affecting her, and maybe it was realistic in the sense that some teens feel things very quickly and strongly, but I still couldn't quite understand why she was going to the lengths she was going to for him.
As for the audio narration, the male voices were not the worst I've heard, but also not the best. I'm really picky about that though. Other than that, the narrator (Brittany Pressley) did a good job.
Another thing, the characters kept using the term "wrangle dancing." I have no idea what that is. Either a) it's something the author made up, b) it's a regional term, or c) I've reached that age in which I can't keep up with the lingo of the youngins anymore. Now get off my lawn!
Overall, I think this book would've worked better for me had it kept that silly, absurd tone that it had in the beginning. But some readers might enjoy the character development and the more serious aspects of this story just as much! And let's be honest, if you're anything like me, it doesn't matter what anyone says because you're not going to be able to resist reading what is probably the only book in existence about a pterodactyl boy ;-P
Recommended For:
Anyone who likes YA, uncommon paranormal creatures, and books that combine silly with serious.
Original Review @ Metaphors and Moonlight
January 9, 2016
So you have an idea for a book called "Hot Pterodactyl Boyfriend"...wouldn't you want to put a bit of satire in it?
Want to read
March 21, 2016WTF. I want it.
Update: hah hah hah hah hah. THIS REVIEW AND ALL ITS SPOILERS:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Update: hah hah hah hah hah. THIS REVIEW AND ALL ITS SPOILERS:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
June 8, 2020
I can't believe I did this to myself.
January 22, 2016
I expected fabulous and unusual things from 'Hot Pterodactyl Boyfriend', the concept is right up my street and probably would have worked if it wasn't for the obscure and erratic, yet enormously basic, writing that plagues this bizarre teen novel. Cumyn's prose is distractingly absent of descriptive writing and the narrative is surprisingly frustrating to follow, simply because there are weird, gaping holes in the story and the plot shoots off in every which direction without logical progression. The characters followed this trend and felt hollow without any discernible character development that made sense. I couldn't form any emotional ties with Sheil, Sheldon or Pyke, most likely because the characters themselves lacked any evidence of genuine emotional interaction. I couldn't even find it in myself to hate them.
Too trashy for me by far and lacking in a plot that had the ability to keep me hooked, it's weirdness does have the potential to make 'Hot Pterodactyl Boyfriend' a cult hit, but this notion may be overwhelmingly generous.
Too trashy for me by far and lacking in a plot that had the ability to keep me hooked, it's weirdness does have the potential to make 'Hot Pterodactyl Boyfriend' a cult hit, but this notion may be overwhelmingly generous.
March 21, 2016
I understand that this was an absurdist take on satirizing the paranormal boyfriend trope in YA, so it's not a matter of me not "getting" it. My issues with this book stem from the fact that it is too absurd to enjoy, much less appreciate the author's intended intellectual snobbery. I could suspend belief enough to accept a pterodactyl boy transferring into a high school, and that our anal retentive type A main character would be overwhelmed at her inability to control the situation, or herself. But the dubcon that is rife throughout this book (specifically a scene in which our MC thinks she's lost her virginity and has no memory of the event because she was high on pterodactyl pheromones or whatever), made me beyond uncomfortable. I thought this book would be a cheesy, campy farce of a novel that could give us all a good laugh about how predictable and dramatic paranormal romance is, but what I read fell far short of that. But who knows? Maybe the next hottest trend in YA will be hot pterodactyl boyfriends. Vampires are so last season.
September 27, 2018
"And God said: Thou shalt use a condom because if not, you'll become rotund with child and become a teenage mother, bottom wiper, and human milk dispenser."
What in the actual fuck is this? It was so dreadfully awful that I got to forty percent and had to give up. There are so many thoughts zooming around in my head that it actually might explode from this.
To start off with, this started off confusing and it followed its way up until I gave up. It flew from one thing to another so quickly that it gave me whiplash. (Thanks a lot, Pterodactyl..... Asshole!) What I really want to know is that why everyone wanted to bang this prehistoric beast?
This has to be the worst book that I have ever read. I would have had a better time staring at the sun. If you're tempted by the title, I suggest you run as far away as you can from this. Don't let his thank you to Libba Bray talk you into anything.
If you feel tempted by this book, I have started a helpline to get you away from this horrible atrocity. No one should have to deal with shitty books.
What in the actual fuck is this? It was so dreadfully awful that I got to forty percent and had to give up. There are so many thoughts zooming around in my head that it actually might explode from this.
To start off with, this started off confusing and it followed its way up until I gave up. It flew from one thing to another so quickly that it gave me whiplash. (Thanks a lot, Pterodactyl..... Asshole!) What I really want to know is that why everyone wanted to bang this prehistoric beast?
This has to be the worst book that I have ever read. I would have had a better time staring at the sun. If you're tempted by the title, I suggest you run as far away as you can from this. Don't let his thank you to Libba Bray talk you into anything.
If you feel tempted by this book, I have started a helpline to get you away from this horrible atrocity. No one should have to deal with shitty books.
March 24, 2016
2.5ish? (I can understand why this is so poorly rated so far, though... )
Read my full review on Forever Young Adult.
Read my full review on Forever Young Adult.
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