Scan barcode
helfire124's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Grief, Kidnapping, Vomit, Murder, Cursing, Abandonment, Body horror, Gaslighting, Child abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Stalking, Torture, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, and Emotional abuse
eidal's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Death, Violence, Abandonment, Sexual content, Murder, Grief, and Blood
Moderate: Cursing, Child abuse, Torture, and Kidnapping
Minor: Domestic abuse, Sexual violence, Alcoholism, and Emotional abuse
kimschouwenaar's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
I devoured this book, finished it within 48 hours. And I am a slow reader.
Oh my god. Oh my god, y'all.
Oh my god. Oh my god, y'all.
You gotta smell him and then tell me why itโs all candy canes and pinecones and epic and awesome.
I never thought TJ Klune would succeed in ripping out my heart and shredding it entirely. Alas, here we are. As a slow reader, I usually take my time to get through books, especially when they're a little chunky (yes, this is 'only' about 450 pages long, but it's longer than books I normally read). However, that wasn't the case with this book. I sprinted through this, couldn't put it down, didn't WANT to put it down (because 'you always have a choice'). It has been a long time since I stayed up until 3 am to read. I think the last book that kept me up all night was The Foxhole Court, which is now one of the books I reread every year. Because, fuck. This book doesn't consist of words, it's predominantly made up of characters, pain, and a rollercoaster of emotions.
People could be cruel. They could be beautiful, but they could be cruel too.
At least the first half of the book is what you read in the synopsis: we briefly follow Ox through his childhood when his father leaves, but it quickly moves on to his teenage years and his first meeting with Joe. Joe, the little tornado. Joe. Ox meets the rest of the Bennett family, befriends them, becomes their family, becomes part of their pack, becomes their pack. Until murder comes to town and three remain.
Sometimes I walked in the woods. Things were clearer there. The trees swayed in the breeze. Birds told me stories. They didnโt judge me.
Klune doesn't take the time to wholly explain the setting, making this a timeless book. He glosses over descriptions of buildings, surroundings, characters. And yet, I saw Greek Creek, Oregon as if I've lived there my entire life. I'm not going to lie, his writing style took some time to get used to. It's a lot of dialogue, and you need to stay focused or risk losing track of who's saying what. But it works because that's who the narrator is. That's who Ox is. He sees the world through his own unique lense, and Klune is a master at depicting that lense through his writing.
On top of that, Ox is hilarious. I had to stop reading the book several times, because I was on public transport and I could not risk bursting out laughing. And then I was reading at night and had to stop reading to I didn't wake up the rest of my family. I was dying. And it's not just Ox. It's Carter, Kelly, Joe, Elizabeth, Thomas, Mark, Gordo, Ox's mum, and everyone at the garage Ox works at.
But hearts are a funny thing; they beat strongly in our chests, even though they can shatter at the slightest pressure.
And then comes the heartbreak. The waiting, and the pining, and the years of trying to work your way through loss. It took me out. I was sobbing.
I think the only criticism I have is the use of the word 'retard'; although it was used in a memory Ox has of when his father calls him that. Kind of. And it took some time getting used to the age gap, but it's only 5/6 years and nothing explicit happens until both of them are adults.
So, yeah. This is easily one of my favourite reads of 2023, and it has been added to my all-time-favourites shelf. It's a romance, yes, but it's also so much more. It's grief, it's family, it's loyalty, it's friendship, and it's love that transcends that on the romantic plain.
That was fine. That was okay. Because we were the goddamn Bennett pack. And our song would always be heard.
If you have come this far, I am very much looking for more book friends! You can find me on:
IG: kimschouwenaar
TT: _kimschouwenaar
Goodreads: Kim Schouwenaar
I am also in the midst of creating an IG account specifically for my reading, writing and art journey, which you will be able to find under the username @shelvesofsanity! And I'm obviously on here, so feel free to send me a friend request! (:
- kim <3
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Death of parent, Gore, Sexual content, and Violence
Moderate: Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Gore, and Abandonment
Minor: Cursing
kelsokake's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Animal death, Death, Kidnapping, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, and Grief
Moderate: Child abuse and Cursing
Minor: Rape
dragonsreadtoo's review
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Cursing, and Death of parent
Moderate: Child abuse, Murder, Adult/minor relationship, Torture, Sexual content, and Kidnapping
Minor: Domestic abuse and Rape
brewdy_reader's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
๐๐ข๐ณ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฎ๐ข๐ญ โข ๐๐ข๐ฏ๐ต๐ข๐ด๐บ โข ๐๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ โฃ
๐๐ถ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ณ โข ๐๐ญ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐๐ถ๐ณ๐ฏ โข ๐๐ฆ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐จ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ โฃ
๐ถ๏ธ ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ๐บ ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ด๐ค๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฆโฃ
This book blew my mind in a transformational kind of way.
Many of the themes are common to books of the paranormal variety: shapeshifters who share minds with their packs, becoming the beast, forgetting one's humanity, the powers of good vs evil, alphas as the pack leaders, changing eye colours, the concept of a destined mate bonded for life. And yet.
So this shows my biases: I did not know before this that I could love a paranormal gay romance. 90% of the characters in the book are male. I didn't think I would appreciate it the same way as the hetero relationships/female MCs in many best-selling romance novels. I'm not sure why anymore. Maybe I thought I wouldn't completely relate or would be uncomfortable reading the spicy scenes.
Well, I am here to say I was wrong.
I loved Ox. I loved his simplicity, his straightforwardness, his shyness, his slowness with words, but mostly I loved his heart. I loved many of the other characters, including Thomas and Gordo, and of course the two mamas spoke directly to this mama bear's heart. The slow burn romance was my jam. It was a little weird the ages when the two MC met but in the end it did not bother me the way it was written (some people will disagree, and I'd welcome discussion).
I also appreciated how the book references other fantasy series to almost mock itself, including both Star Wars and Twilight. I enjoyed the witches who were men - another novel concept. Why must witches be women? Like I said at the start, this book made me examine and reconsider a lot of my assumptions, which is just what I'd want in a book.
Beyond all this self-introspection, I bawled. It was raw and emotional.
Werewolves and witches are the perfect October combo for your fall reading fantasy list, so def check this one out!
TW: there are many. I recommend reviewing triggers on storygraph or another platform prior to reading.
๐ฌ Q: What was the last book that changed your world view?
๐๐ถ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ณ โข ๐๐ญ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐๐ถ๐ณ๐ฏ โข ๐๐ฆ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐จ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ โฃ
๐ถ๏ธ ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ๐บ ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ด๐ค๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฆโฃ
This book blew my mind in a transformational kind of way.
Many of the themes are common to books of the paranormal variety: shapeshifters who share minds with their packs, becoming the beast, forgetting one's humanity, the powers of good vs evil, alphas as the pack leaders, changing eye colours, the concept of a destined mate bonded for life. And yet.
So this shows my biases: I did not know before this that I could love a paranormal gay romance. 90% of the characters in the book are male. I didn't think I would appreciate it the same way as the hetero relationships/female MCs in many best-selling romance novels. I'm not sure why anymore. Maybe I thought I wouldn't completely relate or would be uncomfortable reading the spicy scenes.
Well, I am here to say I was wrong.
I loved Ox. I loved his simplicity, his straightforwardness, his shyness, his slowness with words, but mostly I loved his heart. I loved many of the other characters, including Thomas and Gordo, and of course the two mamas spoke directly to this mama bear's heart. The slow burn romance was my jam. It was a little weird the ages when the two MC met but in the end it did not bother me the way it was written (some people will disagree, and I'd welcome discussion).
I also appreciated how the book references other fantasy series to almost mock itself, including both Star Wars and Twilight. I enjoyed the witches who were men - another novel concept. Why must witches be women? Like I said at the start, this book made me examine and reconsider a lot of my assumptions, which is just what I'd want in a book.
Beyond all this self-introspection, I bawled. It was raw and emotional.
Werewolves and witches are the perfect October combo for your fall reading fantasy list, so def check this one out!
TW: there are many. I recommend reviewing triggers on storygraph or another platform prior to reading.
๐ฌ Q: What was the last book that changed your world view?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Abandonment, Child abuse, Cursing, Murder, Torture, Death, and Kidnapping
anoelle896's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Violence, Death, Abandonment, and Blood
Moderate: Child abuse, Grief, Blood, Cursing, Death, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual content, and Torture
booksnbrooches's review against another edition
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
This was everything. The slow burn romance with werewolves is everything my 13-year-old self loved about Twilight, but itโs so so so much better. TJ Klune is officially my favorite current author.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Grief, and Cursing
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Death, Death of parent, Violence, Homophobia, and Alcoholism
joygarcialim's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
This book was bad bad bad and crap crap crap. The best part of it was before I started reading it.
The book was so disjointed in so many parts that I didnโt know what happened between one part of the writing and other parts. There was basically no flow. Ox and Joe are walking red flags, even outside of their inappropriate relationship, they are immature, whiney and possessive. The dialogues between characters were so similar that they all seemed to have the same personality- one-dimensional. The book came across as it was written by a 12 year old with a Twilight obsession, with no understanding of character-building or world-building. Maybe except for the sex scenes, I would have been completely convinced this was written by a kid. The writing was that juvenile. I donโt understand why every time Ox has an emotion, he has to write out a soliloquy about them. Iโm not talking artistic, literary soliloquies- they were very whiney and he thinks heโs suffered the most or something. And itโs repeatedly used. By other characters too. There was a lot of repetitiveness. It was a long book not because a lot happened, but because there was a lot of repetition and Klune used a new line for every sentence he wrote in some parts.
The sex scenes were probably the best part of the writing tbh. They were incredibly detailed and less whiney than the other parts- all 15+ pages of it. It wasnโt great, I got second-hand embarrassment from it. It didnโt need to be that long.
TJ Klune, if this book is a reflection of your reality, please get professional help from a therapist and a psychiatrist.
The book was so disjointed in so many parts that I didnโt know what happened between one part of the writing and other parts. There was basically no flow. Ox and Joe are walking red flags, even outside of their inappropriate relationship, they are immature, whiney and possessive. The dialogues between characters were so similar that they all seemed to have the same personality- one-dimensional. The book came across as it was written by a 12 year old with a Twilight obsession, with no understanding of character-building or world-building. Maybe except for the sex scenes, I would have been completely convinced this was written by a kid. The writing was that juvenile. I donโt understand why every time Ox has an emotion, he has to write out a soliloquy about them. Iโm not talking artistic, literary soliloquies- they were very whiney and he thinks heโs suffered the most or something. And itโs repeatedly used. By other characters too. There was a lot of repetitiveness. It was a long book not because a lot happened, but because there was a lot of repetition and Klune used a new line for every sentence he wrote in some parts.
The sex scenes were probably the best part of the writing tbh. They were incredibly detailed and less whiney than the other parts- all 15+ pages of it. It wasnโt great, I got second-hand embarrassment from it. It didnโt need to be that long.
TJ Klune, if this book is a reflection of your reality, please get professional help from a therapist and a psychiatrist.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, Violence, Death of parent, Mental illness, Child abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Stalking, Emotional abuse, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, Cursing, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Alcoholism, Blood, Abandonment, Animal death, Animal cruelty, and Addiction
nat_kiverse's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Cursing, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Stalking, Torture, Child abuse, Grief, Kidnapping, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, Confinement, Vomit, Blood, Death, Murder, and Violence