Reviews with content warning for Kidnapping - Wolfsong

I genuinely don’t know how to rate this book? Here’s the thing. The age gap between the two protagonists is WILD. I don’t see what the purpose is of having such a large age gap in this story. It’s off-putting and hard to ignore for 75% of this book. The other 25% of their relationship was so enjoyable. And I’m torn because if you are going to do an age gap like this, Wolfsong is the way to do it. But I still just think it was an overall poor choice. I mentally changed Ox’s age to being only a few years older than Joe because it was freaking me out too much.

Then the idea of the werewolves was also a lot. It’s very similar to a/b/o fanfics, but it’s actually written pretty well? There were some pretty hard to read moments (especially in the repetition of his father’s words) but overall this was an enjoyable read for me.

I haven’t had this much fun reading a book in a while, and that’s why I’m being so blunt here when it comes to my issues with this story. Was this book a great time? Yes. Will this be the most engaging book I will read this year? Probably. Would I ever recommend it? No. And not because of the werewolf dynamic, but because the age gap with the main pair is just not something I could see other people looking past. If the two had been three years apart that would have been fine. Freshman/Senior relationships in high school aren’t uncommon. But 6 years?! And they met when he was 10?! That’s a big ick, and honestly thinking about it too hard makes me want to rate the book lower. And I am going to put a trigger warning that this is an adult/minor relationship because bro was 23 falling in love with a 17 year old. Let’s call it what it is.

Content Warnings

sweetrosegirl76's review against another edition

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The TLDR is Ox is a pedophile.

I'm upset bc I love T.J. Klune, I wanted to read his entire body of work but I can't. I really tried to give Ox the benefit of the doubt, I thought maybe he'd distance himself until it was more appropriate and even then I was grossed out, but I was like maybe they'll be a time jump and this will feel less icky. I hate to DNF a book but I just can't in good conscious do it.

Ox is a pedophile, plain and simple. 23 and 17 IS NOT OKAY. I hate that they met at 16 and 10. There were so many lines that were just so inappropriate and problematic. It took me the whole day to read 5% more from when Ox realized he was into Joe and I just couldn't do it anymore which is such a shame bc gross but also bc I was liking the book before, though if I'm being on this, I don't know why because what even is the plot there's so much exposition. The teasing and awkward and cringe is very typical of T.J. Klune and it could have been funny and it would've been funny had Joe not been a literal child and minor, instead it was extremely creepy and I hate how everyone is okay with it and not calling it out for this being a literal crime.

They had always been abnormally close. But I just thought that it was an intense brother relationship because of the fact that he didn't have a father, he was a single child also, so I thought he was just fierce and protective of his little brother; A little brother who had given him more family than he knew what to do with. I remember getting weird vibes before, but I thought maybe nothing of it, I thought there's no way that this will happen! I guess had I read the summary on goodreads I would have realized that it was always about Joe... and then 25% through happened and I just couldn't read it anymore.

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tanja_reads_'s review against another edition

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adventurous emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

I picked this up on a whim at Indigo Sherway… it had been a staff recommendation pick and the cover looked interesting. I skimmed through and thought the writing was different so I bought it and I am so happy I did. It was a thrilling read. It was also touching and had good heart. I really enjoyed being in the head of the protagonist Ox and how he navigates being “adopted” into a pack of werewolves and ultimately falls in love with the next Alpha - Joe. This story had a great pace and was written so that you empathized with Ox. I can’t wait to read the next 3 books in the series.

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