purple_prose 's review for:

Ravensong by TJ Klune

4.0

adventurous funny mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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If you ever watched the show Lost, then know that reading the first few chapters of this book felt a lot like that—now let’s move past me dating myself, I can practically feel my hair graying as I write. Anyway, all this to say, this book is heavy on the flashbacks without a lot of context, so it does take a minute to adjust to the narrative style. The focus for this novel is Gordo and his relationship to the Bennet pack and more specifically to Mark Bennet. We see Gordo when he is much younger and how he grew into the Bennet pack witch, how that relationship sort of dissolves, how he meets Ox, and how he becomes part of the pack again. Through flashbacks, we see how Mark and Gordo have loved each other for most of their respective lives, but because of the circumstances around them, they cannot be together. They’re separated for a while, and Gordo resents Mark for never choosing him over the pack while Mark resigns himself to just being near Gordo. The book is heavy on the longing so when they do eventually find their way back to one another it feels hard earned. 

The main relationship aside this book centers the conflict with the hunters who want to wipe out werewolves altogether, and we also find out Gordo’s father’s role in the chaos as he’s hinted at several times as being one of the root causes for all the bad that surrounds the Bennet pack. The story blends action and character driven moments really well, but it may take a minute to adjust to the narrative style as it can be a little jarring at first if you’re not used to it. I did enjoy this book more than the first so strongly recommend it.