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A review by theheartisanarrow
Wolfsong by TJ Klune
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
3.0
if you plan to read this: content warning for child abduction/abuse, villain makes a couple rape threats
my thoughts: i wasn't exactly overwhelmed, but not all that underwhelmed either... just whelmed.
+ i am a sucker for found family, so there's that
+ i liked the exploration of masculinity and its facettes
+ the nature scenes that showed how atuned wolves are with their environment were lovely
+ the premise overall is pretty cool tbh, we need more decent werewolf fiction imo
+ ppl keep whining about the twilight comparison (y'all need to chill), but: the part of the small town mysterious family that draws you into their supernatural world and welcomes you with open arms as you learn more about them and train alongside them gave me twilight vibes in the good wonderous way of first reading it wayyy back when
+ the witches sounded cool, i hope they get explored more in the future
- the age gap. i did not quit once i learned about it, solely bc nothing whatsoever happens between the two until both are of age, a physical relationship only develops once they're well in their twenties, and as their relationship develops, there is an emphasis on consent and who is in a position to give it. however it was still icky and in my opinion the extent of it was completely unnecessary??
- tj klune's racism analogies, no matter how well-intended and handled are so on the nose i can never fully take them seriously, so the 'speciesism' bit didn't do it for me, but that's just a personal thing
- in 500+ pages, i have counted a total of 5 women. two mothering mothers, one okay (ex-)girlfriend, one incompetent girlboss and a rescued civilian. none of them are given much depth or attention and in this day and age reading a book without a single properly written female character in it just bores me
- this book could have been sooo much shorter! there were redundant observations and flashback lines that popped up every couple pages (what ox's dad once said, what joe thinks ox smells like, soap bubbles etc.) and the middle of the book (the moody angsty bit) just felt like waaay too much filler. and i say that as an angst-enjoyer. the story would slap a lot more if stripped of all/most of that
- not a fan of the jealous/possessive/controlling or the primal/mating trope. kinda dug my own grave here as i reckon both make sense with the wolfish theme, but still did not enjoy that
verdict: enjoyable enough to casually keep up with the series once the sequel is (re?)released, but it's definitely not a priority.
my thoughts: i wasn't exactly overwhelmed, but not all that underwhelmed either... just whelmed.
+ i am a sucker for found family, so there's that
+ i liked the exploration of masculinity and its facettes
+ the nature scenes that showed how atuned wolves are with their environment were lovely
+ the premise overall is pretty cool tbh, we need more decent werewolf fiction imo
+ ppl keep whining about the twilight comparison (y'all need to chill), but: the part of the small town mysterious family that draws you into their supernatural world and welcomes you with open arms as you learn more about them and train alongside them gave me twilight vibes in the good wonderous way of first reading it wayyy back when
+ the witches sounded cool, i hope they get explored more in the future
- the age gap. i did not quit once i learned about it, solely bc nothing whatsoever happens between the two until both are of age, a physical relationship only develops once they're well in their twenties, and as their relationship develops, there is an emphasis on consent and who is in a position to give it. however it was still icky and in my opinion the extent of it was completely unnecessary??
- tj klune's racism analogies, no matter how well-intended and handled are so on the nose i can never fully take them seriously, so the 'speciesism' bit didn't do it for me, but that's just a personal thing
- in 500+ pages, i have counted a total of 5 women. two mothering mothers, one okay (ex-)girlfriend, one incompetent girlboss and a rescued civilian. none of them are given much depth or attention and in this day and age reading a book without a single properly written female character in it just bores me
- this book could have been sooo much shorter! there were redundant observations and flashback lines that popped up every couple pages (what ox's dad once said, what joe thinks ox smells like, soap bubbles etc.) and the middle of the book (the moody angsty bit) just felt like waaay too much filler. and i say that as an angst-enjoyer. the story would slap a lot more if stripped of all/most of that
- not a fan of the jealous/possessive/controlling or the primal/mating trope. kinda dug my own grave here as i reckon both make sense with the wolfish theme, but still did not enjoy that
verdict: enjoyable enough to casually keep up with the series once the sequel is (re?)released, but it's definitely not a priority.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gore, Child abuse, and Kidnapping
Minor: Rape