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A review by eesh25
Wolfsong by TJ Klune
4.0
3.75 Stars
TJ Klune is a much-loved author for those who read M/M romances. Her most popular book Bear, Otter and the Kid has been on my TBR for months but because it's a series of four books, with three following the same characters (which is not my thing), I haven't read it yet. This one was a standalone. And now I get why people love the author so much, though it may not necessarily seem so from the rating.
And honestly, I would've liked the book more if it weren't for the synopsis. It gave away so much! It told us so many events that were going to take place at various point in the character's lives.
I'm not going to tell you what the official synopsis said because while I'm sure not everyone is as bad with any kind of backstory as I am, I don't want to risk it. Knowing some of the stuff that's going to take place and then having to wait for it to happen is beyond infuriating. By the time we finally caught up to the events already mentioned, we were over 250 pages in, and I was just about ready to pull my own hair out. I almost skipped ahead so many times.
But before I get even more carried away, I do plan to give some kind of description. The book is from the perspective of Ox. Ox was abandoned by his father when he was twelve, leaving him with all the wrong certainties about his own worth. At sixteen, Ox met Joe. Joe was ten and he talked and talked. Ox didn't know at the time that Joe was a werewolf, or about what they would come to mean to each other. He just saw Joe as a cute kid, as his friend.
Now, if I were Goodreads, I would tell you a bunch of other stuff that happened between the two. But since I don't want to ruin the book for anyone, I won't do that. I'll just say that this book spans many years and tells of the struggles that Ox, his mother, Joe, and Joe's family faced together.
When we meet the two, Ox is a quiet kid who thinks he's not that smart and isn't going to amount to much. When we meet Joe, he's an adorable kid, like an overexcited puppy. Joe has his own nightmares, even then, because he had been kidnapped and tortured for weeks. Joe's family had decided to come back to Green Creek to help him heal. And it did help, because he met Ox, who is one of the most amazing and good people in the world.
My favourite part of this book is, hands down, Ox. Ox is like the Percy Jackson of this book. The author could literally declare him an all-powerful and all-important god and no one would disagree because he's just that awesome. And his characters development in this book is a beautiful thing. It's also the only thing that kept me sane through the spoiled-by-synopsis parts.
That's not to say Joe isn't great too. He's just so cute. It's takes a long time, years, for Ox to see Joe as something other than his little friend, which is good because Joe was just a kid at first; an adorable kid that you can't help but love. And then there are the other characters: Joe's father, his mother, his brothers, his uncle, Ox's friends, his co-workers/friends, his mother. There are so many characters and the author takes the time to properly introduce each and every one. I loved them all and their closeness. I also loved the humour that came from the closeness (because that's important to me).
The final third was the best. Sure, Joe had done something that wasn't good. In fact, it's the kind of thing that's almost impossible for me to forgive even if everyone in the book does. But he's so... Joe. I couldn't stay mad at him. I completely adored the final third and it makes me think that maybe, if it wasn't for the screw up with the synopsis, I would have loved the rest of the book just as much.
Alas, there's nothing to be done about that. All I can say is that I highly recommend this book. There's very little sexual content, for those who are worried about that. This book is about family. And about finding your place in the world.
I just have one last thing to say—then I'll stop, I promise—and it's about the writing. I've seen a lot of people raving about TJ Klune's prose and this book is very well-written. But, it's a little repetitive for my taste. You know, the repeating-a-word-over-and-over thing. Expect the author does it with a lot of words and even some sentences. If you're very bothered by that, then this book is not for you.
And that's it. I'm done. This review is a lot longer than my usual—it happens sometimes. But I'm pretty sure there's nothing left to say so that's good, at least. Sorry about the abrupt ending.
TJ Klune is a much-loved author for those who read M/M romances. Her most popular book Bear, Otter and the Kid has been on my TBR for months but because it's a series of four books, with three following the same characters (which is not my thing), I haven't read it yet. This one was a standalone. And now I get why people love the author so much, though it may not necessarily seem so from the rating.
And honestly, I would've liked the book more if it weren't for the synopsis. It gave away so much! It told us so many events that were going to take place at various point in the character's lives.
I'm not going to tell you what the official synopsis said because while I'm sure not everyone is as bad with any kind of backstory as I am, I don't want to risk it. Knowing some of the stuff that's going to take place and then having to wait for it to happen is beyond infuriating. By the time we finally caught up to the events already mentioned, we were over 250 pages in, and I was just about ready to pull my own hair out. I almost skipped ahead so many times.
But before I get even more carried away, I do plan to give some kind of description. The book is from the perspective of Ox. Ox was abandoned by his father when he was twelve, leaving him with all the wrong certainties about his own worth. At sixteen, Ox met Joe. Joe was ten and he talked and talked. Ox didn't know at the time that Joe was a werewolf, or about what they would come to mean to each other. He just saw Joe as a cute kid, as his friend.
Now, if I were Goodreads, I would tell you a bunch of other stuff that happened between the two. But since I don't want to ruin the book for anyone, I won't do that. I'll just say that this book spans many years and tells of the struggles that Ox, his mother, Joe, and Joe's family faced together.
When we meet the two, Ox is a quiet kid who thinks he's not that smart and isn't going to amount to much. When we meet Joe, he's an adorable kid, like an overexcited puppy. Joe has his own nightmares, even then, because he had been kidnapped and tortured for weeks. Joe's family had decided to come back to Green Creek to help him heal. And it did help, because he met Ox, who is one of the most amazing and good people in the world.
My favourite part of this book is, hands down, Ox. Ox is like the Percy Jackson of this book. The author could literally declare him an all-powerful and all-important god and no one would disagree because he's just that awesome. And his characters development in this book is a beautiful thing. It's also the only thing that kept me sane through the spoiled-by-synopsis parts.
That's not to say Joe isn't great too. He's just so cute. It's takes a long time, years, for Ox to see Joe as something other than his little friend, which is good because Joe was just a kid at first; an adorable kid that you can't help but love. And then there are the other characters: Joe's father, his mother, his brothers, his uncle, Ox's friends, his co-workers/friends, his mother. There are so many characters and the author takes the time to properly introduce each and every one. I loved them all and their closeness. I also loved the humour that came from the closeness (because that's important to me).
The final third was the best. Sure, Joe had done something that wasn't good. In fact, it's the kind of thing that's almost impossible for me to forgive even if everyone in the book does. But he's so... Joe. I couldn't stay mad at him. I completely adored the final third and it makes me think that maybe, if it wasn't for the screw up with the synopsis, I would have loved the rest of the book just as much.
Alas, there's nothing to be done about that. All I can say is that I highly recommend this book. There's very little sexual content, for those who are worried about that. This book is about family. And about finding your place in the world.
I just have one last thing to say—then I'll stop, I promise—and it's about the writing. I've seen a lot of people raving about TJ Klune's prose and this book is very well-written. But, it's a little repetitive for my taste. You know, the repeating-a-word-over-and-over thing. Expect the author does it with a lot of words and even some sentences. If you're very bothered by that, then this book is not for you.
And that's it. I'm done. This review is a lot longer than my usual—it happens sometimes. But I'm pretty sure there's nothing left to say so that's good, at least. Sorry about the abrupt ending.