Reviews with content warning for Sexual violence - Wolfsong

WARNING: it's another unexpected stop of the unpopular opinion train!!

I'm honestly still shocked and sad this has happened. I mean, I absolutely adored T.J. Klune's writing in the three books I've read before Wolfsong, and I was SO sure I was going to love this story as well. Sure, I don't exactly read a lot of shapeshifter romances, but this author always seems to create the most wonderful characters and worldbuilding in his books and I was fully convinced this was going to be one of them. I guess I was wrong. It's not that I don't like the premise or general idea behind this book... But somehow the story itself just didn't work for me this time around. I think this had a lot to do with the way this story was written; while unique, I was never able to warm up to the writing style and the constant repetition of certain words and phrases got so EXTREMELY annoying after a while. In fact, you could probably cut out at least 200 pages and still not get rid of all that repetition... While I liked what it represented in the beginning with the pack mentality and connections, it soon really started to grate on me. Especially the second half was a struggle to get through, because I was long over the way this story was written by then. Also, am I the only one wondering about just how inappropriate the relationship between Joe and Ox is, since he was only ten when they first bonded? Sure, nothing sexual happened until they were both adults, but still... I can't say that I was a fan. And then I'm not even talking about the extremely graphic steamy scenes when they appeared. *shudders* The whole quest thing was also extremely frustrating and it seems like it was only used to keep them apart until Joe was of age. There was so much drama and angst in general, and the story gave me Twilight vibes (for me personally that is NOT ment as a compliment). All in all Wolfsong wasn't the story for me, and I won't be continuing the series. I loved the premise, but the execution somehow just didn't hit the mark... This doesn't mean that I love his other stories any less though!

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levilore_'s review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring 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? Yes

4.0

I loved the werewolf lore in this book and how the author showed the bonds between the wolves via writing style. Ox was a great main character and genuinely liked all the side characters as well.

The exploration of found family and belonging was really beautiful especially because the book took place over more than a decade.

Sometimes things were repeated and retold multiple times which got kind of tedious towards the end, but overall a great start to a series. I'm excited to read the rest!

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clwoolaston93's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

I found the book a bit repetitive at points. The characters felt quite flat and two dimensional. Whilst some of the characters were likeable, I found that the main love interest didn't have much about him. The writing was sometimes quite cringeworthy and juvenile, and just full of things that I felt people wouldn't naturally say. I would have loved some more interesting females within this book, Elizabeth was well written but Jessie just seemed to be a plot point to advance the romance. I will say that the author seemed to write grief really well, it was incredibly touching. I also enjoyed the action sequences, they were fast paced and very engaging. A mixed bag for me - I won't carry on with the series but I will try the author's other works!

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jeeniusreads's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious tense 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

4.0

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kirstenf's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring sad 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

5.0

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farmpaws's review against another edition

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medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I’m glad I read this and I’m glad to own this because I did legitimately enjoy it. Until almost at the end. I really wish there had been a trigger warning at the start

for (threatened not described) rape and pedophilia. I know it was in a conversation and said by the villain, but it really soured the rest of the book.

. I had to finish it in one sitting because I knew that if I put it down I wouldn’t pick it up again. It was just incredibly abrupt and unnecessary. Klune does a great job of showing how sadistic this villain is, and really, really didn’t need to go there with it. He was already clearly a bad guy! He was already evil!
I also wish Joe and Ox had less of an age gap, given how early in their lives the book starts and how much you are shown of their early lives, vs when they are adults. I feel like this story would’ve been just as good starting when they were both teens with a few references or flashbacks to childhood if necessary. It would’ve worked well given the writing style also.

But on the plus side I loved the way Klune writes the pack and shows you how deeply their love lies. You can really feel it seeping out of the pages. He writes relationships really well and every character feels so alive, and real. I also really liked the way they talked. In some books this kind of dialogue can be cringe, but I didn’t feel it here. Everyone has real, solid weight in the story, they can reach out and touch everything, they a part of it all. The magic too, felt so real, even though it’s not explained so much.
I probably won’t continue the series because I don’t think its going to undo any of the issues I had with it, but I also think this book works well as a standalone

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meg_'s review against another edition

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adventurous fast-paced

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

2.0

I have so many thoughts on this book, and unfortunately, the majority of them are bad. I feel sad about it because the premise of the book had such promise and I truly loved the initial found family element. But my feelings shifted pretty quickly when I realized that the romance within this book was this incredibly weird age gap that felt uber uncomfortable. Our main character is 16 at the time that he meets the "love interest" who I believe is 10 or 11 at the time they meet. I didn't realize this was going to be the primarily love interest until way further in and I had to re-read the synopsis to confirm it because I was a bit shocked. It's not just the actual age difference, but the fact that our main character, Ox, essentially watches Joe grow up from such a young age. It feel super weird, especially considering how frequently their first meeting was mentioned, even far into the timeline when it was clear there was meant to be a romantic relationship between the two of them. Super fucking weird.

And then, the two start an actual romantic relationship when Joe is still underage and Ox is 23?! Absolutely not. I just don't understand the decision to have the age gap play out that way. The two characters aren't really that far apart in age, but it's the dynamic of when they meet and watch each other grow up that is super fucking weird. Like maybe if they met when Joe was in his teen years and Ox was older and THEN there's a long period without seeing one another where Joe returns as an adult and is suddenly full grown and Ox realizes his feelings, I could see, but this was so weird. I know I've gone on too long about this in particular but it truly made me feel uncomfortable the whole book because even near the end of the book I couldn't help but view Joe as a child/adolescent, even when he was an adult.

The other piece that I disliked is how many people were added to Ox's pack. The initial found family for Ox with the Bennett family was so sweet and heartwarming to read, but as the story goes on the found family suddenly becomes the whole town? It was really hard to suspend my disbelief.

Lastly, the descriptors of the torture of Richard felt like way unnecessary and so horrifying.

The book honestly kind of reminded me of the aftg series because so much wild shit happened that was just unbelievable, but the biggest difference again was that throughout aftg our characters are all young adults!

Alright, rant over. I would not recommend reading this.

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