Scan barcode
sofieishere's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
"I wanted to say, I may have started picturing your underage son naked, but I didn't know if that was something someone could say to an Alpha werewolf." ....What? ðŸ˜
The book started of strong, sketching the relationship between Ox and his parents. Especially the relationship with ox's father was very emtional to read. So I expected that the book would continue to be this great. But then came the age gap...
The mc (Ox) has a love interest (Joe) who is 6 years younger than him. That wouldn't be much of a problem if they were both over the age of 18. But they first meet when Ox is 16 and Joe is 10. Joe gives Ox his wolf, basically claiming him. Later in the story there's a flashback to this moment where Joe says something along the lines of "even then you were mine and I was yours" Ox later freaks out when he realises that Joe likes him. They get together when Joe is 17 and Ox is 23.
My main problem with their relationship is that the age gap is completly unnecesary. Joe has an older brother (Carter) who is around the same age as Ox. At first I thought that Carter and Ox would and up together simply because they were the same age and that Joe's obvious crush was just a joke for the plot and would just stay one-sided. But then the book kept developing and hinting at their (potential) relationship. It made me deeply uncomfortable. I'm currently 16 years old and it makes me sick to even think of being in a relationship with a 10 year old. Have you seen what a 10 year old looks like?? Even if they only get together when they're older, it's still mad weird. Like the only use for the age gap is for random jokes. So I have no idea why TJ Klune decided to write them like this. That has to have been a concious decision, right?
But besides the age gap the writing is also just very cringe worthy and eye rolling at times.
There is so much repetition. There were moment were I thought "Wait haven't I read this exact scene before?"
Near the end of the story I just didn't care anymore. I didn't really care about the characters, I didn't care about the plot, I didn't care about the relationships. I honestly just wanted them all to die so this book could finally end, because it was dragginggg on.
Anyway Ox is a hypocrite, I would rather have Ox and Robbie end up together and this review might not be very coherent and a bit hate-filled. But I still found the book quite entertaining. It definitly wasn't great, but it was wasn't all bad.
( Also I've never read a book where the epilogue was just a sex scene lmao)
The mc (Ox) has a love interest (Joe) who is 6 years younger than him. That wouldn't be much of a problem if they were both over the age of 18. But they first meet when Ox is 16 and Joe is 10. Joe gives Ox his wolf, basically claiming him. Later in the story there's a flashback to this moment where Joe says something along the lines of "even then you were mine and I was yours" Ox later freaks out when he realises that Joe likes him. They get together when Joe is 17 and Ox is 23.
My main problem with their relationship is that the age gap is completly unnecesary. Joe has an older brother (Carter) who is around the same age as Ox. At first I thought that Carter and Ox would and up together simply because they were the same age and that Joe's obvious crush was just a joke for the plot and would just stay one-sided. But then the book kept developing and hinting at their (potential) relationship. It made me deeply uncomfortable. I'm currently 16 years old and it makes me sick to even think of being in a relationship with a 10 year old. Have you seen what a 10 year old looks like?? Even if they only get together when they're older, it's still mad weird. Like the only use for the age gap is for random jokes. So I have no idea why TJ Klune decided to write them like this. That has to have been a concious decision, right?
But besides the age gap the writing is also just very cringe worthy and eye rolling at times.
There is so much repetition. There were moment were I thought "Wait haven't I read this exact scene before?"
Near the end of the story I just didn't care anymore. I didn't really care about the characters, I didn't care about the plot, I didn't care about the relationships. I honestly just wanted them all to die so this book could finally end, because it was dragginggg on.
Anyway Ox is a hypocrite, I would rather have Ox and Robbie end up together and this review might not be very coherent and a bit hate-filled. But I still found the book quite entertaining. It definitly wasn't great, but it was wasn't all bad.
( Also I've never read a book where the epilogue was just a sex scene lmao)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, and Abandonment
Minor: Addiction, Domestic abuse, Rape, Vomit, and Alcohol
chasinggrace's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
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? It's complicated
5.0
TJ Klune you have DONE IT AGAIN. How this man effortlessly writes raw human emotion without being cringey or stereotypical will never cease to amaze me. His romance stories are beautiful and real and heart-wrenching and sweet and I’m OB. SESSED.
This is a story of love and loss and self esteem and trying desperately to fit in, of doing anything on earth to protect the people you love and still experiencing world-stopping grief. Of how love is actually fluid and will hit you upside the head without you even knowing but is SO fickle and can be lost without trying.
These characters are real and they are lovable and they’ll rip your fucking heart out. I LOVE how Klune can write LGBTQIA+ stories without incorporating homophobia.
I will say… the age difference made me uncomfy for a little while there. But it made Ox uncomfy too so I got over it.
My only gripe is that not all 4 books are out in paperback yet and I’m gnawing at the bars of my enclosure desperately to stay in this world a little longer.
This is a story of love and loss and self esteem and trying desperately to fit in, of doing anything on earth to protect the people you love and still experiencing world-stopping grief. Of how love is actually fluid and will hit you upside the head without you even knowing but is SO fickle and can be lost without trying.
These characters are real and they are lovable and they’ll rip your fucking heart out. I LOVE how Klune can write LGBTQIA+ stories without incorporating homophobia.
I will say…
My only gripe is that not all 4 books are out in paperback yet and I’m gnawing at the bars of my enclosure desperately to stay in this world a little longer.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Gore, Rape, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Alcohol
setiff23's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
tense
fast-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? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Addiction and Abandonment
elkboy23's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, and Abandonment
Moderate: Addiction, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
joygarcialim's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
This book was bad bad bad and crap crap crap. The best part of it was before I started reading it.
The book was so disjointed in so many parts that I didn’t know what happened between one part of the writing and other parts. There was basically no flow. Ox and Joe are walking red flags, even outside of their inappropriate relationship, they are immature, whiney and possessive. The dialogues between characters were so similar that they all seemed to have the same personality- one-dimensional. The book came across as it was written by a 12 year old with a Twilight obsession, with no understanding of character-building or world-building. Maybe except for the sex scenes, I would have been completely convinced this was written by a kid. The writing was that juvenile. I don’t understand why every time Ox has an emotion, he has to write out a soliloquy about them. I’m not talking artistic, literary soliloquies- they were very whiney and he thinks he’s suffered the most or something. And it’s repeatedly used. By other characters too. There was a lot of repetitiveness. It was a long book not because a lot happened, but because there was a lot of repetition and Klune used a new line for every sentence he wrote in some parts.
The sex scenes were probably the best part of the writing tbh. They were incredibly detailed and less whiney than the other parts- all 15+ pages of it. It wasn’t great, I got second-hand embarrassment from it. It didn’t need to be that long.
TJ Klune, if this book is a reflection of your reality, please get professional help from a therapist and a psychiatrist.
The book was so disjointed in so many parts that I didn’t know what happened between one part of the writing and other parts. There was basically no flow. Ox and Joe are walking red flags, even outside of their inappropriate relationship, they are immature, whiney and possessive. The dialogues between characters were so similar that they all seemed to have the same personality- one-dimensional. The book came across as it was written by a 12 year old with a Twilight obsession, with no understanding of character-building or world-building. Maybe except for the sex scenes, I would have been completely convinced this was written by a kid. The writing was that juvenile. I don’t understand why every time Ox has an emotion, he has to write out a soliloquy about them. I’m not talking artistic, literary soliloquies- they were very whiney and he thinks he’s suffered the most or something. And it’s repeatedly used. By other characters too. There was a lot of repetitiveness. It was a long book not because a lot happened, but because there was a lot of repetition and Klune used a new line for every sentence he wrote in some parts.
The sex scenes were probably the best part of the writing tbh. They were incredibly detailed and less whiney than the other parts- all 15+ pages of it. It wasn’t great, I got second-hand embarrassment from it. It didn’t need to be that long.
TJ Klune, if this book is a reflection of your reality, please get professional help from a therapist and a psychiatrist.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, and Abandonment
bialves's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, and Alcohol
Moderate: Animal cruelty and Animal death