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metalmakubex's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
amyapple's review against another edition
3.0
I love Klunes writing and this book doesn’t disappoint in that department. Poignant at times, especially whenever Ox cries and says he must not be a man yet because he is crying.
What I didn’t like about this book was its drawn out romance with a lacklustre plot. I’m not unfamiliar with Klunes romances, but this one did not need that many pages to give me what it did. Pacing was dead slow and at some points I just didn’t care about where Joe was or even how Ox felt because of the repetition … again and again.
I think I’ll need a break before reading the next if it’s going to just be pages and pages of being in a pack, who’s pack and who isn’t pack. I also didn’t need the graphic detail of the sex scenes tbh.
I wish there was more world building tbh, and that the Bennetts didn’t just remind me of the Cullens ( from Twilight) in so many aspects in the first 50% of the whole book.
What I didn’t like about this book was its drawn out romance with a lacklustre plot. I’m not unfamiliar with Klunes romances, but this one did not need that many pages to give me what it did. Pacing was dead slow and at some points I just didn’t care about where Joe was or even how Ox felt because of the repetition … again and again.
I think I’ll need a break before reading the next if it’s going to just be pages and pages of being in a pack, who’s pack and who isn’t pack. I also didn’t need the graphic detail of the sex scenes tbh.
I wish there was more world building tbh, and that the Bennetts didn’t just remind me of the Cullens ( from Twilight) in so many aspects in the first 50% of the whole book.
texreader's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
vickybignasco001's review against another edition
emotional
funny
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
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? Yes
4.0
ammonoids's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Felt somehow both rushed and too slow. I didn't feel this added anything to the werewolf genre.
jhuskisson's review against another edition
3.0
I don’t know if I’ve ever felt so conflicted about a book.
On the one hand, I adored the protagonist, his internal monologue, his character development and story arc, and really everything about the characters and setting. The language in the book is a wonderful combination of simple but poetic. There were many passages that made me laugh or stop to just savor the really beautiful language. Five stars for all of those elements, for sure.
On the other hand, this book was much longer than it needed to be, for me. The plot was straightforward enough, but we had to listen to different combinations of characters have the same conversations over and over and over. There were lines of dialogue that were repeated many times in the protagonist’s head as he remembered them. There was way too much angst and rumination for my liking. I feel like the same book with a different editor could have been tight, fast-paced, and still have packed the same emotional punch.
And I could have done without the central romantic relationship altogether. The age gap between a 17-year-old and a 23-year-old just felt icky to me, especially when they met when they were 10/16 and both repeatedly say things like “I have loved you for a long time.” They are mostly talking about platonic brotherly love that turned into romantic love, but it still felt icky. By the time the two spicy scenes rolled around the characters were 20 and 26, but I still felt so weird about the way they initially came together that I had to mostly skip those scenes. That said, this doesn’t seem to be an issue for most readers of this book, and it’s a less egregious age gap than many paranormal or fantasy romances. I just don’t seem to be the target audience for this type of romance.
Long story short, I think you could strategically delete 1/3 of this book with no other edits, and I’d give it 5 stars in a heartbeat.
On the one hand, I adored the protagonist, his internal monologue, his character development and story arc, and really everything about the characters and setting. The language in the book is a wonderful combination of simple but poetic. There were many passages that made me laugh or stop to just savor the really beautiful language. Five stars for all of those elements, for sure.
On the other hand, this book was much longer than it needed to be, for me. The plot was straightforward enough, but we had to listen to different combinations of characters have the same conversations over and over and over. There were lines of dialogue that were repeated many times in the protagonist’s head as he remembered them. There was way too much angst and rumination for my liking. I feel like the same book with a different editor could have been tight, fast-paced, and still have packed the same emotional punch.
And I could have done without the central romantic relationship altogether. The age gap between a 17-year-old and a 23-year-old just felt icky to me, especially when they met when they were 10/16 and both repeatedly say things like “I have loved you for a long time.” They are mostly talking about platonic brotherly love that turned into romantic love, but it still felt icky. By the time the two spicy scenes rolled around the characters were 20 and 26, but I still felt so weird about the way they initially came together that I had to mostly skip those scenes. That said, this doesn’t seem to be an issue for most readers of this book, and it’s a less egregious age gap than many paranormal or fantasy romances. I just don’t seem to be the target audience for this type of romance.
Long story short, I think you could strategically delete 1/3 of this book with no other edits, and I’d give it 5 stars in a heartbeat.
mcorbitt's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
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
4.75
anipie's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Violence, Blood, and Death of parent
amazingracerose's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
fast-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
4.0
This is a really emotional and well written book but I would also describe it as omegaverse lite™️. More teen wolf style pack dynamic stuff than more contemporary ao3 stuff but it was wild to read it from such a celebrated author and where it’s been a staff pick at several of my local bookstores??? So yeah really good but also a bit odd
bibliobetty's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
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? It's complicated
5.0
I wasn't planning on rating this book but I can't stop thinking about it and how much I enjoyed it. Will definitely be picking up the rest of the series and other books by this author.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Physical abuse, Kidnapping, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Abandonment