neetarattan's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
๐๐ถ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ณ โข ๐๐ญ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐๐ถ๐ณ๐ฏ โข ๐๐ฆ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐จ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ โฃ
๐ถ๏ธ ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ๐บ ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ด๐ค๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฆโฃ
This book blew my mind in a transformational kind of way.ย
Many of the themes are common to books of the paranormal variety: shapeshifters who share minds with their packs, becoming the beast, forgetting one's humanity, the powers of good vs evil, alphas as the pack leaders, changing eye colours, the concept of a destined mate bonded for life. And yet.
So this shows my biases: I did not know before this that I could love a paranormal gay romance. 90% of the characters in the book are male. I didn't think I would appreciate it the same way as the hetero relationships/female MCs in many best-selling romance novels. I'm not sure why anymore. Maybe I thought I wouldn't completely relate or would be uncomfortable reading the spicy scenes.
Well, I am here to say I was wrong.ย
I loved Ox. I loved his simplicity, his straightforwardness, his shyness, his slowness with words, but mostly I loved his heart. I loved many of the other characters, including Thomas and Gordo, and of course the two mamas spoke directly to this mama bear's heart. The slow burn romance was my jam. It was a little weird the ages when the two MC met but in the end it did not bother me the way it was written (some people will disagree, and I'd welcome discussion).
I also appreciated how the book references other fantasy series to almost mock itself, including both Star Wars and Twilight. I enjoyed the witches who were men - another novel concept. Why must witches be women? Like I said at the start, this book made me examine and reconsider a lot of my assumptions, which is just what I'd want in a book.
Beyond all this self-introspection, I bawled. It was raw and emotional.
Werewolves and witches are the perfect October combo for your fall reading fantasy list, so def check this one out!
TW: there are many. I recommend reviewing triggers on storygraph or another platform prior to reading.
๐ฌ Q: What was the last book that changed your world view?
Graphic: Death of parent, Abandonment, Child abuse, Cursing, Murder, Torture, Death, and Kidnapping
anoelle896's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Death of parent, Violence, Death, Abandonment, and Blood
Moderate: Child abuse, Grief, Blood, Cursing, Death, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual content, and Torture
booksnbrooches's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Sexual content, Grief, and Cursing
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Death, Death of parent, Violence, Homophobia, and Alcoholism
joygarcialim's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
The book was so disjointed in so many parts that I didnโt 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 donโt understand why every time Ox has an emotion, he has to write out a soliloquy about them. Iโm not talking artistic, literary soliloquies- they were very whiney and he thinks heโs suffered the most or something. And itโs 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 wasnโt great, I got second-hand embarrassment from it. It didnโt 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.
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, Violence, Death of parent, Mental illness, Child abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Stalking, Emotional abuse, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, Cursing, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Alcoholism, Blood, Abandonment, Animal death, Animal cruelty, and Addiction
nat_wegas7's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Cursing, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Stalking, Torture, Child abuse, Grief, Kidnapping, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, Confinement, Vomit, Blood, Death, Murder, and Violence
sabinehunter's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Abandonment, Animal death, Grief, Sexual content, Torture, Cursing, Violence, Death of parent, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Death, Murder, and Panic attacks/disorders
mailuss's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
5.0
Moderate: Blood and Cursing
Minor: Sexual content
saestrah's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
After hearing a lot about this series, I was very excited to get an advanced copy of Wolfsong to review, and unfortunately I think the hype made me a little disappointed by the end result. I've seen a few other reviews for this book, which describe the main romance as reading just like fanfiction, and I see where the similiarities lay. The dialogue between the characters is often lighthearted and funny, but I found that the text as a whole lacked the depth I wanted from this book. The topics discussed (poverty, abandonment, kidnapping, and child abuse to name a few) could have lended this book a much richer (albeit darker) texture, but instead a lot of it felt glossed over and for the Bennett's in particular, I never felt like it had a lasting effect on them. Ox's personal fears and motivations felt considerably more developed in comparison, making him easily my favourite character of the book and the only one that I could say that I even liked. His first chapter where his father is leaving the family, and he tries to tell Ox but Ox doesn't pick up on it and believes his father will be returning, broke my heart. There was something so tangible about Ox missing the cues of the conversation and believing himself to be stupid, perhaps due to his narrative style that has a rhythmic and repetitive nature that felt like it would be best read aloud. For all that Gordo claims that Ox didn't talk much as a kid, Ox's inner-voice reminds me of slam poetry.
As for the plot, a lot of it felt predictable in that it follows a lot of YA-werewolf-story tropes and patterns. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, as the
Spoiler
part where Ox finds himself a human-AlphaFrom the start of the book I believed that the love interest would be Carter, being a character closer to Ox's age. Joe was never an option for me until it was made clear that the other characters weren't going to be given nearly as much page time (throughout the book I felt like every character other than Ox had only just been introduced in passing, without giving me a chance to connect with any of themโperhaps since Klune was leaving their development for their own narratives in the series).
On another note, I'm definitely falling on the side of reviewers uncomfortable with the age gap between Ox and Joe. I would have had less of a problem of the two meeting at such a young age if romantic feelings hadn't developed until they were both much older, but as it was, reading about a twenty-three year old being sexually attracted to a seventeen year old that he had 'suddenly' seen as more than a kid, didn't sit right with me.
All in all, I read this book rather quickly and found it easy to binge-read as Ox's narration is easy to follow and the plot exciting enough to draw a reader in, even though I didn't feel the 'pull' that many readers had with this story. It's unlikely that I will read the rest of this series given that they're from other characters' perspectives and I felt like Ox's narrative reached a satisfying ending, but I'm still glad to have read Wolfsong and grateful for the introduction of Ox into my life (as I now have a houseplant named after him).
Graphic: Violence, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Cursing, Gore, Rape, Abandonment, Death of parent, Grief, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, and Sexual content
Moderate: Child abuse, Alcoholism, and Domestic abuse
Minor: Bullying
darkmattersoybean's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
4.0
Spoiler
werewolf dynamicsLooking past that, this book was very well written and the short, succinct style of writing was really pleasing to read. I probably will consider reading more books in the series.ย
Graphic: Violence, Murder, Death of parent, Medical trauma, Emotional abuse, Death, Cursing, Child abuse, Body horror, Blood, Animal cruelty, and Animal death
Moderate: Torture and Adult/minor relationship
cluckieduck's review against another edition
- 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
It is a poetic and heartbreaking story of love, and what it means to be family. The people of Green Creek have stolen my heart.
Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Cursing, Death, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Sexual content, and Violence
Moderate: Death of parent and Bullying
Minor: Kidnapping, Sexual assault, Rape, Emotional abuse, and Child abuse