1.5/5
Thank you Netgalley and Pan Macmillan for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.
I loved everything about this book... until I didn't.
I loved the characters so much, I think Klune always writes fantastic characters that draw you in and hook you. They were all so incredibly comforting and warm and I understand why people like this book, I loved it too at first.
I thought the writing style was brilliant and cleverly unique to our main character. I really did have such a fun time reading the beginning and I wanted to love it so much. In fact I knew I would love it. But then the age gap happened.
Joe and Ox meet when Joe is 10 and Ox is 16. Harmless enough, right? WRONG. At first I loved their friendship but as I read on I started feeling a little uncomfortable at weird descriptions of their relationship. I kept thinking to myself... 'He means as friends, right?' …He did not.
As I got more and more uncomfortable I decided to check. First I looked at Goodreads, I didn't read any reviews (for fear of spoilers) but most of the reviews were good, high ratings so I thought I could be wrong. I then googled it and saw 'Joe', 'Ox' and 'love story' in the same sentence. Big sigh.
I continued reading, hoping against all hope that somehow it just wouldn't happen. Because why would it? Why would you make that decision when you could easily make them the same age? (Staring at you, T.J. Klune.) Not to mention that they practically grow up as brothers and as family. I thought perhaps there would be some secret werewolf aging system that means they somehow become the same age but not even an attempt was made. There was some strange imprinting/mating thing that happened where Klune attempted to even out the power imbalance by making the younger one (Joe) imprint on the older one (Ox) but all it did was remind me of Jacob imprinting on a literal baby in Twilight and that made everything even worse.
This review is just becoming my horror story experience, I'm aware, but I think it's perfectly valid to be fair.
Then I reached the part where it actually starts to happen about 150 pages in. I thought that Klune would wait until they were both older until he made anything romantic/sexual happen between them and he partially did, yet he still didn't wait until it would be legal. I would find it creepy either way, but now it is a literal crime. Joe is 17 and Ox is 22/23 (I'm not exactly sure but one of those ages) and I feel sick.
It saddens me because I know what an amazing storyteller Klune is and I know I could've loved this story. I also know that I could've loved this romance and I just don't understand why they couldn't be the same age, it truly makes no sense to me.
But, alas, here we are.
What angers me (and is the reason that I am writing this review in depth) is the harmful repercussions of this decision. I mean specifically how harmful it is to make a gay male main character a predator. Further than that, Ox (the main character), is also implied to be disabled (although I'm not 100% certain, but that's what I picked up on quite instantly) which is another level added to the 'dangerous stereotypes' conversation. I'm not the best at articulating, in my anger, why these stereotypes are so harmful so please do your own research on that, but know that it enrages me so much. I also thought, as a queer man himself, Klune would be careful and knowledgeable about these things. I guess not.
My post about this book on TikTok will come in my reading wrap up at the end of this month.

THE HOUSE IN THE CERULEAN SEA and UNDER THE WHISPERING DOOR are my favourite books, so I requested this book because I expected something similar. But it's... different. I didn't expect explicit sex scenes - so explicit that it felt like erotica. I also didn't like the age gap and the fact that the protagonist was having sex with multiple partner while his future love interest was still a child. T. J. Klune is a very talented writer, and many readers will love this book. However, I was looking for something that will bring me comfort and hope. Something that will make me smile. And this book is about heavy topics.

The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune is one of my absolute favourite books so I was SO excited when I found out about Wolfsong!

Shape-shifters, werewolves, magic and romance all building up to an ALMIGHTY battle of good vs bad - you best believe that was going to get my attention and keep me turning the pages! Joe and Ox alongside the rest of their pack, will have you feeling EVERY possible emotion whilst they (and you) whirlwind their way through such an exhilarating plot!

But my favourite thing!? And the thing that TJ Klune does SO well, was/is his found family storyline/s, the relationships (romantic or not) between his oddly charming characters and the emotions that he manages to spill from the pages of his books. Wolfsong ticks ALL of those boxes, I don't know how he does it but it's THIS that will keep me reading anything and everything TJ Klune writes! 💚

I absolutely adore T.J Klune’s writing, it’s absolutely gorgeous. Sadly, whilst I still think very highly of his talent, this book didn’t hit the mark for me. And at 576 pages, it’s well over 200 pages more than my ideal book length. I didn’t think it would matter as I love his work so much, but I did find it drawn out in places and far too long.

It’s not got the same feeling as the others of his I’ve read. It still has the love and the magic and that overwhelming feeling of being an outsider, but for me, it’s got a very different tone and didn’t match up to previous. My favourite of his is “Under the Whispering Door” and I can’t fully explain why, it’s just perfect in every way.

If I didn’t know better, I’d have said this was his first book. It’s missing something that made his other books superior, it doesn’t feel as accomplished.

The whole Ox/Joe relationship is the key to this book and yet I found it uncomfortable. It’s not about their age difference or anything like that. I just got no chemistry from them at all and it all felt forced and a bit stilted.

I was definitely getting Twilight vibes - and reading a few other early reviews, I can see I’m not the only one. That’s not necessarily a good or a bad thing, but I’m not sure it’s what he would have been aiming for.

I love his writing generally, the way he depicts love is gorgeous, but I found the prose in this one cringy and awkward and very repetitive. It felt too busy but at the same time, it dragged on and felt like not much was actually happening.

The writing style, the format is very lyrical, with irregular prose and whilst this was a nice touch at first, I soon became tired of it and wished for “boring” “normal” prose. It would flow better for me and I wouldn’t be distracted by the sentence structure, and instead would be focussed on the story itself.

I know there are some among us who don’t want to read about a same-sex relationship (bizarre to me, but each to their own), but where I think Klune really excels is in depicting love that’s for everyone. I’m not reading a “gay love story”, I’m just reading a love story between two people who just so happen to be of the same gender and he handles it beautifully. I could read his writings about love and relationships forever.

I’m not actually sure there were any characters I really liked, except perhaps Gordo. They were too forced but not fully formed.

I believe this is meant to be the start of a new series. As much as I love his work, I won’t be reading the next instalments. I think his shorter, standalone books are better. His previous stories filled me with joy and you get this glow from them, but this one just annoyed me. I found myself continually checking what page I was on and how much I had left.

Having said all that, nothing takes away from his ability as a storyteller to write fantastic love stories.

What did I love about this book? The characters, the writing style, the way the author writes about emotions which is just amazing, the found family and the binds that tied them together.

What didn't I like about this book? Firstly, that there were things that I didn't like as the two previous books that I have read by T J Klune have been truly wonderful. Apart from that I didn't like the graphic details of the injuries inflicted, the two sex scenes were unnecessarily graphic, and the book seemed repetitive and overlong. And I was surprised to discover that it is a republication of an older novel.

I had hoped that this would be the start of a new series for my but that isn't the case but I would like to thank NetGalley, the publishers and the author for the opportunity to read and review a e-ARC of this title.

Absolutely adored this, immediately downloaded the rest of the series. Beautiful writing and so much character development, no unnecessary drama and just a well written story. Starting to wonder why it's taken me this long to pick up any T. J Klune.

I did not know what to expect from this book, but I did soon find that I could not put it down. It is a beautiful tale of growing into ones self, discovering a different form of love and family, and large elements of lgbt+ love, though that is not made such a big deal of, but is simply just part of the characters make up. And all this is wrapped up in a beautiful tale pf magic and werewolves.

The tale is told from Ox's point of view, he starts as a boy as his Father leaves, which scars him for a long time, especially with the things he says to Ox on the way out the door. It leaves him and his Mum in a destitute way, but they get help from the owner of a mechanic shop, and from there Ox's life and who he is and will become starts to form. It is a beautiful tale, one that takes you on a journey through self discovery, destiny and love, where you can have a family that is not blood, and letting peoples belief in you start to shape who you are.

The writers style was easy to follow, though I would not say it was exactly smooth, at no point did I feel lost or unable to continue. The world that they have created is wide and open to many more books to come in the Story or Ox and his companions, and truly I can not wait for the sequal.

I survived. For most of the book I didn't think I'd make it out alive. I barely did. Soooooo many emotions.
I loved it.

First, I'd like to point out that this book for me was clearly devided into two parts.
The first half basically goes through all that is said in the blurb, so even though you'll want to read that blurb (because it really is a beautiful blurb), try not to focus on it too much or you'll be wanting all those things to happen too soon. But believe me when I say that even knowing all those things before starting, it does not take away from the fact that the first part of this book is one of the most beautiful, amazing, heartfelt stories I have ever read.
A story about love, friendship, family, finding your place, growing into your own, belonging, oh... and also wolves. That's a thing. But tbh the most heartfelt parts were to do with the humanity that lives in all of these beautiful characters.

Now, I'm NOT saying that the second half wasn't good. It was veeeery good. Still beautiful.
I was left longing for the characters to get it together though. It also had a very different mood, more sombre, darker. I still loved it, my heart was in pieces but I loved it.

All in all, I loved this. Stories that make me feel this many emotions so strongly in one book deserve awards. That's all I'm saying.

This story follows Ox Matheson. One day, when Ox was just 12 years old, his father ups and leaves him and his mother. His father, an often drunk and cruel man, repeatedly told Ox that he was dumb and would never fit anywhere. As much as Ox loved his dad, he knew deep down that it was best for him and his mother, that he was out of their lives. But the cruel words that were spoken would forever plague Ox’s mind.

4 years later, the vacant house at the end of the lane has a new family moving in. The Bennett’s. One day while walking home from work, Ox meets a little boy in the road. Joe Bennett, a pure chatterbox in comparison to Ox, who because of his father, barely spoke at all. Joe takes Ox to his family, the Bennett family who moved in down the lane. They welcome Ox into their home with warm, open arms. We soon learn that because of a traumatic past, Joe was speaking for the first time in over a year. To Ox. And the Bennetts can see just how special Ox truly is. From here on, Ox and Joe are joint at the hip. But the Bennetts are keeping a secret and their moonlight activities are about to open up a whole new world for Ox.

Honestly, this book was so beautiful. I don’t think anyone does the found family trope, quite like TJ. Klune. The book spans over a 10 year period and told completely in Ox’s point of view. The relationships he builds within his new family and also the romantic relationships explored are so fleshed out. They’re warm and comforting. The book itself just feels like one big hug. I want to be sat around the Bennett’s Sunday dinner table, it’s tradition!

The character development was also fantastic. In the beginning Ox has no self confidence, deeming himself dumb and worthless and it was incredible to watch him finding his place in the world. He is just so loveable, honestly like all of the characters, I just wanted all the best things for him. Joe was an absolute sweetheart and my heart ached as we learned more of his trauma and how he was trying to overcome it and how some things could set him back in his healing process. It was raw, I’ll be leaving trigger warnings at the bottom of my review.

The main romantic plot does centre around Ox and Joe, being 16 and 11 when they first meet. It needs to be said that nothing romantic is *suggested* until the characters are 17 and 23 and though nothing specifically happens at these ages, I can personally see how this could be uncomfortable reading with the age gap. It did take a while for me as the reader to adjust to the fact that Joe wasn’t a little boy anymore. But for me, the age gap of 6 years wasn’t the issue, it was Joe’s age (17). It’s just something to be aware of.

In all, I absolutely devoured this book. It was traumatic. It was HILARIOUS. I think this is TJ Klune’s signature trademark at this point; make you laugh like a goof on one page and then rip your heart out in the next. And I’ll eat it up every time!

trigger warnings: suggested domestic abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse, rape, murder, parent loss.

What a book. Klune's writing is superb and manages to create a believable world with characters that should be unbelievable. This book is heart warming and shows that adversity can be overcome.

Ox is believable and relatable. We've all been told at some point that we won't amount to much but he proves otherwise.

Joe and the Bennett family are elegant and almost regal. They're relatable and believable even with their secret of being werewolves.

I loved this book.

I loved reading this, I was glued to my phone! This is Klune at his best. All the characters are so vividly drawn, their heartbreak feels like my heartbreak, and they are easy to love despite being flawed individuals. I think that out of all the books I’ve read by Klune (7), Ox is my favourite character. I loved following his journey and I’m so excited to revisit Green Creek with the following books in the series.

Wow! What an amazing book!!
The characters are all so fully developed and the writing style!!! God!!!
Would love to read more from the author.
Thankyou netgalley for the Arc!

I adored this book.

I have read a few of this authors other titles but for some reason thought this was a YA series so had given it a pass, but when I had the option to get an ARC through Net Gallery and Pan Macmillan I thought what did I have to lose - other than a few hours. What I didn't realise was the emotional rollercoaster I was about to experience! This book delivers all the feels, joy, sorrow, tension, action, love... you name it.

I loved the main character, and the interaction of the packs. There was so much packed into this that at one point I was shocked to find I was only 30% of the way through as so much was covered without ever feeling rushed. Which was a blessing as it meant I still had so much still to experience. The only trouble was when I got to the end I felt lost as I didn't want to leave - but fear not; this is a series, and I've still got 3 more books to enjoy.

This surprised me by being mainly a romance book. The existence of werewolves and other magical things was quite casual and slotted in with everyday life which was quite cool. I liked the idea and descriptions of the pack bond and I thought it was sweet.

Unfortunately I didn’t like this one as much as The house in the cerulean sea, and I had high hopes for it after reading that. Flashbacks, phone calls and a few other things didn’t have speech marks around them and it got kind of confusing and I’d sometimes lose track of what was happening and who was speaking. It was an alright story overall, although there were just some things that were missing for me. I’m also not sure how I feel about the romance… it was nice but the fact that they met when Joe was 10 years old and Ox was 16 makes me feel a bit weird, although nothing happens with them until Joe is 17 and the wolves say that ‘it works differently for wolves’. Still made me feel a bit weird though.

This was quite a slow story but it built everything up nicely to the end. It was quite emotional and focused on family and love which was nice. It took me a while to get into it because the beginning was a slow build up and I wasn’t sure where it was going but once it got going it was good. Overall, not as good as The house in the cerulean sea but still a good read that I enjoyed.

You know the feeling of reading a really good book? That exhilarating sort of bubbly giddiness which makes it impossible not to smile. That makes you feel light and warm and happy.

A book that I sort of want to describe as a queer version of Twilight but without the vampires shouldn’t be able to bring forth all those happy feelings. I honestly can’t tell what exactly it is about TJ Klune’s writing that brings forth all these happy feelings. I cannot even say why exactly I enjoyed this book so much. Except that I did, enjoy it that is. A lot.

Wolfsong shows how life is about choices. About doing what you think is right and hope you don’t end up hurting those you love the most. No one is perfect but that’s okay. People are bound to make mistakes and even though your heart is in the right place and everything you want to do is protect your loved ones, you could end up being the one who hurts them the most. You probably will because love is cruel that way.

My only problem with this book was the two (in my opinion) very explicit scenes which occurs in the second half of the book. I’m aware that Wolfsong is marketed towards adults and all but I still felt like at least the first scene came a bit out of the blue. Especially since the only other book I’ve read by this author is Under the Whispering Door which has sort of the same feeling to it as Wolfsong but none of those explicit scenes. Not even close.

I have to admit that while I absolutely enjoyed this book as a whole, I didn’t love the second half of the book as much as I did the first. The plot got a little bit messy and a bit of the magic was lost, hence four stars instead of five.

Wolfsong is unique in so many ways. I’m not usually a fan of childhood friends turning into lovers but what happens in this book is so much more than that. I like the way TJ Klune handled the age gap between Ox and Joe. Sure, Joe was only 10 to Ox’s 16 years when they first met. Sure, there is a 6 year age gap between the two. But the relationship between Ox and Joe never felt wrong. It was never about romance when they grew up but more of a bond between the two. Joe was Ox’s person and Ox was Joe’s and that was it. It never turned into something more until the both of them were ready for it and even then Ox wanted to resist, wanted to wait.

(Thank you so much to the team at Pan Macmillan for providing me with an eARC of this incredible book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.!)

I loved Under The Whispering Door so I decided to read all the other books TJ Klune has... however, not all might be for me, like this one. It sounded really good, even though I am not into werewolves anymore... However, I struggled to read this as I believe I am not the right audience for this one, so I DNF. It reminded me of Twilight, which I read when it came out and won't read it now. I should have done more research into this series before going for it.

I've read two of this author's books and loved them, so jumped at the chance for an ARC of Wolfsong. And although it's pretty long, it is so beautifully written, with characters you feel like you've known forever, that it is no great effort to read.

There were a couple of explicit sex scenes towards the end of the book, which you might want to be aware of if buying for a younger person. Others have mentioned the age difference, but it is essential to know that both characters are fully adult when anything happens.

The story is full of delicious narrative, wonderful settings, and diverse characters who each add depth and richness to the novel. Yes, it's shape-shifters, but it is so much more. It is family, and friendship, grief, and loss, and overcoming trauma, and finding your way home again. Highly recommend.

Despite being a fan of fantasy fiction in general, I usually steer clear of werewolf novels - I've always associated it with the dafter end of the spectrum. But I do like TJ Klune's other novels, so decided to give this one a go anyway. The protagonist is Ox, a young man living in a small rural Oregon town surrounded by woods. Ox describes himself as big and slow - he's the former, but readers will quickly realise he isn't the latter - lives with his mother after his father left them, and works at the local garage. In his late teens a new family move in to the house nearest his, and he quickly befriends the youngest son.

Soon he is fully accepted into the home of his new neighbours - but there's something a bit odd about the Bennett family. As the cover and blurb of the novel would suggest, they are werewolves. And they consider Ox part of their pack - which Ox is delighted about. Unfortunately, there are other werewolves out there who don't like humans at all, and who have a vendetta against the Bennett clan. Soon all sorts of drama ensues, changing Ox's future in ways he could never have imagined.

Klune is one of those writers who can make you fall completely in love with a character within 10 pages. Ox is a really loveable character and the supporting characters are very likeable as well. As a result it's impossible not to be completely emotionally invested in the story and caught up in all the twists and turns of the plot. It's a gripping and emotionally fraught story - the term 'angst' has never been so apt. It feels rather like a young adult novel for that reason - the raw emotional nature of the writing. However the small number of explicit sex scenes put it firmly in the adult marketing bracket.

Whilst I love a story that I can engage with and really care about, this one almost goes too far. It's rather exhausting to read. A book that makes me cry at a couple of key points is one thing. A book that has you blubbing for a significant chunk of its 500 plus pages is a bit much. I actually feel a bit drained now I've finished it. It's like binging on sweets - no matter how much you enjoy eating them, there comes a point where they make you feel sick. This book could have toned it down a notch or two and not been any the worse for it. It also does get a bit repetitive, to the extent I skim read some of the romance scenes.

The action is very well written and exciting, and the concepts are simple to grasp. There's not much 'world building' as such. I liked the way the werewolves had certain dog/wolf like behaviours and weren't just 'hairy humans' as they've tended to be in other novels I've read where they feature. The plot is pretty straightforward too - remarkably so for such a long book. But that's because the page space is all taken up with a lot of emotional angsting. Either American males in small towns are a great deal more in touch with feelings than I expected, or that aspect can be considered rather unrealistic.

On the whole it's a very compelling read and perfect if you want something full of angst and emotion. I always think love stories are most enjoyable when you're recently in love yourself. It may be a less good option if you're feeling emotionally vulnerable as it really does lay it on with a trowel. I will read the sequels (there are three), but after a bit of a break to recover!

If you love sweet romance and subtle humour, fast-paced action and emotional roller-coasters, this is just the book for you!

I picked this without thinking because of a) the author and b) the synopsis sounded interesting but I'll be honest, I dropped this 30% of the way in (and I'm actually surprised I made it this far as I STRUGGLED).

The found family aspect was compelling at first, I'm always a bit weak for those, but honestly this book is primarily a romance and I'll admit I was kind of put off by the fact that the relationship and age gap was hugely uncomfortable for me...

For further context Ox met Joe (his future mate) when Joe was just ten and Ox was sixteen.. nowhere in the description did it initially say this (and I'm fairly sure I would have ditched the idea of this in a hurry if it did). I'm not one to really get too worked up over age gaps but the fact they were drawn to each other initially at such young age is... a bit weird frankly. Things obviously progress when Joe turns 17 but... I honestly still felt uncomfortable from the fact that they had grown up together as kind of family??

I'm honestly not really a big fan of the "werewolf" genre so I gave this the benefit of the doubt at first but I really couldn't continue despite being intrigued initially by the concept. It just seemed like a Twilight reimagining without the vampires. However, I will say that I've read that the representation in this series is great, in which almost everyone is bisexual or gay, which is promising as there's always room for more of this.

It's honestly just a shame that the book is 85% focused on the romance between the two characters which I would have been fine with if not for the disturbing initial age gap.

I never got far enough to really get pulled into the plot but I will be upfront that the writing took me a little while to really get used to at first?? idk if that was just me coming from a completely different style of writing or if I just didn't take to it but I struggled to really engage with it. I've not really finished any books by this author before despite hearing alot about them, so it may just be their writing style in general. I also didn't realize this book is the first in a series, which I will be unlikely to read any more of since I didn't manage to get through this one.

I think this is one you'll either love or hate and I unfortunately couldn't push myself to continue, but I will still give this author's books a try in future.

As a disclaimer, I received a copy of this from Netgalley for an honest review.