I LOVE TJ KLUNE <3

Everything he writes is so special and magical and just so so different.

I loved the characters in this one, Nate was a great main character and Alex and Art were just perfect.

I rated this 4 stars.

1/5 stars! umm...what did I just read? This was dreadful. It was boring. The pacing was all over the pace. And it was downright creepy at times. No thanks.

An emotional rollercoaster that blended scifi thrills with heartfelt moments. The story follows Nate Cartwright, a journalist who retreats to his family's cabin in Oregon after a personal and professional downfall.
There, he encounters Alex and a brilliant 10 year old girl named Artemis Darth Vader, who possesses extraordinary abilities. As they become entangled in a conspiracy involving a mysterious group known as The Mountain, the trio forms an unlikely but touching found family.

Klune's writing is both humorous and poignant, capturing the complexities of identity, love, and resilience. While the pacing starts slow, it allows for deep character development and emotional investment.

The blend of suspense, quirky dialogue, and tender relationships kept me hooked until the very end. The Bones Beneath My Skin is a compelling read that showcases Klune's talent for weaving heartwarming stories with thrilling plots.
Many thanks to netgalley and the publishers for the approved copy.

As always, T.J.Klune delivers. I don't think I've ever given one of his books less than five stars and I wasn't about to start with this one.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with a free digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

A brilliant roadtrip romo across America. Queer romance. Soft and cozy characters. Quirky, not quite human child... LOVED IT.

I absolutely loved the bones beneath my skin. I adore the writing style of T J Klune. The tension on this book was incredible it kept me on the edge of my seat and I really felt part of it, which is that T J Klune is amazing at doing. the way he describes the character makes it so easy to visualise.

although its dystopian a lot of the time it feels so real.

another brilliant read

Packed with heart, humour, and just enough weird to make it unforgettable, this story explores love, identity, and found family in the face of the extraordinary. It’s a moving, offbeat sci-fi adventure that balances chaos with tenderness in only the way TJ Klune can

Another obsession! Tj klune never disappoints I love his books as a real escapism and highly recommend his latest gem - get ready to lose yourself and ponder life’s most important questions!

Not my favourite of Klune’s but still an interesting read! Loved the plot and although the “alien” stuff is left to be quite ambiguous, I enjoyed the author’s take. It would’ve been good to get a deeper dive into this but I understand it being open. The author’s note mentioned about the previous publisher wanting more sex scenes, but I’m glad Klune chose to go against this advice. I would’ve enjoyed the love story side a lot more without the sex scenes honestly… it felt a bit random and out of place, I dunno. This book for me was very much action based with a sprinkling of love. And the reason I would’ve preferred it without explicit scenes is because the love wasn’t just a sexual love between two people, it was a family love between three. There was a good mix of action, love, cults, aliens, mystery to this book and I would recommend it for Klune fans!

What to say about this book? I adored Artemis Darth Vader. She's cheeky, clever, meddling, funny, curious, and thoroughly obsessed with bacon (I can relate). I thought her character really made this book. It was interesting to see her discovering more of the world, gaining more of an understanding of humanity, but also revealing her not-human powers. Sometimes it's easy to forget Art isn't simply a sheltered little girl and that this book has a Sci-Fi element. There's a mix of action and adventure in this book to keep us on our toes, and some great and some awful characters along the way. It was also frighteningly believable. Yes, the government would probably do something sinister and appalling if the situation were real. While I did enjoy the story overall, it's actually my least favourite TJ Klune book so far. I couldn't get myself to like Nate, I found him a little bland and whiny, and though I felt like Alex's character had more potential and enjoyed seeing his interactions with Art, but also how he changed with Nate through the story. He has some great character traits, as well as a lot of feelings on the inside, but I wanted his character to be developed a little more. I didn't feel I connected with either him or Nate in the book, which was such a shame and a first for a TJ Klune book but on the flip side, there were scenes with their characters which I did enjoy so it wasn't all like that!

I received a free copy of this book. All views are my own.

This is a story about found family and it's done well, as you'd expect from this author. It was entertaining but predictable, I didn't find it as heartwarming as I've found god previous novels.
TJ Klune certainly has a formula for his books - found family, justice and gay men. I think you either love or hate it - I'm somewhere in the middle and look forward to him writing something different.
Overall this was enjoyable

Thank you to @blackcrow_pr for my copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I have loved TJ Klune since reading The House In The Curelean Sea and have all the newest re-releases (I won’t say I’ve read them all as I haven’t yet lol) but as soon as I started this one, I knew I was going to love it. And I did.

Who isn’t going to love a MC called Artemis Darth Vader! She’s one of the best MC’s I’ve read in ages and just amazing. She loves cowboy books and movies, and bacon! She’s hiding in Nate’s cabin with Alex and there’s something about them that Nate isn’t sure about but can’t seem to let them go. As the danger closes in, they form an unlikely alliance, and fight like they’ve never fought for someone before.

This whole book is just brilliant - fun, serious, laugh out loud and full of howdy’s! If you’re a fan of TJ Klune and bacon, this book is definitely for you.

TJ Klune's writing always hot me on my heart and this book is no different. Another emotive and inspiring piece.

Possibly my favourite TJ Klune book I've read so far. I really love the found family trope which is strong in this book. It was an interesting exploration of what it means to be human with a whole lot of adventure and a sideline of sweet queer love. Would recommend to anyone who loves TJ Klune's other books and anyone who enjoys the gentler side of speculative fiction.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

T.J. Klune has become a must-read author for me, so when I saw this older novel had been re-released I was intrigued to read it. The plot and subject matter are fairly different from his other novels but the underpinning ideas of love, found family and acceptance are ever-present. I'd be interested to see where the writing of this fell in relation to Stranger Things, as Artemis has very Eleven vibes, but that doesn't hinder your enjoyment.

*Thank you to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan | Tor for providing me with this book in exchange of an honest review*


I could read TJ Klune's grocery store list and cry my eyes out. He's the master of found family, emotionally wrecked characters that feel 3 dimensional and never fall flat. The world-building is amazing and I couldn't put it down. Artemis Darth Vader reminded me a lot of Lucy from The House in the Cerulean Sea but she, like Lucy managed to capture my heart. If only I could re-read it for the first time!

The Bones Beneath My Skin is only my second read from TJ Klune, with the first being In The Lives of Puppets, so it's safe to say his more sci-fi leaning work is definitely the area which I'm familiar with. This novel though, was truly genre bending, with those classical sci-fi elements being strongly supported by bucketfuls of mystery, tense action, and slower, poignant moments exploring humanity, sexuality, grief and identity.

The characters were three dimensional, nuanced and real, with their relationships unfolding slowly on the page as the found family vibes stitched together in the best way. What's more, the writing was hilarious. I'm a sucker for stories about isolated / otherworldly creatures learning about the everyday nuances and objects of the world (when done right), so the jokes really landed for me here.

All in all, a great reading experience that just fell short of hitting that 5 star high for me, though Artemis Darth Vader will always hold a special place in my heart.

Another 5 star read from TJ Klune. I love that all his books are amazing and can settle down from page one in the knowledge I am going to love this book!
There was so much in this book which was full of emotion but not the usual intense romance narrative as it was more packed with suspense, mystery, supernatural and sci-fi elements. The action scenes with the helicopters was insane. I love Klune's style of writing and loved reading this book from a different genre style. I love watching Nate's opinion of Alex and Artemis change so drastically throughout the story and the bonding between Alex and Nate, and the three of them in their 'found family' trope. I loved the ending and really love it when authors do an epilogue showing whats happened so many years later.

I wanted to love this so much!!!! Absolutely gutted it just didn't hit for me. I have had some 5 star reads with this author but for some reason I just found this a bit slow-paced in places and then really rushed in others.
I liked the relationship build and the premise itself but it was just missing something for me.

We join Nate who has gone through a rough time and he seeks some escapism in his family's cabin. However the cabin isn't empty on his arrival. He meets a man called Alex and a little girl called Artemis Darth Vader. There's more to the little girl and other people know this and are looking for her.

It won't put me off picking up the author's next release!

A heart pounding thriller from TJ Clune. Unlike his previous works, this gritty, fast-paced sci-fi will have you laughing, blushing, crying and biting your nails. A masterful blend of sweet and suspense, The Bones Beneath My Skin is a great read!

A word of caution: this book is graphic! There are very detailed, maybe even gruesome depictions of gun violence, domestic violence, torture of people of a tender age, and institutional malfeasance by the government and of people in power. Proceed at your own risk

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with this e-ARC!