When I was asked if I'd like to read this book, I jumped at the chance. Klune creates such wonderful characters and this was no different.

They are three main characters, two men and a young girl; or is she? Artemis is about ten, precocious and wonderfully enchanting. Alex is her bodyguard; ex military and a big toughie except when he's plaiting hair. And then Nate, he's kinda lost himself.

Set in 1995, a comet is sweeping past Earth and theories abound about alien ships hidden in the tail. Nate has lost his parents, his job and intends to runaway and hide in the family cabin in Oregon. When he arrives, he faces the end of a gun. Who is this strange child and fierce man hiding in his cabin?

What ensues is typical Klune: thought provoking events that make you question what makes a family, can you choose your family? How do we decide who is a worthy person? All set against government cover ups, possible alien sightings and a road trip. I pretty much read this over a few days. Lovely....

Thanks to Pan MacMillan Tor and Netgalley for an e-arc, all comments are my own.

TJ Klune will always be one of my favourite authors and each book he writes solidifies that sentiment. Klune manages to make the fantastical feel real, so much so that a little girl name Artemis Darth Vader will be etched in my mind for a long time to come.
This is a truly wonderful story about connection and found family and will leave you wondering if any of us are truly alone?
This book of perfect for sci-fi lovers and those who are looking to find an easy way into the genre.

4.5 stars
This feels like the perfect intersection of Klune’s writing in The House in the Cerulean Sea and the Green Creek series. As Klune says in the author note, The Bones Beneath My Skin is weird, but in the best way, filled with heart and found family and hope.

If you’ve read Klune’s books before, you know what to expect. If you haven’t, then prepare for a delightful blend of found family, queer romance, a touch of spice (it made me blush!), and a protagonist who starts as a skeptic and eventually believes.

TBBMS is Klune through and through. And that’s not a bad thing at all. I absolutely adore his books and writing. They may take a bit of time to get going, but once they do, they don’t stop until the very end.

The only minor critique I have is about the 10-year-old girl. She did get on my nerves a few times, but overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The action is fast and exciting, and the romance never feels forced or out of place.

TBBMS reads like an action movie, and in the author’s notes, Klune himself admits it. He’s managed to create characters that you can’t help but fall in love with, and that’s what this book is all about: love and heartbreak. Finding love in the darkest of places. Finding love in the most unexpected of places.

Thanks to NetGalley and Tor for the advanced copy in return for an honest review.

Sooooo, what can I possibly say about The Bones Beneath My Skin that can do it justice? This book follows three beautifully flawed and intriguing characters, including the wonderfully named 'Artemis Darth Vader', whilst they're on the run (from who, I'll let you find out yourself).

T.J. Klune's writing is unusual in all the best ways. The way he meshed the fantastical with the romantic gripped me when I read Wolfsong, so I was thrilled to read this one and find an action movie x sci-fi mash-up (with romance embedded, of course!).

If you love conspiracy theories, cults, big fight scenes, and crazy powerful little girls, this book is for you. And, even if you don't, I honestly think there's something in this book for everyone. The Bones Beneath My Skin was released TODAY, so what are you waiting for? Go grab yourself a copy!

Thanks for the ugly crying last night, T.J. Klune!

What a beautiful story. The relationship between Alex, Nate, and Art was both heartwarming and incredibly authentic. While this book was more graphic than others I’ve read by Klune, it never felt excessive or out of place—it all fit naturally within the story.

Some of the plot points were a bit predictable, but in a cozy, relationship-driven book, that can actually be a strength. The real draw is the characters, and the story serves as a perfect backdrop to their journey.

I don’t want to spoil any of the twists and turns, but if you love cozy, queer stories, this one is definitely for you!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to review this book.

As to be expected, I loved this story. Klune's ability to write great, 3 dimensional characters is unparalleled. All of his stories are both extremely character driven but also have great plots - and this one followed that blueprint to a T.
Despite my love for the characters, I do think the story took a little while to pick up. Whilst this didn't diminish my enjoyment of the book, it did slow down my reading speed and make it a little bit of a slog at times.
Overall, I had a great time with this book and will definitely be rereading in the future!

I love these gay man has a crisis about his lonely boring job and goes somewhere secluded to meet an older man and some form of child and then falls in love with the man and basically adopts the child. This one is alien based and still absolutely delightful. I miss reading it already.

A sci-fi novel about grief, found family and empathy from bestseller TJ Klune. Well written as all of Klune's books are but not particularly interesting to read. Essentially a mashup of ET and Stranger Things, but lacking the nuance and subtlety of his other titles. Not one for me.

Thank you so much to the publisher and NetGalley for granting an e-arc of this book! I am big fan of TJ Klune’s books and I was so excited for a new release and this one didn’t disappoint I LOVED IT! this gave me 90’s and stranger things vibes which is my fav all time tv show! I loved the found family in this and Art was my fav character she hilarious and the romance in this I loved so much as well please go and pick up this book 5 stars!!

3 stars

I liked it but I didn't love it.
This was a bit more action packed that I expected, but it was enjoyable.
I love romance, yet here it felt a bit forced and the steam... I don't know, but it felt out of place.
Still, this was a fun read.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

“You can fear what you don’t understand, but in the end, you can still be brave. You can still stand up for what is right.”

The Bones Beneath my Skin made me travel in a lot of directions and feelings. The story bounces around several genres and atmospheres and it is for the best. Starting page one, a nostalgic feeling seized me in the best of ways, and it felt like being in several episodes of the X-Files (which was my fav TV show as a teen in the 90s) as a red string for the story. Everything felt “90s” in this book, and it was so good!
Like in any other TJ Klune’s novel, the bigger strength are the characters. While being very different, with their voices, they perfectly complete and balance each other. Nate, the curious but who puts blinkers over his problems and traumas. Alex, the former military always on watch, ready to intervene, his gun within easy reach. And the “little girl” for whom they would both give everything. Incredible little Artemis Darth Vader. She gives us a lesson of poetry, humanity… and weirdness. Her voice is just perfect, and as a ND person it was so easy to identify with her. She’s probably the most human among them all. And that’s the main question of the book. What does it mean to be human? Choices are particularly important in the story, how we have or don’t have a choice, how and why we make choices, the consequences they have (until the ultimate choice in the climax scene, oh, brilliant scene). That was one of my favorites themes in the book, and –IMO– one of the answers about the definition of Humanity. Having a choice. Exercising that choice, following your mind, heart and soul. Doing what you think is fair. Making mistakes, sometimes.
I loved being in Nate’s head, the claustrophobic atmosphere that comes and goes several times in the story, the calm (that trunk scene!), the tension , the people they met (OMG the climax scene! –yes, again). That book will linger a long time with me, and I am so, so glad about that.

Thank you tor/Mc Millan, NetGalley and TJ Klune for the eARC. My opinions are my own.

“We are all made of dust & stars”

What a special story! What a unique premise! At the end of the day, this book is quintessential found family with a good dose of romance between our two MMCs. This is my first read of TJ Klune (having somehow missed the Cerulean Sea wave) and so I have nothing to compare it to. However, the way he has written the love, loyalty, loneliness & heartbreak of each of these characters, as well as their love for and devotion to each other is absolutely masterful.

Nate is a fun character to be in the head of - he’s witty, self-deprecating, funny & on an intense journey after a harrowing incident leaving him hollow. Seeing Alex & Artemis from his POV is wonderful. The pacing of the book was quick, but not so fast that it felt rushed - it had an “action movie” feel to it. All in all a wonderful read.

Thank you to Tor, Klune & NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review The Bones Beneath My Skin prior to its rerelease.

A wonderful story of found family that turns misfits and outsiders into a strong unit that protects each other and are capable of anything. First off, I absolutely love Art! With her knowledge of wild west phrases (due to all the books she read) but still an innocence and ecstatic happiness when finding out new things (like bacon!) and her love for her father, Alex. All of that is not what Nate might have been expecting when he retreated to the cabin left to him, but it was precisely what he needed and what Alex and Artemis need too.

This story would best be described as a cozy action book, an odd combination but it works very nicely. Sweet moments of discovery of each other, humorous situations, while being chased by shadowy government enforcers and finding a safe home make for a story that is hard to put down.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read this heartwarming and wonderful book!

TJ Klune has smashed it out of the water once again.
Now I am not a huge sci-fi fan, but when 1) TJ Klune is the author and 2) it has a character called Artemis Darth Vader consider me intrigued.
Think The Bourne Identity with Aliens.
Klunes incredible writing style, amazing characters and the ability to make my laugh out loud and sob uncontrollably make this book absolutely phenomenal.
Following a grieving Nate as he searched to find a life for himself, and instead gets caught up with Artemis and a man named Alex in the unbelievable adventure imaginable.
With grief, love, joy, sorrow and found family, The Bones Beneath My Skin is a book you won’t be able to put down.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the free ARC in exchange for an unbiased review! Rating:3.5 stars

As someone who had read some of T.J. Klune's work before (the House in the Cerulean Sea), and very much enjoyed it, I was so excited to receive this ARC. The premise of the story is that Nate, our mid-twenties protagonist who is taking a break from the world to recentre himself, finds a strange man and a young girl in his remote cabin. The blurb probably does a better job than me at summarising the story, so I'll stop there and give my thoughts- this was a solid book. The characters had nice depth, and I can definitely see why it was described as being for fans of Stranger Things (same sort of base story). As with the author's other works I have read, the book was more about personal growth and the relationships between people (think heart-warming, emotional etc), than the plot or action scenes, but for me there was a bit too much of this. The Bones Beneath My Skin dragged a little because of the focus on emotions and the characters' feelings, and personally given that I didn't feel too attached to any of the protagonists, this made the book less enjoyable. I would also have loved more sci-fi/ fantasy elements, as a lover of escapist fiction, but I understand that others feel differently.

In all, this was a very solid book, just not quite my personal choice as someone who prefers more action/plot and escapism, but I'm sure that fans of T. J. Klune or heart-warming stories of personal growth and romance will love this. Thank you again to the publisher and Netgalley!

I think this may be my favourite T J Kline book yet. The characters, the emotions, everything about this story captured my heard right from the beginning and I couldn't get enough of Nate, Art and Alex

Wow what a story! An emotional thriller that takes you on a wild journey with some lovely and memorable characters.

This is the most moving book, which sits in its very own genre. The characters are so delightfully written and the story so beautifully told, I will be recommending this to all my listeners.

Title: The Bones beneath my skin
Author: T J Klune
Pages: 416
Rating: 4/5

"a 10-year-old girl with an impossible power, her father, and an unlikely stranger, who come together to confront the dangerous forces that want her at all costs. A strange story of family, love, comets, and bacon"

This wasn't what I was expecting in comparison to the other books I've read by TJ Klune. However, it was such a lovely read of family, love and friendship. The intense intimacy between Alex and Nate and the innocent humour of Art.

As always with Klune's books I found myself smiling all the way through. Gripped with government conspiracies and cults and just loved the weird and wonderful topsy turvy stand alone!

I really enjoyed the setting of the scenes. The broody flashbacks.

Some reviews are saying this isn't a romance, but I beg to differ. It's a slow gentle bloom romance with a very spicy part midway!

I poured over the pages of my kobo and was sad when it came to an end!!

You'll love this book if you like
- romance
- queer fiction
- cosy sci-fi (is that a thing?)
- grumpy x sunshine
- slowburn
- found family