This was brilliant again. I hope the other books in the series will be republished in this way soon, I want to know more about the whole family. It should be translated into German as well, so far we only have to books by this author and they are both amazing.

This is a fantasy novel with a strong character/romance element. When our main character is 16 years old, a family of werewolves moves in next door and changes his life forever.

Plotwise, the story has a strong resemblance to the twilight series, only with werewolves.

I really struggled with this book due to the ages of the characters involved. I found it very uncomfortable to have a 10 year old know that a 16 year old is destined to be his mate (although the 16 year old is oblivious for a number of years). Even a 16 year old being best friends with a 10 year old seems odd to me.

When the now 23 year old realises he has feelings for his now 17 year old best friend, we get extremely uncomfortable recollections about how jealous the at the time 12-14 year old was of his 'mate' having sex with other people, to the extent that he wanted to kill him. We have the 17 year old telling his mates mother he wants to mount him. We have the 17 year olds brother commenting that his mate better be prepared for werewolf stamina.

If everyone had been aged up from the start, thw age gap would have been fine. But all the sexual content relating to a minor was not what I was looking for.

And that doesn't even get into how the werewolf family basically groom this poor (possibly slow) human boy, then value him only for what he does for their family. And chide him when he has the nerve to be upset after being abandoned for years without word.

Whole reading experience left me very uncomfortable. Will ntoot be reading any further books in the series

Did it take me a month to read this book? Yes but that's entirely my fault, not the books. Uni and life in general has been hectic.
I'd heard a lot about this book prior it's re-realease and I'm super happy to have now crossed it off my TBR. While it was slow goings at first, for me and the book, as soon as the action (and the traumatising moments) really got going, I was hooked.
Every character felt like they were written with such love, especially Ox who I would now lay down my life for. Now that I'm thinking about it I don't think I've ever actually read a book solely about werewolves so that was a super fun thing for me.
I will definitely be continuing on with this series in 2023.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

TJ Klune is fast becoming one of my favourite authors. Every single one of his books is an must-read, combining thought-provoking fantasy storyline with an inclusive and diverse cast. Ox is a great character to explore and his relationship with Joe and the others in the Bennett family unfolds so naturally and realistically it's a joy to read, while Klune also explores a different spin on the werewolf mythology (something I didn't think was possible at this point!). Death, grief, love and family are also explored in this novel, and I'm now going to have to search out the sequel immediately!

I absolutely loved this book! Joe is my favourite character and I loved seeing both Joe and Ox grow up. The shifter dynamic was unique to me and I loved most of the wolves.

I can't wait to read Ravensong!

'Candy canes and pinecone and epic and awesome'

Ask me a few months ago, and I'd have laughed in your face if you told me I'd read and love a book about werewolves. Being told 'it's like Twilight, but gay' would not have immediately appealed but as an avid TJ Klune fan, I was convinced to give it a shot. How does that man do it? I was hooked immediately.

I could talk about the world building, the character development, the pace of the plot, but ultimately, what always brings me back to his books is his portrayal of love. Wolfsong is no exception. This isn't just hearts and flowers and romance, this is deep, lasting, soulmate love, something not many writers do well. It's raw and powerful and he doesn't shy away from the heartache and grief love can also bring. Just like The House in the Cerulean Sea and Under The Whispering Door, Wolfsong is a book you'll keep coming back to, a big fluffy blanket of a book that makes you feel all warm and cosy inside. Truly a masterpiece!

This book is incredible! I don't remember the last time I picked a book up and was completely captivated after the first chapter. The building relationship between Ox and the pack as he finally learns his worth and is accepted by them was beautiful to read, and the romance between Ox and Joe tugged at my heartstrings ruthlessly. My favourite character (aside form Ox) had to be Gordo, and I cannot wait to pick up the second book in this series which follows his story

I have heard so many amazing things about this book, so when I was given the opportunity to read it, I couldn't say no. The writing was absolutely stunning and I was hooked from the very beginning, right up to the very end.

Not your typical werewolf book and not your typical romance. This is a challenging look at all kinds of relationships, at the pushes and pulls within friendships and romances, and the balance or lack thereof between parents and children. It’s gritty and raw. But also compelling and beautifully told. A queer werewolf romance and a family drama.

This was fantastic!

I remember reading the author's house in the cerulean sea and loving it, and this was so good! gorgeous, lyrical writing and strong, viivid imagery that left me thrilled! Highly recommend if you want a wholesome mystery story perfect for autumn!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for an e-arc!

If you, like me, are a fan of TJ Klune’s softer work, like The House in the Cerulean Sea, then brace yourself for something very different with Wolfsong. Right from the first page, it’s clear that we’re not in a whimsical, slightly-insulated-from-reality setting, but in a sad, realistic world where fathers leave and bills stack up. There’s something about it that just feels more grounded, though no less compelling: Ox has a distinctive narrative voice, and while he’s (self-admittedly) not a particularly smart kid, the way he describes things is so simple and pithy that it’s impossible not to be dragged along with him. It’s a fine balance, writing a character of limited intelligence without coming across patronising or caricature-ish, but I think Klune’s nailed it here. However, this is a pretty long book, and the writing style does become a little tedious after several hundred pages of similar phrases, so you may find your tolerance for punchy repetition wanes as you read.

Watching Ox grow from twelve to sixteen across the first sixty or so pages of the book is gripping even though it’s fairly mundane; the mysterious arrival of the Bennett family is the obvious hook of the story, but Ox was already interesting on his own. The blurb makes the book sound like it begins when Ox is 26 and that this is a straighforward paranormal romance, but that’s not right – it starts at the beginning, when he’s 12, and combs through his life in detail as he grows. It’s sort of Twilight meets The Outsiders in tone. A coming-of-age tale where the main character feels like an outcast from society, there’s a strong focus on found family and pack dynamics. I can definitely see why people are loving this as a paranormal queer story!

However, I had a few distinct problems with the execution. Firstly, there are so few women in this book, and they are treated as so unimportant to the plot, so emotional and weak compared to the men, that I already had my hackles up by the time the fridging started. This is a book concerned with teenage boys and emotionally immature men, and for me as a female reader, that was just… quite boring. Secondly, I personally really don’t like the ‘fated mates’ trope, and that is very much what this book is – it’s obvious to everyone apart from Ox, including the reader, that Joe has claimed him as his mate while they’re still teenagers. I don’t generally like the trope because I find it very toxic (what chance does someone have to try other partners, to express that they don’t like behaviour, to *leave* if they’re magically yours and not their own?) and this is a particularly egregious example of that, which strips a lot of agency from Ox. However, I think the trope can be done well if the relationship is still shown to be strong and respectful, and I can understand why the characters like each other on top of their magical bond – which brings me to my third problem.

This is the story of Ox falling in love with Joe and building a community of people, both human and wolf, around him. That would be great if I liked a single character apart from Ox. I felt most of the adults manipulated him and most of the kids were annoying or just superfluous, and many characters were both annoying and manipulative. The worst example by far was Joe. It seems like the book really, really thinks you should find Joe adorable as a kid and an adult, that you should think he’s funny, charming, sweet, and in need of protection. He’s traumatised, sure, which explains some of his behaviour, but I just really, really didn’t like him! He’s like a manic pixie dream boy. I didn’t think he and Ox had any chemistry in either their friendship or their love, which made it really hard to root for them.

Overall, this was a shoot and a miss for me. I’m intrigued by the differences in Klune’s body of work – I recently DNFed his The Lightning-Struck Heart, which suffered from a similar lack of women and some characters and humour I truly didn’t click with, so I’ve read two books of his that I’ve loved and two that I’ve really disliked. I’ll certainly keep checking his work out, and I do recommend this if you’re a fan of fated mates, but I don’t think I’ll be coming back to Green Creek. Two out of five cats.

Wolfsong is both similar and very different from other TJ Klune books that I’ve read. The atmosphere is similarly lingering and the prose style is fragmented, with quick glimpses into important—and not so important—events. It’s set in a more realistic world, a small town in rural America. It takes a long time for the supernatural elements to show up and even then they’re such an organic part of the narrative that they don’t jump out or feel glued on.

Much of the book is a coming-of-age story. Ox is a bit slow and larger than kids his age, so he doesn’t fit in, even if he’s not bullied as such. He finds solace in an auto repair shop where his father used to work before he left when Ox was eleven. And then, one day, a boy several years younger than him moves to the house next door with his wealthy family.

Ox and Joe are connected from the start. Since Joe is a child, it’s only friendship, though slightly unbalanced and odd due to their age difference. But as they both grow, Ox is brought into the family secret and his world changes forever. He becomes a part of Joe’s pack, as his protector, and gains a family he’s never had in the bargain. And then things change again. Joe leaves, and Ox is left to handle his life the best he can until Joe returns a few years later and they’re ready for the next phase in their lives.

This was a slow book, and much longer than it needed to be. I wasn’t entirely on board with the author’s decision to give Ox and Joe such a large age gap—especially when the other starts as a preteen—and although the time apart ensured that Joe wasn’t a child anymore when he returned, I struggled to get on board of them. Also, I wasn’t entirely sure I liked Joe much. Ox, however, I loved.

Other characters were a bit fragmented like the narrative, and I had trouble remembering them at times. Only one with a truly meaningful role in Ox’s life was his boss/mentor/father figure Gordo, who had a supernatural secret of his own.

Despite my misgivings, this was one of the best m/m paranormal romances that I’ve read for how real it felt. Well-written, it unfurls slowly and is full of angst and deep emotions. And since the next one is about Gordo, I think I’ll read that too.

This book was not for me! I kind of guessed it wouldn't be for me, but it was TJ Klune, and after loving Under the Whispering Door and The House in the Cerulean Sea, I felt I needed to give this a try. But as I said, it was not for me and I had to give up reading it.

The writing felt so stilted. It was in little sentences that just could not connect in my mind to form anything comprehensible.

The characters felt bland and boring. I actually felt bored on their behalf.

The romance, the entire point of the book, felt forced and weird.

I should have listened to myself when I thought I wouldn't like this, and have decided that maybe this is an author I may not always enjoy reading from.

i can't do justice to this story or the way it was written, honestly. this book spans a nearly 10 year period and is told exclusively through Ox's point of view. his relationships both familial and romantic are so full of heart and so damn real that you often forget you're reading a shifter/paranormal book. there's violence and drama too but this book shines so bright in its depiction of relationships.

also the INTENSE character development of the two main men in this book is so gradual and yet so perfect. i love seeing confidence being built after traumatic experiences and this book does such a realistic job at exploring that.

Wolfsong by T. J. Klune

Huge thanks to Steve at Black Crow PR and TOR publishing for my gifted copy of the book and for having me along in the tour.

What a book! I was absorbed completely for the moment I started this book.

My love for Ox grew and he grew from a boy into a man and all his realisations through four that time.

I loved the realism in this book and the undercurrent of magic throughout. The details of the pack’s connection to not only one another but to Ox and his mother and Gordo were done to perfection.

This book will have you laughing and crying within a few short places.

One of the best books I’ve read this year! Can’t wait for the rest of the series 😍

This started a bit slowly but then once I got into it, I really got into it! Wolfsong shares the story of Ox, who was told that he was gunna get shit his whole life, but that all changes when he meets the Bennetts. With twists and turns I didn't see coming, Wolfsong shares a beautiful coming of age story with LGBTQ+ elements and familial themes running throughout. I really enjoyed it and would highly recommend!

The housing the Cerulean Sea is one of my favourite books, I hate to compare books but this one just didn't hit the mark for me, but I still applaud this author for his incredibly unique work

This is the re-release for TJ Klune’s Male/Male Werewolf Romance series Green Creek. I am a fan of Klune’s House on the Cerulean Sea and Under the Whispering Door. Wolfsong has the same beautiful attention to detail in its writing. Its gorgeous and really pulls you into the story. There is so much emotion in his writing.

But unlike the other Klune books I have read I just didn’t gel with this one. I found I was really not a fan of the Wolf aspect of this book. I felt it took away from the development of the relationships in the novel. I found just as I was learning about each of the characters we would switch to them nuzzling and snuffling and running under the moon and it just felt so much at juxtaposition to the development we got when they were in human form and I found myself wanting to skip over those parts. Which were most of the book.

I also found the age difference between the two romantic protagonists to be a little disturbing. One imprinted on the other at the age of 11 when the other was 17 and this felt so awkward to me. While their relationship didn’t develop beyond friendship until the younger was in his late teens and it was a really sweet romance and steamy in parts, the undercurrent of their age difference was just not for me.

While the rest of the book was strong and really interesting these elements just really made this book not for me. But I would recommend it for werewolf fans out there.

For me this book has some really interesting parts to the storyline whilst others sadly dragged at times. I struggled to connect with the characters and the initial age thing felt rather awkward at the start. It did give me twilight vibes at times.

Werewolves, witches and packs.

I am enchanted by Klune’s writing and I loved ‘Wolfsong’. At times, the writing is straightforward which suits the personality of Ox perfectly, reflecting his character and thoughts in a way that makes you understand him. The narrative spans 10 years, meaning it is fast paced but Klune combats this by including snippets of events and interactions between Ox and the rest of the pack, meaning we don’t lose any characterisation. We see the characters grow with each other, witness their bonds strengthening and feel like one of the pack with them. Monsters are true villains, heroes are unlikely and the stereotype of werewolves are bended.

Heart-breaking and beautiful, this is one to recommend and I cannot wait for the rest in the series to come in hardback!