Review: Ravensong by TJ Klune

Ravensong

by TJ Klune

Series: Green Creek #2

Pub: July 31, 2018

Genre(s): fantasy, urban fantasy, paranormal, lgbt/queer, m/m romance, shapeshifters/werewolves, adult fiction

4.5 stars

GOODREADS

The Bennett family has a secret: They're not just a family, they're a pack. Ravensong is Gordo Livingstone's story.

Gordo Livingstone never forgot the lessons carved into his skin. Hardened by the betrayal of a pack that left him behind, he sought solace in the garage in his tiny mountain town, vowing never again to involve himself in the affairs of wolves.

It should have been enough.

It was, until the wolves came back, and with them, Mark Bennett. And when his town is caught in the jaws of a beast, Gordo is summoned back into the life that left him.

“Gordo, you must rise. For your pack. For us. I must ask you to become the witch to the wolves.”

Now, a year later, Gordo has once again found himself the witch of the Bennett pack. Green Creek has settled after the death of Richard Collins, and Gordo constantly struggles to ignore Mark and the song that howls between them.

But time is running out. Something is coming. And this time, it’s coming from within.

The Green Creek Series is for adult readers.

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Wolfsong, the first book in the Green Creek series, was an unforgettable reading experience. Because of that, I went into Ravensong with such high expectations, but most of all I was just happy to be returning to the Bennett pack (packpackpack). It felt like coming home (homehomehome). #IYKYK

 

Gordo was still a child when his father began adding the tattooed runes to his arms and teaching him what it meant to be the witch for a powerful werewolf pack. His mother told him things, too – you can’t trust a wolf, they don’t love you, they need you, they use you. But the Bennett pack was like family – especially Mark. While he may have once been strange and annoying, shadowing Gordo everywhere he went, they became friends – with the promise of more.

 

“I’m making sure you’re safe.”

I took a step back. “From what?”

He shrugged, looking more awkward than I’d ever seen him. “From… like. You know. Bad guys. And stuff.”

 

Tragedy struck, leaving Gordo without both mother and father, but the Bennett’s were there. Taking him in, providing home and family, love and support. But even that did not last. The Bennett’s left Green Creek, and Gordo. There were promises that they would come back for him, that he was loved, that he was still theirs. But all Gordo knew was that he was being left, he wasn’t enough, and he was being betrayed by the one person he never thought was capable of such a thing.

 

“They don’t trust me. And since they don’t trust me, you are leaving me here. You chose them over me.”

“No, Gordo. Never that. I would never –“

“Then stay here.”

 

Over the years, Gordo’s hurt and feelings of betrayal turned to anger. It was easier to be angry than deal with the pain of abandonment. And when the Bennett pack finally returned to Green Creek, he kept his distance, his anger creating a wall between them. When circumstances pulled him back into the Bennett pack, he had to question what he knew of the past and how it had shaped his life. And when danger encroached the bounds of Green Creek, Gordo was tested in ways he could never have imagined.

 

Ravensong delved deep into Gordo’s past and covered the years during the pack’s absence, especially his complicated relationship with Mark Bennett. Gordo, a man who begged to be chosen, wanted (“Right now. Here. Choose me. Mark, I’m asking you, for once in your life, to choose me.”) and Mark, a man who had to make an impossible choice that had lasting consequences. Gordo and Mark were characters who both made great sacrifices for those they loved and those sacrifices changed them. But despite time and distance and anger and hurt, their bond was always there.

 

I thought of a boy with eyes of ice telling me that he loved me, that he didn’t want to leave again but he had to, his Alpha was demanding it, and he would come back for me, Gordo, you have to believe I’ll come back for you. You are my mate, I love you, I love you, I love you.

 

As compelling as the plot was (intrigue, adventure, betrayal, suspense), it was the characters that kept me turning the pages. This cast of characters embodied the spirit of family and friendship and loyalty, even when tested under the most extreme circumstances. When war was brought to their doorstep, all differences were set aside and they came together as a united front.

 

“You are not alone, Gordo. And I promise you that you never will be.”

 

It is impossible for me not to compare Ravensong and Wolfsong. And while Gordo’s stranglehold on his anger over the years sometimes made me yearn for the sweetness and softness of Joe and Ox (from Wolfsong), I understood it came from a place of hurt. And let’s not forget that Gordo was also a total badass (“You done f*cked up. You would do well to start running now. Because the last time someone came for our pack, he ended up getting his head torn off.”). All in all, Ravensong delivered an incredible tale of family in all its forms, the lengths some will go to to protect them, and a love that can overcome it all. I will return to the Bennett family again and again. 4.5 stars

Art credit: unknown

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