Review: Wolfsong by TJ Klune

 

Wolfsong

by TJ Klune

Series: Green Creek #1

Pub: June 20, 2016

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

5 stars

GOODREADS

The Bennett family has a secret: They're not just a family, they're a pack. Wolfsong is Ox Matheson's story.

Oxnard Matheson was twelve when his father taught him that Ox wasn’t worth anything and people would never understand him. Then his father left.

Ox was sixteen when the energetic Bennett family moved in next door, harboring a secret that would change him forever. The Bennetts are shapeshifters. They can transform into wolves at will. Drawn to their magic, loyalty, and enduring friendships, Ox feels a gulf between this extraordinary new world and the quiet life he’s known, but he finds an ally in Joe, the youngest Bennett boy.

Ox was twenty-three when murder came to town and tore a hole in his heart. Violence flared, tragedy split the pack, and Joe left town, leaving Ox behind. Three years later, the boy is back. Except now he’s a man – charming, handsome, but haunted – and Ox can no longer ignore the song that howls between them.

The beloved fantasy romance sensation by New York Times bestselling author TJ Klune, about love, loyalty, betrayal, and family.

The Green Creek Series is for adult readers.

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Wolfsong languished on my Kindle for years before I finally read it. Big mistake. Because by page three I knew I had just been introduced to a special snowflake of a character (and I mean that in the very best way) that would be unforgettable.

Ox was only twelve when his father left, leaving him and his mother to fend for themselves. When he started working at the nearby garage, he found friendship among the other mechanics, and a steady and supportive figure in Gordo, the owner of the garage. But it wasn’t until he met the Bennett family that he found true acceptance and a feeling of belonging. Ox was sixteen when he met Joe Bennett on the dirt road that led to his small house. And that’s when everything changed.

 

“Mom! Mom. You have to smell him! It’s like… I don’t even know what it’s like! You gotta smell him and then tell me why it’s all candy canes and pinecones and epic and awesome.” – Joe Bennett

 

As the years passed, Ox was drawn more and more into the lives of the Bennett family. Or rather, as he came to learn, the Bennett pack. Because his new-found friends could shift into wolves and their pack was strong, with deep ties to the town of Green Creek and the land around them. Despite their strength, the pack was devastated by loss when they were betrayed by a friend and former pack member. Then Joe was gone, overwhelmed with grief, but hell bent on vengeance. In Joe’s absence, Ox becomes more than he ever thought possible, his ties with the Bennett pack strengthened in ways that defy logic and reason. Joe returns to find much has changes, himself included. Ox and Joe must find their way back to one another – and face an enemy from the past that threatens them all.

 

“Am I part of your pack?”

He said, “What do you think pack means?”

“Family,” I said promptly.

Thomas smiled. “Yes, Ox. You are part of my pack.”

 

There wasn’t a single thing that I did not love about Wolfsong. I loved Ox, who was so precious and so pure, and made my heart hurt every time he was misunderstood and simply not seen. But he also filled my heart with joy for the sweet soul that he was. Then there was Joe, whose joyful exuberance as a child was tempered by loss, but his unwavering love for Ox never diminished. The Bennett family were so loving and devoted – Thomas and Elizabeth, Carter and Kelly, and Mark – and I wished I could be invited to Sunday dinner (“because it’s tradition”). There was Gordo and the guys at the garage – Rico and Chris and Tanner – who provided so much comic relief and had me giggling at their banter.

 

“I’m a witch,” he said.

And I said, “You’re a wizard, Harry,” because I thought there was a very real chance I was caught in a dream.

 

The relationships in Wolfsong captured my heart. The friendships, the family, the love… each felt so genuine and so multi-layered and complex. Klune has a gift at creating such special characters and weaving their bonds together to create a sense of family, whether that be biological or chosen. The entire book had a strong underlying theme of family and loyalty, and I loved the way Klune portrayed that in every interaction and conversation. Wolfsong was also a love story and oh what a love story! From the early bonds of friendship, to the slow awakening of more, to the pining – the evolution of Ox and Joe’s relationship had epic love story written all over it.

 

“I knew the day I met you that I would do anything for you. I would do anything to make you happy because no one had ever smelled like you did. It was candy canes and pinecones. It was epic and awesome. And it was home. You smelled like my home, Ox.”

 

Wolfsong was filled with heart aching sweetness, heartbreaking sadness, and laughter. With its truly unforgettable characters, Wolfsong delivered an extraordinary story that became an instant favorite. 5 stars

Art credit: unknown

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