Review: Wolfsong by TJ Klune

Wolfsong

TJ Klune

(Green Creek #1)

Publication Date: June 20, 2016

Paperback, 400 pages, Dreamspinner Press

Genres: Adult, Paranormal

Goodreads

Ox was twelve when his daddy taught him a very valuable lesson. He said that Ox wasn’t worth anything and people would never understand him. Then he left.

Ox was sixteen when he met the boy on the road, the boy who talked and talked and talked. Ox found out later the boy hadn’t spoken in almost two years before that day, and that the boy belonged to a family who had moved into the house at the end of the lane.

Ox was seventeen when he found out the boy’s secret, and it painted the world around him in colors of red and orange and violet, of Alpha and Beta and Omega.

Ox was twenty-three when murder came to town and tore a hole in his head and heart. The boy chased after the monster with revenge in his bloodred eyes, leaving Ox behind to pick up the pieces.

It’s been three years since that fateful day—and the boy is back. Except now he’s a man, and Ox can no longer ignore the song that howls between them.

My Review

I desperately wanted to finish this book in one sitting. Desperately. Unfortunately, sleep claimed me around the 80% mark, but I immediately woke up and, with bleary eyes, finished the 20% that was left. It was addicting. I love werewolf books. Werewolves are so much cooler than vampires. Why do people not get that?

Wolfsong is entirely written in Ox’s point of view. Ox is a boy who grew up in a small town and was verbally abused by his father until said father ran out on him and his mom. Ox is so innocent and cinnamon-roll-ish. You just want to hug him and tell him everything’s going to be alright. I will warn you though, that the narration style takes a few chapters to get used to. The sentences are short and choppy at first, but they grow with the character.

As Ox does get older throughout the book, he meets his new neighbors—the werewolves. There’s a family of them, and the youngest is Joe. Joe has a dark past, but he’s such a rambunctious kid. I really enjoyed all of the family members, however. They’re just wholesome.

I LOVED the first half of this book. It was all about family and small towns and first loves with werewolves thrown in. Now, the second half was more about werewolves and magic, which wasn’t bad at all; I just kind of missed the innocence Ox originally had. Unfortunately, there was also a chunk in the middle that had a New Moon, depressed-Bella vibe. It didn’t last, but I kept flipping pages (metaphorically because I read it on my Kindle app) until things started happening again. I couldn’t stop. I needed answers.

Overall, the way this book ends is satisfying for Ox’s main story. I’m super glad there are more books in the series, but I’m even more thankful that the other characters get a chance at love and the series isn’t all from Ox’s POV. I feel like his journey, for the most part, is complete.

*Note: I purchased a copy of this book myself. This in no way affected my opinion/review.