T.J. Klune

Wolfsong

Ox Matheson was twelve when his father taught him a lesson: Ox wasn’t worth anything and people would never understand him. Then he left. Ox was sixteen when the energetic Bennett family moved in next door, harbouring a secret that would change him forever. For the family are shapeshifters, who 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. He also finds an ally in Joe, the youngest Bennett boy. Joe is charming and handsome, but haunted by scars he cannot heal. 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 – and Ox can no longer ignore the song that howls between them. Wolfsong is the first book in the Green Creek series by bestselling author TJ Klune. Continue the journey with Ravensong. Praise for TJ Klune: 'Like being wrapped up in a big gay blanket' – V. E. Schwab 'A whimsical, warm-hearted fantasy'– The Guardian 'A radiant treat' – Locus Magazine

Izaac Richards

I gathered him up as best I could, and he fit against me so right, it was like he was a little tornado again, and I was just some big dumb Ox who didn't know what it meant to belong to someone. 

And maybe my father was wrong when he said that men didn't cry. Sure, people gave me shit just like he said, but I knew I was a man. And I cried right along with Joe. Because everything was falling apart and I didn't know how to stop it.

I said, "And you? Do you have a choice?" 

He said, "It's you. I would always choose you. I don't care it's a biological imperative. I don't care if it's some destiny. I don't care if you were made specifically for me. It doesn't mater. Because I would choose you regardless." 

I thought of kissing him then. I thought on it quite a bit. 

Instead, I said, "You're not a monster," and touched his cheek. His ears. His lips. "You're not. I promise you. I swear to you. You're not." 

And he said, "Ox. Ox. Ox." And he shook and broke and I crumbled right along with him. 

Yes, I'm seventeen years old, but 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 honme, Ox. I'd forgotten what that was like, okay? I'd forgotten that because he took it away from me and I couldn't fnd it again until I found you.

She went back to her maiden name. Callaway. 

She asked if I wanted to change mine too. 

I told her no. I would make Matheson a good name. 

She didn't think I saw her tears when I said that. But I did.

Larissa Campos

IT WAS not a gradual thing. Wait. That was a lie. I didn’t know it was a gradual thing. But it must have been. It had to have been. Because it’s the only thing that explained the cosmic explosion that was the feeling of want and need and mine mine mine. The force of it was ridiculous. It had to have been there. For a long time.

“I don’t care about stuff like that.” “What stuff?” “If you’re gay or whatever.” “Bisexual,” I said as if that would make it any better. “Bisexual,” she said. “Okay.” “This is awkward.” “Is it?” “Isn’t it?” “You look scared,” she said. I looked down at the floor. “I didn’t want to make you mad,” I managed to get out. And then her arms were around my waist and her head was against my chest. I put my forehead on her shoulder and hugged her back. “I could never be mad at you for being who you are,” she said quietly. “And I’m sorry if I ever made you think that.”

“I’m scared.” “Of?” “Things are changing,” he whispered. I was too. More than he could ever know. “They will. They have to. But you and me? I promise that won’t ever change.”

Cassidy Nolan

He said, “And I can’t wait to show you how I’m made for you just as much as you were made for me.”

i am here with you for you ox because you have always done the

same for me you are candy canes and pinecones you are epic and awesome you are

the only reason why i was able to get through the years i was gone i cut us off and tried

to push you out of my mind but when it was late when it was dark i would think of you

of coming home to you of being with you being happy being home because ox you’re my home

without you i am nothing i am no one you are my love my life my pack my mate so i need you to

so you come back you come back you fucking come back to me ox

“Sorry,” Kelly said. “Something in my throat.”

“That’s what Joe said,” Carter muttered under his breath.

They fist-pounded each other without taking their eyes off me.

“No shit,” Tanner said. “Seriously?”

“Oh boy,” Rico said. “This is probably going to get awkward.”

“Only if we make it awkward,” Chris pointed out like a reasonable adult. Then, “We should make it really awkward.”

“We could compare stories, I guess,” Jessie said because she was evil.

Because regardless of what Richard Collins would bring, I wouldn’t let him touch Joe Bennett. Not again. Not ever.

But he wasn’t done. “Mom,” he said, though his eyes never left mine. “Mom. You have to smell him. It’s like . . . I don’t even know what it’s like. I was walking in the woods to scope out our territory so I could be like Dad and then it was like . . .” He closed his eyes for a moment. We all held our breaths. He continued, “And then he was all standing there and he didn’t see me at first because I’m getting so good at hunting. I was all like 

” He opened his eyes again. They were filling with the red of the Alpha. “I don’t even know. You gotta 

 him and then tell me why it’s all candy canes and pinecones. All epic and awesome.”

Sometimes, when your heart gets so full, it takes away your voice and all you can do is hold on for dear life.

“It’s you, Ox. For me, it’s always been you.”

“I know what this is. I know what I’m doing. Yes, I’m 

 years old, but I knew the day I met you that I would do 

 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 

, Ox. I’d forgotten what that was like, okay? I’d forgotten that because 

 took it away from me and I couldn’t find it again until I found you.”

“Okay,” Joe said. “Let’s try this again. Hi, Maggie. How are you? These flowers are for you. I think your son is the greatest thing in the world.”

enjoyed this overall! quite long and this author sure loves repetition + a particular writing style hahah but i am a sucker for found family always so!!!! loved the aspect of the storyline related to that here. i wouldn’t say any of the plot was particularly unpredictable haha but that doesn’t have to be a bad thing, and i think klune’s strength here is definitely moreso in the character building. loved joe my little bub 😫😫😫😫 he was perfect from the very start! also loved carter and kelly, so i am now curious about their books. i personally rly felt ox’s anger once joe left + i understood where he came from haha but one of my friends felt like he was TOO angry, which i can also see. richard collins is one disgusting mother fucker! OH and the audiobook narrator did SO well omg they rly had to do SO many diff voices and make them all unique. there were a few moments where i was like lol this guy has to be canadian or at least north midwest or something like that haha. [SPOILERS] i was crying at how elizabeth basically encouraged ox to break her son’s heart w robbie LMAO and i literally almost threw my phone when richard rose again at the bridge lmfao [/SPOILER] but yes overall fun and i am curious abt the other books! would honestly probably alr be reading them by now if they weren’t so long 😭

lucia

Let’s just ignore the whole age gap thing 

Hannah Bateman

i liked that 75% of people in this small oregon town were gay.

i didn't like that the main romantic relationship inexplicably began when one of the characters was 10 and the other was 16. 

Jordan Chan 

i liked that 75% of people in this small oregon town were gay.

i didn't like that the main romantic relationship inexplicably began when one of the characters was 10 and the other was 16. 

Not the biggest fan of fantasy and it's hard for me to get used to it when entering any new world. This new world was magnetic and I felt like part of it very easily, like it was happening with me, with my family, like I was pack too and throughout the book I was sure that was the intention of the author all along

I did not vibe with this book at all. the age gap made me uncomfy and I did not get along with the writing style of the author. 

Elizabeth Denny

great great great so good the best book i’ve read in so many times amazing love great pack pack pack bennett ox pack 

luca

kelsey

specifically why i didn’t rate it higher was bc of that age gap… like it was soooo unnecessary. and it wouldn’t of been quite as bad if joe hadn’t “mated” with ox at 10 years old like wtf was that and why 

”You’re not broken. You’re alive. If you can take another breath, if you can take another step, then you’re not broken. Battered, maybe. Bruised. Cracked. But never broken.”

Itzel

It feels like TJ Klune funneled all his horniness into this book and that allowed him to write Cerulean Sea, Whispering Door and Lives of Puppets. 

It was really good, it hits every beat I loved from the above books but, very appropriately for something about werewolves, it feels feral and raw. 

The relationship reads like a really good slow burn fic, one of those that will make you suffer and enjoy said suffering. 

Also, I knew it was going to end with werewolf sex.

Fenix Voliton 

TJ Klune say “my father told me i was going to get shit all my life” one more time. i dare you.

3.75 or maybe 4*, idk this one is hard. i absolutely loved the writing, but it had its flaws

karo

aleksandra

4/5

The review contains spoilers!

I’m so incredibly mad at myself that I let this book sit on my tbr pile for almost two years. How could I do this to myself? I let this masterpiece of a series just sit there untouched. But whatever, I read it now and I’m so happy I did that, because I know this series will be my new obsession. I’m a vampire type of girly, but after reading this book I’m contemplating my tastes. That’s how much I liked it. 

I picked up this book thinking it would probably be a fun, young adult, found family with a lot of werewolves, first book in the series. Boy, was I wrong. It was so much more. It would be great to say it’s definitely not YA book, as there were mature audience scenes. So if someone thought it’s YA book, well it’s not. 

I was pretty skeptical at the beginning, I’m not gonna lie, because I didn’t really know what to expect from this book, as I tried to not read any spoiler, but I’m really glad I stayed. The writing style was easy to follow and I didn’t even look and I was one hundred pages in. 

Moving to the story. The book is from Ox’s pov, which I don’t usually like, as I prefer if there’s a dual pov, but it surprisingly didn’t bother me here. The action takes place over a long period of time, because we get to know the main characters from childhood to adulthood, so the plot is complex and a lot happens in the book. I actually liked it, we saw them grow up and become more mature with their decisions. Without giving away much, let me just say that I couldn't stop reading and put this book down, because the story captivated me from the very beginning.

The characters in this series are literally pure perfection in my opinion. Their bond, friendship, pack, family is probably one of the best I've read in a series in a long time. Seeing the characters become a pack that will do anything for each other, after you first met them at the beginning as a strangers made me so happy and proud. Even though I know they are fictional. Everyone is unique and I can’t wait to read about next couples. I already have a feeling that Gordo/ Mark and Carter/ guy not yet introduced, but I know him because I've seen spoilers, will become my favorite. I almost forget, but I laughed a lot while reading. The humor in this book is pure comedy. 


  
    “You’re wearing a bow tie,” I said unnecessarily. He glanced over at me. 
“Mom said I had to dress up for this.” I heard a low snort of laughter coming through the open window above the sink. And I knew. I stalked over to the window and looked outside. There, sitting spread out on the grass, were the rest of the Bennetts. Goddamn fucking werewolves."
  


I love their family, Bennetts will always have a part of my heart. Joe, Gordo, Chris, Tanner, Rico too, but they are basically Bennetts now. I can't wait to read the rest of the series to experience more moments like that with them.

As I said before, I'm more of a vampire type of person, because if I had to choose, I'd always choose to be a vampire over a werewolf, but the bond this family has created questioned my preferences. There were a few things I thought were too werewolf-y for me and made me look at my kindle with a dubious expression, but that's just how I am. The first thing is them being really touchy and open with each other, I get that they were werewolves and it was supposed to be in their nature, but sometimes it was too much for me. Especially when they were just casually walking naked around each other after they "changed". Like, I know it was normal for them, but I can’t imagine walking naked around my brothers, mom and dad. 

Finally, the romance part of the book, usually my favorite part, but here kind of controversial. At least, for some people might be. Our two main characters met for the first time when Ox was sixteen and Joe ten. The romance in a book is definitely a slow-burn, as the age gap would be impossible for them to be together from the start. They become friends, and over the years and everything they go through, they and their pack grow closer. I’m not gonna lie some scenes made me pretty uncomfortable, for example when Joe was jealous and possessive of Ox, but was underage and Ox not. I get it that they were werewolves and both of them were mates, but it just didn’t sit right with me sometimes. Maybe, I just keep forgetting that it’s a fantasy book and werewolves are possessive, touchy and really territorial. Despite their age. 


  
    "There are times when all I can think of is marking you so everyone knows who you belong to. To carve my name into your skin so you never forget me."

“I want your blood on my tongue. I want to break you open and crawl inside of you. I am a monster because of the things I could do to you that you wouldn’t be able to stop me from doing.”
  


As you can see, pretty possessive, and he wasn’t even eighteen when he said that. Joe’s parents accepted that even though he was seventeen, he can be with Ox, but it still was weird for me. They had the first short kiss when Joe was seventeen and Ox twenty three, but I wished it happened later when Joe was legally adult. Also, it’s not like they had more romantic encounters after that, because both of them didn’t had any sexual interaction until Joe was twenty one. I still liked their relationship, they both protected each other and would sacrifice themselves without a second thought if the other was in danger. They fit together perfectly and I can't wait to read more about them in the next books.


  
    "The day I saw you, I knew things would never be the same. You’re all- encompassing. You dwarf everything else. When I see you, Ox, all I see is you."

"Losing him hurts more than anything I’ve ever felt before. But losing you? Ox, if anything happened to you, it would kill me. There is no point for me if you’re not here. So no. You’re not going. You’re going to stay here because I love you more than anything in this goddamn world and I don’t fucking care if you’re pissed. I don’t care if you hate me because of it. As long as I know you’re safe, then that’s all that matters. That’s why, you bastard."
  


My rating is like this, mainly due to the age difference, because I can't imagine having the opportunity to write such a good series and mess it up with something like that. It’s just my opinion though. If not that, I would probably rate higher, five star rating higher. 

If you love amazing and unique characters, found family, werewolves, magic, witches, villains ending up where they should, fated mates, queer characters, the writing and plot making you forget about reality and much much more, I would highly recommend it. Ending the review, let me just say that I know this week will be focused mainly on my obsession with this series, because I already can't think of anything else. If you've finished my ranting, go and add it to your tbr now!



  Green Creek series:

1. Wolfsong 4/5
2. Ravensong 4.5/5
3. Heartsong 3/5
4. Brothersong 5/5

La cancin del lobo / Wolfsong

Joya. Precioso.
Los personajes, la historia, el drama. No puedo creer que me haya tardado tanto en leer esto, tiene romance, ficción, drama, dolor. Tiene todo.
Los ame a cada uno de los personajes, bueno obviamente no a Richard y Osmord (hijos de infelices, estúpidos, imbéciles) pero Ox, Joe, Gordo, Carter, Kelly, Elizabeth, Mark, toda la manada son simplemente preciosos. La conexión entre ellos como manada simplemente fue mágico. 
No tengo nada malo para decir del libro, lo ame, a cada parte y cada capítulo. Me hizo reír, sonrojarme, llorar (muchisimo), reflexionar y amar. 
Me lo leí muy rápido de lo adictivo que era.
Simplemente es una joya.

akynn 

I want to give this more than 5 stars. The writing style was so eloquent and beautiful. Ox and Joe’s story was so organic and different and just fantastic overall. They just “were”.  

I was engaged from the very first page and I cried more than once. Ox’s heartbreak and angst was damn near tangible and I felt it as though it was my own pain. 

Just an overall amazing story with a found family, so much love and packpackpack!

Cass Paul

I want to give this more than 5 stars. The writing style was so eloquent and beautiful. Ox and Joe’s story was so organic and different and just fantastic overall. They just “were”.  

I was engaged from the very first page and I cried more than once. Ox’s heartbreak and angst was damn near tangible and I felt it as though it was my own pain. 

Just an overall amazing story with a found family, so much love and packpackpack!

love ox, love gordo, think the main romance is a little strange I can’t lie the age gap did put me off, and the writing style was very different than the rest of TJ Klune’s that I’ve read and not in a good way. that said, the plot was engaging and this was certainly a book that I read

fris🐝

Julia Moran 

Me gustó mucho y creo que el hecho de que lo haya leído en 7 horas lo confirma pero hay cosas que simplemente no sentaron muy bien conmigo. 

Hay partes en las que se siente como si estuviera leyendo fanfiction en lugar de un libro de publicado y editado profesionalmente, tienen una energía muy caótica que me llegó a poner muy incómoda, en serio hay partes que siento que no son parte del libro por lo extrañamente escritas que están, la prosa del autor cambia completamente, se sienten como si las hubiera escrito otra persona. 

Luego hay partes en las que se siente que el libro se estanca un poco porque las discusiones son las mismas otra y otra vez y Ox dice lo mismo otra y otra vez. Y entiendo que era importante porque eran cosas que él estaba sintiendo y que estaban poniendo un peso importante en sus relaciones y probablemente en la vida real es igual pero el hecho de tener que leerlo una y otra vez es muy cansado y un poco tedioso. 

Y por último está la diferencia de edad entre Ox y Joe siento que es muy innecesario que haya 6 años de diferencia y es todavía más innecesario que Joe tuviera 10 cuando conoció a Ox y decidió que quería que fuera su pareja. Y luego cuando comienzan su relación Joe apenas tenía 17 y Ox tenía 23, esto me puso SUPER incómoda porque es algo que se siente muy mal y fuera de lugar. No se porque tenían que tener tantos años de diferencia.

Estoy casi segura de que si voy a leer el resto de la saga pero no creo hacerlo este año.

eikaia

Lo stile di Klune è davvero, DAVVERO, scorrevole. Scivoli in ogni paragrafo e pagina così velocemente da non renderti conto di quanto ti stai addentrando nella storia. Ho adorato la trama, i vari legami tra i personaggi, le descrizioni! Ti passano addosso tutte le emozioni dei personaggi e i pensieri del protagonista ma senza diventare insopportabili. (Uniche piccole pecche secondo me: ogni tanto troppo ripetitivo e i caratteri di personaggi ADULTI a volte sembrano troppo adolescenziali o addirittura infantili)

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 a lesson: 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.

This is an amazing story. It's not only a love story, it's more than that. It's the story about family the one we make. It's a story about grief, love, resentment, loyalty, but above everything about connections. I can't recommend this book enough.

Poncho Bosque

Sorry to say but saying how plotpoints from your novel are Twilight-y within the novel itself does not save it from feeling like a Twilight speedrun. Because this is exactly what this read as, plus the explicit sex scenes and it being queer. Also an EXO fanfic I plotted out back in my day but never wrote. Just overall a very "Do not quote the old magic to me, witch; I was there when it was written" moment for me who has spent my formative years on tumblr and have been in the Twilight, Supernatural and EXO fandoms, all prime wolf estate.

And here I am torn between it is actually sort of nice to have a queer mainstream-ish novel, the kind of which there is plenty of straight ones, and queer people still deserve better. Like let it engage in all the genre foolishness but are we now above plotting and pacing and tighter prose?

Regardless, somehow, in spite of all of the ridiculousness of this novel, the amount of times I physically cringed and its obsene length, I sort of want to read the whole series. But maybe I will leave it for cleaning and cooking days, it is a bit awkward for the office.

Side note but do all of those writers out there writing about mates and making penetrative sex the final frontier of truly mating (so... marrying), relating it to biological processes, not realising at all that they are just repackaging some traditionalist right-wing-y BS? It does not matter if you swap genders around, etc. - it is still quite the choice to introduce into your fantasy world.

Sorry to say but saying how plotpoints from your novel are Twilight-y within the novel itself does not save it from feeling like a Twilight speedrun. Because this is exactly what this read as, plus the explicit sex scenes and it being queer. Also an EXO fanfic I plotted out back in my day but never wrote. Just overall a very "Do not quote the old magic to me, witch; I was there when it was written" moment for me who has spent my formative years on tumblr and have been in the Twilight, Supernatural and EXO fandoms, all prime wolf estate.

And here I am torn between it is actually sort of nice to have a queer mainstream-ish novel, the kind of which there is plenty of straight ones, and queer people still deserve better. Like let it engage in all the genre foolishness but are we now above plotting and pacing and tighter prose?

Regardless, somehow, in spite of all of the ridiculousness of this novel, the amount of times I physically cringed and its obsene length, I sort of want to read the whole series. But maybe I will leave it for cleaning and cooking days, it is a bit awkward for the office.

Side note but do all of those writers out there writing about mates and making penetrative sex the final frontier of truly mating (so... marrying), relating it to biological processes, not realising at all that they are just repackaging some traditionalist right-wing-y BS? It does not matter if you swap genders around, etc. - it is still quite the choice to introduce into your fantasy world.

Hannah

This is the best book I have read in a while

gay werewolves. take a shot everytime ox brings up “my daddy said i would get shit”

A lot of mixed emotions on this one. On one hand, it was so unhinged it was slightly addictive. On the other hand, I really wanted to like it more than I did because I love Klune’s other books/writing style and the praise for this series is high. 

There were some excellent moments and dialogue in this book, especially the angst parts and the reunion between the main characters. But, I was not a fan of the age gap between them. I’m not sure why Klune chose their ages, but I don’t feel like it would have hurt the book for the characters to be aged up. The writing style in this got pretty repetitive and tedious, but since this is one of his older books maybe the writing style hadn’t matured yet to what it is today in his newer books. Another thing that I wasn’t fond of was the number of side characters who were literally so similar I forgot who was who sometimes. The pace and time jumps in the story were also so quick it was like the rug was constantly being yanked out from under me. 

All that being said, I will read the next book in the series because I’m excited to read Gordo and Mark’s story and to see how Klune’s writing style has matured. 

Floofyflower

A lot of mixed emotions on this one. On one hand, it was so unhinged it was slightly addictive. On the other hand, I really wanted to like it more than I did because I love Klune’s other books/writing style and the praise for this series is high. 

There were some excellent moments and dialogue in this book, especially the angst parts and the reunion between the main characters. But, I was not a fan of the age gap between them. I’m not sure why Klune chose their ages, but I don’t feel like it would have hurt the book for the characters to be aged up. The writing style in this got pretty repetitive and tedious, but since this is one of his older books maybe the writing style hadn’t matured yet to what it is today in his newer books. Another thing that I wasn’t fond of was the number of side characters who were literally so similar I forgot who was who sometimes. The pace and time jumps in the story were also so quick it was like the rug was constantly being yanked out from under me. 

All that being said, I will read the next book in the series because I’m excited to read Gordo and Mark’s story and to see how Klune’s writing style has matured. 

— lae

4.5

what in the hell. what the hell.

i didnt read the plot of this book, so you can imagine my surprise when i saw it had werewolves in it. my only exposure to werewolf books where bad wattpad stories, so i was a little icked. i didnt want to read a werewolf story.

i didnt expect to love it, but i did.

first off, the characters are extremely likeable. second off, the plot was so good. did tj klune just manage to make the words alpha and omega sound non silly and serious and fit the green creek world so well? you bet. never did i ever cringe at any of the whole werewolf shenanigans.

i love it when seemingly happy-ending ya books have unexpected heavy gritty drama. its amazing!!!!!

the deaths? the fights? the romantic drama and fighting? exactly what i needed. it gave that little push which made this book so so much better.
sure, there were more than enough happy funny moments, but the angsty moments made it feel so real and made you hurt and dear god how i loved it.

also the found family trope?? what in the hell?? i am emotionally unstable.

amazing book very enjoyable im so glad ive read it

Aishling

Idk what else to say right now other than I want MORE. For so long I’d wanted to read a shifter book which didn’t feature the uncontrollable urge to impregnate people and it turns out mlm shifter stories are the way to go and I am very happy about this discovery.

Wolfsong

Reviews

Highlights