With so many 5 star reviews I just had to give this one a go. And in many ways I agreed, it had all the things I love; angst, romance, shifters and writing that is as close to poetry as you will ever get.
Wolfsong is the story of Oxnard Matheson, or Ox as they call him. Ox’s father abandons him with a promise that Ox will only get shitty stuff handed to him. That he isn’t worth anything. And Ox takes this to heart. One day Ox is coming home from his shift at the garage and encounters a tornado. A tornado named Joe Bennett. A little boy who just can’t stop talking.
“Mom! Mom. You have to smell him! It’s like…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…whoa. And then he was all standing there and he didn’t see me… but then I smelled it again and it was him and it was all kaboom! I don’t even know! I don’t even know! You gotta smell him and tell me why it’s all candy canes and pinecones and epic and awesome.”
Ahh. That is probably my favorite part of the book. When Joe and Ox meet. When they’re both too young to understand that the stars have aligned and they’ve met their mate.
And so Ox and Joe become friends. And it’s a beautiful thing. He later learns about werewolves and shifters and that he holds a special place in the Bennett pack. So maybe his father was wrong. Maybe he won’t get shit for the rest of his life. Because here finally is a family that welcomes him and loves him. But of course tragedy is just around the corner. And it separates everything Ox has come to hold dear.
I will say that the first part of the book was my favorite – before the tragedy of course. I loved how Joe saw Ox. I loved how things turned around for Ox. I loved the slow slow burn that was them finally coming together as mates.
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 loved how sure Joe was. Just how beautifully it’s described. And maybe this is why I love paranormal romance so much. The idea of just one mate. The idea that you just know because there’s something between you two that burns stronger than anything else.
So he pressed his forehead against mine and breathed me in and there was that sun, okay? That sun between us, that bond that burned and burned and burned because he’d given it to me. Because he’d chosen me. And I got to choose him back.
And then tragedy struck and it was painful. But this whole part, the tragedy and the separation, this is when I realized that the writing could get taxing. It’s unique and it’s beautiful. But there’s an entire middle section of this book that was the same thing over and over – lots of repetition and events that could either have been shortened or even done away with.
But then the third part. Sigh, when Joe comes back and his bond with Ox is reaffirmed. I fell in love with the book again. I fell in love with the writing again. It was just such a deep story. Such angst, such love. And not just love, but love with such surety it made my heart hurt.
He said, “You’re mine, Ox.”
He said, “I’m yours.”
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.”
Gah. I loved these two. There are things I’d change for sure. Particularly things I felt dragged on for too long. But all that said, it was an amazing book.
4 stars.
Amazon Buy Link -> Wolfsong by TJ Klune
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