TJ Klune - Wolfsong

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 little boy who talked and talked and talked. Ox found out later the little boy hadn’t spoken in almost two years before that day, and that the little 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 little 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. 

Comment: My favorite type of PNR world is the one with shape shifters, which this book has. My favorite type of romance pace is slow, which this book also has. My favorite type of book is one that explores the character's feelings and personality, which this book also has. Added to the fact I've read some stellar reviews from people whose taste is alike mine most of the time, of course I had to read this book, which I did.

In this book we slowly follow the developments surrounding Ox's life, since he is a young 12 year old until he becomes an adult, along with everything happening to him and to those around him.

Ox is a guy who is used to not think much of himself but he knows there are people he can trust and who care about him, a notion even stronger after he meets the Bennet family one day, especially Joe, their youngest son.

However, Ox doesn't have an easy life understanding what others think or decide to do... and he sees himself in the middle of some secrets, strange politics between different groups and, most important of all, the strange feelings he has regarding those he is close to. As Ox learns things about those he cares about, and tries his best to help protect them, can he also save his own heart from breaking?

This was my first book by this author. I was only mildly aware of his work because of the usual recommendations when we read certain books but I had a certain idea about what his themes might be and I wasn't that interested. After reading very good reviews about this one and knowing it would be a shape shifter story, I decided to try it but it's been a while. This book was released in 2016 and, I'm quite glad I waited because now I want to read the other books too and this might mean less waiting time overall.

I was positively surprised by the tone of this book. Is both angsty and sweet in the right places and has an amazing emotional depth I confess I didn't think the author would be able to convey. At the same time, there's this whole world building, well structured, with "rules" that make sense within what was explained to us (there are still obvious secrets for the upcoming books for certain) and the notion there's a purpose on this, there's a path to follow. Even the saddest situations, which often are used as crutches to propel the plots, were well done and had meaning. I'd have preferred them to not be anyway, but still.

Ox is a fascinating character. I liked the fact he didn't consider himself anyone special but he clearly was. He was not vain not conceited and although we could say his emotional journey is one of self discovery and self worth somehow, he never has any thoughts about overcoming his issues, about becoming stronger and other sayings most people wouldn't think if they were that modest. This felt even better for my reading taste because the story is told from Ox's POV. Since he is a reliable and likable character, it was so easy to feel everything perfectly.

The biggest focus of this novel isn't the romance. I'd describe it as being slow burn and there's only one detailed sex scene towards the end. In 400 pages, this tells us a lot about what really matters. 

Still, it was both angsty and rewarding to see the development of the relationship between Ox and Joe and how they slowly go from friends to mates without any frivolity in how they interact. Even when younger, they have always been "mature" in how they felt and lived.

The depth of the subjects treated here, the way the author often uses short sentences and descriptions better reveals the intensity of what is happening. I think even the secondary characters seemed to be very well fleshed and had a vital personality. I liked the feeling everyone was special. I liked the balance between the difficult moments and the funny/light ones.

However, there is one detail I'd change. In some pats of the story, the descriptions of what we, the readers, are supposed to infer and to analyze seems to stretch too much. There are times where too much time would be spent on repeating things and not always with an obvious goal in sight, as if we had to stress out every single thing and often it could become exaggerated I think.

Then, when the story is finally over, I imagined an extra sweet and long scenes to fit the rest of the book but... no. It was almost rushed and that felt a little annoying.

This was, for all purposes, a great book. Yes, some details weren't as well achieved but it all points out to the fact this author knows what he is doing. I'm ow more curious about his work and, obviously about this series, which I need to read for certain.

Grade: 8/10