[MPOV] Wolfsong (Green Creek #1)

My rating: 3/5

Goodreads rating: 4.35/5
Published: July 4, 2023
Author: T.J. Klune
Genre: paranormal, science fiction, fantasy, romance, werewolves, LGBT fiction

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.

Thanks to Tor Books and NetGalley for this copy in return for my honest review. I am surprised that this was actually a reprint and not a new novel. It was first published on June 20th, 2016.

Wolfsong is the first book from the series, Green Creek. It's about a lonely boy named Ox who lives in a small town with his mother. His father left them when he was young, and he has learnt to fend for himself until Gordo took him under his wings when he was 15. One day, his daily routine was interrupted with the emergence of the Bennetts who occupy the vacant house next door. From there on, Ox has new friends who really take on with him and a new adventure begins.

I was not a wolf. I was a human who was part of a wolf pack. I couldn't move like they could, not really. I couldn't heal like they could. I couldn't fight like they could. I did not have claws or fangs or eyes that glowed. I was Ox, that was all. But they were mine.

I was secretly hoping for this to be better than The House in the Cerulean Sea. As it turns out, I did enjoy it but also wished that it was not as lengthy (400+ pages!!!). Also, the many characters had me confused and halfway through, it just got me thinking of Stephenie Meyer's Twilight. 

The boy on my back wriggled his way down. I let his legs go and he dropped behind me. He grabbed my hand and started pulling me toward the beautiful people like I had a right to be there.

I was confused alright, like when Ox first meet Joe Bennett. As the story progressed, it got me thinking more of Taylor Lautner LOL! When it slowly reveals the true plot, it sorts of cleared up the air for me.  And then there's a male witch and not a wizard... yet it triggered Van Helsing to mind LOL! Or maybe a male version of Kate Beckinsale's Selene from Underworld LOL! Enough of my wandering mind...

She rolled her eyes. "Aside from the fact that he's your mate and imprinted on you like you're some creepy-ass Twilight fan fiction?"

The slow pace truly had me flipping the pages more as I find the plot reveal too slow and dragging. I can imagine it in a movie with casts borrowed from Twilight, yet it was too slow for my liking. When it reached the climax, it quickly dissolved to another plot, slowly again. It's also quite repetitive, where a paragraph would be rephrased for emphasis again and again. Also, with the many ''you/ he / they are mine'', it slowly kinda fell flat for me... I just couldn't get into the story. I was relieved when I finally reached the end!

I was (not) a man. I was (not) a pack. I was. I was. I was and the tethers. Holy God, the tethers, I could feel them pulling and ---

Overall, it was entertaining to a point, to which I think it could have been better. If those repetitive fillers were removed, I think there would be half the book remaining which would have been great for me. Thousand apologies as such prose are not my cup of tea. To be fair, the ending was really exciting though I half expected it. If you are into para-normal romance with werewolves and the likes, this series would be up your alley. Do take note that this series is infused with LGBT elements and not for the faint hearted.