Tag Archives: BOATK Books

Book Review of The Bones Beneath My Skin, by T.J. Klune

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I mentioned in my last review that my kindle* died and I was waiting on a new one to be delivered. Well it was, and I took great pains to pick the first book I’d read on it. In the end, I chose The Bones Beneath My Skin, by T.J. Klune. If you’re curious, I bought a copy on Amazon.

Description from Goodreads:

In the spring of 1995, Nate Cartwright has lost everything: his parents are dead, his older brother wants nothing to do with him, and he’s been fired from his job as a journalist in Washington DC. With nothing left to lose, he returns to his family’s summer cabin outside the small mountain town of Roseland, Oregon to try and find some sense of direction. 

The cabin should be empty. 

It’s not. 

Inside is a man named Alex. And with him is an extraordinary little girl who calls herself Artemis Darth Vader. 

Artemis, who isn’t exactly as she appears. 

Soon it becomes clear that Nate must make a choice: let himself drown in the memories of his past, or fight for a future he never thought possible. 

Because the girl is special. And forces are descending upon them who want nothing more than to control her.

Review:

Oh man, this broke me. I shouldn’t be surprised. I’ve enjoyed every Klune book I’ve read, and I picked this one up because I just finished a horrible book and I needed a sure-win. But this totally broke me. I cried in the end (and maybe a few places in the middle). 

True, you have to sort of like Klune’s writing style, with his habit of repeating words and such. But it so happens that I do and I adored the characters in this book. Art was hilariously blunt. Nate was fluxumed in the most adorable way, and Alex was just a giant teddy bear. 

I did think the whole thing was a tad longer than need be and I would have loved a little of Alex’s POV. But all in all, this was 100% a success for me.

 

*On a side note, can I say how much I appreciate that the new kindles come with almost no packaging?

The Lightning-Struck Heart

Book Review of The Lightning-Struck Heart (Tales From Verania #1), by T.J. Klune

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I borrowed a copy of The Lightning-Struck Heart, by T. J. Klune through Hoopla.

Description from Goodreads:
Once upon a time, in an alleyway in the slums of the City Of Lockes, a young and somewhat lonely boy named Sam Haversford turns a group of teenage douchebags into stone completely by accident. 

Of course, this catches the attention of a higher power, and Sam’s pulled from the only world he knows to become an apprentice to the King’s Wizard, Morgan of Shadows. 

When Sam’s fourteen, he enters the Dark Woods and returns with Gary, the hornless gay unicorn, and a half-giant named Tiggy, earning the moniker Sam of Wilds. 

At fifteen, Sam learns what love truly is when a new knight arrives at the castle—Knight Ryan Foxheart, the dreamiest dream to have ever been dreamed. 

Naturally, it all goes to hell when Ryan dates the reprehensible Prince Justin, Sam can’t control his magic, a sexually aggressive dragon kidnaps the prince, and the King sends them on an epic quest to save Ryan’s boyfriend, all while Sam falls more in love with someone he can never have. 

Or so he thinks.

Review:
Oh man, I don’t know what to say about this book. It was funny, like really really funny (if utterly ridiculous). But after a while the jokes got old and I was ready for the book to end. (There is such a thing as too much of a good thing.) Plus, I kind of thought some of the jokes were in bad taste, even some of the running ones. I liked the characters and the world. I think I’d be willing to read another in the series if I gave my self a break between this and it. So, I can’t say it was bad. I enjoyed it. But I didn’t love it and I think I probably could have if it had been pruned a bit.

Wolfsong

Book Review of Wolfsong, by T. J. Klune

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I borrowed a copy of T. J. Klune’s Wolfsong through Hoopla.

Description from 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 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.

Review:
Oh, I really loved that. Yes, it was a tad repetitive and the writing was occasionally more stylistic than easily readable, but overall I truly enjoyed it. It was tragi-sweet, as in most of it felt like a tragedy, but it was quite sweet too.

I think it’s fairly safe to say that those looking for a standard, straight-forward romance won’t be thrilled with this. I mean, the couple meets when one is 10 and the other is 16, so a large portion of the book happens when one is a child, no one is thinking romance. Then, just when the younger finally reached the age of maturity, he leaves. Plus, I wasn’t lit on fire by the few sex scenes there were or felt I really got to know the non-POV half of the pairing. But I loved just about everything else about the book.

This was my first Klune book and I’ll be coming back for more.