Tag Archives: T.J. Klune

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

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?

Ravensong

Book Review of Ravensong (Green Creek #2), by T. J. Klune

I borrowed an audio copy of T.J. Klune‘s Ravensong through Hoopla. I reviewed book one of the series, Wolfsong, last year.

Description from Goodreads:

Gordo Livingstone never forgot the lessons carved into his skin. Hardened by the betrayal of a pack who left him behind, he sought solace in the garage in his tiny mountain town, vowing never again to involve himself in the affairs of wolves. 

It should have been enough. 

And it was, until the wolves came back, and with them, Mark Bennett. In the end, they faced the beast together as a pack… and won. 

Now, a year later, Gordo has found himself once again the witch of the Bennett pack. Green Creek has settled after the death of Richard Collins, and Gordo constantly struggles to ignore Mark and the song that howls between them. 

But time is running out. Something is coming. And this time, it’s crawling from within. 

Some bonds, no matter how strong, were made to be broken. 

Review:

Oh man, Klune broke me. I cried so much. Not big wracking sobs, but these quiet little tears that just slipped through. But I think maybe the narrator, Kirt Graves, was part of it too. Multiplying the effect. I thought he was too flat with a lot of the characters’ dialogue. But he sure had the voice of agony and betrayal and longing down!

I did get a little annoyed with the repetitions. Some of it was purposeful, reusing the same phrases for effect. Some of it just felt like a lazy cut and paste job. Similarly, a lot of the abrupt flashbacks threw me for a loop. Maybe if I’d been reading it, instead of listening, it would have been more quickly apparent when a sudden shift was a flashback. But as it was, I often was momentarily confused.

All in all, however, I really enjoyed this. Even as it shredded my heart. And though I’m not a person prone to re-read books, I really think I’m gonna have to borrow Wolfsong and listen to it. I wish I’d done that before listening to Ravensong, honestly. So, I could have experienced them together.

The Lightning-Struck Heart

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

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.