I enjoyed the first book in the series and was excited to read this installment, but it fell short for me. Gordo is interesting, but the book really goes on for far too long and seems to drag. The writing is lovely and enjoyable to read, but the story doesn't seem to have enough content to support the prose.

5/5 Stars

Another fantastic read from TJ Klune. This is the second book in The Green Creek series and I adored it. The continued conflict from the first book kept my attention and the characters as they did in the first book took my heart. Gordo and Mark's story gave me all the feels. Honestly, this series has a hold on me and I never want to leave it. Can't wait to read the next book so that I can get wrecked.

Unfortunately, I was not the biggest fan of the second book in this series. I think this is mostly a personal matter, for I still appreciate TJ Klunes writing style and the way he always makes a book feel very ‘light’. I definitely think that if you were very excited about the first book and are looking for more insights about the characters , you would like Ravensong, I, however, was not impressed by this backstory.

I’m sure this will resonate with many readers out there, but it just wasn’t possible for me despite my best attempts.

Repeating this from my Wolfsong review:
Here's the thing: I have some very complicated feelings about TJ Klune in general and they have gotten more complicated since I first requested this book as an ARC.

Ravensong:
While the overall narrative of the Green Creek series was still pretty darn compelling, I think there were some diminishing returns in book two. While I can appreciate the use of repetition, calling back and echoes - it was just too much and felt forced. Like it was trying to replicate the magic of the first book but falling short. I might have given this a more enthusiastic three stars rather than rounding up but there is just so much misogyny and vulgarity and low-key racist depictions. And since one of the major reasons I decided to continue reading was to see how Gordo and Mark would work out, they basically spend 90% of the book apart so that was disappointing. I lost track of the action in a few places and ended up skimming a lot because also this book is way too long.

Will I keep reading? I don't know. I these books are so long and the obligation I feel because I got an ARC was what really got me motivated to read. We'll see if I get curious about seeing how the overall narrative concludes.

This whole series was amazing. I loved reading about Mark and Gordo's story and their history. Your heart breaks for both of them and what they went through because of Thomas' decisions. Outside of their relationship the main storyline progressed so well and it ends in a very large and concerning cliffhanger.

Gordo Livingstone is a witch who has lost his pack twice. He's been putting his life back together when his pack returns, but he can't forgive them for leaving him. Trouble is knocking on the doorstep of Green Creek and Gordo needs to decide whether he will work with his pack to save his town or let them fight without him.

I struggled with this book. I found the first half so slow that I almost gave up on it. Maybe I waited too long between reading Wolfsong and Ravensong, but it took me a very long time to get back into the story. However, the second half really captivated me. I'm jumping right into Heartsong now so I hope by staying in the Green Creek world I will be able to skip that confusion I felt in this one. Overall, I don't know quite what to rate this. I think it would be higher if I had read Wolfsong immediately before this one.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group for the ARC of Ravensong.

I've learned some things about the author and while I have enjoyed TJ Klune books in the past, I will be skipping the Green Creek series for specific issues that I've become aware of, including a substantial and unnecessary age gap between the main characters and some misogynistic perspectives. While I don't think genocide and indigenous schools played a part in this particular feel-good queer series, I can't forget that the author has used such topics as content for profit in a way that does not accurately portray them as horrific and evil. Thank you for the opportunity to review.

I was a bit confused at the start of this because I didn't realize the whole book would follow Gordo, and I thought we would go back to following Ox at some point. The confusion was completely my fault, but it did lower my excitment for this book. This book is heartbreaking but somehow wholesome at the same time, which is something T.J. Klune does so well. I think the thing that lowered my rating so much is the fact that I had read too many books in between the first book and this one so it took me a while to become familiar with the characters again. The book kind of just throws you into what's happening and doesn't do much to remind the readers of where things left off in the previous book so it took me a while to get back into it. The "big bad" of this book was super interesting and I would be interested in reading more about them but I do think this book was a good set up for the future books. Not saying that it suffers from "middle book syndrome" because the action in this book was exciting, but it does have other things going on outside of the main plot (which would be spoilers to talk about). Overall, I love T.J. Klune's writing and I love the world and characters he crafts. It was cool to read the story from another character's perspective and I hope the rest of the series follows that.

While I've loved many of TJ Klune's stories, this wasn't the book for me. I had a hard time relating to the character of Gordo Livingstone. He was supremely unhappy, but other than his willingness to sacrifice, I found myself cross with his unwillingness to change his life for the better. The lack of character agency was a reoccurring theme. Although I finished the book, I won't read any more in this series.

The plot for this book was nerve wracking and kept me wanting to read more and more. I loved the writing style as i have with all of TH Klunes books. I loved all the humor used in this book! The world was beautifuly developed and the imagery was really what helped this story along

Honestly, I don't think I'm sophisticated enough to read this book. It didnt hook me like I thought it would, but it's the first I've read from this author, so maybe that's just me. Others will likely love it. It's was a solid story.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group, Tor Books for providing this book in exchange for an honest review.

I love this author. He has such a unique writing style and puts out some banger books (in the words of my teenage daughter). This is the 2nd book in this series and I was so glad to see Gordo get that second chance at love.

“The Bennett family has a They’re not just a family, they’re a pack . Ravensong is Gordo Livingstone’s story.”

The amount of love I had for WolfSong, made it nigh impossible for RavenSong to live up to my expectations. It performed well, considering.

Found Family is a favourite trope of mine, as well as Shifter Fantasy, and Magical Realism, so this book was in my sweet spot.

I loved the characters in all their aching-backstory glory. It’s shocking that Gordo even had the capacity to be as loving and vulnerable to Ox, considering his history.

I loved the setting of Green Creek. It’s somewhere I’d like to live….if it weren’t for all the terror and murder, I mean.

I wish there had been WAY MORE one-on-one conversations between Gordo and Mark, however. I don’t love non-communication as a plot device. FOR THE LOVE, SIT DOWN AND TALK.

While I didn’t get my heart stomped on quite as much as in WolfSong, it was still solid, and I cannot wait for the next two installments.

Thanks to NetGalley and Tor Publishing for this heart-wrecking ARC.

I was not a fan of Wolfsong, so I put off reading this one, and while I enjoyed this book a LOT more, it was still hard for me to really get into it.
When I was reading the book I enjoyed it, but when I put it down I did not feel that pull to pick it back up.

This book follows Gordo, the Bennett witch and his love Mark Bennett. Gordo holds a grudge after the Bennetts leave town, and more importantly leaves Gordo behind. Moving away and telling Gordo he could not come, Gordo was left all alone with no family and no pack.
But an old threat has come back and Gordo must work with the Bennetts to save those he loves.

I think my issue with this series is Ox, I don't like him, every time I think of him I picture a smoldering mystery boy from a Saturday Night Live Skit. Just over dramatic, and cheesy. That throws the whole story off for me, because I'm assuming I'm supposed to take him seriously.
And the Ox/Joe relationship still doesn't sit well with me, gives off Jacob / Renesme vibes.

I am interested in finding out what happens in this series, but with two more books, spanning 1,056 pages, I don't think I can do it.

Everyone always talks about TJ Klune and I understand the hype! New fan to TJ Klune and definitely will be reading future books of theirs.

Following the previous title in this series my opinions stays quite similar but I have to say, this series is REALLY entertaining! Young-ish fantasy reader will definitely love this

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a free advanced copy of this book to read and review.

This is book 2 in the Green Creek series .

This book is heartbreaking at times but I was so hooked into the story that I just couldn’t put it down .

I do recommend

Thank you to Tor Books and Macmillan Audio for my review copies! My rating is 3.5 stars, rounded up on review sites to 4 stars.

I absolutely adored Wolfsong, and devoured it in 24 hours. I did go into Ravensong a little more skeptical - I knew that it was a second chance romance and that there was some really hurt feelings between the couple. Our lead, Gordo, has tried to distance himself from the wolfpack we met in book 1. As a reader, I am motivated by the close relationships in a book - so chip on a shoulder / I don’t belong / I don’t want to belong vibe was really not for me.

Pacing wise, the book felt really slow. The first 50% of the book mostly covers Gordo’s perspective of some of the events in Wolfsong, mixed with his past. At around 50%, the big conflict was finally introduced. But then the last 10-20% of the book was AMAZING, and the cliffhanger made me want to pick up book 3 immediately. Or at least soon.

Ravensong did have a lot of the elements that I loved in Wolfsong: men having to confront toxic masculinity, and an amazing found family. Gordo’s story is one of healing so there isn’t as much cozy found family time as in Wolfsong. And although this book is classified as a romance…we barely see the couple together. Like, on the page together. Not even together-together. So the romantic tension was off for me as well as the fantasy plotline.

I’ll keep reading…and I hear Brothersong is one of the best books in the series!