Brothersong (Green Creek Book 4) Kindle Edition

I’m conflicted in how I feel about this book. I can’t tell if my expectations were too high, or… something else? I loved the first 10% of this book and the last 20% of this book, and then the 70% in the middle felt like the most unpleasant kind of roller coaster—like the one that jerks you around too fast and hurts you as it does.Overall:This book upset me. If it wasn’t the final book of Green Creek, I would have given up on reading it before I reached the halfway mark. The book is confusing for the first third, repetitive but in a way that becomes quickly redundant and exhausting instead of adding anything to the narrative, and moves through time without enough landmarks to let the reader know what’s going on. I understand the purpose of writing this part of the book this way… but for me, it just wasn’t enjoyable to read.When things become clearer and steadier, I just… have a lot of problems with character and plot choices that were made. There were inconsistencies that I hope will be cleared up in the final version—I know the author mentioned he had done additional edits and this was not the most recent version—but beyond that… Well.This book triggered me because there are parts where the pack seems to not understand the nature of consent very well and try to pressure Carter in ways I am uncomfortable with. There is a line that invalidates the nature of adopted family as real family, which in a story about found families (and as an adopted person) I found insulting. And, speaking of insulting, the author tries very hard to write a good queer platonic relationship between two characters, and then for some reason has to go through and no less than four times have different people speaking behind those characters’ backs about how weird their relationship is. That’s… not great representation, and it’s insulting to aro-spec people.This was supposed to be Carter’s story, and I felt like this story was about Carter watching everyone around him be the main character, instead. Carter’s portion of the book is confusing, and once everyone else is there again, Carter is very quickly side-lined in his own book.Personal gripe, but this story was way more about Thomas Bennett than I expected, especially for a character who has been dead for so long. I hate pretty much every aspect about the Thomas Bennett we get in this book, and it felt like too much and unnecessary.I also have issues with how the Carter/Gavin relationship is handled, but in an attempt to avoid spoilers or being overly specific, I will just have to say that it felt deeply uncomfortable for me in certain moments, and if anyone wants specifics, I can provide those after the book is published.Things I Did Like:Gavin. Look, this character has my whole heart. He saved his book for me. I love him so much more than I can express.The pack. I love the pack. For the most part, I love the moments in this story when they’re together.Gordo. Did he show up and save the book for me at one point? Yes, and I appreciate him for it.So, I suppose, the characters. I still love the characters, and I am a character driven reader.Things I Didn’t Like That I Haven’t Mentioned Yet:The representation in this book was shoddy. It relied too strongly on the gender binary, especially when there’s a character in this book who appears to be gender-nonconforming. Also, that was not made nearly as explicit as it should have been, and I feel a little bit robbed of something that could have been great. And, again, the aro representation just ended up making me angry more than anything. This book did not nail the representation aspect for me.The plot. It felt like this story got really strong right there at the end, and very much struggled to get to that point.The worldbuilding was confusing and didn’t always make sense. A lot of things (like ghosts) were thrown in and never really explained. You can hand-wave some stuff away as magic, but at some point, I want to know what the hell is going on.Some stuff gets mentioned but never explained about other members in the pack and the time Carter was away. If you’re going to mention it as important, then tell me what’s up.Use of parable early in the story. I have reached out and had people who understand this parable explain it to me, because it made no sense to me when told in the book, and the research I have done has not made it any clearer. I think it was probably one of those things that made excellent sense in the author’s head, but it did not survive the transition into words and then my brain. Please, someone, explain it to me if you get it.Conclusion:I’m going to stop here, but I have plenty of thoughts about this book. I’m really curious to see what other people are thinking. In conclusion… if you made it this far, by all means, don’t not finish the series. But I would say… maybe lower your expectations going in.

I was anticipating this book as much as I was dreading it. My heart is so wrapped up in these characters and their stories, and I was just not ready for it to end. I was actually relieved when the release date was delayed (sorry, TJ). But, oh, what a wild, wonderful ride! This was, in fact, the perfect ending! Carter’s journey — literally and figuratively — was as painful as it was necessary. When he finally finds Gavin, the fight to hang on to his sanity becomes a fight to hang onto his heart. But when the Bennett pack is finally reunited, the moments of levity combined with the fight to hang onto to each other combined with the fight to survive one more battle against evil, TJ’s beautiful, masterful storytelling just blooms right off the pages. Any person with an appreciation for the written word and how beautifully words can be molded in the hands of such a deft storyteller as TJ Klune needs to read this series—multiple times. And this last in the series did not disappoint. As sad as I am to see this series end I am as satisfied with how it did. Thank you, TJ Klune, for taking me to Green Creek and introducing me to ALL the Bennetts.

This was an experience more than simply a book. It felt… profound and precious. Like I was granted a view of something so rare and wonderful that I don’t think I could forget. I don’t want to forget, ever.It was all so BIG and valuable and beautiful to me.To have known these characters …….is LOVE them. I love them… everyone deserves an Ox…Thomas… Lizzie… Joe… Kelly… Carter…Gordo …. Robbie…. Gavin…. Mark… Jessie…. Rico… Chris… Tanner…. Will…. EVERY ONE em’ in their lives and I am GRATEFUL we were gifted them by TJ Klune.The word that comes to mind is “Familysong”I feel like..... likeI died.I lived....And I LOVED.I felt so MUCH….…truly an experience.No review can do it justice…

I enjoyed only 20% of this book. I give 3 stars because it still has some Wolfsong's magic.To understand my disappointment while reading the last two books in this series, I need to analyze the first book. Wolfsong success wasn't just a matter of storytelling but feelingtelling (or storyfeeling). I was able to feel all the emotions the characters embraced so well, because the author was looking for that. It can also be seen in other books like Olive Juice, Into this river I drawn, etc. there are some very good books in the list and Wolfsong belongs to that effort. Well, in this series the effort lasted only that first book, a shame but the author is the one deciding and we must accept.Maybe it was also that the characters were talking and talking and talking very long paragraphs, like they took turns to give a speech. The emotional part felt forced because the author didn't succeed providing balance. I had to bring the emotions from the first book to keep reading, Carter and Gavin's relationship wasn't appealing enough.The author read some reviews, and so he wrote more female characters. The main female character feels more balanced now in a world with women presence, that was a problem in the first book.The mocking about the queer pack is interesting because some comments from the readers are reproduced. Nevertheless, the main problem remains, there is a pack with almost all the spectrum and still, they all are extremely heteronormative, the machos and their women doing reproductive stuff, even poor Jessie. Deep inside they all are so Patriarchal. My complain is not that Elizabeth Bennet should have been a Beta leader (that would have felt fair, logical, and interesting) my complain is that the characters should have been more like in the first book, open minded.

OK so where to begin.I love these books and was waiting for this with anticipation. However it doesn't live up to the first 2 books, or even the 3rd which wasn't my fave.good:More ox and joeWay more tanner/rico/chrisGavin is human and likes the shiney ;),bad:Reused the Ox sacrifice BSNot enough gav/carter, really should have been 2 booksthe big emotional death was a side character that was shoehorned into this book - had no emotional attachment to will, felt like a paint by numbers copy of rico/chris.tannerSTOP SAYING EVERYTHING IN 3. I get pack, pack pack, but there was a lot of I, I, I . felt over done.I still dont get y OX is so special and the big bad didn't seem anything special either.OX being werewolf jesus was overhyped in previous book and I didn't feel the payoff was worthy of it.that said I will read this book again. Klune can write. but defo the weakest one in the series.

**4.5 Stars**“It wasa wolfsong.A ravensong.A lovesong.A heartsong.A feralsong.A brothersong.”Gah. I love this series and I'm going to miss these characters so much.First of all, the name of this book couldn't be more suited. The connection of brothers was the heart of this book, it broke my heart but it also gave me so much joy and laughter.“Why, why, why. Always why. Bennetts. Always questions. Always talking. I hate talking.”Gordo looked startled. “Well f... me. I guess we do have something in common after all.”Gavin and Carter. Ugh I love those two idiots so much. Their connection is so beautiful. Do I wish there was more room for just them and their relationship? Yes. Absolutely. I'm definitely a little sad about that. But I also think we got them moments, moments that they have each other to be safe and grow. They are protectors of one another and I just want to hug them. Seeing Gavin find himself within the pack *cries*, I'mma buy him all the pink jumpers he wants. Gah. I love them. Also Carter constantly getting flustered is wonderful. I will say though at one stage it definitely felt like the slow burn that Sam and Ryan put me through in The lightning struck heart.“I like it when you’re human too.” “Really?”“Really.” He gnawed on his bottom lip. “I… like it too. When you’re human. Or when you’re wolf. Or when you’re anything. Thump, thump, thump.”“Thump, thump, thump.”“Stupid Carter.”“Stupid Gavin.”I think the series definitely lost a little steam in this book or else just in places it felt a little slow. I still cried a lot though and laughed through the tears and shouted at my kindle a time of two. I love this whole pack and the reunion with everyone felt like coming home. The connection between brothers - Livingstone and Bennett's was hard and profound and heartfelt (although I still wish Kelly would've made Carter grovel a little more) as was the whole pack connection. Even though every book broke my heart, I will miss this series and these characters so much and I'm happy with the ending.

** NO SPOILERS ***Brothersong is the final book in the Green Creek series and cannot be read as a stand alone book.Green Creek is one of my favourite book series of all time, so it's unsurprising that I loved this book.TJ Klune is one of the best authors of his generation in my opinion. He writes queer books with a strong romantic element and some people belittle this genre. However, I challenge anyone to read a TJ Klune book and not recognise that this is literature at is finest. His world building, use of language and finely drawn characters are superb.Brothersong is a special book. Every one of these books is wonderful, but this, the last Bennett book, is something very special. Every book is narrated by a different character and this book is from Carter's point of view. Carter has always been one of my favourites, and now I love him even more. Finally getting to meet Gavin is also a joy.It's really hard to review the book without giving things away, so I'm going to simply say that there are tears, but they are mainly because of how moving a phrase or a paragraph is. There's also a lot of laughter, usually at Carter's expense. Stupid Carter. There are parts that had my hand over my mouth. Those are the bits that I know TJ cackled whilst working, because he's just that mean, lol.There are also some beautiful Easter eggs for the Klunatics amongst us.I cannot recommend this book and thus series highly enough!

To say that I was excited for Brothersong would be the biggest understatement of the year. It was my most anticipated book for 2020 (made even worse by the fact that it was actually originally supposed to be published last year). So, needless to say, I was hyped for this book.When an opportunity arose to have early access, I pretty much jumped at the chance. I was champing at the bit to finally be able to read this book. I got stuck in straight away and tore through it in a couple of hours.However, I wanted to re-read before writing this review and I also wanted to re-read all the books from the beginning so I could finally put my thoughts into some kind of order and give this amazing series the attention it deserves. I tried before but found it really hard to get the words out – it was just too much. I often struggle to write reviews for the books/series I most adore – it just seems to be harder for me.My review is going to be pretty short and sweet – I don’t want to give too much away since the book itself isn’t out until next month and I don’t want to be that person who accidentally spoils it for someone else!Going in, I knew that that this book would have a lot of ends to tie up and so I expected the plot to be more at the forefront. To some extent, I was correct. There was a lot of plot to unpack, so the romance between Carter and Gavin did get… not pushed exactly, more nudged to the side at times. However, there was still plenty of interaction between the two which made my shipper heart very happy indeed.Although I would say that Heartsong is still my favourite of the series (and Robbie and Kelly are my OTP) I did love Carter and Gavin, both together and separately.Carter is just… Carter. He is an amazingly selfless individual that takes the whole weight of the world on his shoulders and cares more about others than he does himself. Gavin is such a sweetheart – he is a smol bean and I just wanted to protect him at all costs. He really made this book for me and I loved him and Carter together.There was so much going on in this book and there was never a dull moment. The beginning of the book was tense and I had no idea how it was all going to play out. The ending I actually kinda saw coming but not because it was predictable – it just felt like a natural conclusion.The only minor criticism I have is that I would have liked just a little bit more time devoted to Carter and Gavin. I felt that their burgeoning relationship could have been fleshed out just a tad more. I loved what we got but I was left just wanting moar!! But that is just a small thing – I’m hoping maybe for a novella or short story after the events of this book – that would be very nice indeed.This book was overall just about everything I wanted it to be and more. Although I will always be hopeful for more content, if this is the absolute end I am pretty good with how everything unfolded and where everyone ended up. This is T.J. Klune so there was some tragedy and angst to be had but it was, as always, balanced out with a truckload of humour.These characters genuinely feel like a family; they banter with one another, gripe at each other, fight and make up and just plain love each other. It’s rare to see books with so much love thrown about around. I’m not just talking romantic love – familial love plays a huge role in this series as does the love shared between friends. I would love my own Bennett pack – they are just a bunch of good people, willing to go to the ends of the earth for their own people, their ‘pack’.I’m going to really miss this series but I know I will return to it again and again. I will never quite be able to let it go.

It went like this........ Carter takes the lead in this book as he rushes off to find Gavin and bring him home. Although I have to admit the start of this book is a little bit slow, but please don’t give up as once it gets going there’s no stopping it. Carter’s on his knees at the precipice of completely losing his mind, not knowing what is real and what his minds making up, as he’s still trying to get Gavin to come home with him. The whole of Green Creek is on high alert waiting for Livingstone to arrive and Ox gives everything he is to take him down. Oh, and the letters from Thomas will make you weep. This series has been such an amazing journey, give it a try