Audio Review: Heartsong by TJ Klune ~ Narrated by Kirt Graves

Title: Heartsong

Series: Green Creek: Book Three

Author: TJ Klune

Narrator: Kirt Graves

Publisher: Self-Published

Run Time: 17 hours and 46 minutes

Category: Paranormal/Fantasy

At a Glance: As usual, there is so little I can say about the book without giving things away. And, believe me you don’t want to be spoiled. But I can tell you that everything you have come to love about this series is in full effect in Heartsong. And, something else we can always count on is a stellar performance from Kirt Graves.

Reviewed By: Jules

Blurb: All Robbie Fontaine ever wanted was a place to belong. After the death of his mother, he bounces around from pack to pack, forming temporary bonds to keep from turning feral. It’s enough – until he receives a summons from the wolf stronghold in Caswell, Maine.

Life as the trusted second to Michelle Hughes – the Alpha of all – and the cherished friend of a gentle old witch teaches Robbie what it means to be pack, to have a home.

But when a mission from Michelle sends Robbie into the field, he finds himself questioning where he belongs and everything he’s been told. Whispers of traitorous wolves and wild magic abound – but who are the traitors and who the betrayed?

More than anything, Robbie hungers for answers, because one of those alleged traitors is Kelly Bennett – the wolf who may be his mate.

The truth has a way of coming out. And when it does, everything will shatter.

Review: When I started this journey with the Bennett pack—including Ox, and Gordo, and Team Human—and all the inhabitants of Green Creek, I had no idea how absorbed I was going to become with this series and these characters. In fact, I don’t know if TJ Klune himself knew entirely where his characters were going to take him when he began Ox’s story arc back in Wolfsong. But since then, Klune has given us Gordo’s story in Ravensong, and now, with the release of Heartsong, the story is picked up from Robbie’s point of view. AND, for the first time in the series, the audiobook for Heartsong was released the same day as the ebook, so fans of Kirt Graves’ incredible narration don’t have to wait!

I absolutely love what Klune does with this book. He starts us out in one of Robbie’s dreams, where Robbie is hearing voices, and seeing the same alpha wolves, but can’t make heads or tails of what it means. He’s disoriented. Lost. And, in the beginning of the book Klune purposely and, in my opinion, expertly, keeps the reader disoriented and lost as well. I know I, along with other readers, was unsure of the timeline, or what was going on initially, but once I realized the way things were unfolding, I was blown away.

Most of the first third of the book takes place in Caswell, Maine, home to Michelle Hughes, the unrightful alpha of all, whom we have all grown to hate. Robbie works for her—in fact, he’s her second—and lives with Hughes’s witch, an older gentleman named Ezra who is like a father figure to Robbie. Ezra makes Robbie feel safe and loved, which is so important to Robbie because the only thing he has ever wanted was to be seen. To have a home. And Caswell, and the compound on Butterfield Lake, feel like home. Mostly. Or, until Robbie comes to understand why things feel so off.

This is truly Robbie’s story, just as Ravensong was truly Gordo’s story, even though both are also total ensemble pieces. I love all the snippets of Robbie’s backstory. All the things that explain how alone he has always felt, and why the most important thing to him is to feel like he matters. This is also, finally, Robbie and Kelly’s story. And, as we learn even more in this book, Kelly, along with Ox, has always been a big part of the reason that the Bennett pack feels so much like home to Robbie. I love this line so hard…

He kissed me there, in the bright, bright sunlight. He breathed into me, and I thought he was giving me life, warm and all-consuming. Our noses bumped together. My hands went to his elbows. He sighed into my mouth, and all I ever wanted was a place to call home.
 
And here was home, in a person so fierce and wild that I wanted him to tear me apart.

As usual, there is so little I can say about the book without giving things away. And, believe me you don’t want to be spoiled. But I can tell you that everything you have come to love about this series is in full effect in Heartsong. Secrets are revealed—some that were strongly hinted at in the previous book, but some that are more surprising—and lives are turned upside down. There is drama, and bad-assery, and fighting, but there is also so much love, and so much humor. Klune has definitely got a signature style in each of his series, and in Green Creek, one of the elements we can always count on is the ridiculousness of Team Human. Take this little outburst from Rico (who has many a ridiculous outburst):

“This is so fucked-up,” Rico grunted as he carried an armful of wood. “Just when I think I’m starting to get my feet on solid ground again, there’s a fucking secret brother. I swear to god, witches and wolves are the most dramatic bitches I’ve even known in my life. Like for once can we just have a normal day without stupid shit happening?”

And, something else we can always count on is a stellar performance from Kirt Graves. I’ll admit that I haven’t quite listened to the entire thing yet (seventeen hours and forty-six minutes is a long time, ya’ll), but I’ve listened to about ten hours of it, which is absolutely enough to confirm that he once again knocked it out of the park. He knows these characters and this universe so well; he nails it every time. His voice characterizations and inflection, his pacing and transitions between scenes, and just his overall consistency are fantastic. I can’t wait to finish it up tomorrow and see how he handles all the incredible action at the end!

Over the course of the series so far, the pack has been tirelessly working on strengthening their bonds, which are once again pushed to their limits as they continue to try to figure out how to break the infection and undo all the damage caused by Robert Livingstone. We do get a showdown of sorts in this book, but Klune is definitely still building up to the final resolution and showdown in Brothersong, the final installment of the series, now due out next summer. I’ll be looking forward to more epic action scenes, hilarious banter, and to finally getting Carter’s story! It’s the final push, guys! I can’t wait.

You can buy Heartsong here:

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