Brothersong: Green Creek Series, Book 4

KJ (writeofpassages)

This. Glorious. Book.

"This. Book. This beautiful, incredible, awe-inspiring, deep, glorious book. Perhaps my favorite in the entire series, Brothersong absolutely sweeps us up one more time into the lush world of Green Creek and takes us on the most brilliant ride. The devotion of family, of brothers, of pack, the love, the inspiration, it all permeates each page in such an utterly immersive reading experience that is perfect from start to finish. Knowing what I know now about this book, would I still read it if I went back in time? I will forever be rereading this series. See below for the four criteria I use to decide whether and when to read a book CHARACTERS: I could write a dissertation on all of the characters, but for this one, I'll focus on Gavin and Carter, since officially this is their book. They have the most perfect relationship for two stubborn, headstrong, borderline unthinkingly stupid yet willing-to-do-anything-for-each-other men. Although Gavin is a man of few words, everything he says is pure gold, even when he's in wolf form and not actually speaking. He tries to push Carter away because he loves him so much, which is incredibly universal. I adored watching the disparity between his words and his actions. Meanwhile Carter, equally, refuses to listen to Gavin and leave. Their banter is perfection. Carter, blinded by his need to reunite with Gavin, breaks pack bonds and risks becoming an omega simply for a cross-country road-trip to find Gavin. They struggle to find themselves and then find out who they are as a pair, but it's so worth it in the end. PLOT: Blinded by the loss of Gavin, Carter takes off alone to find him and get him back from Robert Livingstone, the monster alpha hybrid. But Gavin is the only one keeping Livingstone from attacking Green Creek and taking over the territory for himself. Carter chose Gavin, but if Gavin chooses Carter, the whole of Green Creek will be at risk. But the Bennetts won't lose a member of their pack, even when it means fighting the final fight against the biggest threat that's been hanging over them for years. Fast-paced, with wonderful moments of humor, the plot takes hold and doesn't let go until the very end. EMOTIONAL INTENSITY: There is no good/bad here. Sometimes I just want a low-investment entertainment read whereas other times a high-stakes 'I need a therapist to recover' is what I need. 5:5/high. This book is deep. It is intense. It will break your heart and then mend it so beautifully. This book left me in a fog when I finished and didn't let me go for a long time. CATHARTIC FULFILLMENT: Is the emotional journey worth it? Do I finish this book feeling that I've crested the wave of the climactic moment and everything has been settled, leaving me settled and fulfilled? 100%. Everything about this book is perfect. Not only the ending to the book, but as the ending to the series. I am 100% satisfied and only wish I didn't have to leave this world. ["

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April 28, 2025 Verified Purchase

Tammy Moldovan

A wonderful end to a fantastic series

"This is the final book in the Green Creek series. The beautiful, exciting story of Carter and Gavin was the perfect ending to the Bennett family saga. TJ Klune is a master storyteller. His books are always so well written that the characters seem to exist outside the pages of their story and as readers, rather then simply reading two dimensional words on a page, we are invited spectators at an outside window, hands cupped around our faces, just watching real people live their lives. This book is no exception, the characters have dimension, they experience growth, and they have full realistic personalities. Gavin and Carter’s love story started in the previous books as an unconventional one - a wolf shifter stuck as a wolf and a shifter who easily shifts between man and wolf. The book begins where Heartsong left off - Gavin has left with Robert Livingstone in order to save Carter and Carter, being a martyr, starts after Gavin alone leaving his pack, including his brother/tether Kelly, behind. The overriding theme of all the Green Creek books is family, is packpackpack. So of course the pack will be part of the story, the journey of Carter and Gavin, and the evil that is Robert Livingstone. Despite being a darkish fantasy, there is also light here, goodness, hope, love, and redemption. Like the other books in this series, along their journey, Gavin and Carter also deal with their individual issues without magically making them vanish. The storyline is rich with emotion including tender moments, hilarity, mundane life snippets, violence, and tense scenes. It gives you all the feels - horror, anger, love, sadness, resignation, and annoyance. This book wraps up all the storylines and while I will miss the pack, I am not worried about unresolved issues. All is well in Green Creek and with the pack. ["

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October 24, 2020 Verified Purchase

Carol

Brilliantly angsty ending

"I FEEL SO OVERWHELMED. Emotionally drained? This is just what happens when I binge-read this entire series in a week. Do I recommend binge-reading this series? Maybe take a break in-between books and don't be like me. Because that is a LOT all at once. This review won't reveal any major spoilers, but just in case, I'll put spoiler tags in my review! If you don't want to know ANYTHING about the book before reading it, why are you here? Please come back and read this review later. <3 Trigger warnings for graphic violence, death, murder, mentions of emotional abuse, mentions of physical abuse, and mentions of torture. This series means a lot to me. And to see everything coming full circle is like a kick to the feels. Wolfsong was the first TJ Klune book I ever read. I first read it early 2017 because I heard so many good things about it and I was knew to romance books. Gave it a try, and I guess you could say the rest is history? From reading a boy who was told he was going to get **** all his life and watching him be another boy's candy canes and pinecones, epic and awesome...to seeing the man he is today in Brothersong. I JUST HAVE SO MANY FEELINGS. Oh. You thought this book is about Carter and the timber wolf? Don't worry, because it is! And even though this book wraps up the entire series, it does give Carter and the timber wolf their moment. Is it safe now to talk about the timber wolf's name? Because I do want to talk about THAT. GAVIN. Son of Robert Livingstone. Brother to Gordo Livingstone. That was quite of a thing to find out. I love Gavin with all my heart and I cannot WAIT for people to read this book and draw all the fanart for him. I NEED IT. I will say overall, Ravensong was one of my favorites (maybe my #1 of the series) because of Gordo. Gordo is my favorite character. He's has a grumpy exterior but he's a real softie at heart. He basically became Ox's older brother and father-figure at the age of 24??? Who DOES that? Gordo, that's who. So, it's really no surprise that Gavin quickly became one of my absolute favorite characters while reading this book. I think my one quibble with this book is that there's a lot of...talking. Carter talks a lot. You know, Gordo and Gavin? Not big talkers. A lot of other characters talk for what feels like too much and it sometimes did feel like the story was dragging. Just a bit. I did re-read all these books by audio, even the shorts (thank you, Kirt Graves, we don't deserve you!) so going into this as an e-book was a shock to the system I guess? What are big chunks of words where people are just talking? Save Elijah, I don't remember all these long discussions/monologues from characters and that's what some parts of this book felt like, before we REALLY got back into the action. So that's really the only reason I gave this 4 stars instead of 5. I might up it after listening to the audiobook for this book, but as of the time of this review, it is what it is. I did cry my eyes out reading this book. At first I was like, this is FINE, I can DO THIS. But when have I ever made it to the end of a Green Creek book without ugly crying? The answer is never and that wasn't going to change now. It really doesn't help that every mention of Thomas Bennett makes me cry. What I didn't fully realize going into this book is that Carter is the oldest and what all that means. Out of all his brothers, he had more times, years, with his father. Not much, but enough? As the oldest, he's not the alpha. Joe is. Carter's relationship with Thomas Bennett? UGH MY HEART. I am really, really, REALLY happy the one person I thought had the greatest chance of being killed off survived this book. Like, SO HAPPY. I was so worried, and I've been worried for months now. I wouldn't have been surprised if it happened, but I would have been absolutely devastated. Maybe I should send an email thanking TJ for not going down that path. That doesn't take away that this book is action-packed like all the ones before it. There is one moment where I was thisclose to giving this 1 star if it ended badly but everything works out okay in the end. Gotta love authors that make you question if they're still a Romance series or not. Carter and Gavin. I love them. Just two bros. Acting like bros. Their dynamic is wonderful and heartbreaking but also hilarious. These two guys... <3 And just an aside, if you all are wondering if there are sex scenes? I don't know if this is going to be a spoiler, but it's not fade to black and I 100% thought TJ was done writing sex scenes? SO IMAGINE MY SURPRISE. And I know this is going to seem like a random question, but if you're a gay guy with a particular book from the 70s, what is on page 76??? I guess if you know, you know. So we know that at the end of Heartsong Gavin was leaving notes for Carter and I have questions about that. Where did he get envelopes, paper, and pen??? Was he...naked...when he left these notes for Carter? I'm just asking the important questions here. I don't know if you all know, but I'm one of those chaotic people who flips to the end of the book first so I KNEW what was coming at the very end. I KNEW. But still. When I flipped over to that section, (you'll know it when you get to it) it was still a punch to the feels and it was just a lot. I am emotionally drained from reading this book, but in a good way. We all need a nice cry every now and then. Should we talk about Robert Livingstone? He's a bad man. Even from years past, what he put his wife through, what he did to Gordo, he's not good by any means and I think what he did to Gordo at such a young age counted as abuse. At first I felt bad for him and what he lost. But after thinking some more about it, I think Robert Livingstone just wanted it all. He wanted to have his wife and Gordo. But he also wanted his tether and Gavin on the side. It was selfishness and greed that made him think he could have it all and not suffer the consequences. Abel and Thomas Bennett aren't perfect by any means, but Robert Livingstone is a real doozy. Even after all these years, he still thinks he can have Gavin, and that he can even have Robbie. He never deserved his children and the kind-hearted, wonderful people they turned out to be. Thank you for your sperm donation, but these two men grew into lovely people without him and I'm glad they found their way back to the Bennett pack. This book is about brothers and Carter's relationship with Kelly and Joe, Gavin and Gordo. There's so much I can say about this series and the characters. I can just go on forever about them. Know that TJ did right by the characters and their stories and this book is a beautiful and welcome wrap-up to these characters. Am I greedy and also want just ONE! novella or short where there is ZERO angst where everyone is happy from beginning to end. Yes. I want that. But for this series, the Bennett pack, Brothersong is the ending this series deserved. Is there a hint of what more could come after Brothersong with another character in a possible spin-off series? Yes! But you'll have to read this book to find out! I admit, I was half-convinced while re-reading the previous books that we were going to wind up with a vampire spin-off but eh. After reading this book, maybe not. What can I say? I love my shifter books but I also have a soft spot for vampire romances. I love this series really more than I can say. This has been a journey filled with wonder and heart, and introduced me to an author who has quickly become one of my absolute favorites. So I will end with this. Thank you, TJ Klune for writing this series and introducing me to all your books and your characters. Thank you for introducing me and helping me discover myself with your asexual characters who feel so real and who know they can be loved. Thank you, thank you, thank you. ***Thank you to the author for giving me an eARC for review.*** ["

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October 31, 2020 Verified Purchase

Cassie

packpackpack FOREVER

"WOW. I am absolutely obsessed and in love with this series. I hoovered it...finished all 4 books in about a week. Do I suggest that? NO. Is there any other way? NO. Once I picked up the first book, Wolfsong, I could not get this story out of my head. I was constantly thinking about it and so I devoured the other 3 just as quickly and what an emotional rollercoaster! I love this pack so much, this magical world so much, this author so much! Brothersong picks up right where the 3rd book ends, with Carter off to find Gavin the Timber Wolf all by himself. I was slightly annoyed that we have another martyr situation going on (pack is divided and then re-united) but if aint broke...don't fix it! And we get to be in Carter's POV, the first book in which we have a Bennett perspective, and I really enjoyed it. The first quarter of the book is HEAVY on the dialogue, flash backs and hallucinations, but it is solid gold. The author is giving you perspectives on Thomas and the pack from Carter, our first born son - who has a lot more insight than his other brothers. It was also nice to see this more serious side of Carter, he is so jokey and aloof in the other 3 books, so being able to see past his mask was wonderful. And then by the end of the book I realized all the dialogue was so the author could get his emotional tenterhooks in you and then freaking rip your heart out (you love every second of it)! This book is a culmination of the entire series so it really focuses on the entire pack but you still get Carter and Gavin's story first and foremost. And I love their love, I am such a sucker for grumpy x sunshine trope, and these two are hilarious. The book gives the pack the ending they deserve for sure. It fits perfectly. I agree with another review that the end "sacrifice" really wasn't that much of a sacrifice since you know this is what that person wanted to begin with. (Sorry for being vague, but no spoilers!) But my god, I was sob crying through that entire ending with the hallway and the clearing. And any of Thomas' letters...so many tears. This series is absolute perfection, I need hardcopies and I need to re-read it a thousand more times. This author's writing technique is beautiful. His characters, ALL of his characters, are so so so real and fleshed out. They jump off the page, you want them to be real, even if you could never meet them - knowing they truly exist would be enough. That is how well this author writes, I am BLOWN AWAY. This is my first time reading any of TJs books and now I need to read them all! I love Green Creek so much, you have to read about this gay werewolf pack - your life will never be the same. It's a way of life now. packpackpack! ["

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October 14, 2024 Verified Purchase

Cassidy

And that's that...

"This was the perfect ending for the Bennett Pack. As with all the previous books this one was such a rollercoaster of emotions, one minute you are in the verge of tears and the next you're laughing till your stomach hurts. I did love Carter and Gavin's love story, while it wasn't just the main focus of the story I did feel how much these two characters care for each other (even when one tries not to show it *cough* Gavin *cough*) and that they (mostly Carter) would wade through dark waters just to make sure the other knows they're not alone but that someone has their back. I did also love how Carter didn't care that Gavin was a man instead of a woman, he just went with the flow even if he had many moments of questioning how the be with a man and how it seemed that every time he had a conversation with someone it circled back to him not knowing what to do exactly in the bedroom. My favorite parts of this book happen to be when he asked Joe and Kelly for advice and the lovely book they gave him to help. I also loved that this was written in Carter's POV instead of following the other books and being written in Gavin's (not that I would have objected to that because it would have been different and just as interesting) because we got to see first hand the relationship between Carter, Kelly and Joe instead of just having an outside persons account. I loved their bond with each other and seeing it through Carter's POV was also the best decision because he's the older brother who has been the protector since each of his younger brothers were born. If we saw their relationship between them through one other boys I kinda don't think it would have been as impactful and not because they didn't love the others as much as Carter does but because Carter always thought the responsibility of being the protector as his job. Beyond the bond between the brothers I loved the bond between the pack and even the people of Green Creek, I loved how they created a family between each other and that they stood together throughout all the hardships that came their way throughout these many books. Overall this was such a great conclusion to the Green Creek series, while I'm sad it's over I'm also glad that these characters finally got the peace they've been fighting for since the very beginning. ["

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October 14, 2020 Verified Purchase