so glad this getting re published! this story deserves it! such a good story and so heart warming. So original and stunning another TJ Klune classic!

The Bones Beneath My Skin by T.J. Klune
Rating: 5 stars
Pub date: 2/4
Thank you so much to Tor Publishing and Netgalley for my advanced copy!

If you’re looking for a story that’s equal parts thrilling and heartfelt, this is the perfect pick. This book hits all the right notes with its mix of sci-fi vibes, family drama, and a touch of suspense.

It’s about Nate Cartwright, a guy whose life has fallen apart, finding himself in the middle of nowhere Oregon. What he doesn’t expect? A mysterious man named Alex and a 10-year-old girl named Artemis Darth Vader (yes, really!) hiding out in his family’s cabin.

Artemis is the heart of this story. She’s curious, clever, and completely unforgettable. Oh, and she has a power that makes her very special (and very sought after by some dangerous people). Alex is fiercely protective of her, but when Nate shows up, everything changes. Together, they form an unlikely team, facing both external threats and their own messy pasts.

Klune’s writing is fantastic—his ability to mix laugh-out-loud humor with moments of gut-wrenching emotion is unmatched. While there’s a bit of romance in the background, it’s the bond between these three characters that steals the show. The story is packed with suspense, surprises, and even a good helping of bacon.

If you’re into found-family stories with a touch of the supernatural, this book will leave you with a serious book hangover. It’s emotional, adventurous, and so, so worth the read!

I think Artemis Darth Vader might be one of my favorite characters. She's one of the 3 main characters in this book, and she's so much fun. Our trio is rounded out with Nate and Alex. After being fired from his job, and while still dealing with a complex emotional reaction to his parents' deaths, Nate heads to the cabin in Oregon that his parents left him. He is surprised to find it occupied by Alex and Artemis (Art), who are on the run and give vague answers to Nate's questions about why. But he lets them stay.

Art, who appears to be about 10 years old, is quirky and innocent and blunt. She wants to try new things, she's open about her reactions to what she observes, and her childlike wonder was a joy to witness. One of my favorite parts is when she discovers bacon, and the next time she's at a diner she orders "Pancakes. And bacon. In fact, please just cover my pancakes in bacon. I don't even want to be able to see pancakes because of all the bacon." Girl after my own heart.

Some of the events of the book were predictable. I correctly guessed what was going on with Art and wasn't particularly surprised by some events towards the end. However, I enjoyed the journey to get there, watching Nate start to care about and trust Alex and Art, watching Nate and Alex start to build a relationship, reading about Art calling people "hoss" because she's been reading and watching westerns. The heart of the book is the relationships among Nate, Alex, and Art, who find a home in each other.

I really enjoyed the emotional journey the novel took me on. There's tension, humor, and heart, with a focus on the importance of family, regardless of where you find that family. While the book isn't unpredictable, it's still an enjoyable read that I highly recommend.

TJ Klune's books are typically hit or miss for me. I also usually go into them blind because I trust him as an author to write an engaging tale. This book was no different. It was engaging and heavily focused on the plot (as opposed to the characters).

What I loved was that this novel had an element of suspense that I was not anticipating from his other books and this book description. The writing was beautiful, as is his norm, and the plot was paced perfectly to keep me interested. I read this in just a couple of days and regularly thought about where it was going when I wasn't reading it. It's always a good thing to have in a book!

All the typical elements of a novel by TJ Klune but this one was so much more. I loved the suspense, the intricacy and in case I haven't mentioned it enough, the writing!

I missed the romance though, the way he writes romance is usually a highlight of any of his books and this one was a tad light on it for my liking. Still a fantastic read!

This book is a little more action than what I expected for T.J. Klune, but it had the heart I've loved from his other books. Reading this book, I could see the seed of Artemis turn into The House in the Cerulean Sea. Her interactions with Nate, Alex, and the world in general are wonderful to read about. Her profound moments are mixed in with Klune's usual humor. This book is more sci-fi than I usually like, but it pulled it off without getting too abstract. I thought the action was well done and kept me at the end of my seat to know what happened next. There was a sense of urgency and unease that moved the plot forward. I do wish there was more time for the romance, but the action took center stage first. Overall, I enjoyed this one a lot but it is not my absolute favorite.

This book by TJ Klune tells the story of Nate, who is dealing with the grief of losing his parents and his job. Nate inherits a truck and a cabin from his parents and heads up to the cabin to get away from the world. Upon arriving at the cabin, Nate discovers two people staying at the cabin who should not be there.

You really feel Nate’s frustration through the first half of this novel about not knowing who these people are that are staying in his cabin. I found myself unable to put this book down as I wanted to find out what was going on.

I have been a big fan of the other books I have read by TJ Klune, and though I really enjoyed this one, I did prefer The House in the Cerulean Sea and Somewhere Beyond the Sea more. Still, Klune does an incredible job of creating characters you want to cheer for and end up caring about through the course of this book.

If you are a fan of other books by TJ Klune, or want a good sci-fi story that takes place on a modern-day earth, definitely check this book out.

4.5 stars

In the spring of 1995, Nate Cartwright makes his way to his parents’ old cabin in Roseland, Oregon to start over. His parents are dead, his brother doesn’t want anything to do with him, and he got fired from his job in Washington, DC. At this moment, he has nothing to lose.

However, when he makes his way to the cabin, he finds that it isn’t empty. A man named Alex and a girl named Artemis Darth Vader have made a home there. And they aren’t what they seem on the surface. Now Nate has to make a choice: stay buried in the past, or make a future with two new strangers.

Thanks to NetGalley and Tor Books for an advanced copy of The Bones Beneath My Skin by TJ Klune! As with pretty much any TJ Klune book, one of the core themes in this book is found family. And what a cute little found family Nate, Alex, and Artemis make. They may all be very different, but they work so well together.

Though this book starts out on the slower side, it does allow us to really get to know the characters before all of the action takes place. One of the things this is compared to is Stranger Things, which works as a comp title, especially from the point of view of the government chasing after a kid who has powers. But also the government tampering in something that they shouldn’t, which leads to dire consequences for other people.

Once you get into the chase about halfway through the book, this story is hard to put down. Klune strategically makes you care for these characters before putting them in danger; thus, you desperately want to know they’re safe at the end. As always, Klune has created deep, complex characters who just leap off the page. Though this book is a little more quirky than his other books, it’s definitely worth the read.

Pick up the re-published edition from Tor when it comes out in February!

This book surprised me! The only work I've read by Klune in the past is The House in the Cerulean Sea, which is one of my favorite books to date.

I was expecting The Bones Beneath My Skin to have similar whimsical themes, but that wasn't the case. This book is much more mature and tackles heavier themes. I think it's important to check some triggers prior to reading the book - there's homophobia, talks of suicide, child loss, and domestic violence.

Our story follows a man named Nate, whose parents have just died and he recently for fired from a journalism job he loves. He finds himself with nothing and no one, feeling truly alone. He goes to his family's cabin to grieve in peace, but finds it already occupied by a man named Alex and a little girl named Artemis. It’s now Nate’s job to figure out what these two “squatters” are doing in his cabin, and why they're on the run. At first, it’s a mystery—trying to understand what Alex and Artemis are running from. But what begins as a deeply sad exploration of Nate's trauma and a mystery about where the story is going transforms into something really heartfelt.

These three characters don't have much else other than each other, and the connections they form—especially before Nate fully understands who they are and what they’re doing—are truly touching. It’s easy to fall in love with the bond they share and the book's theme of found family.

The book becomes really exciting once it picks up momentum - it's really fast paced, and each chapter helps uncover a new mystery. The only times I felt a little lost were during the "cult-like" elements toward the end of the book. It started to feel a little bit “out there,” but considering the story deals with extraterrestrial life and aliens, I suppose being “out there” makes sense in the context of the book.

The ending is emotional, very well-done, and wraps up nicely. Klune does it again, by writing a story about human connection, understanding, and the importance of feeling love and being alive. A gorgeous reminder that none of us are ever truly alone.

I loved the creative world building and TJs writing style in this novel! However, I did not feel as though the characters were as developed as in other Klune novels. Usually his books are very character driven, which is something I love about his novels so much, but this one i felt like was more plot driven, and I was left not knowing the characters all that well. I did enjoy how fast paced the plot was, and how it kept me on the edge of my seat. I just wish the romantic elements hit harder with more developed characters.

Thank you, @torbooks for this ARC!! And most of all, thank you TJ Klune for this weird book! Weird in such a very good way. And I am glad you acknowledge this in the acknowledgment page :) The main characters are very lovable and I wish I had an extraterrestrial for a friend. I wasn't expecting about the romance part (not a fan of romance) but it was written so well I didn't mind it at all! It is action packed and fast-paced. I wasn't ready for the ending but I love it so much! I was teary-eyed and I wish I could hug all the main characters. Thank you, TJ Klune!

I loved reading this book so much. It had slow burn romance and a found family which are two of my favorite tropes. The ending wasn't quite what I was expecting, but I still enjoyed it. I will be recommending this to all of my friends.

I’m not sure what it is about ThJ Klune’s other books besides The House in the Cerulean Sea series but I can just NEVER get into them. Even though I ate THITCS and its sequel UP. I loooove the way he writes those but everything else just misses for me.

It’s certainly not a bad book but it just wasn’t for me!

A heart-aching tale of what it means to be human, this book follows Nate, fleeing from his mistakes, as he meets up with Alex and Art and embarks on an escape that is so much more than he expected. As these three take off on their adventure, they go through cycles of love, grief, heartbreak, and along the way they decide what family means to them.

There are so many gems in this book, so many beautiful sentiments, but sometimes it feels a bit heavy-handed. I loved the themes and the emotions explored, even when it did begin to feel a bit monologue-y. I loved the idea that a family is what you make it, not what you’re born into.

What I loved most was the love story. I’m a sucker for a good love story, and this one certainly delivered. I was rooting for them the whole time, and I loved the small shared moments as they drifted toward each other. Sometimes love really is someone throwing their head back in laughter, or the press of a foot to an ankle under the table.

All in all, lots to discover within these pages, and I most definitely did some crying.

Klune is such an auto-buy guy on my ordering lists. Never, ever disappoints me, and I can -- and do! -- handsell/recommend him to literally everybody. And this one's a doozy: a bit Stranger Things, but gay, with shades of Firestarter/old Stevie King. Much more pulse-pounding than Klune's known for, but the same rich world-building and beautiful turns of phrase he's known for.

Thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher in exchange for an honest review.

This book pretty much has all your classic TJ Klune tropes: a cute, queer romance, fantastical fantasy elements, and, of course, found family. But this book also tries out some different things too. There is a much bigger emphasis on the suspense and mystery of it all over the humor, something that has been very prevalent in almost all of Klune's other books. The humor has always at least been on par with the suspense and mystery in the other books, so, having read most of Klune's other works, it was a bit jarring. That is not to say it was bad, not at all! I fell in love with this group of characters even without their consistent need for funny banter. But the darker tone was definitely not expected--even though I probably should have taken the hint from the title.

Nostalgia, in recent years, has essentially become a trope all of its own. Many films and tv shows now a days have tried to recapture the magic Steven Spielberg created back in his hay day. If you are familiar with other stories following this new trope, will you be surprised by the events that take place in this book? No, I don't think so. But I also don't think it was made to be surprising. It was made for sci fi lovers who want to cheer on a rag tag team of people trying to make sense of it all. And if you go in expecting that, and looking for a fun time, I think you will find it here!

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor for the eARC of this book.

4.5/5 rounded up for being un-put-down-able

This was my first Klune and I will definitely be picking up more of his work in the near future. Right off the bat, I loved the voice Klune gave to each of his characters, particularly Artemis. The sci-fi nature of the book was so fun, and the action kept the plot moving forward at a steady pace. The "found family" trope is one of my favorites and I found it to be done well in this story. I loved the background slow burn romance but will say that the big spice moment felt a bit out of place and unnecessary (and I'm usually all for spice!). I'd recommend this book for anyone who likes found family, broody brutes, and unintentionally humorous extraterrestrials.

I am a huge fan of TJ Klunes books. I thought thi one would follow some of his previous books, but there is something missing here that is what I love about this author. The emotions are just not as deep. I was kind of disappointed.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!
TJ Klune is a favorite author of mine and he nearly singlehandedly saved me from the doldrums during covid shutdown. I am always up for another one of his books! I did like this one very much (not as much as HitCS). Hit some of the same themes as other Klune books in different ways--fear and violence for those who are different, a young person far from home planet, etc. Well done, I found myself surprised by the romance even though I shouldn't have been, and loved Art. A new candidate for my favorite aliens list. Glad I read this!

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for the copy.
The Bones Beneath My Skin is a beautifully written and deeply emotional story that weaves together themes of love, vulnerability, and humanity in the face of adversity. While the pacing was a bit slow in some parts, it allowed for a rich exploration of the characters' relationships and growth. Overall, it's a compelling read that lingers with you long after you've finished.

Sadly, I didn’t love this one. As a big fan of TJ Klune’s other works—The House in the Cerulean Sea, Under the Whispering Door, and the Green Creek series—I found myself a little disappointed. I understand that this is an older work, originally published independently and now re-released by Tor, so it’s not surprising that it lacks the polish of his newer books. Still, it didn’t quite hit the mark for me.

The story itself felt fairly predictable, and the romance seemed a bit forced. Nate’s inner monologues dragged on far too long, and at the core of it all, I just couldn’t buy into the premise. The idea that someone would willingly take up with squatters in their own home felt far-fetched and undermined the story’s believability.

Overall, the book came across as more immature compared to his later works—which, given its origins, makes sense—but I was still disappointed by the execution. While I can appreciate its place in Klune’s journey as an author, this one just didn’t live up to the magic of his other stories.