Book Review: Who We Are by T.J. Klune

Title: Who We Are
Series: Bear, Otter, and the Kid, Book 2
Author: T.J. Klune
Genre: Contemporary Romance, M/M Romance
Sensuality Rating: Erotic
Source: review copy from publisher
Published: April 2012 by Dreamspinner Press

Sequel to Bear, Otter, and the Kid Bear, Otter, and the Kid survived last summer with their hearts and souls intact. They've moved into the Green Monstrosity, and Bear is finally able to admit his love for the man who saved him from himself. But that's not the end of their story. How could it be? The boys find that life doesn't stop just because they got their happily ever after. There's still the custody battle for the Kid. The return of Otter's parents. A first trip to a gay bar. The Kid goes to therapy, and Mrs. Paquinn decides that Bigfoot is real. Anna and Creed do... well, whatever it is Anna and Creed do. There are newfound jealousies, the return of old enemies, bad poetry, and misanthropic seagulls. And through it all, Bear struggles to understand his mother's abandonment of him and his brother, only to delve deeper into their shared past. What he finds there will alter their lives forever and help him realize what it'll take to become who they're supposed to be. Family is not always defined by blood. It's defined by those who make us whole-those who make us who we are.

Reviewed By: J9

In a Nutshell: Hysterically funny conclusion of a two-book series I enjoyed greatly because of the sweet romance and stellar secondary characters. I will admit that too much happens too close to the book’s conclusion but I’ll forgive it since everything else was so wonderful.

The Set Up: Bear is with Otter, the man of his dreams, raising his precocious little brother, the Kid. But Bear is still fighting for custody of the Kid, the Kid is still attempting to force vegetarianism on humanity, and Otter’s ex-boyfriend seems to still be in love with him. What’s Bear to do but muddle through his mostly happily-ever-after?

Why I Read this Book: The first book in this series (my review) captured my heart and I couldn’t wait to read this one.

What I Liked: This is the book I wanted at book one’s conclusion. Otter and Bear’s relationship needed time to develop and deepen and that’s what I got here. They deal with some important issues in their relationship, like Bear’s age and lack of experience, and Otter’s control issues. Their emotional intimacy deepens and their honesty and vulnerability to each other permeates this book and is just what I look for in romance. The men’s sexual intimacy is less frantic in this book and is more intertwined with their emotional relationship and that too makes Bear and Otter one of my favorite couples.

What I Also Liked: I didn’t think it possible for Bear’s narration to get more humorous from book one but it absolutely did here. Bear has an almost stream of consciousness narration where he starts worrying about something (like Kid skipping a grade in school) and ends up a million miles away (jumping to Kid dropping out of college to entertain old people in Nebraska with renditions of MmmBob). This happens constantly and cracked me up the entire novel. This is a long novel, over 300 pages, and you’ll want to read every line because the humor can take two pages to develop or happen in one line and they all create this wonderfully funny novel.

The secondary characters I adored from book one are just as important now as then. This book’s gentle message is that families are created, not necessarily the one we’re born with, and I love the characters that make up Bear, Otter and the Kid’s family. Bear’s ex-girlfriend, Anna, Otter’s brother and Bear’s best friend, Creed, have critically important roles and I love them. The aged Mrs. Paquinn with her sassy mouth had me simultaneously laughing and wishing for one of her in my life. Even Otter and Anna’s parents have good roles in this novel. I can’t recommend this cast of characters more and just know that other readers will fall in love with this motley crew as I did.

The plot is just as nuts as Bear is a narrator and I couldn’t begin to do this plot justice. Yes, Kid’s custody is a huge part of the novel and is compelling and attention grabbing but so much more happens: Bear and Otter come out to Otter’s parents, Bear meets a new college friend, Otter takes Bear to his first gay club, Kid skips a grade, goes to therapy and makes a new friend. All this is a giant jumble that somehow makes this novel a lovely gumbo storytelling that I adored.

What I Didn’t Like: I love the unique storytelling here but I also can see how some readers may be irritated with the less-than-linear storytelling here. The story jumps forward and backward in time; Bear jumps in mid-thought; big plot things happen all at once and too close to the book’s ending. I can see the flaws here but didn’t much care since I enjoyed the story so very much. To be honest, I’m glad right now I don’t have another book in the series since these two need to settle first but give me a few months and I’ll be clamoring for more books in this series like other readers are.

IMO: MM fans should read these books, period.

J9’s Rating: