#tales of verania

[lazyrezi]

Tj klune books ranked by me based on pure vibes, re-read potential, angst to humor ratio and MY OBJECTIVELY CORRECT OPINION:

Tales of Verania - LISTEN! LISTEN!!! These books are insane and I don't even know if I mean it in a good way tbh. The characters are all on crack. It's both corny (HAH if you know you know) and raunchy. YES the humour is a bit out there and sometimes the sex scenes/jokes are almost too much for my virgin eyes. Are these books "good"? You're asking the wrong question! They're fun and you WILL have fun reading them!!! It's very self-aware, tongue in cheek also sometimes a little too cheesy for my liking.

Oh, also, there are lesbian and emo dragons and magic and monologuing villains and a prophecy because OF COURSE THERE IS. These books will not change your life, but they will make you laugh and maybe cringe and feel. I am thinking about rereading it for the vibes. 10/10 would recommend BUT ONLY if you can get silly with it!!! No doom and gloom!!! (Okay, maybe a little doom and gloom....)

Green creek - ANGST. WEREWOLVES. GAY POSSESIVE WEREWOLVES. FOUND FAMILY

(weird age gap relationships I'm so sorry I hate it too and I hate how easy it would have been to just not do that but oh well)

MORE ANGST.

It's been a minute since I have read these books but oh boy they had me in a chokehold for MONTHS. Full disclaimer I have not read the last book AND STILL I am fully confident in recommending these books.

Ngl there is more weird shit in these books than I care to list. IT DOESN'T MATTER. If the tales of verania characters are on crack then these ones are living in a straight up soap opera. People leave. They hold grudges. THEY HAVE AMNESIA? They have enemies as well. Buildings blow up, people die ohymgod the melodrama never ends and. That is. SO FUN. albeit a different kind of fun but still. Fun times all around. I have finished reading these books and immediately reread them which should tell you everything you need to know. 10000/10

The extraordinaries - imagine you're watching a movie where a scene is coming up that just gives you THE WORST second hand embarrassment - now imagine it isn't a scene in a movie, it's three books and it's every page of all three books. Just sheer unadulterated second hand embarrassment.

Now if you look inside yourself you might find that your feelings are misplaced. The main guy isn't embarrassed and neither should you be! Life is all about falling on your ass and making an idiot out of yourself in the process and it's okay! It's okay. At least that's what I kept telling myself while reading these books.

No, but in all seriousness. These books are good fun. The greatest thing about tj klune is that he will take ANY theme and make it gay. We have gay superheroes. Gay werewolves. Gay magical beings. Gay ghosts! I as someone who regularly wonders why the media I am consuming isn't more gay, am a fan. I want him to do it all. Gay cowboys! Gay astronauts! GIMME IT.

These books I will not reread because I fear I might just die from the second hand embarrassment. It's so bad. But! It's also good! Educational fun. Wholesome love. Some minimal melodrama. 7/10

Oookay. Time for the stand alone books!

The house in the cerulean sea - okay don't hate me but this ain't my favourite. It's everyone else's tho! So I'm sure there is something to it. I think this is what you think of first when you hear tj klune - everyone knows this one, everyone loves it. It's like the popular kid in school. I, as a stubborn contrarian cannot abide this.

Still there is a lot going for this one. It takes you on a journey in a way a book should. And I personally love old gays being in big gay love so I can't complain.

But I will nonetheless.

So the thing about this book is that it's very innocent. And there isn't much angst just a minor misunderstanding that is pretty much quickly resolved. The big confrontation at the end is also quickly squashed by *checks notes* people talking to each other? I mean. It's nice! I would like it to work like that irl. In stories however.... I like a little more angst and anguish personally. There are also a lot of kid characters in this one which is FINE tj klune is actually pretty good at writing kids realistically (even special magical kids) but it's just not for me. I say that but I will be buying the sequel next month so jokes on me. The whole book was just a little too on the nose for my liking but it's still a very cosy read. Also someone pointed this out but WHY is this book so British? None of his other books are set in Britain and this one is set in a magical world so what's up with that?

Despite all my complaints I have reread this book twice. I don't know either. 8/10

In the lives of puppets - first tj klune book I have ever read and seeing as I have since then read everything written by this man I think you know this one is a good one. IT'S SO GOOD. It has everything!! Robots. Found family (families always find each other in tj klune stories). Asexual main guy. ROAD TRIP. Wholesome fun and existential crises for the price of one! 9/10 docked a point only because I don't think I'll be rereading it again. Also the romance was a bit weird BUT! It did grow on me. Like mould.

Under the whispering door - you would think this one would be an easy 10/10. Doomed love story (also gay 'cause of course it's gay), lessons about redeeming yourself, coffee shop and ghosts and and. Honestly it's been a minute since I've read this one. But what I remember is the ending.

Call me pessimistic but I don't think love should bring you back from the dead SORRY. IMMA SAY IT. Main guy should have stayed dead! Think like "the love was there, it didn't save anyone but it was there" vibes. Expect! Here it did save someone! Ridiculous concept! I buy ghost dogs but I WILL draw the line at being brought back from the dead. (The dog isn't brought back in case you're wondering). And it's such a shame because I really like the themes about death and redeeming yourself and it has such good potential! Unfortunately it suffers a serious case of not-working-for-me. Listen can I explain to you why this book didn't hit the same as the rest? Noo. All I know is that I read this book and immediately forgot about it. And unlike the house in the cerulean sea it looks like so did everyone else. Seriously tho. Anyone a big fan of this one? 6/10.

[gayantlers]

Getting some love for the tj klune addition on the last post so I want to add:

Read klune! All of his characters are queer. His books have mostly gay/bi/pan men but not exclusively. TJ Klune himself is gay. The tales of verania series is very silly and light-hearted and great when you just want a fun fantasy saga with lots of homos. He wrote it to heal after his partner died. He wanted to do something fun and joyful instead of dwelling on sad emotions and loss.

On a different side of the same coin is under the whispering door. It's a modern fantasy dealing with life after death. Literally. The mc is a ghost and the side character is a psychopomp. It's a beautiful look at moving on and change. I reread it after my best friend died and I ugly sobbed at the end. In a good way.

There's also the house on the cerulean sea which is one of my favorite books ever. Modern look at a world with known fantasy creatures. Main character observes orphanages with magical children. His latest assignment is a magical difficult orphanage (complete with a young antichrist). It's truly heartwarming and if you ever have felt othered this book will speak to you. There's a follow up coming out later this summer and I'm very excited.

He also has a ya gay werewolf series where every book is from a different character's perspective but they're all part of the same pack. Kind of. One's a human warlock. But he's in the pack.

The bones beneath my skin is a fun scifi mystery and and being on the run from the government with a weird special little girl.

Another series (The Extraordinaries) about teen superheroes. I've not read this but I'm sure it's enjoyable.

He also has a series about gay dad's and their kid. Not fantasy. Also haven't read these.

And more.

All of the books I read are full of gay and no homophobia. None of these books will change your life but they'll entertain you to no end. They might even have you kicking your legs behind you while giggling.

[yourbestlatinamericangirl]

La indudable asombrosidad (está palabra existe?) de T. J. Klune.

Despues de leer Green Creek, The house in the cerulean sea, Under the whispering door y Tales of Verania, he llegado a la conclusión de que no puede ser legal el nivel de talento que tiene Travis John Klune.

[professionalqueerbookworm]

I'll be honest guys, gals and nonbinary pals, 2023 was A Year and I barely made it out alive tbh. I'll try to start posting again as best as I can, for now enjoy my current favorite queer fantasy series by T.J. Klune. Happy New Year ❤️🌈

[incorrectspquotes]

Erskine: I don’t want Skulduggery to murder anyone. The Supreme Council will probably find some way to use it against us. Ghastly: I’m glad you think murder is bad because of how someone can use it against you.

[factuallywrong]

My TJ Klune collection to far!

[blindemaler]

Little kikass boy and dead bird (not anymore) for my stupid mental health

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[xskyll]

Any Lightning Struck Heart fans out there? I recently finished the fourth book in the Tales of Verania series. I decided to take a crack at drawing Sam and Ryan’s wedding in commemoration. I felt bad not including Tiggy, but I’m not creative enough to imagine what he looks like. So instead, I figured I’d just draw Sam’s mother best friend Gary and his step-dad soul-bonded sort-of-familiar Kevin. I figured they’d be appropriate inclusions since it’s their son’s friend’s wedding.

If you’re unfamiliar with the series, I highly recommend it! The humor is very early 2000s, especially in the first one. I described it to a friend and she said, “So like gay Shrek?” which I guess is accurate in a certain sense. Anyway, I loved Prince Justin’s development in the series, so I’m excited to read the final book, since it centers on him.

Fun fact, I couldn’t remember if Ryan’s hairstyle was described in the book, so I just Googled “douchebag haircuts” and went from there. If you’ve read the series, you get it.

[bumpingbees]

[kodiescove]

You wouldn't think it because it's me but TJ Klunes Tales from Verania series is just like.... my favorite example of raunchy queer s/ e / x/ u / a / l comedy.

It is not high brow material whatsoever but the audiobooks are a great performance and have actually gotten a laugh out of me, if only because of how absurd the books are.

[allforthesong]

I find it weird when people who have only read like House in the Cerulean Sea and Under the Whispering Door talk about TJ Klune's books and how wholesome and sweet and family friendly his books are 😂

[dominikadecember]

so i read all of verania books and now i'm left with this nothing???? tj klune literally enthralled me into loving this series and i don't have anything else to devour???? what a prick!

[wildcatharsis]

Avra Helvaci 🤝 Sam of Wilds = being the world's funniest little shits that I would protect with my life.

[aroace-cat-lady]

I can't not stan him <333

[mmm-crackling]

i just listened to the lightning struck heart by tj klune, audiobook read by michael lesley.

i don’t think i’ve laughed at something so much for a very long time. i enjoyed this a lot! the main character is so smart and kind but also a dumb adorable idiot (affectionate), his friends are great, and the situations he gets himself into are so farcical but he gets himself out of them in the most ridiculous ways. even the villains are dorks.

i read along with the book while i listened, i think a lot of the laughs came from the narration - it sounded like he really enjoyed reading it and laying down the voice track. i feel like if you’ve never been into audiobooks, this would be a good one to get into them with.