The conclusion to the gorgeous and lush Wintersong duology, Shadowsong by S. Jae-Jones. Six months after the end of Wintersong, Liesl is working toward furthering both her brother’s and her own musical careers. Although she is determined to look forward and not behind, life in the world above is not as easy as Liesl had hoped. Her younger brother Josef is cold, distant, and withdrawn, while … distant, and withdrawn, while Liesl can’t forget the austere young man she left beneath the earth, and the music he inspired in her.
When troubling signs arise that the barrier between worlds is crumbling, Liesl must return to the Underground to unravel the mystery of life, death, and the Goblin King–who he was, who he is, and who he will be. What will it take to break the old laws once and for all? What is the true meaning of sacrifice when the fate of the world–or the ones Liesl loves–is in her hands?
“A maze of beauty and darkness, of music and magic and glittering things, all tied together with exquisite writing. This is a world you will want to stay lost in.”–Marie Lu, #1 New York Timesbestselling author
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Shadowsong is the sequel to Wintersong and is a YA historical romance, reimagining of Labyrinth, The Goblin Market, and folklore about the fae.
In Wintersong, Leisl fell in love with the Goblin King, but because staying with him would kill her, he lovingly set her free. But in doing so, they broke the Old Laws, and they and the world must pay the price. Unless they can find another way to satisfy the Old Laws.
Where do I even begin? I cannot describe how much I love this author’s writing. It is lyrical and beautiful and mysterious, and I fell in love with it the moment I read the first pages — the Acknowledgments — of Wintersong. This story was no less enthralling. Mystery and danger and romance were woven together in a dark melody of words.
And the undercurrent of the story, of goblins and murders and poppies, is an allegory of the artist and his craft and of the inner struggle to make something beautiful when the mind struggles with mental illness or addiction. I can’t say I agree with all that was told symbolically, but the telling certainly held me in its grip.
A major theme in the story was love and how much one would give up for another. There is sibling love and romantic love, each love so deep as to cut out one’s heart of it was severed. How much would they give for the other’s sake, even when jealousy and anger cloud their relationship?
As for the content, the story was dark in tone and somewhat sensual (compare to Goblin Market). That gave me pause, and I almost didn’t read it. There were a couple of swear words and violence that wasn’t really described. But the main heaviness in the story came from emotions and internal struggle.
I enjoyed this book more than I should have. Consider carefully before reading it.
I received a complementary copy of this book. All opinions are my own, and I am not obligated to provide a positive review.
Anyone else hold off on reading much-anticipated sequels because they don’t want the experience to be over? I adored Wintersong and could not wait to see what happened with Elisabeth and her Goblin King in the sequel but once I read it, I’d have no more Goblin King to look forward to so I held off. Luckily, it was as magical as I hoped it would be! Not only is it a rich retelling, it explored mental health in unexpected, nuanced ways, asking us what the gifts of “madness” might be. The world-building and character growth were top notch. I also really appreciated the emphasis on the entirety of the person and the way the story explored this. I was spellbound while reading and, yes, I was deeply sad it’s over. The Goblin King is one of those characters I’ll carry in my heart.
This is the second book after Wintersong and you really need to read that one first to be able to follow this one. It’s a good book so I would recommend reading it anyway. So we revisit Elisabeth after she returns to her world. She of course does go on with her life but really it’s only a half life as her heart is still with the Goblin King. A lot happens in this book to get us to the end, some ways it is very convoluted on how we get to the end. I do think that everything that happens and brings us to the end is how it should go, otherwise we would not get there.
*Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read this for my honest opinion*