Wintersong is 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 Times bestselling authorThe last night of the year. Now the days of winter begin and the Goblin King rides abroad, searching for his bride All her life, Liesl has heard tales of the beautiful, … life, Liesl has heard tales of the beautiful, dangerous Goblin King. They ve enraptured her mind, her spirit, and inspired her musical compositions. Now eighteen and helping to run her family s inn, Liesl can t help but feel that her musical dreams and childhood fantasies are slipping away.
But when her own sister is taken by the Goblin King, Liesl has no choice but to journey to the Underground to save her. Drawn to the strange, captivating world she finds and the mysterious man who rules it she soon faces an impossible decision. And with time and the old laws working against her, Liesl must discover who she truly is before her fate is sealed.
Dark, romantic, and powerful, S. Jae-Jones’s Wintersong will sweep you away into a world you won t soon forget.
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I did enjoy this book. It is different and set in Germany around the turn of the 19th Century. Liesl has heard about the stories of the Goblin King all her life. Her sister gets kidnapped from the Goblin King and Liesl knows she has to save her. Liesl has also been told all her life that the music she creates is not good. With her love of music buried deep inside her will she be able to let it out to save her sister. In some ways you actually root for the Goblin King and other times you want Liesl and her sister to run from him. I have already started the second book as I really want to see where this story ends.
*Thank you NetGalley for allowing my to read this for my honest review*
I voluntarily received an ARC of Wintersong by S. Jae Jones in exchange for an honest review.
I was very hesitant when I started reading Wintersong, because the idea of a book surrounding goblins did not sound appealing to me. I’m glad I kept an open mind about Wintersong because this book is mesmerizing. Jones’s prose has an elegant feeling to it and really brings the story to life.
The story was a little confusing in the beginning, but all of my questions were answered as the story progressed and more details were revealed. I became frustrated with Elisabeth at times, but I understood her fierce desire to protect her family and take care of them at all costs.
Even though Wintersong has a magical and fairy tale like feeling to it, I would say this story is suited for readers on the older end of the young adult spectrum and older.
This book was ok to me. I normally don’t read this type of genre. I thought I would try it with an open mind. I could not get into it. Someone who likes this genre would probably love it.
Nope, not for me. I love me some YA fantasy (Leigh Bardugo, Kendare Blake, Kristina Pérez, Renée Ahdieh, Julie Kagawa, I’m lookin at you), but this really missed the mark. Yes, the cover is gorgeous, and yes, the writing was lovely in places, but…BUT. So melodramatic, so much back-and-forth (I’m staying! No, I’m going! No, I’m staying! No, I’m going!) that it just became dumb. The mythology was never fully explained, but the music stuff sure was (ad nauseum). I couldn’t figure out if Liesl and Der Erlkönig actually liked each other or not, and I found I didn’t care TBH – they both were insufferable, navel-gazing, self-pitying people. Could’ve done without the whole God angle (dude is the freakin GOBLIN KING, creature of the OLD MAGIC – why is Christianity even a thing here???). Finally, who exactly is the audience for this book? I thought YA, based on the cover and the description, but there were many parts that were very *not* YA.
Liesl lives in a small town where magic and folklore is very much alive. Her grandmother places salt over all the thresholds to the house to keep the goblins out every winter… As a child, Liesl played with the Goblin King in the woods. But it all becomes too real when her sister eats the fruit from the goblin market and is taken Underground to be the Goblin King’s bride. She has to save her sister and thus an adventure begins.
I heard about this book during this year’s A-Z challenge when someone recommended their favourite fantasy books. I liked the blurb, so I added it to my TBR.
What I liked about the book: it’s a mixture of The Phantom of the Opera, The Goblin Market, Cinderella, Fitcher’s Bird and the Ugly Duckling (there might be other stories, but these stood out). It takes the folklore of the Alder King (Der Erlköning) and weaves an inventive world around it. Music is woven through the story and tells a tale of its own.
What I didn’t like about the book: it’s a mixture of present and past tense (intentional?). Some phrases are repeated in quick succession over the span of a chapter (accidental?). Sentences rhyme like poetry (why?). Her brother and the Goblin King have the exact same violin (thematically creepy). There’s no warning on the cover that there will be sex scenes (even if they aren’t steamy, they do jolt you out of the story). Though there is a glossary at the back for the unfamiliar terms and words, they are used liberally and along with oddly phrased sentences pull you from the story (a few words here and there would’ve been enough to convey the otherness of the book without detracting from the story, in my honest opinion). Some scenes contradict others…
I was confused from the moment she saw the portrait gallery and decided that there are several Goblin Kings – only for the story to reaffirm that he has always been the same man. And then it gets contradicted again. So either he is her age or there about – or he’s a creepy old codger who played with a little girl out in the woods. (I know: we all love the idea of a late teen girl/almost-twenty-ish young woman falling in love with an immortal being. But having him in her life when she’s just a little girl of about seven? Eww.)
I also didn’t get the nicknames… But that can just be a language thing. (The book is set in Austria/Germany?)
The first few chapters are beautifully written and lives up to the hype on the cover. The rest… It’s okay. Liesl has a few too many fits (being aggressive and destructive) after being this sensible creature at the start of the book. Perhaps it’s because of the music within? I don’t know, but it did make her rather unlikeable. I could live with the constant bemoaning of her unappealing face and body, her invisible lot in life and the jealousy/protectiveness of her odd siblings. But losing her mind when she finally gets the attention that she wants? Perhaps a chapter or two… But not half the book.
And then she gives up everything she loves, everything she wants for something selfish? Or did she? And did she do it again?
The ending is set up to make the reader want to read the next book. I’m not sure if it’s worth the confusion.
For those that have seen David Bowie’s the Labyrinth this book offers a similar tale with a darker more romantic twist.
Otherworldly. Instills so many emotions. Well written and very well thought out. Love the take on a classic story.
I received a copy of this story from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this book! I’ve seen it here and there in the almost year since its release and it always made me curious but never made the top of my list. I’m bummed I didn’t discover this story sooner.
I wasn’t sold at first. The beginning was plodding and the Christina Rossetti poems kept causing flashbacks to this terrible class I took in college to fulfill a requirement (Pre-Raphaelite Literature). As much as I shudder to remember that class, it did give me a foothold into the mythology of this story.
This isn’t a new tale. If you’ve studied any amount of mythology, there’s a solid chance you know how the story ends. But the blend of ordinary and extraordinary, mythical and mundane, kept me from being confident in my assumptions and I loved it. Instead, I sunk into the story like a beloved and often played piece of music; I knew where the story was going but I was content to be in the moment with the characters and enjoy the ride.
I recommend this book to anyone:
– who likes mythology and fantasy
– who is craving a story just outside the mainstream
– who wants to curl up with a good book during the winter months, soaking in the story like a warm bath
This was truly a pleasure to read. I would happily read the sequel!
A dark fairy tale feel combined with vivid imagery and superb writing make this a MUST read for fantasy and sci-fi enthusiasts. For me, this story had the perfect balance of gothic whimsy, haunting romance, macabre intrigue and sentimental heart that swept me along on a journey that was unforgettable. The characters were complex and unique with amazing depth and a nearly-tangible edge of reality. I went through a gamut of emotions from joy, to sorrow, to laughing, to openly sobbing. This book was a quite beautifully-written work of literary art. I am not usually a big fan of this genre, but I could not put this book down and am now a dedicated fan of S. Jae-Jones. The sequel cannot hit my Kindle soon enough!
*I received a complimentary copy of this story from NetGalley & St. Martin’s Press in order to read and provide a voluntary, unbiased and honest review, should I choose to do so.