I’m not really sure how to feel about this one. Overall, it was captivating and satisfying, yet it is still missing something to make me rabid for it. I will try this one again when I get a finished copy and I can’t wait to see what JJ puts out next.

This duology was written very well. I think it was wrapped up in this book very fluidly and came together nicely. The writing style may not be for everyone, but I for one thoroughly enjoyed it. A modern Labrinth retelling was there. I will be highly recommending this set!

I received this free eARC novel from NetGalley. This is my honest review.

This has been on my TBR pile for so long, and I'm glad I finally got around to it. I really enjoyed the storyline and seeing the characters change throughout the story was a great character development. The plot was great and kept my attention. I'm glad I got the chance to read this and will be on the lookout for more in the future!

This book made me feel so many things, most of all sadness because the stories of Lisel and the Goblin King and Josef and Kathe are over and my heart hurts. This book was amazing i love the interwoven story of Lisel and her devotion to not the Goblin King but the amount of love and heart wrenching torment she goes through to be loyal to Josef her brother.

Their are some triggering things in this book which may make it difficult for some to read. It a fairy tale story woven in dark threads as our main character has bi-polar disorder. The story is dark but was a delight to read as much as wintersong was.

I couldn’t get into this one but others have enjoyed it and I will say it just might not have fit me.

I will definitely regret myself if I have not read this beautiful prose by the ever magnificent S. Jae-Jones. Good thing I decided to join the tour or was it just my selfish self that fell in love with cover? Either way, I am so happy, and sad, and just heartbroken. Happy Valentine’s Day, indeed.

Nineteen-year-old Liesl, has known many things about the Goblin King, thanks to her grandmother, Constanze. But with these stories, there are memories Liesl has forced herself to forget: her memories with the Goblin King himself when they were still kids, asking for her hand in marriage.

Later, her sister, Kathë, was taken by the goblins. She then ventures the Underground to rescue her sister and take her back to the world above. But taking her back comes with a price. She then learned that without a bride, the world above will continue to persist without Spring. She then agreed to be the Goblin King’s bride, to let her sister go and for the world above to have Spring and Autumn.

With her life, living in the Underground, she finds herself falling more in love with the Goblin King, and vice versa. But it does not end there. They need to learn what it is they are willing to sacrifice.

I am honestly broken up to this point. Like, what have I just read? Well, it’s just the most beautiful book ever. You guys! You aren’t allowed to die if you still haven’t read this book. Because seriously, goblin + maiden + the world. I can’t. TT~TT. I’m pretty sure this book won’t work for everyone (sadly), but if you’re into romance and fantasy and a little about lyrical prose, this is the best book for you. I do respect the others who are not going to like this book much as I do ’cause that’s just how we roll.

If you know me, I’m all about romance and contemporary reads and I do read high fantasy novels but only to my liking and this book has definitely exceeded my expectations. I really thought this has the predictable vibe but wait until you get to the end. I was definitely lost in my own imagination, yes reader, it is that good and dark and mysterious. And quite sexy too. And despite it being a high fantasy novel, there isn’t much action or adventure that will take place, because I expected a lot.

I’m also just a little bit curious about the other characters in this story because there was a big cast in the beginning but as the story progresses to the end, they just suddenly stopped existing. Perhaps because the story mainly focused on the two characters that the other’s existence aren’t of much importance?

Jae-Jones wrote an exquisitely beautiful novel that will capture the heart of her readers. She’s created characters that are truly living, and scenes that are so vivid, you can imagine it playing right in front of you

What a stunning conclusion to Liesl's story!

WINTERSONG introduced Liesl with her love of music and her encounter with the Goblin King. Six months have passed since the ending of book 1. As much as Liesl tries to stay focused on her future and the music she's composing, everything feels off. Her brother, Josef, has turned cold, and Liesl can't stop thinking about the Goblin King and the world under her own.

I love this duology's blend of historical fantasy romance. The setting and atmosphere are perfection, immediately engulfing the reader in the strange world of music and frost. Especially with it comes to Liesl and the Goblin King, the stakes are so high and the odds seem impossible. My favorite part of this story, outside of the romance, is how realistic Liesl's emotions are. It's hard to imagine anyone seeing the weird wonders of the Underground and returning able to go about as usual. She's forever changed by her time there, and that makes adjusting to her normal life difficult. She ultimately has to decide where she belongs, what role she will play, and how she can truly move forward.

I absolutely loved Wintersong, it set the score pretty high for the sequel and the grand finale of the duology. Shadowsong was a both a great and a bit disappointing for me. The themes of this collection (mental health, mental issues) is more present than in the first which made perfect sense in line with the plot. I couldn't help but feel for Liesl as she struggles to gasp what's happening around her, distinguish reality from "dream" and her struggle to make hard decisions. What disappointed me was that the end felt very rushed. After spending more than a book waiting for the build-up, I felt it came way too late and too quickly.

I really enjoyed discovering the siblings relationship and how, in the end, it became the centre of the story and not the romance, even though that was what I was expecting.

Even so, a beautiful and melodic novel!

Once again, S. Jae-Jones illustrates her fantastic writing, strong plotting, excellent characters. The duology ends on a strong note; haunting and dark and lovely

I was given a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the advanced reading copy of Shadowsong by S. Jae-Jones.

This is a sequel in the Wintersong duology.

Wintersong is a retelling of Labyrinth (which I've had no previous experience with). I was originally intrigued to read Wintersong because of it’s stunning cover and because the premise sounded similar to Danielle L. Jensen's Malediction Trilogy which I loved. For those of you that have read the Malediction Trilogy, Wintersong was nothing like that. Wintersong is definitely unique in the way the story was presented.

The first novel, Wintersong, takes place with Elisabeth and the Goblin King. Elisabeth is a composer of piano sonatas. The Goblin King is a violin virtuoso. I enjoyed the classical music aspect to this story. For those of you reading this story that have no musical background this could potentially be difficult to get through. Shadowsong picks up six months later, is lacklustre, and pretty much pointless. Sadly, I wish Wintersong had been a stand alone as I enjoyed that novel.

I started reading this one but didn't hold my interest since I really didn't like the first that much. I honestly requested this one for the heck of it and was shocked I got it.. I didn't like the main character in the first one and most definley didn't like her in this one.

Let me start this by saying that this book is written beautifully. It has a lyrical quality to it, similar to Wintersong, that I loved reading.

That being said, I just don’t think this plot was for me. It’s a much more personal and internal story for Liesl than I was expecting. That’s all I’ll say for now, but I just couldn’t get into it. The book will definitely work for some people as I don’t think it’s bad at all, it just wasn’t my cup of tea!

Thank you WednesdayBooks for sending me an ARC for review!

I read the first instalment of this series which I enjoyed immensely. This one didn’t hook me in the same way. I shall buy it for the library so that students can make up their own mind.

I feel like I have been on a mission to get my Netgalley queue into compliance. Now that I have finally hit 80% reviewed, I want more. I have made it my new mission to hit 85% reviewed. Shadowsong by S. Jae-Jones is a sequel that I read as a part of that mission. Honestly, I was wondering around the library, saw it on the shelf and was like — oh I need to read this for Netgalley, it has been on my queue FOREVER. Thankfully, this gets the circulation number up and I finally, FINALLY read the book.

Unfortunately as excited as I was for Shadowsong after being bewitched by Wintersong, the conclusion fell flat for me. I guess I was expecting something just as engaging. So, the plot of this book is basically it takes place after Liesl comes back from the Underground and her time with the Goblin King. She’s unable to compose. Meanwhile, Josef is in Vienna performing with Francois. Their mentor dies. Josef struggles. Liesl and Josef and Katya all reunite in Vienna thanks to the generosity of a mysterious patron. Also both Liesl and Josef are having a hard time mentally. Anyways so there’s something going on with the Underground that could screw over everyone, so Liesl has to solve the issue.

That’s about as vague as I can be. I will say that the pacing is super slow. I had a hard time caring about the characters and just felt so uninvested. Like, I just did not care if they lived or died or got stuck in the Underground – maybe because of the slow pace. At one point, I thought I was going to cheat on this book and read something else and slow it down to a chapter per day, but then I was closer to the end and just pushed through. I think maybe if you go in with lowered expectations and read this close to Wintersong, you will like it more than I did probably.

This book was a great follow-up to Wintersong, and keeps you turning pages until late hours of the night. Great book!

After reading book one, I decided not to pick up book two

I will maybe consider reading it in the future

Unfortunately, I didn’t love Shadowsong the way I loved Wintersong. The writing is gorgeous and lush and beautiful as in the first book but I didn’t connect to the story. I wasn’t quite sure what the desires of the characters were nor did I understand what story Shadowsong was trying to tell. It started out with a murder-mystery-esque premise that quickly dissolved without resolution and after that, the story seemed to wander with no true plot or goal. In the end, I was left feeling confused, not sure of what I read and what I was supposed to feel from Shadowsong. The writing itself is gorgeous and there was a lot to admire about the prose, but unfortunately, the story didn’t do it for me.

I am so upset that I didn't like this book. The first novel, Wintersong was OUTSTANDING. It was so absolutely perfect to me. So I went into Shadowsong with high expectations. I was prepared to love it, but around the 50% mark I realized that this book was nowhere near as good as the first.

The writing is great. It's lyrical and beautiful and it flows nicely. Jae-Jones is clearly talented but I truly did not care for the plot. At all. It was kinda all over the place. Elisabeth goes to Vienna and meets a mysterious couple with ties to the Underground and the Goblin King but their storyline got very boring very quickly. It was so dragged out and I didn't feel like there was any closure with those characters. I don't know if they were good guys or bad guys. They just seemed unnecessary to me.

I started skimming around the 60% mark. Mostly only reading dialog or anything that had to do with the Goblin King. Oh and the Goblin King? Who I loved with all my heart and soul? Who's story I couldn't wait to read more of? He's barely in the book. I don't think he even covered 10% of the "air-time." I was so frustrated as I kept getting further and further into the book and there was still no sign of Elisabeth and the Goblin King reuniting. There were tiny bits of small interaction between them here and there but it was nothing meaningful. I was really looking forward to seeing these two rekindle their romance but that didn't happen. At least not until basically the last chapter. But again, it was nothing big. I also feel like the blurb was slightly misleading. "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." Yeah, that line covered maybe two chapters of the book? And it wasn't until the VERY end.

Josef's storyline frustrated me as well. I was not happy with how things ended for him. At all. I truly thought we were going to see these characters break the old laws of the Underground but again, it didn't happen.

Overall, I wish I had stopped reading after Wintersong. Reading Shadowsong was such a huge letdown for me and I wish this book could have been so much different. The ONLY REASON I'm even giving it 3 Stars is because it would physically pain me to give it anything less. If Wintersong wasn't one of my literal favorite books ever I would probably give Shadowsong 2 Stars. I REALLY wanted to love this book. I really wanted a book filled with Elisabeth and the Goblin King TOGETHER. I'm just really sad about this whole thing.

I don’t know how to feel about this book. It wasn’t at all what I wanted it to be. It felt like a lot of random threads trying to come together to create something big and I just don’t think it worked. The closer I got to the end, the more I felt like this could have been been as a stand-alone instead of the two books. I enjoyed the relationship between Liesl and her brother in the end but that was about it. I think overall I was unhappy in the lack of romance due to it being such a huge part of book one. The parts I loved in book one were not present in book two and I think that made me enjoy it much less. After I was about half way through I found myself skimming just to finish and that is never a good thing. I wanted more fire and more love. Jae-Jones does write beautifully and I will surely pick up whatever she writes next but I was very underwhelmed by this series as a whole.

This book is the sequel to S. Jae-Jone's Wintersong, and picks up where the first novel left off - with Liesl returned above ground and trying to piece her life back in order after her ordeals with the Goblin King. Jones' writing is lush, her sensitivity towards the spirals of addiction and depression her characters experience feel genuine and real, making for a somewhat difficult read. While the pacing of the book could have been more consistent, Shadowsong is the perfect cap on Jone's duology and I can't wait to read what she writes next.