Originally posted on Forever Young Adult on 2018 February 07

BOOK REPORT for Shadowsong (Wintersong #2) by S. Jae-Jones

Cover Story: Breaking Through
BFF Charm: Confused
Swoonworthy Scale: 1
Talky Talk: In Her Head
Bonus Factor: Brothers and Sisters
Relationship Status: One Date Too Many

Danger, Will Robinson! Shadowsong is the second book in the Wintersong duology. If you have not read the first book in the series—Wintersong—turn away now. Do not pass go, do not collect $200. If you have read the first book, however, feel free to continue below.

Trigger Warning: There are instances of suicidal thoughts and evidence of self harm in Shadowsong that might be triggering for some readers.

Cover Story: Breaking Through

Where the cover of Wintersong is extremely wintry and frozen-feeling, this cover is warmer, and the shattering of the snowglobe along with the poppies makes me think of spring.

The Deal:

After becoming the Goblin Queen and falling in love with the man behind the Der Erlkönig myth, Liesl left the Underground without looking back. But just because she didn’t literally look behind her doesn’t mean that her thoughts aren’t still with the Goblin King. She’s trying to move on, but it’s hard when part of her doesn’t want to.

When she gets a letter, supposedly from Josef, telling her to come to Vienna immediately, a chain of events sets off that will tests Liesl’s strength—body, mind and soul.

BFF Charm: Confused



Liesl and I got along well enough in Wintersong, but she spent much of Shadowsong wrapped up in her emotions and in her own head. She barely had time for her siblings, much less friends. I’d certainly want to try to help her work through her demons, but as I’m not a professional, I’m not sure I’d be much help.

Swoonworthy Scale: 1

Shadowsong was a drastic departure from Wintersong in more ways than one, but nowhere was it more apparent than the lack of swoon. Liesl and her “austere young man” are separated, and she’s preoccupied with figuring out her relationship with her siblings, how to keep her family’s head above figurative water, and what to do about her growing internal struggle. I missed their enemistry greatly

Talky Talk: In Her Head

Although Shadowsong is once again a historical fantasy novel, this time taking place in Vienna and the nearby countryside, the world building and atmosphere took a backseat to Liesl’s identity crisis. Because of this, the plot kind of wandered and plodded along, and the resolution happened too quickly in the last 50 or so pages. Shadowsong is missing a lot of the magic of its predecessor.

Bonus Factor: Brothers and Sisters



Liesl’s relationship with her sister Kathë and brother Josef is sometimes strained, sometimes beautiful. I’m an only child, so I have little practice with sibling relationships, but theirs felt quite real.

Relationship Status: One Date Too Many

After our first date, Book, I was enamoured and satisfied; I didn’t really see the need for a second. But I gave it a go, and I’m honestly a little bummed that our second date has dimmed my find memories of the first.

What are monsters but mortals corrupted?

I was blown away after reading Wintersong last month and was thankful for the relatively short wait for the follow-up book. I applaud the author's acknowledgment page and the honesty about her struggles with mental illness. It answered many questions about Liesl's character, so don't skip over it prior to reading.

While this book contains the lyrical beauty of its predecessor, Shadowsong felt more raw and desperate. There is a romantic tone, but the theme of family and unconditional love remains at the forefront. Liesl undergoes such heartbreak as she attempts to fulfill promises made at the end of Wintersong.

"You can be running toward something or running from something, but you cannot do once at both,"

Liesl and Kathe's relationship continued to blossom, and I appreciated how much they grew to rely on one another. Josef's story is more prevalent, and I admired how much he is loved by his sisters. The ending is beautiful, and nothing I predicted. This appears to be a duet, but I would happily read anything from this world again.

For love is our only immortality, and when memory is faded and gone, it is our legacies that endure.

This is somewhat dark for a YA/fantasy, but it's one I'd recommend to any seasoned reader of the genre. I look forward to reading more from this author in the future.

While I enjoyed Wintersong, I felt that Shadowsong was, at times, confusing. The Wild Hunt was not a well-formed antagonist and the concept of "elf-struck" and "elf-touched" just seemed to be thrown into the plot. I think the overall idea was for the changeling be sacrificed in order to appease the Wild Hunt but it could have been written in a clearer way.

5 stars are not enough to rate this beautiful, wild and soul scorching novel. S. Jae-Jones brought back two beautiful and untamed characters in Liesl and the Goblin King, that capture your attention and keep you engaged throughout the entire novel. When they are lost and agonizing, ever searching for their true self and what it means to be whole, you are lost, searching and longing, ever privy to the wildness and their story. The journey of the main characters in the book, and the more in-depth exploration into Josef's story, is dark and wayward, and heart wrenching. In no time at all expect to be emotionally invested in this second installment. If you read Wintersong you'll understand what I mean.

This tale is proof that beauty is more than what you see on the surface. True beauty can be dark, disheveled, and uncanny. Loving yourself can be even more challenging than loving another. The writing is so vivid and bewitching, I found myself lost in this novel for hours at a time and when she describes the earthy scent of the Underworld, I smell it too.

One-Line Summary:

So much more than the romance in the first book, Shadowsong weaves together lore, history, mystery, and powerful themes in a book that’s as dark as it is lyrical.

Summary:

Once there was a little girl, who played her music for a little boy in the wood. She was an innkeeper’s daughter and he was the Lord of Mischief, but neither were wholly what they seemed, for nothing is as simple as a fairy tale.


It’s six months after Wintersong ended, and nobody is living happily ever after. Upon their father’s death, Liesl and Kathe inherit a crippling amount of debt, struggling to make it by. Even worse, Josef seems to be missing in action, and no one’s heard any news of him. Until they receive a cryptic letter:

Master Antonius is dead. I am in Vienna. Come quickly.

But Liesl is facing more than just concerns about her estranged brother. There’s a sinister force that’s been released into the world. People are dying at an alarming rate, found with frost on their lips and a silver line across their throat. Elfstruck, they’re called. Victims of the Wild Hunt.

At the center of all of this is the former Goblin Queen, who forsook her marriage vows for her Changeling brother. But the closer they get physically, the more the distance between Liesl and Josef grows, and she’s no longer convinced that love will be enough to save him. It hasn’t been enough to save her king, der Erlkonig, who has become corrupted by the old laws.

More and more, Liesl is convinced that the key behind all her problems lies in the secret of the first Goblin Queen, who left the Underground alive and returned to save her beloved.

The Positives:

- Every bit as lyrical as the first book. The prose has the same musical quality to it, the same beautiful descriptions and imagery, and a tone that’s evocative of a proper dark fairy tale. There are moments that blur the edges of reality and potential insanity or hallucination, and I felt these were done particularly well. Clear enough to follow, yet written in a way that gets across how surreal the scene is meant to be.

- Action, intrigue, and secrets, oh my! Where Wintersong felt every bit more a romance, Shadowsong feels more like a dark lore mystery, which was a refreshing approach to the sequel. Honestly, I fangirled so hard at the romance in the first one that I was concerned I couldn’t handle more, and I didn’t have to worry about that. Yes, there’s still overviews of romance, but it takes a back seat to the rest of the plot. As it should when, you know, the world might very well be ending.

- Oh, what beautiful themes you have, my dear. Of course, the music is still the underpinning motif of the story. It wouldn’t quite feel like a sequel if it wasn’t. The themes, however, stood out so much to me in this. They were strong and brilliant and relatable. Selfishness, sacrifice, love, self-discovery. There was so much depth to this novel, so much soul-searching, and everything was incredibly relatable. I found myself thinking about my world and my relationships, and OMG, DO YOU KNOW HOW DANGEROUS THAT IS?

- CAN WE TALK ABOUT THE GOBLIN KING, THOUGH? Woven throughout the story (in a rather superb way that conjures all the wonder of a dark fairy tale) are scenes about the Goblin King. He has a backstory, to some extent, an origin story. There is still plenty of mystery (after all, you can’t expect all the answers, now can you), but he’s more fleshed out in this book, more alive, more real. I absolutely loved delving into his backstory. It was marvelously done. There were so many more reasons to love and empathize with his character.

- THAT ENDING. Oh gosh, that ending. It was nowhere near where I saw things going. There were a lot of revelations in the last 10% or so that made perfect sense in the scheme of things, that were hinted at but I hadn’t completely put it together. As it’s said many times, nothing is as it seems, and life is not as simple as a fairy tale. The ending does feel complete, though, and it’s a happy ending, which I didn’t necessarily expect from a dark fantasy, so I enjoyed that. I won’t say too much more because spoilers, but suffice it to say, even though this the conclusion of the duology, there is still plenty of things left for imaginative fans (or fangirls/fanboys, more specifically, maybe) to dream and wonder about, which is the sort of ending I like.

The Negatives:

- The Prochazka story feels incomplete and open-ended. Considering they played such a big part of the book and were hinted at possibly having a very important role in the book, they just kind of … disappeared. There’s no closure about them or what they really wanted with Liesl and Josef (I can guess at a few things, but I’d rather not guess, considering what a big plot point this was). There was a lot of backstory dropped about them and their ancestors, and I feel like it had the makings of a very good story, but it wasn’t seen through, nor was their relationship with each other explored.

- I’m sorry, but where do the Faithful fit in again? Like the Prochazkas, this is a pretty big deal and an important plot point, or so it feels. Also like the Prochazkas, it completely disappears when Liesl no longer needs it. I want to know more about them, their history, their little troupe. I want to know about Bramble and how his life as a changeling is so different than Josef’s (because it clearly is, in very significant personal ways).

- The old laws just don’t work for me as a character. Which is what they basically are in Shadowsong. I had a qualm with the old laws in Wintersong being used as an end all, be all, even though I have no idea what they are, except an annoyance. For something that’s all important and apparently has the power to destroy the world (and no reservation doing so), nobody actually seems to know what the hell the old laws are. Shouldn’t that be important? I mean, I’m not expecting a manual to be passed around or something, but shouldn’t there be a crash course? Like hey, now that you’re Goblin Queen, don’t leave the Underground or the world will be plunged into endless winter? I have a really hard time understanding why, if these things so crucial and powerful, they’re not more well-known among der Erlkonig’s own and imparted to others rather than being kept all secretive and not shared.

- Great that Liesl and Josef’s story ended, but what happened to everybody else? The other characters just sort of fall to the wayside (re: The Prochazkas). What’s become of Kathe? Francois? The troupe? They’re all mentioned in passing in Liesl’s final letter to Kathe, as are the Prochazkas, dismissively, in a way that ties up nothing. Such a big deal was made between the two books about Kathe and Francois and how they’re tied up in everything between Liesl and Josef that it sort of irks me that they get a fade-to-black sort of ending where they appear to be mostly forgotten. Maybe it’s not important and I’m harping on something that doesn’t matter, but for me, I really wanted their impressions about everything. Liesl spends so long thinking about them in this book and wanting to reunite with them that it feels like they’re just left hanging.

Overall:

I actually really enjoyed this. More so, even, than the first one. While the first was focused more on dark romance, this was focused more on the dark fantasy aspect and the lore. It delved deeper into the characters and their stories and upped the stakes substantially for everybody involved. There was a blurring of lines between “good” and “bad” and exactly what someone might be willing to do for both love and selfishness. It felt like a fitting conclusion for the duology, and left me plenty to think about (and maybe fangirl over? I’m not ashamed of it) after it was done.

Disclaimer: I received a free ARC copy of this from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I was so incredibly excited when I was asked to do a review of Shadowsong for the tour. Having recently read Wintersong (my review can be found here) and LOVING it, I wanted to get my hands on Shadowsong as soon as possible. I was hoping for something as overwhelming and epic as Wintersong was and not only was I not let down, but it blew my expectations away. Before we continue, I do want to go ahead and let y’all know that there are spoilers in this review for Wintersong.

I do need to mention that there was one secondary theme in the story that is aro/ace-misic. I don’t think it’s something S. Jae-Jones did on purpose and it might or might not have been run past a sensitivity reader. While reading it, I came across a single line that felt like it crawled under my skin and made this theme clear, but I thought I might have been over-reacting or over-thinking it. But then when a friend, who is also on the tour, came to me about that same line, I knew I had to include this tw/cw in my review just in case. I’m not going to put the line here just in case it’s spoily, but if you’d like for me to send it to you privately I would be more than happy to. On to the rest of the review!

The characters of Shadowsong are mostly those who we got to know in Wintersong with a few new and sinister additions. I really like how the character arc of Leisl went in this one because she is allowed to be uncertain while still trying to hold it together. Each character is given enough development to be realistic enough to converse with, though there were a couple I would as soon stay away from. They were all really well done and largely individual, save for a few of the secondary characters who we didn’t see as much and, thus, didn’t need to know as well.

I do want to go back to Leisl’s arc specifically really quick because her arc in Shadowsong gave me something I didn’t recognize until I started writing this review. At the beginning of Shadowsong, Leisl is still reeling from having to leave behind Der Erlkönig in order to stay alive. She’s unable to compose because each time she plays, she’s mentally thrown back into the Underworld. This, in some small way, made me feel like Leisl’s arc is decent representation for PTSD.

She was forced to leave behind the man she loves to be trapped in an eternal prison to continue living and working on a piece of music that is not only mainly about their relationship but that they worked on so closely together up until that point. She tries holding it together and putting on a good face, and she believes she is doing a decent job of it until she’s disillusioned of that belief. Music and composing are such huge parts of who she is that suppressing the need to compose pushes her further into her depressive state. And yet, when she does compose, it’s clear that it triggers a deepening of that depressive state as well. I just really enjoyed seeing this play out in the story, no matter how subtly it was done.

Shadowsong is set in a few different places because there are more than one point-of-view and they travel a bit. The Underworld didn’t receive as much world building as it did in Wintersong, but as this is a sequel I don’t feel like it really needed it. I was still able to picture the world and understand the way it functions from reading Wintersong. In Leisl’s home in the small town of Bavaria, we didn’t get much development either because, again, it was developed thoroughly in Wintersong. If its been a while since you read it a re-read wouldn’t be out of order and might help with this.

The two locations that received the most world building were Vienna and Snovin. Vienna is a bustling city, which is not what Leisl and her family are used to, having come from a small town inn. Snovin is an estate with a dark and magical background. Of all the places in this story, Snovin is probably my favourite. It’s the first place since the Goblin Grove and the Underworld that we get to see a good bit of magic but it was a bit twisted, which became clearer as the story revealed the backstory of the estate.

The story itself was so incredibly elaborate that it almost dares you to put it down, which is, of course, impossible. From beginning to end, there is something happening or something learned about the characters and their arcs. It flowed relatively well and everything came together so nicely at the end. Reading Shadowsong was basically eight hours of having my heart torn out, set on fire, and then replaced again. Burn, rinse, repeat. The ending of Shadowsong was so incredibly bittersweet and all loose plot lines were closed up so neatly.

The only thing that kept this from being a single sitting was the fact that I’ve had to work almost every day, a fact that I was still not prepared to let get in the way of me reading this digital galley. Late into the night, on the way to work (bus sickness be damned), on my breaks, and on my lunch break, I was deep in the world of Shadowsong and refused to come out. My coworker, who insisted I read Wintersong in the first place, only encouraged this, understanding when my only response to “how is it so far?” was “I HURT.” Shadowsong could easily be the finale of a duology, but I’m not sure I’m ready to let go. I look forward to reading more of S. Jae-Jones’ work in the future!

Shadowsong is the second installment in author S. Jae-Jones's Wintersong duology. Shadowsong picks up 6 months after the ending of Wintersong. My recommendation? Read the books back to back. That way you can keep your memory sharp at what happened in the previous book, and where things are at the moment Shadowsong opens. Once upon a time, there was a little girl who played music for a boy in the woods. Girl just happened to be an innkeeper's daughter who had the brilliance of a composer like Mozart and was raised listening to stories about Der Erlkönig.

The boy became the Lord of Mischief aka the Goblin King. For years, the boy waited patiently for the girl to make a choice and become his bride. When she finally did wander into the Underground the Goblin King let his Queen leave and return home to her family. By doing so, he cheated the old laws of their sacrifice and now everyone is paying the price until the sacrifice is made. The most scary part is that the Wild Hunt is on the loose bringing death with them and Liesl is the prize.

This is a strange, and dark story that actually takes place mostly above ground in places like Bavaria and Austria. Elisabeth Vogler isn't the character we met in the previous installment. She doesn't know who she is any longer. She's working for her families inn, she hasn't written anything of any consequences since her return from the Underground, her mind is running in several different directions at once, and she is puzzled as to why her brother Josef hasn't been in contact. Then several things happen. First, she receives a curious letter from Joseph telling her to come to Austria, and later, she receives an unbelievable offer that a patron has agreed to help her move to Austria to be with her brother and his love Francois.

For those who understand Bipolar, you know that person exhibits characteristics that tend to be extreme hot and extreme cold with emotions. The author pretty much admits that she has written Liesl with that in mind. But, let's not forget about Josef. Josef gets more than his fair share of the storyline while the Goblin King sits in the background having to deal with his own issues. In this world, you can't escape the madness if you are Der Erlkönig's own. In this world, you have to give up something in order to gain something in return. What will Elisabeth have to give up when all is said and done? In the end, will Elisabeth be able to walk away and have a happy ending, or will the Wild Hunt make her one of their own?

"I lived in the in-between spaces. Between the pretty lie and the ugly truth."
"The mad, the fearful, the faithful, those who dwell with one foot in the underground and one foot in the world above."
"You can be running toward something or running from something, but you cannot do both at once."

The anticipated sequel to Wintersong hit shelves today to eager fans waiting to dive back into the world of The Goblin King, Lisel, Josef and Kathe. Jae-Jones paints an absolutely beautiful picture with her words. Her writing is very lyrical and easy to be taken into the scene of the world she is describing. Shadowsong took on a little more darkness compared to the light Wintersong.

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 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?



Not much time has passed but Liesl still thinks of her beloved King everyday and tries to find a way to save her family from their financial woes and of the supernatural problems that Wintersong introduced. In the first book, Liesl wanted more than anything to be back with her family and into the world of the living but this time around we see her longing to be in the Underground. The plot and pacing was a little off and it could have been a lot shorter than it is. But one of the things that I really loved is that on the first page of the book, the author added a trigger warning for suicide. Also the cover is absolutely STUNNING!!!! and would have no trouble being a cover buy for some. I enjoy the way Jae-Jones incorporates music and her writing is beautiful, but the plot and ending felt rushed and left me wondering if this should have been a trilogy instead of a duology.

The author maintains her lyrical, enchanting writing in her sequel Shadowsong, and despite this novel taking a unexpected path following Wintersong, it was still hauntingly beautiful read.

Shadowsong focuses on Liesl/Elisabeth traversing the darkness of her mind and struggling to come into her own as a strong, independent woman. There is also heavy focus on the sibling relationship of Liesl and Josef (and of Liesl and Kathe as well), and I did enjoy delving into each character and their bond with their sibling(s). Although I will say, both Liesl and Josef were maddening at times (as they were meant to be).

I was truly disappointed by the Goblin King's minor role in this story. We do learn more about his past, but he was such an intriguing character in Wintersong that I couldn't help but want more of him in Shadowsong. Alas, this was not the case, and as such, I felt no true development in Elisabeth's relationship with the Goblin King.

My favorite aspect of this book was Snovin Hall. It was dilapidated and haunted, yet lovely and enchanted, and I could picture it perfectly in my mind. The decrepit castle, the monastery, the mirror room, the meadow, the poppies, the lake, all of it. Add in the Count and Countess, the creepy hosts/captors, and it was perfectly eerie and magical.

The ending was heart-breaking and beautiful and exactly as it should be....and I even anticipated parts of it back when I read Wintersong! I do wish it wouldn't have wrapped up so quickly though. After everything that came before, I wanted a bit more build-up before the final resolution.

Was Shadowsong what I expected? No.
Was it worth the read? Absolutely.

The author does mention trigger warnings before the story begins, and her foreward was enlightening and very much appreciated.

***I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advance Reader Copy provided by the publisher via NetGalley.***

Shadowsong is the sequel to Wintersong and though it was slow throughout the book like the first one it was just as good. It's a bit darker than the first book. We are introduced to new characters in this book and new locations in Vienna and Snovin Manor. This sequel has such a bittersweet ending but I loved it. The Goblin King's name though... just why? I don't see that as his name. But it sort of fits with the backstory they gave him. I don't know I'm just partial to Jareth being the Goblin King's name but the one in this book is a totally different king and I know he can't have that name.

I do recommend this book and the first one, Wintersong if you are a fan of Labyrinth and tales of the Fae.

Thank you, NetGalley for allowing me the opportunity to to read this arc. S, Jay-Jones is an awesome writer. She takes you to this fantasy land where only few writers can take you too. This novel is the perfect sequel to Wintersong. The character growth and the new places were incredibly spectacular. I instantly fell in love with the first book and was so very enthralled that the second was just as great. Her novels will forever be an instant buy. Thank you!

3 Wine Glass Dual #Review of Shadowsong (Wintersong #2) by S. Jae-Jones
“Once there was a little girl, who played her music for a little boy in the wood. She was an innkeeper’s daughter and he was the Lord of Mischief, but neither were wholly what they seemed, for nothing is as simple as a fairy tale.”

Wintersong was a story that resonated with me. Over a year later and the romantic, whimsical writing is still at the forefront of my mind. I'm not ashamed to say that I practically begged for the chance to review Shadowsong when I saw that it was available. I was desperate for the continuation of Liesl and the Goblin King's story. Frantic for all that they did not have at the end of Wintesong. All that I hoped for them to have in Shadowsong. And therein lay my problem... I imprudently assumed that Shadowsong would be the extension of their, the Goblin King and Liesl's, story when rather, it is wholly Liesl's.

“How I could make myself understand. The restlessness, the anxiety within me. The feeling of incompleteness and dissatisfaction, my frustration with my inability to execute my ideas on the page, either in words or in song. I could not catch my own mind, my thoughts racing past in a blur, like fingers rushing through sixteenth notes without regard to tempo.”

Shadwosong was an all together manic, chaotic, enigmatic, and peculiar story that while I fought with it for not going into the whole I thought it should fit in, I could not put it down. The story begins six months after the end of Wintersong with Liesl trying to find her normal after her time spent Underground. Returning to her family and the inn though is not what she imagined, and without her precious Sepp or her austere young man besides her, she is left adrift. With the maniacal musings of Liesl, the pacing of the story oft times became tangled and sluggish. The majority of the story line is spent in her head, and while that gives readers a nice link to the character's inner workings, at times it was a bit much. That being said though, Shadowsong is a journey of self. Leisl struggles to understand her place in the world, the legacy she will leave behind, and the reasoning of decisions made.

“All that remained of a person once they were gone was a legacy, which would linger only as long as you were loved or hated. Immortality was memory.”

She also broke her vows with the Goblin King and the Underground though, and there are consequences for that. The Hunt rides, seeking retribution while on the other side of the country her brother Josef must also come to terms with his choices and desires, and the abandonment he feels when he is no longer the center of Leisl's world. This facet of the story was frustrating at times. Jealousy, guilt, and resentment overwhelms the relationship that these two previously shared, and what's left is a mess of secrets and betrayals.

“You always called me the gardener of your heart,” he said softly. “But you have gone and grown your flowers without me.”

The plot twists kept me guessing up until the very end, and the recurring elements of the sound of hooves in the distance and the trail of poppies never failed to raise goose-flesh on my skin. As I mentioned though, my biggest complaint with this story was the lack continuity with the Goblin King and the Underground. For the majority of the book, they are only seen in frenzied visions and putative delusions.

"Be thou, with me."

I was fully invested in Liesl and the Goblin King's relationship in Wintersong. Fully. Invested. I craved more of their poignant tale, and S. Jae-Jones sadly did not deliver that aspect until the very end. I will say this though, what little we saw of the Goblin King had me falling for him even more. Despite his monstrous attributes from the Hunt, or maybe because of them, his heart still shined through those black eyes, taloned hands, and twisted horns. The Finale is what I had been waiting over 300 pages for. This is where the author's signature prose truly shined. With heart-wrenching emotion, the duology reaches it's summit. The Hunt requires a sacrifice to balance the two worlds and Liesl must choose between the two pieces of her heart.

"But I had realized I had not known how it ended because I had not resolved my own emotions- about my music, about my Goblin King, but about myself most of all."

All in all, though Shadowsong may not be all that I hoped it to be, it unquestionably enraptured. Dark and weighted, but provocative and gripping. You'll reach unfamiliar highs and exceptional lows with this story. The author's lyrical writing is to be commended. I also applaud S. Jae-Jones for the Author's note giving a warning of triggers for addiction, suicidal tendencies, and self-harm. I think readers of Wintersong should definitely read this sequel, with a warning to open your mind to new possibilities and throw out all of your expectations. Please do not try to jump into Shadowsong first, you'll be missing out on a truly enchanting experience if you do and become more lost then ever Liesl was.

Footnote;
Beethoven is known for his stirring compositions, but did you know that he was an impassioned writer as well?

"I can only live, either altogether with you or not at all."
-Ludwig Van Beethoven, The Immortal Beloved Letters

The formatting of my e-arc is jumbled and full sentences are displaced and the chapter headings didn’t make sense. It made it difficult to follow along at times.
The author's note at the beginning was so wonderful -- she talks about how both she and the main character live with bipolar disorder and that the book "contains characters who deal with self-harm, addiction, reckless behavior, and suicidal ideation." There's a trigger warning and it's made clear this is not a story where things are healthy and whole. I think this was an incredibly brave project for the author to dive into and it's clear she really put a lot of herself onto the page.

I thoroughly enjoyed Wintersong and was very intrigued when a sequel was announced. I found the overall themes and atmosphere of the first book continued into the second book in a seamless manner. I love S. Jae-Jones’ writing style and am very impressed by her character development. Overall, I would say that Shadowsong was the perfect completion to the stories and world created in Wintersong. I could not put it down once I started. I loved that we got to once again experience the world of Liesel and the Goblin King, as well as Kathe and Josef. I loved the melodic and German gothic atmosphere throughout the series as well as the mythology created and expanded on. To anyone who enjoyed Wintersong, I would most definitely recommend this book! I would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an unbiased and honest review. I was planning to read this book regardless so was delighted when I was selected for an ARC.

One thing that surprised me about Shadowsong was that it was focused more on Liesel and her life/ family and the Goblin King was mostly in the background aka a shadow until the end. Before I read the book, I would have found this annoying but honestly it was exactly what was needed for the story. I refuse to spoil the end of this book but I will say that readers will be satisfied. I understand S Jae-Jones rationale for including a trigger warning for this novel but I did find that influenced how I viewed the overall story and a fear that something bad was going to happen to a beloved characters. The themes of love, music and family really spoke to me as a reader. Overall, this book would be loved by anyone who is interested in goblin mythology, as well as good quality young adult fiction.

For anyone who has read (and loved...or disliked) Wintersong, be prepared, because this sequel is probably not what you are expecting. But trust me, if you allow yourself the opportunity, this book can sweep you away in a storm of folklore, complexity, and utter lyrical beauty all on its own.

Just as I had written in my review for Wintersong, the writing in Shadowsong has a way of making me feel raw. These characters, Liesl, Josef, Kathe, the Goblin King, are utterly stripped of their complexity and bared for the entire world to see their soul. The writing quality has surpassed my expectations in this series and made me appreciate Jae-Jones as an author immensely. What I appreciate most is the risk she took to also bare her own soul within these characters.

"Madness is a strange word. It encompasses any sort of behavior or thought pattern that deviates from the norm, not just mental illness. I, like Liesl, am a functioning member of society, but our mental illnesses make us mad. They make us arrogant, moody, selfish, and reckless, They make us destructive, to both ourselves and to those we love. We are not easy to love, Liesl and I, and I did not want to face that ugly truth."

In the author note, she also noted that there is content such as: self-harm, addiction, reckless behavior, and suicide ideation. These traits are shared among several members of the cast.

"How can I go on when I am haunted by ghosts? I feel him, Sepp. I feel the Goblin King when I play, when I work on the Wedding Night Sonata. The touch of his hand upon my hair. The press of his lips against my cheek. The sound of his voice, whispering my name. There is madness in our bloodline."

Despite this fact, I think this was a wonderful read. I was utterly surprised by the complexity of this duology. From what I gathered in Wintersong, I did not foresee the path in which this plot would traverse. Shadowsong is a mix of retellings between Goblin Market, the story of Hades and Persephone, and the Wild Hunt. Majority of the time, the plot walks a narrow path, dipping toes in both the fantastical and reality, obscuring which is which. I believe the way in which this book is written is figurative to Liesl's experience as a character. Her constant battle between living in the "real world," yet, being enticed by the underground and back to her beloved is palpable.

"I who had grown up with my grandmother's stories, I who had been the Goblin King's bride and walked away knew better than anyone the consequences of crossing the old laws that governed life and death. What was real and what was false was as unreliable as memory, and I lived in the in-between spaces, between the pretty lie and the ugly truth. But I did not speak of it. Could not speak of it."

Liesl's fears and deliberations are not without merit. She knows, along with those that still hold to the Old Laws, that there are consequences for each and every action. The Old Laws must be appeased. By thwarting them, the Wild Hunt occurs, seeking souls to balance the scales. As the threat draws nearer, Liesl grows more erratic in her deliberations, trying to protect her sister Kathe, repair her relationship with her brother Josef, and learn to live with herself and accept who she is. Acceptance proves to be a main theme throughout this story. Each character struggles with acceptance of a certain truth in their life, but instead, try to ignore it by

"I was so focused on being Elisabeth, alone, I had not thought about what it meant to be Elisabeth, entire. And that meant embracing my past as well as uncertain future. I was so determined to not wallow in my misery that I made myself lonely; I pushed away memories and feelings and connections not only to the Goblin King, but myself. I had mourned, but I had not let myself grieve. I had not let myself feel. Don't think. Feel."

While I wish there had been more appearances from the Goblin King himself, I'm glad there wasn't. I think that after Liesl's experience in the underground required this sort of backlash in her character. Her transformation from the Goblin Queen back to Liesl required addressing. No matter how "romantic" her experience in the underground may have been, (although, it was definitely twisted) Liesl experienced much that required more attention. It is in Shadowsong where Liesl truly becomes a woman and owns each part of herself--whole and broken. That is the beauty of this story--learning to accept that we all have attributes, experiences, memories, and influences that make and break our character. It's how we deal with those points that define who we are. I couldn't help but feel forced to look inward and evaluate parts of myself I wished to ignore while traversing these pages. It also forced me to consider others and observing these same qualities that makeup people around me.

"Who are you?" I whisper. He nods at me. You know who I am, Elisabeth. "You are the man with music in his soul," I tell him. "You are the one who showed me a way to myself when I was lost in the woods. My teacher, my playmate, my friend." I choke a little on the sobs rising from my throat. "You allowed me to forgive myself for being imperfect. For being a sinner. For being me." If my brother is my grace, then the Goblin King is my mercy.

As I said in my review of Wintersong, this book may not resonate with everyone. In fact, I'm certain it won't. It's not the typical YA/NA fantasy for today's era, and I'm so glad that it's not. It has potential to truly challenge its reader and forces them to evaluate more than just a fun, light-hearted plot with a shallow romance. No, Shadowsong has a lot to offer.

Vulgarity: Minimal! I only counted 3 words!
Sexual Content: Unlike Wintersong, there is very little regarding this area in this book. While Liesl does think about her times with the Goblin King, she doesn't go into explicit detail.
Violence: Moderate. Due to the nature and tone of this book, there are definitely some points (including the content warning listed by the author) that are not light topics for discussion. I still believe this is a New Adult Fantasy, and not quite appropriate for Young Adult readers.

My Rating: ★★★★★

I did get an advance copy from Netgallery for leaving some feed back, but I would have anyway...I just really enjoyed both of the books. And of course with any book that I couldn't put down I always want there to be more.

It has been six months since Liesl walked out of the Underground and away from the Goblin King. Life feels so much darker for her and what is left of her family as they struggle to keep the inn running.

Josef has grown into a young man and become a completely different person. The new changes shock and sadden the sisters when they meet up with him.

And something magical is going on. There is death all around. Things are not as they should be.

The fact is I loved how many elements there are in this story. Love is right there front and center on so many levels. From family and friendship to the love that is bad for you. Or in this story bad for the whole world as things head south when the barrier between weakens.

How life is what you make of it. Putting yourself out there and finding who you are and what you stand for. How hard it can be either way: the sweet lie or the ugly truth. And the darkness that lives in each of us.

I gave this book a 3/5. After reading the first book I was so very excited about getting my hands on this one. Like in the first book, the writing style in this one is to die for. It's written so beautifully! The story, for me, however, was lacking. It took over 100 pages for me to actually get into the story but I stuck with it because I've been waiting for it for so long and I wanted to give it a good chance. I was still pretty disappointed in the story, but I'll still likely buy a hard copy to put on my shelf.

4 stars

It’s six months after Liesel returned to the world above and Liesel is trying to help her family’s inn and keep them afloat while furthering her & her brother’s musical careers.

Yet everything’s different.

Her brother has become cold and distant and Liesel has lost the music the Goblin King inspired in her–and she cannot forget the memory of that young, austere man whose name she does not hold.

And troubling signs of the barrier between worlds weakening are present across Europe, and Liesel must return to the Underground and unravel the mystery once again, as well as solve it once and for all.

This was a good book, but I didn’t enjoy it as much as I did Wintersong.

The first book had me captured–it took me in its spell and I wasn’t spit out until later that night when I just had to finish it before going to bed. It was magical and spell-binding and romantic and stirred all sorts of emotions inside me.

Shadowsong is very unlike Wintersong. It threw me very much off guard as I didn’t expect this–I was thinking there was going to be tons of Der Erlkönig angst and magic and romance and everything I loved in the first book.

But this is a very different book. It’s darker and heavier and I feel like a lot of the reason why I enjoyed it less was because I was just so thrown off. I ended up taking a lot longer to read it, and it went much deeper into the characters and their struggles. No more could I just revel in the magic of the Underground, but I, as well as Jae-Jones, had to confront my own demons and the demons of the characters.

On a technical level, this book is equally fantastic. It’s written well and has all the attributes of great writing. Jae-Jones’ style is a little more flowery than usually, but nothing that made me sigh with discontentment.

Yet the actual story was not like a continuation of Wintersong, but a supplemental companion that detailed different themes and different topics and different growths.

If you were expecting Der Erlkönig to have substantial page time, you will be sorely disappointed. Please prepare yourself accordingly (I, myself, will be searching up fanfiction to sustain all the angst still present inside me). If you were expecting magic, it’s still there to an extent, but not the same lilting sort of superficial enchantments you may have enjoyed in the first book.

It’s just different. There’s a huge focus on Liesel and Josef’s relationship which is a central part of this novel and a more minor part of the last. It dives deeper into the true souls of the characters and their own sufferings and madness.

I learned that Liesel has a form of bipolar disorder, following suit with the author, which is something I didn’t know originally and hadn’t really seen in the first book. Looking at the series as a whole, this is something I would have liked to see more present in the first novel because it kind of came out of nowhere to me in the author’s note where Jae-Jones explains some of her own experience and how she wasn’t ready to face this when writing the first novel.

It was definitely a more symbolic and less tangible representation of this and more of a “madness” that was present in the novel. I can’t comment on the representation and the #OwnVoices aspect of this which reflects Jae-Jones’ own experience, but I do think that I would have liked more foreshadowing for this part of book 2 in book 1.

We also learn a lot more about Josef (such a sweet smol bean) who’s all grown up and struggles with a ton of his own issues. We get chapters from his point of view, which is very exciting, and it’s slightly mentioned how he self-harms (TW) and his own lack of passion.

The characters embark on a journey in the aftermath, but I felt like not a lot happened despite the number of pages. They went to another country and then dawdled in a few places for what seemed like a good chunk of the novel and then all the climatic things (the traveling to the Underground mentioned in the summary) happened in the last hundred pages.

The ending felt a little short and anticlimatic in the aspect that it was very open and I was unsure of how everything wrapped up. It was much less literal than you might expect.

The entire novel is paced very well–it’s not like things are dull–but it felt like the pages weren’t contributing to the story and buildup as much as they did in the first novel. I still enjoyed what was happening, but in a different manner that was less excitement and more marvel.

Although the two novels feel pretty disconnected from each other, I would still definitely recommend lovers & readers of Wintersong to check this out. It’s different, but I think it’s worth it (and might even be better if you weren’t as much of a fan of the first novel).

The links will go live tomorrow (Feb. 6) with the blog tour!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for this review copy in exchange for an honest review.

I loved the follow up to Wintersong. Within the first novel I found myself deeply impressed with the level of mythology and world building that had taken place. This one is no exception and I found myself getting the answers that the first book had promised and a little more. Satisfying conclusion to a great two book series and I can’t wait to see what else Jones might write.

Shadowsong is the continuing story of Liesl and her dramatic story with the Goblin King. This book picks up right where Wintersong left off. I found this book to be just as good as the first but in different ways. The first book was poetic and the writing style reflected such. Shadowsong is much darker. We see a more manic side of Liesl. We also get to get into Josef's psyche a little bit. The book deals with topics such as self-harm and suicide. There is a number for the suicide hotline at the beginning of the book. Most books that deal with this topic do not do that so I did like that. Overall, the book was good. I did like the first book better but that's normally how these things go. I love how the author wrapped up the storyline.