2.5 Stars

This started out SO good, but slowly fizzled down to me skimming just to finish the book. The premise for this book is very interesting and the games the Goblin King plays are riveting, but Liesl's constant self-doubt and ugly thoughts of herself began to wear on me. She's always seeking validation and it made me dislike her.
The goblin king gave me major whiplash with his behavior and riddles.
The goblin world was confusing and just cruel for no reason.
The ending just got really boring and repetitive and the ending was really unsatisfactory, for me. I know there's a sequel, but I just felt it was an odd place to leave the story.

Wintersong is a timeless story that has been beautiful written in such descriptive detail that you are thoroughly submerged in their world the entire book. The story its self almost seemed like a retelling of Labyrinth mixed with Beauty & the Beast and a bit of Hades/Persephone. Yet even with the similarities, Wintersong was uniquely its own.

Wintersong is the first in a two part series, and I was very happy to see that this book had a proper ending in its own right. You can tell that the story will continue but rather than a cliffhanger, it is more of a tiny ledge.

There is a strong theme of love throughout the book. Love of family, love of childhood memories, love of personal talents - in this case music, and most importantly, love of self. I was very impressed with the self awareness that the main characters had. The scenery was described in a way that I had no trouble imagining how it looked. The biggest problem that I had with the book was the overabundance of music during the beginning. The music in this story is a main theme and quite honestly is almost its own character, so it's understandable that it is constantly mentioned. My issue is that for someone with little musical experience, the extensive and unfamiliar terminology is overwhelming. After a while, I just started skipping over the words and I'm sure I lost a little bit of the context of the story.

I was given a copy of this book from the publishers via NetGalley, in return for an honest review. Overall, I felt this was a great book, and would recommend it to those who love music, fantasy retellings, fans of Labyrinth or Renee Ahdieh.

First off, thank you Netgalley for this copy in exchange for an honest review.

"You are," I said, "the monster I claim."

The story was beautifully written. I loved the darker fairy tale vibe. The Underground wasn't a place of magic. It was creepy and filled with not so pretty creatures. In spite of all that the Goblin King made it beautiful. I loved the kind soul within the monster. He was my favorite character. The music was the main part of the story. It is how they found each other, found their selves.

"I am the rhythm, he is the melody. I provide the bass continuo, he the improvisation."

It did get confusing at one point. I had to make sure I didn't skip some chapters because there were a lot I felt that I lost. It got a little slow in the second half of the book. There was just that... something missing.

I can't wait to read the mysteries behind the Goblin King himself in Shadowsong.

The author created a beautiful world. A world in which anyone can fall in love in. Great character building and story telling. Those that are fans of Uprooted by Novik would love these read. Strong lead female characters that give them selves up selflessly for the ones they love. I hope that the Shadowsong is a strong read like Wintersong. I would keep this author in my update to new books link. Enjoy

I was interested in reading this book based first on the cover and then the book discreption. However, I was disappointed in the book. Some parts of the book was good but a lot of it was frustrating. The story dragged and occasionally had a good spot. Liesl was annoying, she constantly was whining about her looks and her music and it became old. The author had a good idea for a story but wasn’t able to pull it off.

This book was not great and a lot of the time I was reading it I felt like I had missed something and had to go back, but I hadn't there are just gaps where one thing happens and then cuts to something else and you're left feeling confused. The characters were not very well fleshed out or likable, and even though they talk about how they've changed it's hard to see the development in them. BUT this book constantly kept me intrigued as to what was going to happen next. I was constantly needing to know how it was going to end and I'm getting ready to start book 2 because I still need to know what happens next.

An excellent story combining elements of classic dark fairy tales and folklore with music and composition. I found the second half to be a bit heavy in the transition, but overall quite a good read.

This book is part one of a duology and, like it's title, is an enchanting melody composed of a sadness, family, and a lot of heart. The author's words are captivating and transport you to the Underground itself. I think this book is beautiful, but I also don't think it is for everyone. It's not your typical Happily Ever After (yet?). Wintersong is tragic and leaves your heart crumbling. But I didn't mind because of how beautiful I found this book to be. I expect happiness in book 2, but I don't feel cheated of it in this part. I'm excited to see where the author takes the conclusion to.

“You are the monster I claim.”
I have never read a book that intricately blends the most beautiful with the dark as well as the author did here. It was absolutely captivating and one of the best works of fiction I’ve ever read. I loved every second of this and cannot wait until I can get my hands on the second book.

Let's start with how beautiful this cover is! Gorgeous! Or perhaps I just got lucky with a personal love for winter, snow globes and music. 

The Meat: Elisabeth, a 19 year old Hungarian girl feels nothing but low expectations for her average self compared to her sisters radiance and shine. After ignoring her grandmothers warnings of mythical dangers, Elisabeth travels a labyrinth of games to save her sister from an underground Lord. Only to, in the end (but really the book's middle), learn that she was the ultimate target. How she handles things from there is really when all the 'feels' come into plot.

This book was unlike any other that I have read. Such unusual writing style paired with a much higher lexicon than I am used to in the young adult genre. So unique, I will have to read the second/final to this duology (Shadowsong, released Feb. 2018) 

I experienced an array of feels while finishing this story. Everything between happiness and laughter to heart-wrenching, teary-eyed sadness. 

Things that might attract your attentions towards this book: #labyrinth, #fiction, #fairytale, #germanlanguage, #music, #violins, #persephone, #youngadult, #ya, #love.

The Quick Cut: Girl goes looking for her missing sister. Girl discovers she's been kidnapped by the Goblin King, who requires the girl to play his twisted games to rescue the sister. Chaos and adventures abound.

A Real Review: Thank you to Thomas Dunne books for providing a copy of the book in exchange for a fair review.

This book snuck up on me like a ninja because it started out slow and unassuming, but soon enough became so intriguing I had to finish it that night! It takes some fairly unexpected turns that I didn't expect I'm the moment and by the end, I was left wondering "How did we get here?!?!"

Now I'm just getting ahead of myself though. The leads of our book are Liesl and the Goblin King. Liesl is older sister to her younger sister, Kathe, who disappears. When Liesl finds Kathe, she finds her in the arms of the Goblin King and life as they know it effectively ends. And so does this book because it takes a dynamic turn pacing and feel wise, albeit for the better.

Liesl's such a giving character, to a flaw. She suppresses everything she wants for what she perceives as her responsibility I'm the family. Hell, she has a younger brother (that I won't even begin to touch the drama there) that she gives up her music for to make his dreams come true. A little excessive right? Got to love those giving types, I did this too to some extent in my younger years.

The Globlin King at first gives off an opposite vibe. Selfish, opportunistic, and dripping in sarcasm. However, he hides his true opinions and thoughts in analogies. You want his feelings? You'll need to psychoanalyze phrases like this:


“A candle unused is nothing but wax and wick,” I said. “I would rather light the flame, knowing it will go out, than sit forever in darkness.”


Put these two together and the steam rises on its own because the banter is heavy and continuous. They bounce off each other and really do make each other more interesting to read. The more time they spend together, the more they begin to grow as characters too. Liesl learns to be selfish and pursue what she wants (plus truly deserves). The Goblin King opens up, stops hiding behind the fancy phrases and opens up to tell his real story, how he really feels.

This book is amazingly enjoyable and beyond the first section being a bit slowly paced, it's a fantastic romp. The characters are relatable, lovable, and grow in a way that makes you root for them. I look forward to seeing where the story goes in the sequel!

My rating: 4.5 out of 5

A breathtaking tale woven together by magic and music, love and sacrifice. About finding a way through the darkness and the lengths we will go to protect the ones we love. It will seep into your bones and haunt your dreams, and in the end, leave you gasping and yearning for more.

Mesmerizing, passionate and heart breaking. I can’t believe I waited so long to read this. Goblins, changelings, and fae beings, of a sort. I love fantastical books like this.

There’s something about the music aspect that sucked me in. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but I loved it. The way music is wrapped around her makes Elisabeth more powerful than she ever knew. This girl was filled with passion, it was overwhelming. I can’t wrap my head around how it surrounded everything about her. Her whole world was music. Her soul even.

I love the Goblin King. By the end of this story he had my heart. In fact, he broke my heart. My eyes were stinging by the end. He loved her so much. I could feel it through the pages, straight to my gut.

I am dying to dive into book 2 right now. My heart needs to be put back together. I can’t take this much pain.

“Once there was a little girl who played her music for a little boy in the wood. She was small and dark, he was tall and fair, and the two of them made a fancy pair as they danced together, dancing to the music the little girl heard in her head.”

This was absolutely fantastic and I loved every minute of it. Wintersong is a compelling fantasy story that ensnares you with it’s well-crafted characters and a darkly mysterious setting. Leisl has heard stories of the Goblin King since she was a child, when her imagination ran wild with music and secret playdates. But when Liesl’s sister Käthe is taken by goblins, she enters the Underground ready to sacrifice anything to save her sister, not expecting a connection with the Goblin King.

Things I Liked
The writing and tone is so whimsically fantastic. There’s a sense of wonder and yearning that Leisl had that you can’t help but be drawn in. There’s also a combative feeling - chilling and haunting, promising unexpected challenges. The tones perfectly reflected the Underworld and the Mortal world. The push and pull of these feelings captivated me and I couldn’t put the book down.

I really liked the characters. Leisl was such a fully realized character - I saw her passion, anger, guilt, hopelessness, and every emotion in between. While I didn’t live her jealousy of her siblings, they still had a good relationship that I could appreciate. I loved the Goblin King and learning more about Der Erlkönig and his origins as Lord of the Underground. He was so mischievous and had an alluring air of confidence.

The romance was so angsty and great. Leisl and the Goblin King had great chemistry and I loved that you could feel their history. I loved their banter and back-and-forths, each one had the power at one point or another. I also loved that they respected each other, even through their schemes and games, they saw each other as equals.

I loved the spending time Underground. Seeing the different goblins, seeing how their magic worked, seeing Leisil and the Goblin King’s game unfold - It was so great and it enchanted me.

I LOVED the ending. Honestly it was completely satisfying for me and I would have happy with it as a standalone (which I will pretend it is if I hate Shadowsong). But it was this perfect blend of bittersweet, hopeful, honest, and raw. It was such a great culmination of our character’s journeys so far.

So many quotes
“The wishes we make in the dark have consequences, and the Lord of Mischief will call their reckoning.” ←Tell me you didn’t get chills!

“As a child, I’d pretend to see him, Der Erlkönig, this mysterious ruler Underground … He was playful, serious, interesting, confusing, but he was my friend, always my friend. It was make-believe, true, but even make believe was a sort of belief.”

“After all, I was not a child of beauty; I was a child of the queer, the strange, and the wild.”

“I’m not a saint; I am a sinner, I want to sin again and again and again.”

Things I Didn’t Like
Some things got a little muddled when Leisl first got into the Underground. While it was one of my favorite parts of the story, the meddled time and confusion seeped through the page and I had a little trouble knowing what was going on at times. It was also difficult to connect with the characters at times, but not so much that it lessened the overall experience.

I just really loved this a lot and I was utterly captivated by the characters, the setting, and the story. It was so addicting and I couldn’t put it down. Wintersong is an alluring read that keeps you on your toes, wanting more.

I received a copy of the book from Wednesday Books via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book, like its MC, sets its own rules and runs on its own musical magic. It reminds me a bit of Maas' Court of Thorns and Roses, in that the MC falls in love with an otherworldly being, in an otherworldly world. At the same time, Wintersong is its own unique creation, with a love of music.

Whether or not you like music, the story draws you in, until you believe you can hear the magic of it.

The characters are well drawn. The writing style was great. The world building nicely developed.

Why then am I not giving it five stars?

The book, while well written, is different. I'm not a fan of dark eerie fae writing. And it runs like many other YA books - a girl can only find herself once she is loved by a man. eyeroll. At least this wasn't an insta crush where each party is ethereally beautiful. Somewhat.

Aside from that, it was well written. A beautiful piece merging romance and magic and music. It's just not my cup of different.

Liesl's grandmother has always told her frightening tales of the Goblin King, and as she grew up, she began to see them less as reality and more as fanciful tales.

Secretly, she composes spectacular and wild music in the Goblin King's honor even as she writes somewhat more sensible music tamed and shaped by her violin-virtuoso brother. In helping her brother seek a renowned Master to study under, she forgets to look after her sister, Kathe, who is soon to marry an old family friend. She doesn't see how unhappy her sister is, and how easily she could fall under the sway of supernatural forces looking specifically for vulnerable young women.

When the storied Goblin King snatches her sister, Liesl must match wits with an ages old man who appears paradoxically as young as herself, and who suffers from an all too familiar problem--loneliness.

An interesting telling of a labyrinth myth--Liesl is a girl who discovers she's been living life for others, and has to come to terms with the fact that in saving those she loves, she can also finally live for herself. I found the telling to be entertaining, and Jae-Jones deftly avoids a trope encountered far too often in YA fantasy--the self-centered and learned-helpless heroine. Liesl, while believably naive, manages to turn the pursuit of self into something other than self indulgence. Kept me reading all night. The companion book, Shadowsong, comes out in February 2018.

I really enjoyed Wintersong. It’s a tale about the Goblin King. It also felt like a Hades/Persephone retelling and I loved it.

There is excellent character development. The Goblin King grows from his initial selfish motivations, and Liesl grows from being in the background of her life to finding her own music.

I’m not musically inclined so some of the descriptions were lost on me. I appreciated the author not writing in explanations of the musical terms, it would have slowed to plot down.

The plot did drag after the first half, but I loved the slow world building once Liesl was underground.

The ending was bitter sweet and left it open for a sequel.

I’d recommend this books for fans of Stolen Songbird by Danielle Jensen.

This book is like a mixture of the labyrinth and the goblin market combined with a dash of being trapped inside a show globe. Weird? Yes! But I love it. I cannot begin to describe this heart wrenching fairy tale. If you're a bit whimsical and need a bit mystery with a touch of mischievous flare then you have hit the motherload. I was completely enthralled by all the characters and how their voices came to life so seamlessly without much guidance on my part. That was a rare treat and I find myself wanting more of this world the author created.

Der Erlkonig: The Goblin King and Lord of Mischief. As a child, Liesl played in the woods with him, and promised to marry him when they grew up. But watching over her beautiful sister, practicing music with her brother the prodigy, and the daily chores of running an inn with her mother has turned the Goblin King into a faintly remembered childhood game. When her grandmother warns that a new year is coming and the Goblin King will be seeking a bride, Liesl ignores the old ways and countermeasures, leaving her sister at risk. For what could a plain girl like Liesl offer that is more enduring than beauty? And so the trap is set “a life for a life,” and the goblins lure both women into a world where Liesl must choose: her sister and family, or Queen of the underground and life with the man who has lingered in the corner of her eyesight and sought after her for her entire life? The man who inspired her to compose more beautifully than anyone alive, who hungers for her, and who waited for the little girl to fulfill her promise. "When the Goblin King plays, he plays for keeps." Wintersong is perfect for anyone who ever loved Beauty and the Beast, The Phantom of the Opera, or Labyrinth.

Goblin King, romance, and the promise of Labyrinth fan fiction?! These are the details that suckered me into reading this book. Plus the mostly positive reviews on Goodreads were enough to really spark my interest.

Buuuuuut, I have to be honest this was not the book I thought it was going to be and I can't help shake this feeling of being a bit disappointed.

It was like reading a book that had all the right pieces, characters and ideas in place but just couldn't weave them together in a way that really jumped off the page and made it work. There were half flushed out, confusing relationships between the MC Elisabeth (also known as Liesel) and her siblings. As well as a complicated non-romance/romance that didn't really feel like anything truly special with the Goblin King.

Everything felt like it should have been more than it was, and the first half of the book was so completely different from the second half that it was a struggle to keep reading. There are moments of greatness in this book, but not enough unfortunately, you can really feel what this book could have been.



Thank you to Netgally for providing me with a copy for an honest review.