I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Oh dear. Well...let's see if I can break down my thoughts on Wintersong.

Pros:
-Gorgeous cover...I mean seriously, look at this thing! Sooo pretty!!!
-Use of folklore
-Creative premise. While I've never even seen Labryinth (which this is supposed to be based on), I'm guessing based on other reviews that this is a benefit rather than a detriment. Taken on it's own merits, this <i>could</i> have been an interesting story.
-Focus on a talented female who is not of her time
-The actual writing was well done and there are some beautiful phrases in the book.

Cons:
-Wishy-washy main character. She's smart and then she's not, she hates the Goblin King and then she doesn't. It was all just a little jerky and Jekyll/Hyde for me. I think it was supposed to giver her depth but instead it just made her come off as slightly bi-polar.
-Lack of world-building.
-Lack of both plot and strong characterization. The story could have easily been 150 pages short because there is not enough that happens to made this book plot driven but the characters are not developed enough to make this a character focused piece either. In my opinion, you've got to have at least one of these things and there wasn't enough of either for my liking.
-Excessive focus on music. Don't get me wrong, I love music. But <i>reading</i> about somebody writing/playing music for 50+ pages....didn't work for me. I also felt like it limited the character (see my previous point). We knew that Liesel loved music and was not a good looking girl. That's about it.
-The Romance. Didn't get it, couldn't ship it.

In summary:
High hopes for Wintersong but disappointed. While not a <i>bad</i> book, it falls short when compared to other recent YA fantasy books I've read.

It was a great effort by S. Jae-Jones. The author did a great job with the dark setting and vivid imagery. The premise is similar to Sarah Maas’ Court of Mist and Fury. It was hard not to compare the two books. They both had some great writing but I seemed Wintersong was a stronger effort.

I was a little disappointed in the ending. Not necessarily because our protagonists didn’t end up together, but because it felt like there was a lot of story left. Hopefully there would be a sequel. I left the novel seeing it more as a tragedy than a love story. How could you not feel for the Goblin King who was left alone with his responsibilities in the end?

The semi-graphic adult situations are too mature for my middle schoolers but I think high schoolers would enjoy it.

Thank you for the advanced copy.

"Wintersong" is a fairytale come to life, featuring Elisabeth (Liesl), the innkeeper's daughter, and the fabled Goblin King, Der Erlkonig. The Goblin King must steal a bride from the world above to maintain both the world above and the world below (of goblins and changelings and other magical creatures). The bride must die to fuel the spring and summer and take away the winter. This is the way it has always been. Liesl is a young composer at a time when it is impossible she should be anything other than a wife. She has been stifled and boxed, herself mostly hidden- as well as her memories of playing with the Goblin King as a child.

Liesl adores her brother, Josef, with whom she shares her music. She is jealous of her sister, Kathe, who is beautiful. Liesl is not blessed in terms of her appearance, and she is well aware of the fact. The Goblin King comes to choose a bride and takes Liesl's sister, Kathe. Everyone else seems to have forgotten Kathe ever existed, and the Goblin King challenges Liesl to a game for her sister's life. Will she choose the pretty lie or the ugly truth?

The story peels itself away in layers of lies and truths- what the bride means, what the king is, what Liesl and the King mean to each other. It evolves poetically and beautifully as does Liesl's music (oft a focus of the book). The prose is itself lyrical, and really elegantly written. The book is touching and harsh- it's a very emotional ride and impossible to put down or forget. Just like music, this story speaks to the soul.

I am surprised this is a YA book- it has some very adult content (in terms of consummating the marriage) and is much deeper than most YA books will go. This is also not a book which could or does finish with everything wrapped up with a pretty bow. I don't want to give spoilers, so I won't say much, but this is not a story which ends with an across-the-board happily ever after. I see the comparisons to "Labyrinth" but I think this is something else entirely, and it reminds me more of the older fairytales which contained ugliness amongst the beauty.

Overall, this was a beautiful and fantastic read- I am very curious to read more from this talented author. Please note that I received an ARC from the publisher through netgalley. All opinions are my own.

I really wanted to like this one. I am not sure if it was the fact that I started this novel in the middle of moving, but for some reason I could not really get into it. I put it down and just had no urge to get back to it.

Thanks Netgalley for this ARC. My review is entirely my own.

Whimsical, poetic, and sexy, Wintersong will entrance you as surely as though under the spell of the Goblin King.

The story is really divided into two parts, neither of which I can truly spell out for fear of spoiling the plot, but both have their individual strengths. The first is a journey of sacrifice, and the second is a journey of self-love and freedom. Both parts are riveting and magical in entirely different ways, and in both Liesl is completely different person. While some may be put off by Liesl's character, I actually admired her much more than most MC's we see today, if only because she was REALISTIC. She had flaws! She made mistakes! And I found myself admiring her even more for it. While I did tend to skim over the moments she mulled in self-loathing, they were usually easy to forgive.

Overall, prepare yourself for a whimsical, mysterious, magical ride.

Thank you St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book.

I am not usually a huge fantasy reader, but I was intrigued when I saw this was about a Goblin King.

This starts off with an Overture, which is fitting since so much of this book revolves around music. I really enjoyed the Overture. Then we get started on the story. The first chapter was pretty intimidating. You are introduced to so many characters and aspects of this world. I was a little taken back with learning everything so quickly. Even the characters have two or more names (example: Elizabeth, Liesil, and Frauein are all the same person). I know some of this makes sense once you get farther into the story, but it was a lot to take in at once with character and plot building.

By the second chapter, you start seeing the suspense the Goblin King is bringing and these were my favorite parts. This is what sucked me in. I really enjoyed the market scenes and the mystery behind the Goblin King in these scenes.

Then the Goblin King takes Kath, and Elizabeth is left playing "a game" with the King in which she needs to enter the Underworld to save her sister. The Goblin King has also erased all knowing of anything Kath in the real world to add a challenge to the game he has set up for Elizabeth. I liked that the grandmother, Constance, is also aware of the games and is still in the reality of what happened.

I found the parts solely focused on music dragging, and I preferred reading the parts involving the actual main characters. The writing was beautiful and I really enjoyed the descriptions of everything going on with the characters and the worlds. I was also a little annoyed with how much they focused on Elizabeth not noting her own self worth and how beautiful she really was. It was a little repetitive.

Overall, I was pleasantly surprised with this book and recommend it to any fans of Fantasy.

I’ll admit it: I went into this book with little expectations. It sounds terrible, but I never meant in a way that implied a potential lack of quality. I went into this book joking that, after reading its premise, as long as it gave me a sexy Goblin King upon whom I could project the image and persona of David Bowie’s Jareth from Labyrinth, then I would probably enjoy it no matter what.

And, at first, I would say that’s certainly what this book did. Der Erlkönig is mysterious and alluring in the way goblins and the fae appear in many a tale. While I am certainly no expert in the field of goblin lore, what bits I saw, I recognised with ease. But what was even more exciting was recognizing the Classical allusions this book drew — namely, that it evoked the myth of Hades and Persephone with a dash of Orpheus.

The story of Hades and Persephone is one that appears in many a fictional work — Beauty & the Beast, The Phantom of the Opera, V for Vendetta to name a few that are well-known — but it’s one that I think is fiendishly hard to do well. You see, I find that many a creator doesn’t know quite how to handle their Persephone. She is often too mewling, too timid, and she never quite ascends to being the equal of her Hades. That was the beauty of the myth: for all of its many issues involving the lack of consent and such in the early tellings (c.f. Hesiod’s Theogony), Persephone always ascends to the side of her husband as his equal.

The Ancient Greeks feared Persephone just as much as they did Hades, in some respects even more sore. She was the Queen of the Underworld while also a goddess of the spring; she is both life and death, and her movement between the world of the living and the Underworld controls the entire cycle.

So when I see that this story become about a girl — a young woman, really, who chooses to give herself up to the Goblin King, the one who is king of the Underground, for the purposes of playing with the laws of spring and winter, the very thing that controls harvests that mean life or death for humanity, it is no longer just the fluffy paranormal romance story story of a sexy Goblin King and some female protagonist I can (usually) forget with relative ease. This becomes a story of growth, of power and sacrifice, and, yes, of love as well. If you’re any kind of scholar or fan of Hades/Persephone myth, I think there are many things you are sure to enjoy seeing in this tale.

But, as I mentioned before, there is a dash of Orpheus, and I’d wager it’s little coincidence that this myth is directly referenced within the novel. Because, you see, there are not two main characters; there are three. Elisabeth, The Goblin King, and the music.

I didn’t know this book would be as much about music as it would be about the triumph of living and knowing thyself. But S. Jae-Jones’ poetic prose captures the ecstasy of music in its pages. It captures the qual parts joy and pain — that silent scream into the void we offer up from the depths of our soul when we listen to music that moves us, when we are inspired. When we dare, too, to bare our own souls to the world and create. It captures both the wild abandon and the fragile tenderness.

And in its final chapters, this haunting, beautiful book gripped its heart in its talons and wrung every bit of pain and joy from it so that I was feeling everything, all at once. It sunk its claws into my soul and I will admit that I was having a hard time holding back tears. Something about this book and the way that S. Jae-Jones wove together myth and music and magic struck a chord deep within me, and I got so much more out of this book than I ever expected to.

I was intrigued to read this book after seeing the book summary...I love a good love story with twists and turns...but I found this to be a little lacking overall. I love the goblins of the underworld; they provide the most interesting scenes, titillating information bits, thorny handmaidens-my favorites. The main character had a spotty memory of childhood. I wish her sister had been fleshed out a bit more as a character in the beginning-she was the necessary prop and bait to entice the REAL wanted bride. The love of music drew the two together, but plot points of the brides losing all senses, especially with consummation, seemed a bit odd and not as engaging. I appreciate the ending that did not demand togetherness; those time of endings do linger in the mind. Overall good effort.

Gah I wish I could write my review now! But the publisher asked me to hold off. Let's just say for now that I loved this! It was everything I expected and more. It was beautiful and bittersweet.

Gorgeous, immersive setting. A few plot details felt unresolved (like the changelings), but overall I really enjoyd it!

Beautifully dark and masterfully seductive, Wintersong is the tale of Elisabeth, a year bug woman who gives up everything to save her sister and her world from eternal winter. Trapped in the Underground with her mysterious new husband, she finds herself devastated and inspired, lost and re found, broken and reshaped.

While there are many similarities to the plot line of the film Labyrinth, I found myself thinking more of Clare B. Dunkle's The Hollow Kingdom, albeit a much darker and more hedonistic version. Fantastically written, this reads much like a twisted fairytale, set in a kingdom of goblins with a beautifully troubled king and a devastatingly flawed heroine - true characterizations of humanity. The magic embuing the story pulls the reader on even as the tale is shrouded in mystery and mysticism.

An absolutely magical read for all those interested in a little darkness with their fairytale, a little seduction with their magic, a little music in their madness.

Thanks to the publisher for an advance digital copy in exchange for a fair review!

I loved Labyrinth when I was younger and that was one of my main reasons for being interested in this book.

Elisabeth is a decent MC. She's loyal to her family and adores her brother and sister. The passion she has for the music is one of the best things about her and this story. I was captivated at every scene she was composing. The Goblin King is quite interesting and I'll just leave it at that because maybe it's spoilery.

I loved the overall mystery and slow burn, yet I would get quite bored at the same time. I wanted more between Elisabeth and the Goblin King. Even the explanations we got didn't seem like enough. And by the time I got to the ending {which I absolutely hated}, I wasn't clear on anything.

Don't get me wrong, I did enjoy this book, but there was definitely something keeping me from being able to love it.

**Huge thanks to Thomas Dunne and NetGalley for providing the arc free of charge**

**my review will post to my blog on 1/8/17. I will add a link to the blog post once it goes live. The review has been posted to Goodreads already. I will post to Amazon once it is released.**



Wow. It's not often that a book leaves me speechless. But, this one did. All. The. Feels.

Wintersong is a lyrical, beautiful re-telling of a fairy story. The old-as-time story of love conquering the wild unobtainable beast, the Goblin King in his Underworld. The Goblin King needs a wife from the land of humans above. He must marry a woman who willingly offers herself. There have been many. And, the tale is always the same. Living in the underworld takes its toll, and the women slowly die. All except one long ago. The one he let go.

Liesl is growing up. She loves music. Composing music is in her soul. But it is her younger brother who will receive the education at the hands of a master. He is a boy. And, she is a girl. Education and a life as a musician is not for her. She might marry and have children. But perhaps not. She is not beautiful like her sister. She is plain. And often forgotten, even by her own family. She feels the injustice, the jealousy, the anger at being blocked from following her heart.

She has forgotten that long-ago she met the Goblin King. Many years ago when she was a little girl they played, they talked, they were friends. And he asked her to marry him someday.

Now he's back. His magic changes the very world around her. She must face her own faults, her own emotions, her very soul in order to save the life of her sister, whom he has taken. But, is defeating the Goblin King really winning?

I read this book in one night, as it snowed outside. I couldn't put it down. The story is beautiful. Raw emotions. Wildness. Abandon. Love. Sorrow. Loss. Growing up hurts. Love hurts. But it is also gloriously beautiful.

I couldn't help but compare this story to one of my favorite films of the 80s, Labyrinth.: In fact, the author even states she wrote this story as a more passionate re-telling of the Labyrinth tale. In my mind's eye the Goblin King looked like a young David Bowie. I couldn't help it. Talented, musical, free, wild, unusual. I was saddened at Bowie's death in 2016. He was such a gifted musician and performer. This tale brought him back to life for me, if only for a moment. Back as the Goblin King. But this time, the story isn't a children's tale. This story is much more than a child's story. Love. Passion. Real Decisions. The choices we all have to make when we cross from child to adult. The decisions that set our life-path and make us what we Become.

It's all in the Becoming. That point in life where you give your absolute all to something. The time when you gift your soul. The moment when you value someone or something more than yourself. It's painful, beautiful and truly freeing. That's what this story is about.

Becoming.

Wintersong is a truly beautiful book, inside and out. The cover art is the best I have seen in a long time.

Releasing February 7th from St. Martin's Press, Wintersong is S. Jae-Jones' debut novel. To find out more about the author and her book, check out her website at http://sjaejones.com/

I've been a huge fan of JJ ever since I started following PublishingCrawl YEARS ago. I though it was so cool that she was an artist too, and when she got her book deal announcement, I was ecstatic that it was a Labyrinth retelling. I loved that movie. I followed her newsletter and kept up with all the changes, from NA to YA it made (I'm still hoping those NA scenes will be available sometime to the public ;] ) and my most favorite thing, the art! I thought it was so cool that JJ was able to implement her art in the book! As an artist and author, it really inspired me into hoping maybe I could do the same in the future.

The first thing I noticed about this book is that it's long! Over 400 pages long!
Already in the beginning you can see how different the retelling is from the Labyrinth movie. Instead of the main character loving fairy tales and books, she loves music. The whole family is a musical family, except for the younger sister, Kathe, who is an added character. Instead of a younger being wished away, Kathe is stolen.
There are some scenes that are similar to the movie, but they end there, with small similarities. The goblin's dance, the games. Everything is darker, grittier and sexier. I had read that this book had originated as an adult book--a really adulty adult book, and then was cut down to YA in JJ's newsletter. Since I had this in mind while reading, I could definitely see where certain scenes would have escalated and had been embellished on before the edits. ;)

And the Goblin King is a much deeper character than the mysterious and elusive goblin king of the movie. I would say that the movie is a good touchstone for some things, but Wintersong is something completely on its own.

With it's combination of folklore, fantasy, arts, and music, Wintersong is like dreamy read. The pacing was a bit slow for me-whimsical really, which other readers would probably like a lot more. If you liked The Star-Touched Queen, then you'd probably like the dream-like motions of this book.
One last thing that I found interesting, after my read, was that JJ posted in her newsletter that Liesl is actually Bipolar. After reading that it made me re-analyze the book and the character.

If you haven't already, you should definitely sign up for her newsletter because she gives such interesting inside information to the writing and publishing process.

Also, her and Kelly do a Podcast all about publishing and books and all the things. So you should check those out as well!

Liesel knows the story of the old ways and about the Goblin King. She follows her grandmother around putting salt on the window and door frames to keep him out of the house. At least she does until her brother is having a concert trying to become an apprentice to a master violinist. Then she follows her mother's demands. She also loses her sister...

Thomas Dunne and Net Galley allowed me to read this book for review (thank you). It will be published February 7th.

Every time I hear the words Goblin King, I think of David Bowie in the movie Labyrinth. He looked otherworldly and acted just like you would think a Goblin King would. The whole time I read this book it was like he was with me again. Yes, I had a crush on him.

Liesel had played in the woods with the Goblin King as a child and she promised to marry him then. But as she grew older, she forgot him. He didn't forget her. When he came looking for a wife, he knew who he wanted.

She knows he's magical. She can see him when others can't. When her sister Kathe falls under his spell and goes to the underground with the Goblin King, Liesel is determined to get her back. Unfortunately, there's only one way. She has to stay and be his wife.

This is a tale of fantasy that spoke to me. Liesel has her music, a fondness for the Goblin King, and no one notices her at home. Why not stay? Soon she finds out she misses her family, her siblings especially. It doesn't help that she has a mirror that shows her family. She decides she made her choice and she'll live with it. Or perhaps I should say die with it. But the Goblin King falls in love with her...

I enjoyed this fantasy story and the romance although the ending is a bit sad. Most tales of magic are not all sweetness and light and this one isn't either. It is a good read, though.

I enjoyed this fantastic journey with German folklore and music, and intricate world building. I don't think my teens will flock to this one, unfortunately.

Beautifully, poetically written, with deeply engaging characters, and a hearty dose of steamy romance. However, something about the pacing of this book felt a little flat to me. It's hard to put my finger on it, but I didn't enjoy it as much as I expected to. Possibly it's because I felt a little letdown by the ending.

I like this book a lot, but I don't love it. Despite the enchanting setting and fantastic world building, despite the lore on which the story is based, despite the capriciousness of the goblins and menace of the changelings and the dangers of the Underground, this is very much a character-driven book. Because of this, I felt like so much of the story's world building elements either went to waste or wasn't used effectively. More on that below.

The first act is PHENOMENAL. Liesl must venture into the Underground to save her sister who the Goblin King has kidnapped for Reasons. It's high stakes, tense, heartrending, frustrating, and somehow also unsettlingly sexy. The world building is fantastic and the writing is excellent.

The second and third acts fell a little flat for me though. There was still magic and secrets to unravel and the Goblin King was still mysterious and sexy and dangerous, but it just didn't have the same tension. Nothing much happened for pages at a time. There were several instances where Liesl just sort of moped around, pining for one thing or another. So much could have been done with the Underground or with the goblins, but they either didn't live up to the promise of their potential or they were wasted.

I think my main problem with this book is the lack of lasting consequences. Terrible things happen, but they're almost immediately reversed. Their point lies entirely in what they were able to teach Liesl about herself/the world/other characters with no lasting ill effects on the world itself. Liesl even says at one point that there was no harm done after she nearly condemned the world above to eternal winter. There were simply no consequences whatsoever despite the continual *promise* of them.

But as I said, this is a character-driven novel, so if we focus just on Liesl's character arc, it's still a great book. Liesl and the Goblin King are compelling characters. They're complex, with shades of good and bad and everything in between. The writing is lyrical and magical and strange, and wrought with musical language, both literally and figuratively because Liesl's family is one of musicians, singers, and composers. I confess there were times I couldn't follow along because I wasn't familiar with the musical terminology. That's also a connection that Liesl and the Goblin King share, which is a really prevalent theme in the book.

The heart of this book was Liesl discovering who she was outside of the shadow of her siblings. While plotwise, there were no lasting consequences, Liesl herself does change. She transforms from girl to woman, taking ownership of her own musical talents and learning how to love herself entirely. She is selfish and selfless, and her journey is a complicated one.

I’d like to thank St. Martin’s Press, S. Jae-Jones, and NetGalley for the eGalley of Wintersong in exchange for an honest review.

***3.5 Stars***

Plot

Wintersong weaves the tale of Kathe, a young woman who has more than her fair share of duties in her home. Kathe’s father is a fallen musician who is mostly inebriated, Mother is more of a partner in running the household, younger sister is seen as the beauty, and younger brother is a musical prodigy. Kathe herself is musically talented, specifically in composition but has set that aside in favor of helping her brother perfect his craft and one day gain notoriety. Besides the fact that she is running the household, her gender is one of the reasons for which her father discourages her from taking interest/composing music. As young children both Kathe & her young brother Josef would play their music in the Goblin Grove for the Goblin King, a mysterious figure who played music with them. As time passed & Kathe’s responsibilities grew, the Goblin King was slowly forgotten. That is until Kathe’s sister is taken by the Goblins into the Underworld by order of the Goblin King. Kathe finds her way into the Underworld and strikes a bargain with the King to release her sister…A life for a life…she will remain in the Underworld & marry the King and he will let her sister return to the land of the living. Although it may seem harsh at first, Kathe’s “selfless” deed is a bit selfish. She is tired of being unseen , unheard, not beautiful, and cast aside in the shadows of her younger brother’s musical genius. What Kathe didn’t know, was that her sacrifice was much heavier than at first it seems. Kathe & the Goblin King reconnect through their love for music & soon enough a love for each other. As long as her passion shines bright, the Underground will sustain and the land of the living will see Spring instead of being thrust into a deep dark never ending winter…she is essentially it’s life force all while she physically fades away…

Characters

Our main protagonist Kathe isn’t your typical YA character & this was both a good and I wouldn’t say bad thing, but definitely someone to get used to lol. She is very much aware of her musical talent & oftentimes a bit of envy sneaks up when she is helping her brother Josef in composition. Josef is precise, he has been able to play the violin since the age of 5 while Kathe is wild passion and emotion in her composition. She also looks upon her younger sister’s beauty & is self-aware of what comes across as her own plain Jane appearance (nothing wrong with a plain Jane *winks*). Her sister is already betrothed to someone that Kathe also can’t stop herself from wanting for herself. It isn’t so hard for her to (at first) to leave this life behind in favor of one where she is the center of the Goblin King’s attention & her musical abilities are praised. We get to see major character development with Kathe which I came to appreciate because it provided a better understanding of all her underlying emotions. Although her family were central to her story, they also weren’t the focus & were more in the background of the story. The Goblin King himself is actually perfectly suited for Kathe in many ways lol, he’s pretty arrogant and controlling which probably can be credited to being immortal & seeing many brides come and go. He’s also musically talented and although he comes off as having this jerk-like exterior, can actually be a decent guy…it’s a common trope, I know but it happens to work well in Wintersong. This is a a 448 page book and the author gives us full on character development & history. The Goblin King’s history is interesting and I can understand how his story and how he came to be the king of the Underworld, molded him into such a undesirable character. I wasn’t a fan of the Goblin King, particularly because of his selfishness which he fully owns up to. Also, certain parts regarding Kathe’s appearance & what he thought of her made me a bit squeamish. I appreciate however, that these characters weren’t your typical cookie cutter personalities found in YA. They were flawed & complex, which oftentimes led to me holding back judgement until I got more story. There were however, two characters that I ABSOLUTELY loved and couldn’t get enough of. Twig & Thistle are two Goblins who are tasked with the not so easy job of tending to Kathe’s needs & wants as Queen of the Underworld. Although all Goblins can’t be trusted, Twig came as close to a friend to Kathe as possible. Twig is the sweeter of the two Goblins. Thistle is Twigs opposite, sarcastic & not happy whatsoever with having to tend to Kathe. Twig is also very vocal about this and gets a kick out of withholding information from Kathe. Thistle’s mischief really added the Goblin touch & those scenes were very entertaining.

Writing & Final Thoughts

The writing in Wintersong is beautiful, atmospheric, lyrical, and dark which managed to keep me enthralled whenever I picked this book up. However, there were two things that I struggled with just a bit. This is a slow paced book which typically I don’t have any problems with, however it may just be the dark mood and setting that made this one feel a bit too slow. The second issue I had isn’t really one that bothered me too much but it did affect the reading experience a bit, the heavy use of Classical music terminology. Its been years since I took the basics of Classical music in college but that didn’t help me much here. Although one can easily say that it’s not necessary to be knowledgable of the subject, because it was such a focal point & the author used a lot of terminology…I did feel left out of the story on more than one occasion. I won’t however, take away from the writing because it is seriously some of the most beautiful writing I have come across. I also couldn’t stop diving back into this world which leads me to the excellent world building. The Underground came to life through vivid description, the author left nothing out down to the Goblin furniture. I loved the attention to detail that was given in creating this world & can honestly say it played out like a movie for me. I will most definitely keep an eye out for this author’s future works & recommend Wintersong for those who love great world building, Romance, Fantasy, lyrical writing, and especially those who enjoy Classical music/Composition ;)