I was ok with this book. It felt very detailed and the music part was so beautiful. It was interesting to see the bad side of a fairy tale and I love dark fairy tales but it just didn’t click for me. I really wanted to love this but it wasn’t for me.

So much cool stuff. Great characters. Amazing use of music. Loved it until she went into the underground to save her sister. Then nothing made sense it became a mess of plot poetry. Stopped reading at 41%. Couldn't take any more. Thanks for the free copy, Netgalley.

Liked the setting and the descriptions, but am not going to finish it. Just not a big fan of Young Adult, and if I read historical fantasy Young Adult, I'm extremely picky.

For a book set in 1700s Germany, it surely didn't try too hard to be accurate. Actually, it could have been set pretty much in any European country before 21st century.

However, if these types of things don't botter it, give it a chance!

The book is as beautiful as its title. The prose is lovely, lyrical, giving the reader the feeling of being surrounded in the story. Beware, this book will definitely drag you into it. You read so long, your eyes start to cross but you will refuse to put it down. .

Wintersong takes places in historically set Bavaria (19th century, maybe). Elisabeth and Liesl, are our our main characters. They are Inkeeper’s daughters. Elisabeth is the beautiful one, getting married to Liesl’s crush. Her brother is the talented one, training to becoming a master violinist. Elisabeth has a gift as well, the gift of composition, but because she’s a girl, her father scolds her for spending time on such stuff as musical creations. Instead, she is to be responsible and help with the care and running of their inn. He wants her to be a Martha, (Handmaids Tale reference.)

Elisabeth’s grandmother is rather superstitious and warns the girls about the Goblin King, which causes twinges of childhood memories to surface in Elisabeth’s mind. As the curtain between the Underground and the human world pulls away, Elisabeth’s sister is kidnapped by the Goblin King to be his bride. Elisabeth is tasked with trying to save her, but will she be powerless going up against the Goblin King?

Yet, I must warn you, there is a sequel but reader, you are in luck, as it was published in February of 2018. So cliffhanging won’t be your sport for long. It is entitled, Shadowsong, Wintersong #2

I love the story behind this, and the richness of the world built. But I just couldn't get into it. It kept grabbing me and then losing me. The characters felt like I was being repeatedly told who they were instead of showed, and finally I just had to put it down without finishing. Part of this as well could be the fact that I'm just a casual music type of person, a lot of the terms and comparisons were outside of my realm of vocabulary.

I loved that the story was unique, I loved that the music was interwoven in the story and even if I didn't know that much about music, it was easy to follow along. The storytelling was poetic and flowed smoothly, the author did such a fantastic job of weaving this story into pure magic.

I started reading this book. I was very captivating for most of it, but then it became repetitive. I stopped reading at 60%. I have stopped reading it, I don't know if I will pick it back up.

So beautiful! Labyrinth was one of my favorite movies growing up, so reading a story just as lovely (and knowing it will have a sequel!) was great!

The first third of the book seemed shaky and unsure, but once things ventured into the “Underground” you could tell this was what Jae-Jones had really wanted to write about. The plot of the story was good and reasonably well structured. I LOVED that there was such a heavy influence of music and music composition worked into this story. I have only studied music leisurely in my life so while I understood some of the references and terminology, some of it was a little over my head. I could see someone with a heavy background in music really enjoying this though. I wouldn’t be surprised to find the Jae-Jones has some education in music. I also enjoyed the underlying current of foreboding and darkness surrounding the plot, it made it very intriguing.

The two main characters – The Goblin King and Elisabeth – were well developed and enjoyable. (Yes, even the perceived “bad guy” was an enjoyable part of the story.) The remainder of the characters were sadly less developed. I think her sister Kathe and the two goblin girls that attend to Elisabeth were okay, but they could have used more depth. But the one character I had a hard time connecting to was the one character that Elisabeth seemed most connected to – her brother, Joseph. Elisabeth laments a lot about her siblings in this story, but I had a hard time feeling that connection and connecting with her feelings about them. I often forgot about their impact on the story because of this.

The writing was only okay in the beginning, and got better towards the end. Not the best, but definitely not the worst I’ve read. In the beginning there were a few too many cliche descriptions for my taste. (For example, “I could say the stranger was beautiful, but to describe him thus was to call Mozart ‘just a musician’. His beauty was that of an ice storm, lovely and deadly” *gagging noises*) As if she wasn’t sure what she was doing in the beginning….it got better towards the end, which helped improve my opinion quite a bit. What started as cliches turned into something more closely related to beautiful prose. So basically, you wont want to pull you hair out once you get past the first third of the book.

Mild spoilers ahead….

The only other thing I really had an issue with was the physical/carnal relationship between Elisabeth and the Goblin King….I wont go into detail so that I don’t completely ruin it for anyone else, but it was super confusing to me. Which upon reflection is weird because at one point I wondered if I had stumbled into some mild erotica and yet their physical relationship baffled me. How can you write scenes that make me wonder if I’m reading erotica and then confuse me on what exactly is going on with the physical relationship these two characters have?? Odd. I’m hoping for clarity in the next book….

End of mild spoilers.

All in all, I really did enjoy this book and I’m definitely looking forward to the next one. If you’re looking for a fantasy based change of pace, this may be a good one to pick up if you like music, fairy tales, and foreboding.

This book was very slow at getting to plot. I barley finished.

Wintersong is the first book in the Wintersong series. This can be read as a standalone. There are some sexual scenes. While I was really looking forward to reading this book, I was somewhat disappointed. I expected something more than what the author delivered. The book isn't bad but I found it just average. I'm not sure if I care enough about the characters to read the next book or not. Time will tell.

This breaks my heart more than anything, but I just couldn't get into it or finish it. I made it a good chunk of the way through; however, I found myself not wanting to read it and just not invested into the story. I think I went in with too high of expectations after hearing that it was loosely a Labyrinth retelling. The more I read the more I wasn't really connected to the story. I wanted to see more of the relationship with the Goblin King and Lisle, but I found those moments were lacking.

I don't read a lot of fantasy any more. I still enjoy it; I've just gotten out of the habit. Wintersong appealed to my love of music - I'm a singer and a cellist - and my need for something light, but not fluffy.

From the first page, I felt immersed in the world S. Jae-Jones had created. I loved the way the language felt true to the period, like reading a fairy tale in its original form, and I loved the way magic and myth and music were all interwoven into a perfect tapestry of love - love of home, love of art, love of family, and romantic love.

While I waited months after downloading this book to actually read it, once I did (on the night before the sequel was released) I literally stayed up all night to finish it. I haven't done that in ages, and, in truth, I'm getting too old for such things, but it was worth it.

In fact, I loved Wintersong so much, that immediately upon (eventually) waking up the morning after I'd finished it, I immediately purchased Shadowsong, and finished THAT by dinner.

Goes well with: spiced cider and pfeffernusse cookies.

Where do I start with Wintersong? When I read the blurb, I thought that this book was going to be a rip off Labyrinth. Everything screamed it. But, as I got into the book, the more I understood that this was NOT a rip off Labyrinth. Instead, I got an excellent and mystical take on the Johan Wolfgang von Goethe’s poem “Erlkonig“.

Wintersong is set in close to turn of century Bavaria. The exact location where Liesl and her family lived was not discussed. Saying that I did think the author built a very rich and complex world around that village. I wish that more was discussed about the actual country itself.

The plot of Wintersong was interesting. Liesl has grown up with stories about The Goblin King. Her brother Josef and herself would escape from their duties and head to Goblin Hollow. There they would play music for The Goblin King. She grew up and started assuming more duties at the inn her family ran. Which meant that she didn’t have time for anything childish. One night, Liesl’s younger sister, Kathe, is taken away by the goblins. Liesl saves Kathe by agreeing to become The Goblin King’s bride. She soon realizes that there is more to The Goblin King than meets the eye. Decisions must be made if Liesl is to survive The Underground. Decisions that will affect everyone she has ever loved.

I was kind of iffish on Liesl when the book started. She came across as a jealous and a little bitter. But as the book wore on, I realized that it was not jealousy or bitterness. While she was happy for her siblings, she was aggravated that she would be the one stuck at the inn with her parents. Her character didn’t come fully to life until she went to The Underground. It was then that I got to see a different Liesl.

Out of the siblings, I liked Josef the best. He fought to get Liesl’s compositions recognized by their father. He wanted Liesl to be recognized as much as he was. Valued as much as he was. He hated to leave her but he had a chance to get out and he took it. Of course, there is a twist with him. A twist that I should have seen coming but didn’t. When The Goblin King revealed it, I was as surprised as Liesl was.

I didn’t like Kathe in the first half of the book. Talk about a self-centered, spoiled brat. She complained about marrying Hans. She complained that Liesl didn’t pay much attention to her. She snooped through Liesl’s things. When Liesl dared to reprimand her…..she didn’t listen to her at the market. It was her carelessness that started the events that made Liesl The Goblin King’s wife. I did get a sense of satisfaction when Kathe was crying because she was the only one who remembered Liesl. Just a little. Then I felt bad.

Where do I start with The Goblin King? He started off the book as this villainous entity. But, as the book went on and more was revealed about him, the more human he became. But, even when he reveals everything to Liesl, he remained an enigma. That isn’t a bad thing. It makes me even more curious to read book 2.

Music was a huge factor in this story. Liesl was a secret composer and could play the violin. Josef was a violin prodigy. Their father used to play for the King in Salzburg. The Goblin King played. If there had to be a soundtrack to this book, I would say it would be almost all violin music and maybe some Bavarian folk songs.

I also liked the nod to Greek mythology once Liesl was in The Underground. I was comparing that part of the book to the myth of Hades and Persephone. Persephone is kidnapped by Hades, brought underground. Her mother Demeter was inconsolable and stopped everything from growing. Persephone convinced Hades to let her go above ground for a few months so that things would grow and thrive. Then she would go back underground and her mother would stop things from growing. The other nod to Greek mythology involved the Sirens and the River Styx. When Liesl goes to make her escape from The Underground, she has to cross a river that reminded me of the River Styx. In this river lived The Lorelei. The Lorelei were like the Sirens. They lured people to their death with their music. Like the Sirens.

I do wish that more background information was given on the goblins. I enjoyed reading about them but felt that their back story was lacking a bit. I hope that more is explained about them in the next book.

The romance aspect of the book did creep me out at first. I mean, The Goblin King has to kidnap women to get them to marry him. There is an alternative reason that is shared later in the book which took the creep factor out. But until then, I was like “Eh.”

The end of Wintersong made me cry. I don’t know if they were happy tears or sad tears.They were a mixture of both. All of the storylines were ended in a way that satisfied me. There was enough given so that the 2nd book could be written. I am hoping to read book 2. I need to find out what will happen to The Goblin King and Liesl.

Pros of Wintersong:

A) A strong female main character

B) Excellent references to Greek mythology

C) Strong musical theme throughout the book

Cons of Wintersong:

A) Kidnapping of brides

B) Not enough background on the goblins

C) Kathe (in the beginning and middle of the book)

I would give Wintersong a rating of Older Teen. There are sexual situations but the author (who wrote this for her 16 year old) was very vague. There is an orgy scene that is vague but you know what is going on. There is no foul language. There is some mild violence. Considering this, I would recommend that no one under the age of 16 read this book.

The only trigger warning I would give Wintersong is kidnapping. Other than that, it is trigger free.

Wintersong is a book that I would definitely recommend to family and friends. I would include a warning about the mild sexual situations and mild violence. I would also reread Wintersong.

I would like to thank the publishers and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review Wintersong.

All opinions stated in this review of Wintersong are mine.

**I chose to leave this review after reading an advance reader copy**

This book was not what I expected, and not in a good way. I initially received a copy of the second book in the series for review and needed to read the first one. I was able to get a copy of the first one through NetGalley (thank you!) and I forced myself to get through it quickly. I do not DNF books, I just take forever to complete ones I do not fully enjoy. This is one of those unfortunately. I really initially enjoyed the idea of the book, but then it seemed like all the ideas were in the book.

Side thought I am still trying to get clarification on, the German in this book I do not think was used correctly. I am just starting to learn the language and some of the words, and the sentence, it just didn't seem fully accurate? I am not too sure though.

Wintersong has gorgeous writing, and it reads like a fairy tale. While going through the story, it felt like a familiar tale, with retelling of stories we know, but rewritten to something darker, more seducing. I immediately want to buy the hardcover copy of this duology and read it there, because this certainly made to my favorite books I’ve read so far. The romance was twisted in the beginning, and it became more loving and not abusive by the end of it. Because it’s a fairy tale and the love interest has been so far from his humanity, I was okay with it, but if you have problems reading this kind of “angsty” relationship, maybe skip this book.

The world building was beautiful, and I loved so much the constant musical theme of this book and added some of the mentioned music to my playlist. It’s juts so beautiful, and listening to classical music while reading this is SO perfect. It was also a perfect read for a cold, snowy day.

I don’t think this book is for the very young adults, despite it being a YA. Maybe 16+.

From the reviews I’ve seen, Wintersong is a hit or miss with lots of people. To enjoy this book, I think you need to like dark fairy tales, romances, trickery and a touch of gothic.

What I Liked

This book just felt like I was reading magic. As soon as I opened up my ebook I was sucked into the book and I could not put it down. I think I read this in a total of only 3 sittings. The main reason behind it was due to the characters. I really enjoyed Liesl and as the book went on I liked her even more. She was real because she had her faults. I hate when a character is just too perfect, it makes the story seem so fake. Another reason was the descriptions, S. Jae Jones paints the settings so well. I could close my eyes and feel like I could see everything. This book just swallowed me whole, it invoked real emotions from me and broke my heart. While I would love to keep gushing, I am a bit afraid I would end up spoiling some things for you. Bottom line is, the characters are well written and the world is vivid and beautiful.

What I Didn’t Like

The one thing that was a problem only some of the time was the pacing. At times it did feel slow, but this was not a constant issue in the plot. Even though it is not a constant, it is worth noting before jumping into this book.

Overall Thoughts

I ended up very much enjoying this book. I plan on eventually picking up the next book in the series. It delivered on is promise of adventure, brave young women, and a lot of heartache. Between her feelings for her sister and what she needs goes through as she goblin realm there is a lot going on in this book. Overall if you enjoy retellings and fantasy, this book is for you.

Book Information

Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books

Publication Date: February 7th 2017

List Price: $18.99

ISBN: 9781250079213

Pages: 436 pages

I want to note that I received this book from Netgalley for this review. My review is honest and all thoughts are my own.

Wintersong was a haunting story with elements of folklore and romance. While the obsession with music and the musical terminology sometimes seemed heavy-handed sometimes overwhelmed the story, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The characters were rich, and the world building was sublime. I was saddened by the trials of the characters and compelled to keep reading to find out what would happen.

I kept picturing David Bowie as Jareth from the movie The Labyrinth whenever reading about the Goblin King. YUM. I wish the goblins would come and take ME away right now!

This is an amazing book, and I love how beautiful the world building is. I couldn't put it down, and I'm greatly looking forward to reading the next one in the series. Hard to believe that amazing book is the author's debut!

Much like Kathe's relationship with the Goblin King, my reaction to Wintersong was a weird mix of both love and hate. Maybe I just loved how much I hated it? But I didn't hate it all, I actually stayed up late into the night to finish it. I'm confused, but so is Kathe so at least I'm in good company.

Wintersong is part fantasy, part horror, part romance, and nearly as dark and mysterious as the Goblin King himself. I liked it a lot...I think.