Wintersong: A Novel (Wintersong, 1) Hardcover – February 7, 2017

Oh, Wintersong. How woefully wonderful you are. I truly loved this book...even the parts I disliked. Why? Because every uncomfortable bit fit the tale so well. Marketed as a Labyrinth retelling, I personally felt more of a Hades/Persephone vibe, and I enjoyed the despair, the rage, the contrite, and seduction. For the most part. I would caution young readers that this book leans more toward the adult side in regards to sex. (And definitely does not depict a healthy relationship.) There is plenty of manipulation, trickery, and embellished fights. But the extreme highs and lows come along with living in the Underground, I suppose. The romance felt less suiting for YA's usual coming of age tale and more like the struggles of an early twenty-something...if, you know, marry a Goblin King, who does some pretty deplorable things. That being said, he's one of my favorite anti-heros I've read in a while. He gives just enough to evoke hate and love and rejection and sympathy in readers in one chapter (and every chapter after). I'm a little sad we didn't learn more about him. There are some religious references, which normally turn me off in YA, but this time, they added an extra layer of guilt and hope and remorse that I soaked up. There was one twist in particular that I never saw coming, and I loved it. I wish (ha! I wish!) we had a little more action and a little less focus on romance, but Jae-Jones' writing style is to die for. Her prose drips with emotion, and the music breathes life into the tragic story. The underlying tale of choosing yourself, to be selfish, to do what you want (and need) to do despite consequences was refreshing as well. I would absolutely recommend it to romance readers who don't mind an anti-hero as the love interest. Or a dark myth to set the tone. A poetic, bittersweet ending. But I hear there's a sequel. I'll definitely check that out. Also, the author recently did an in-depth interview about this book on the podcast, PubCrawl. Check it out after you read it. (They discuss spoilers, but it’s a fantastic interview.)~SATRecommend to: YA paranormal/fantasy romance readers (who don't mind sex scenes). Fans of Labyrinth, or the Hades/Persephone myth. Anti-hero as love interest.Favorite Quote: "Loveliness of the spirit is worth more than loveliness of the flesh." (294)Favorite Word: Ouroboros: a circular symbol depicting a snake, or less commonly a dragon, swallowing its tail, as an emblem of wholeness or infinity: I no longer marked the passage of time; yesterday was today was tomorrow, an ouroboros of hours that circled back on themselves. (pg. 317)

This was a glorified fanfiction. Everything just fell so flat and I TRIED SO HARD to like this book guys.First off-Elisabeth is just the worst. She is such an unlikable character. She was whiney, vain, selfish, and made the weirdest decisions that I just couldn't get behind. Reading through her was trudging!!! The Goblin King was an awesome, mutli-dimensional character (and probably the only thing from keeping this a 1 star review) and I wish the story was done through his perspective instead.Next-There WAS NO WORLD BUILDING in the beginning. So I had no idea where/when they are in this story!! The language hints at Bavaria, I think, but is it present day? Is it thousands of years ago? WHO KNOWS! The only world building we got was in the Underworld, and it was mediocre at best. Another small thing but it set the tone for me- every character had more than one name/nickname/birth name and everyone was throwing them around in the beginning of the book so it took forever to establish who was who (who calls their grandmother by their given name, really?!)Also-I just could not get behind the writing style and the theme of music/passion. I found that I could skip paragraphs (I didn't, just wish I had) and still understand 100% what was going on. It was repetitive and long winded with no point to do so. I love beautiful and flower text, but this was obnoxious. There was SO MUCH text about her music and it was insanely circular, unrelatable, and to the point where I did not care at all about it. And because the music is a major plot point for many characters, that definitely took away from the whole point of the book for me. But all of this could be because I just hated Liesel (Elisabeth) so so much.And Last-The story ARC was terrible. All the "action" (if thats what you want to call it) happened in the first 100 pages of the book. After that, its literally nothing but the Goblin King and Elisabeth going back and forth over a decision. This story was based on the labyrinth and we only had 2 paragraphs of her in a "labyrinth" (but we get chapters of the two whining-what!?). The whole second half of the book was a mute point anyway with how it ended in my opinion, but I digress.Overall, this story fell so flat. The main character was utterly annoying and the story felt like a schlepp through the mud. This was a burden to get through!

I would not call this your standard YA novel as it is not the usual boy meets girl or simpleton writing. Do not get me wrong, there are some YA books that are good but this one is complex and you can not just skim through it like your usual YA fair. What I loved most about it is that kept to the original stories of the Goblin King told throughout Europe. Growing up in Germany I heard many stories of "Der Erlkonig" and to be weary of the end of the year. Some of the old folk still put salt on the windows and door ways for protection. I originally bought this book because my teenage daughter told me that the description reminded her of "Labyrinth", which was one of my favorite movies growing up. (I also have read the book and yes, it is very very simple but hey, it's written after the movie.) If you're wanting a book based on folk lore of the Goblin King mixed with a little romance then I am sure you will love this. I did. It had romance, fantasy, and the music it conjured was beautiful. I enjoyed it all. It may not be for everyone. You must take your time reading it because even skipping one word, you will miss something. I feel that she will be writing a sequel. She left some unanswered questions. I won't ruin the story for you but I will say... it's all in a NAME...

I have to be really honest; i was so disappointed with this book! When i read the synopsis i thought 'yes, my childhood joy Labyrinth has inspired someone to make an awesome story'... no that is not what happened. Firstly, how has this woman not been sued; the story and characters are waaaay to similar to Labyrinth (there's a difference between inspiration and copying) from the enchanted peach to the Goblin King's differing eye colours. I also found it really slow, lacking in 3 dimensional characters and what the hell was all the music stuff about? It took a 1/3 of the way through the book for Leisl to actually get to the Underworld... the story before that seemed totally pointless and a lot of the events were really predictable... and not just because they were basically plucked from Labyrinth.So disappointed with this book.

ARC copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest reviewI can't remember the last time I felt so intensely conflicted about a book. Set in 19th C Bavaria, Wintersong tells the story of the Vogel siblings from Liesl's POV. Girls are warned by their provincial elders not to want too much, to be modest and hard working, to be chase or else Der Erlkonig will fetch them away. But to Liesl, who is genuinely plain (not plain in a 'I don't realise how gorgeous I am' kinda way) as well as strange, intense and musically gifted, the story is seductive. She does not remember the strange companion of her childhood, anymore than she lets herself think about the music she composes or the future she wishes she had - usurped by her adored younger brother - but Liesl has met the Goblin King; once upon a time they were friends...This is a folktale, a historical fantast and a lush, tempestuous romance all rolled into one. And as unbiased as I try to be in my reviews, I am very conscious of the fact that this was exactly the story I wanted to read at exactly the time I wanted it, told in pretty much exactly the way I wanted. So this is not an unemotional appraisal. Not that I can't see the flaws in the book. The structure does have a few wobbly moments and the narrative is occasionally over-written. It feels as if it could have done with another pass but the author ran out of time. That said the prose is gorgeous, the characters are complicated and engaging, and the plot is twisting and slyly gets under your skin. There were times when Liesl was actually thoroughly unlikeable but I couldn't help rooting for her and wanting to know what happened all the same. If you know anything at all about musical theory, that's how this book reads - like a sonata scored in musical notation. I would go a step further and say that the push and pull of the MC interactions, the dark undertone and the bittersweet nature of the story actually mirror a number of pieces of classical music or even opera. (Think Shubert's Death and the Maiden or Der Erlkonig, or Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake) And opera never has an entirely happy ending... I would be surprised if other influences didn't include the Persephone/ Hades myth, Beauty and the Beast, East of the Sun West of the Moon and the 80s classic film - Labyrinth.****SPOILER ALERT BELOW****But where I really came unstuck was the ending, which is the sole reason this didn't get 5 stars. I had not realised quite how hard I shipped the MCs and I didn't like the way it resolved. In fact I actually felt punched - which is no mean feat because not much catches me by surprise in books anymore. And obviously this is where I am being emotional rather than reasonable because I was so upset and angry with the ending, I've knocked off a star. As I said, it's been a long time since a book has affected me so badly.**** SPOILER END****All in all this was utterly fabulous. I do appreciate a good standalone (even though I wish this one wasn't). This is mature fairy tale fantasy for those who like their YA fiction with a bit more complexity and strength. Highly recommend for fans of Claire B Dunckle's Hollow Kingdom series or anyone who loves Labyrinth. Will definitely read the author's next book.

A beautifully crafted fairy tale with the most delightfully dark, magical and devious creatures within. Wintersong is set in a world where superstitious beliefs about the Fey may actually be exactly what they seem. Sprinkle that salt around the frames of your windows and doors folks because the Goblin King wants a wife, and the wall between our world and his is getting decidedly thinner this time of year.Kathe is exactly the kind of sister most big sisters dread. She is too curious, too trusting and too good at vanishing into the markets where the Fey pull you in with their sparkly tales and tasty fruits. They are a persuasive bunch. More so than Kathe's sister Liesl, who had one job - to keep an eye on Kathe to keep her safe from temptation; safe from the Goblin King and his mischievous fey. So of course, Kathe is taken by the Fey and Liesl needs to find her and get her back.I love Fey related tales so much, because a faeries mischievous trickery and ability to coerce their victims into playing cleverly worded games with them (that the player usually can't win anyway!) just entice me in. The first half of the book is exactly that; Liesl makes a deal with the Goblin King and has a limited amount of time to find her sister, all whilst the King tampers with memories, emotions and the way Liesl even views the world. It's a treacherous first half, and it is wonderful.The second half of the book becomes very different, almost a second book all to itself in fact. This let's you explore the land of the Fey all the more and the world building is spectacular, what with all the magical descriptions. Having said that, a pesky niggle remained on my shoulder like an evil imp for some of the read.Liesl isn't the easiest character to become attached to. Her frequent commentary on her plain, drab appearance compared with her beautiful sister really began to bother me. I don't care if Liesl is beautiful or not, but I certainly don't want to read about a girl hating on herself with no progression to acceptance. There's enough of that going around in the real world, I'd love to see heroines in YA embrace the weird and focus on more than aesthetics to empower readers. Equally, Liesl doesn't appear particularly strong willed at times. Without question, she is utterly determined to save her sister, no matter the cost. And that ferocity is brilliant to read about. But her fixation on the Goblin King's beauty just bored me. Maybe I've just got a thing about it, maybe not, but I kind of wanted the King to be ugly, gnarly and, well, basically a Goblin! But instead he's probably the most stunning Goblin I could possibly have heard about. What's wrong with beauty being in the eye of the beholder and all that? Or just gloriously hideous but wonderful characters nonetheless? I'd love to see more of that emphasised in fiction rather than staring into beautiful eyes (or dropping deliberate imperfections left like bread crumbs to make you see that the character is modest but is still actually beautiful).Regardless of my concerns about this, the story is difficult to not enjoy. I was detached from the characters, but the world building is so utterly magical and messed up all at once than it makes for the most wonderful reading experience. It's exactly as I felt reading a Grimm fairy tale; because why should all fairy tales have a glitter coating and a happy ending?

First half was great, very mysterious, the involvement of music worked well, and it was just enjoyable. The second half, however, was just Liesel and the Goblin King composing all the time. Composing, falling out, playing music as an apology, and falling out again. This means that the last 250 pages could be axed completely. The only consolation is that the ending few pages were quite sweet. So 4 stars for the first half and 2 stars for the second half means 3 stars overall.

2.5****MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS***I was so excited about this book, one of my most anticipated of 2017, unfortunately, it wasn't my cup of tea.-The world building wasn't the best and I was very confused at times. I don't know whether it was just me but all I could imagine when the underground tunnels were being described were mud huts or hobbit holes, like something out of the Teletubbies! It was a little off-putting and I'm sure that wasn't what the author was going for.-Lisel is one of my most hated characters of 2017. She was such a self-righteous, jealous brat and I just did not get along with her.-There was too much music jargon! While I love music and love reading about it, this book takes it too far at times and it ended up being very boring and repetitive in places.-The romance felt forced and unbelievable.-The only redeeming quality was Lisel's brother, whom I loved.-Also, the ending was disappointing. After all that happened...I am very much a HEA/HFN type reader, so this ending disappointed me.Overall, I would still recommend giving it a go and seeing what you think.