Thoughts on : Wintersong by S. Jae-Jones

Posted by on January 19, 2019 12:14 pm in 3.5 stars reads | 0 comments

Wintersong by S. Jae-Jones
Genre : Fantasy
Series : Wintersong, book 1

About the Book  :

The last night of the year. Now the days of winter begin and the Goblin King rides abroad, searching for his bride….

All her life, Liesl has heard tales of the beautiful, dangerous Goblin King. They’ve enraptured her mind and spirit and inspired her musical compositions. Now eighteen and helping to run her family’s inn, Liesel can’t help but feel that her musical dreams and childhood fantasies are slipping away.

But when her own sister is taken by the Goblin King, Liesl has no choice but to journey to the Underground to save her. Drawn to the strange, captivating world she finds–and the mysterious man who rules it–she soon faces an impossible decision. With time and the old laws working against her, Liesl must discover who she truly is before her fate is sealed.

My Thoughts :

After being pleasantly surprised with The Cruel Prince, I found myself looking for something similar to read. With its Goblin King and magical underworld, Wintersong sounded promising; and after a little over a year of waiting, it was time to finally pull it from my shelves.

It’s important to note, in case you are looking for something similar to satiate you while you wait for the next book in The Folk in the Air series, that while Wintersong does share some similarities with The Cruel Prince, it is also very different. Yes, they share creatures from a secret world parallel to ours, who will twist your words and and take pleasure in tricking you. The goblins’ food is to be avoided, just like the faeries’, and their magic can be just as beautiful as it is dark and creepy.

But, Wintersong has a much different pace: it is slow, slow, slow. Very little actually seems to happen. Forget about twists and revelations and action, these characters like to talk and think and take their time. It feels as though we are mostly trapped in Liesl’s head as she struggles with her decisions, and the ever-changing landscape of the goblin world only reinforces the very claustrophobic atmosphere that slowly builds up.

It might sound as though I didn’t enjoy the book, but I actually liked it a lot. Surprisingly, might I add; goblins and faeries aren’t usually my type of things, and I mostly prefer my romance in small doses. To be fair though, the “romance” in Wintersong is of the twisted variety, and not something you would want to replicate. But I was enchanted by the story and the character of Liesl, who is so flawed but so different from most protagonists. And even though I wasn’t charmed by the Goblin King, I still found his character to be quite fascinating.

Mostly, this is a review that says yes, I did enjoy the book, but it’s not one I would recommend for everyone. Again, I feel the need to mention how slow the story is. It feels quiet and uneventful at times, which I liked but you definitely have to be in the mood for it. Consent, mental health and unhealthy relationships are also important issues in the book, and while I appreciated how the author used them and had Liesl react to them, I’m not surprised many readers have had problems with it, because these issues are not really directly addressed.

I’m really curious to see how things develop in the sequel. I have no idea where the author is planning on taking this story, but I have a feeling things might get even darker… we’ll see!

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