Review – Wintersong (Wintersong, Book 1) by S. Jae-Jones (3.5/5 stars)

Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Length: 448 pages
Publisher: A Thomas Dunne Book for St. Martin’s Griffin
Release Date: February 7, 2017
ISBN-13: 978-1250079213
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in the Wintersong series
Source: Borrowed from Library
Rating: 3.5/5 stars

“All her life, Liesl has heard tales of the beautiful, dangerous Goblin King. They’ve enraptured her mind, her spirit, and inspired her musical compositions. Now eighteen and helping to run her family’s inn, Liesl 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. And with time and the old laws working against her, Liesl must discover who she truly is before her fate is sealed.”

This book has an interesting premise and a beautiful cover and I was eager to read it. This ended up being a unique and sweet fairy tale of sorts. It’s a retelling of the Goblin King myth; so if you are a huge fan of the Labyrinth movie you should check this out.

The story involves a lot of music terminology, while also tying into how the seasons progress. I enjoyed it but thought the second half of the book was a bit slow. I also was a bit disappointed that things weren’t wrapped up a bit better.

The story is beautifully written and has some interesting characters in it. I felt like the world-building was okay but could have been more cohesive.

There is a follow-up to this book called Shadowsong. I probably won’t be reading it mainly because I found Jae-Jones writing style to be a bit too rambling and wandering for my liking. I am just not all that curious about these characters anymore and am ready to move on.

Overall this was a well done book that is a re-telling of the Goblin King myth. It was beautifully written but a bit rambling at times. I didn’t really like how things were tied up but did enjoy some of the aspects to the story about how the Goblins tied to the seasons. I would recommend to fans of the Labyrinth movie; there are definitely a lot of similarities between the movie and this book.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
– Goodreads Reading Challenge