Wintersong by S. Jae-Jones
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I received a free eARC novel from Edelweiss (and a physical copy from Baker & Taylor) in exchange for my honest review.
Liesl used to play and dance with the Goblin King when she was a little girl in the Goblin Grove next to her parents inn. But the older Liesl got, the more she stopped going to the Goblin Grove. There were too many responsibilities she needed to take care of at home: cleaning the inn, taking care of her little sister, helping her little brother be the best violinist of the world, and making sure her father didn't wasted all of their money on alcohol. Soon, Liesl didn't go to the Goblin King anymore, even though she thought about her time in the Goblin Grove constantly.
Until one day in town, she spots an older version of the Goblin King watching her younger sister Kathe. And then Kathe kept disappearing in the Goblin Grove woods. Until the Goblin King permanently took Kathe as his bride. Liesl knew she needed to get her sister back, and she remembered just enough of her childhood that the Goblin King liked to play games.
So she made a game with the Goblin King that she would be able to get her sister out of the Underworld - the Goblin King's world - before the next full moon. But Liesl was underestimating the power of the Underworld and the power of her attraction toward the Goblin King. By the time the full moon appeared, Liesl had to make another decision - let her sister live and the world be plundered into winter forever, or sacrifice herself as the Goblin King's bride to save the world she loves.
No matter which one she picks, Liesl is going to have regrets either way. But her love of music and composing music may just be the key she needs in order to know which answer will be the correct one in the end.
This was a very interesting novel. I don't think I've read anything quiet like it. I know that a lot of people are comparing it to the Labyrinth movie, but I've never seen that so I don't have that to compere to this book. Overall, I found it quiet enjoyable and I definitely read the whole book in 1 days time, so it was very engaging to me.
Liesl sacrifices a lot in this novel. She gives up her original songs that she creates and gives it to her younger brother because he is the music prodigy of the family. And also because no one will be able to hear her songs if she was the composer, because no one would swallow the idea that a woman could create those amazing music pieces. So she gives them to Josef and he then goes and performs these amazing pieces to the entire world.
Then she sacrifices her "plainness" to her sister, who is the most beautiful one out of the two of them. Liesl knows she's not beautiful and she has to hear about her plainness her whole life. But she still loves Kathe and never resents her - well, not much.
Liesl had to be the one in charge of the family so that her mother could run the inn and keep the business alive. Her father is pretty much worthless, so Liesl had to step up and be the other parent basically. Which is sad because I love thinking of Liesl playing with the child Goblin King when she was younger. Children need to have fun and be free, not tied to their family and forced to be an adult before they need to be.
Since the beginning, I was very intrigued by the Goblin King and I wanted him and Liesl to be together. When he first takes Kathe, I know he is only doing that to get Liesl because that is who he has always wanted - even as a child. So I loved seeing those two characters together.
This book has some flaws. Not many, but enough for me not to be completely set on loving it, which is why I'm giving it 4 stars instead of 5 on Goodreads. But I am pretty much in love with the overall aspect of this book, which is why I'm very excited that there is going to be another and hopefully everything I want to happen will happen in the next novel. I am a little upset that it's not going to be available until January of 2018, but I can wait and jump into this amazing world that S. Jae-Jones created!
View all my reviews
No comments:
Post a Comment