All her life, Liesl has heard tales of the beautiful, dangerous Goblin King. They’ve enraptured her spirit and inspired her musical compositions. Now eighteen, Liesl can’t help but feel that her musical dreams and childhood fantasies are slipping away. But when her sister is taken by the Goblin King, Liesl must 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.
Ever since I heard about Wintersong I was really excited to read it. Now after reading it I have to say it definitely did not disappoint. Everything in this book is perfect and works well together. The story is both exquisite and captivating, the writing is stunningly beautiful written, and all this goes wonderfully with the amazing cover. The cover has to be one of my favourite book covers for a while, there is so much beauty in a simple cover.
Wintersong is a retelling of the film Labyrinth. I have never watched Labyrinth so the plot was entirely new to me. Wintersong is set in Germany in around the 1800’s, and follows our main character Liesl. All her family apart from her sister are all interested and practise playing music. The plot kicks up a gear when Liesl’s sister is kidnapped by the Goblin King. When she finds out her sister is being kept in the Underground, Liesl then enters the Underground to get her sister back. I don’t want to say much more because I think one reason I enjoyed this book was because I didn’t know what was going to happen.
Liesl is a tough and determined main character. She is devoted to her family and will do anything for them. I really connected with Liesl when reading Wintersong and I was behind her every step of the way when she when up against the Goblin King. You feel everything through Liesl, whether she is angry or upset, you can feel all the emotions she feels.
The Goblin King is such as fascinating character. He is so complex, you are constantly being drawn to him, for him to then throw you aside when he shows his dangerous side. As I was reading Wintersong I kept changing my opinion on whether I loved or hated the Goblin King, By the end I decided that perhaps he is an exception to the rule, you can neither love him or hate him, you feel a bit of both towards him. I found the story both interesting and original because of the Goblin King. I have not read many books featuring Goblins and after reading Wintersong, I really want to find more books with Goblins as the main character, because its seems so refreshing and original compared to other creatures.
The main reason I love this book is because of how it is beautifully written. I was surprised to learn that Wintersong is S. Jae-Jones debut novel because I couldn’t tell at all. It was easy to lose yourself in this world because the entire book is written so magically, its hard not to be swept away by it. There are loads of gorgeous quotes from this book, when I was reading I had to stop and re-read a passage again because it was pure perfection. I love the authors writing so much that she could write a shopping list or an instruction manual and I would still read it.
I would definitely recommend this book to all lovers of romance and dark magical fantasy reads. And also to readers who want to read a book so wonderfully written, that you will fall in love with every word in the entire book. If you are looking for a new author to keep your eye out for then it has to be S. Jae-Jones.
I rate this book 4/5 stars
***I was sent a copy of this book by the Publisher to review. Everything in this review is my own honest opinions.***
Mike Reads 