BOOKS ¦ Review: Wintersong by S. Jae-Jones

Name: Wintersong
Author: S. Jae-Jones
Publisher: Titan Books
Date Published: February 2017
Rating: 3/5

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.

- From Goodreads.

Wintersong had beautiful use of language, with incredible descriptions that immersed you in the world and created a very atmospheric story. There was a very magical, vivid, mysterious mood created by the writing. This was supported by the mythology of the story, which was obviously well researched and thought through, and the history and legends of the world had depth and were complex and intriguing.
The way music was written about was also lovely. Music is not always easy to talk and write about as it can be too based in emotions to be put into words, but the author really understood what music can mean to someone and wrote about it in such a way that it really felt like you were hearing it along with the characters.
Unfortunately I did have a few problems with the book. I felt like the pacing of the story did not work so well for me. It took at least a hundred pages for Liesl to get Underground when I expected that to happen much sooner. As well as that, I understood the need to have subplots and conflict, but it felt like there was too much concentration on Liesl's family and the drama of their lives when I was really reading the story for the fantasy elements and the interaction with the Goblin King. Of course family was important to the story because saving her family was part of what drove the plot, and the amount she cared for her siblings was a good aspect of her character, but sometimes reading about her family felt frustrating because it just seemed like it was getting in the way of the real story.
Leading on from that, it felt like there was not much that belonged just to Liesl's character. Her love and talent for music did not just belong to her because her brother had that too, her belief and relationship with the magical realm and the Goblin King did not just belong to her because her brother and grandmother believed too and her sister was stolen away by him. It makes sense that there should be things that bond characters to each other, and I liked that Liesl and the Goblin King bonded over their love of music, but it felt aggravating that Liesl did not have many interests or aspects of her personality that were unique to her.
She had her insecurities, which is understandable, every character, every person has them, but she talked about them so much that they became frustrating too. They were, in a way, part of the plot, but they never felt like they were resolved properly. She kept switching back and forth between feeling sure of herself and talking about how she was ugly or plain, and I was just hoping that by the end she would be more certain of herself and the good things about her, but she wasn't.
Speaking of the end, I didn't feel like it was a satisfying resolution. Even though I know there's a sequel, I don't feel like it wrapped up enough loose ends, and considering it's supposed to be a romance story, I wanted a happier ending.
Overall, it was an intriguing book with a lot of potential. The writing was good, there were some parts I honestly enjoyed, and I think I will be reading the sequel. However I think I felt too let down by the romance, the pacing, and some of the plot points to be completely happy with the story.