Author: S. Jae-Jones
Publisher: Titan Books
Date Published: 2018
Rating: 3/5
Note: This review contains spoilers for both Wintersong and Shadowsong.
Six months after the end of Wintersong, Liesl is working toward furthering both her brother's and her own musical careers. Although she is determined to look forward and not behind, life in the world above is not as easy as Liesl had hoped. Her younger brother Josef is cold, distant, and withdrawn, while Liesl can't forget the austere young man she left beneath the earth, and the music he inspired in her. When troubling signs arise that the barrier between worlds is crumbling, Liesl must return to the Underground to unravel the mystery of life, death, and the Goblin King - who he was, who he is, and who he will be. What will it take to break the old laws once and for all? What is the true meaning of sacrifice when the fate of the world - or the ones Liesl loves - is in her hands?
- From Goodreads.
I was glad that Shadowsong did answer the questions I had from Wintersong, the first book in the duology, and I think it wrapped up everything I felt it needed it to. It also had most of the same things I enjoyed about the first book: the writing, the fantastical atmosphere, and a compelling enough story for me to want to read through to the end to find out what happened. I also felt that Liesl, the main character, was easier to understand in this book and I felt I knew her character better.
Unfortunately there were some things that were frustrating about the book. While I thought the plot was an interesting idea, it did not reach its full potential. For most of the second half, the lack of communication between Liesl and her brother Josef was difficult to read because it felt like they needed to have a proper conversation sooner than they did and there did not seem to be a good enough reason for them not to.
It also felt frustrating that there was not much to read of Liesl and the Goblin King together. My favourite parts of Wintersong were the interactions between them and it was a shame there was not more of that. I understand that they were mostly kept apart for the plot, and it was fascinating to read the Goblin King's backstory and to see Liesl discovering some of that, but I would have enjoyed more of them together and I thought maybe the plot could have been written in a way that would allow that. I would have liked there to be a bit more for us to read of their life together at the end as well. Considering so much time was spent waiting for them to be together, there was not much pay off. I think I might have even rated the book higher if there had even been just a couple of scenes added in at the end where we could see more of their happy ending.
Overall, Shadowsong was a good sequel to Wintersong in that it helped me to understand better what happened in the first book and developed all the characters, giving them more backstory and depth. However, as with the first book, it felt like there was a potential that was not quite fulfilled, especially since I was hoping for more interaction between Liesl and the Goblin King, and I was left feeling a little disappointed.
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