Review: Wintersong by S. Jae-Jones

Title: Wintersong (Wintersong #1)
Author: S. Jae-Jones
Publication Date: Feb. 7, 2017
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Beware the goblin men and the wares they sell.

All her life, nineteen-year-old Liesl has heard tales of the beautiful, mysterious Goblin King. He is the Lord of Mischief, the Ruler Underground, and the muse around which her music is composed. Yet, as Liesl helps shoulder the burden of running her family’s inn, her dreams of composition and childish fancies about the Goblin King must be set aside in favor of more practical concerns.

But when her sister Käthe is taken by the goblins, Liesl journeys to their realm to rescue her sister and return her to the world above. The Goblin King agrees to let Käthe go—for a price. The life of a maiden must be given to the land, in accordance with the old laws. A life for a life, he says. Without sacrifice, nothing good can grow. Without death, there can be no rebirth. In exchange for her sister’s freedom, Liesl offers her hand in marriage to the Goblin King. He accepts.

Down in the Underground, Liesl discovers that the Goblin King still inspires her—musically, physically, emotionally. Yet even as her talent blossoms, Liesl’s life is slowly fading away, the price she paid for becoming the Goblin King’s bride. As the two of them grow closer, they must learn just what it is they are each willing to sacrifice: her life, her music, or the end of the world.

S. Jae-Jones, called JJ, is an artist, an adrenaline junkie, and the NYT bestselling author of Wintersong.

Born and raised in sunny Los Angeles, she lived in New York City for ten years before relocating down to Dixie, where she is comfortably growing fat on grits and barbecue. When not writing, she can be found rock-climbing, skydiving, taking photographs, drawing pictures, and dragging her dog on ridiculously long hikes.

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This is one of those reads that I couldn’t wait to get my hands on. I mean, a romance involving the Goblin King?! C’mon!

So, let me just say that, as a whole, this story was beautiful. I mean, the music alone was interwoven in such a way that was breathtaking. I don’t know much about music, but you don’t really need to in order to realize the romance that it added to the story.

My only qualms with Wintersong, were that I felt as if it just barely missed the mark. It felt a little bit “empty” in regards to the characters’ relationally. I own this to the fact that the pacing of the entire story was slow. So, instead of building any more of the relationships (even Liesl and the Goblin King’s) there was a lot of internalizing of Liesl’s thoughts and emotions.

Maybe I’m just greedy and could’ve used more of Der Elkönig. But, I don’t think that’s entirely it.

Regardless of what I felt was lacking in the story, I do believe it was still beautiful. And, I can’t wait to read Shadowsong.