I don’t know how to feel about this book. It wasn’t at all what I wanted it to be. It felt like a lot of random threads trying to come together to create something big and I just don’t think it worked. The closer I got to the end, the more I felt like this could have been been as a stand-alone instead of the two books. I enjoyed the relationship between Liesl and her brother in the end but that was about it. I think overall I was unhappy in the lack of romance due to it being such a huge part of book one. The parts I loved in book one were not present in book two and I think that made me enjoy it much less. After I was about half way through I found myself skimming just to finish and that is never a good thing. I wanted more fire and more love. Jae-Jones does write beautifully and I will surely pick up whatever she writes next but I was very underwhelmed by this series as a whole.

This book is the sequel to S. Jae-Jone's Wintersong, and picks up where the first novel left off - with Liesl returned above ground and trying to piece her life back in order after her ordeals with the Goblin King. Jones' writing is lush, her sensitivity towards the spirals of addiction and depression her characters experience feel genuine and real, making for a somewhat difficult read. While the pacing of the book could have been more consistent, Shadowsong is the perfect cap on Jone's duology and I can't wait to read what she writes next.

I put this book on the backburner a while ago because I couldn't get into. Months later its still the same, but I powered through it.

While I enjoyed Wintersong, I honestly feel as if the plot wasn't here in this one. It dragged on and I couldn't really connect to the characters. Honestly, I think my main problem was that everyone seemed depressed in this book. I didn't hate it, let's just say that it's just not for me.

Okay, wow this was bad.

I initially read Wintersong because I got sucked in with the promise of Labyrinth fan fiction, romance and the Goblin King. While I enjoyed Wintersong it didn't live up the the hype and I found myself thinking I could have probably skipped over it's sequel and been fine with it however, I kinda wanted to see if the main character would get a happy ending. Lucky for me I was provided with a copy of Shadowsong for review buuuuut turns out I wasn't really that lucky.

Shadowsong was literally a book a about nothing? There was no character development, just the whining of the MC literally though the whole book and the story line seemed like it wasn't fully flushed out either, because of that I found myself so, so bored. We don't even really get a satisfying ending in this book either.

Even though i didn't really enjoy the first book in this series there were some elements that could keep me invested in the story and the characters, this sequel unfortunately, had none of those things. If the ending had of been better, I probably could have forgiven the rest of the book but alas it was crap so this gets a one star from me.

Thank you to Netgally and the publisher for providing me with a copy in exchange for my honest review.

A stunningly beautiful book full of wonder and intrigue. I thoroughly enjoyed this book! The writing is beautiful and will sweep you along to the next page!

My expectations for this book were so high!! Wintersong, the highly imperfect prequel, was still lovely, lyrical and deeply evocative - some parts brought tears to my eyes. In this promising sequel, Jae-Jones does again what she did so well in the first book - she viscerally portrays the protagonist's mental illness. Unfortunately, the main love interest, who is also the antagonist at the time, is not developed at all as a character; in fact, he somehow gets shallower as the plot unfolds, until he is little more than a cardboard-cutout of a fairy-tale love interest. The holes in the world-building/mythology, leftover from the first book, also never get filled in. Sadly, this duology has so much potential that I wish it would be rewritten.

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I love Winterson, for me, it was truly un-put-down-able. I really enjoyed the difference fo themes in this second instalment. it was much darker and moodier than its predecessor.
We had much more development from the main character; Liesl.
All the relationships felt imperfect and therefore so real and I didn't mind seeing less of the Goblin King to have more focus on the other characters.
I loved how the author took responsibility for the themes in her own book and really commend her for doing so.
The first half of the book was pretty slow and meandering. but overflowing with raw emotion, and her writing is indescribably beautiful.
This was a brilliantly whimsical, romantic and gothic duology that I would recommend for the writing alone.

I have been reading on this book since February. FEBRUARY GUYS. I seriously thought about giving this a big DNF review so many times. But I made myself push through and I’m glad I did.

The first half of the book was boring. Blah. I didn’t want nothing to do with it. I was missing the Goblin King. Honestly, the main reason I made myself push through was because of him. I wanted to find out his name! In the end I don’t know if I was really blown away with the reveal. The way some chapters were written I got kind of confused. It would take me a few paragraphs to get what was going on and be drawn back in. Some things were written from different POVs.

I still don’t think there was enough of my favorite character. This book mainly focuses on the relationship between Elisabeth and Josef. Which is fine…. I guess. And it ended OKAY. I still have mixed feelings about it all. The whole book in general.

Shadowsong was worth the wait . . .

Before I get to my review I just want to say that that I’m glad that some authors are taken the time to warn others before reading their books that some of the content could be triggering so thank you SJJ for including an authors note to warn people in the first few pages, thank you thank you thank you.

“Help me make sense of myself.”

What did I like about Shadowsong ?

Everything. I loved everything about Shadowsong. I connected so much with Liesel and all her fears and emotions, she was one of those characters that tried her best and still felt like it wasn’t enough and throughout the story she learned that it’s okay to not be okay, it’s okay to not be strong all the time and it’s okay to be who you are and it’s okay to be happy and sad and feel so much.

Also I was surprised that Shadowsong had multiple povs which I thought I would not like since LIESL is my favorite character but . . . I enjoyed the other povs, I actually couldn’t wait to get to their povs to see what else was happening with the rest of the world and let me tell you there’s a backstory from one of the characters and ugh my heart was breaking for said character.

What I didn’t like about Shadowsong?

To be honest I don’t like the fact that it’s a dualogy. I could never get enough of this world that S. Jae-Jones created. But since I’m being honest and all I have to say that Shadowsong’s ending will leave you more than satisfied.

S. Jae-Jones has a way with words that leaves you breathless and enchanted, she writes with so much passion and heart that I feel her words all the way to my very soul. I’ve said that before but it has to be repeated over and over again.

As much as I loved Wintersong I can 100% tell you that I loved Shadowsong even more, it’s one of those stories that will stay with your forever and ever. Shadowsong was worth the wait and this is a dulogy you do not want to miss.

Musings:

This slower darker counterpart to Wintersong broke my heart. I ached for Liesl and how lost she ended up being. The poetic and musical soul that is the beating heart of this novel had been broken and trying to get back to herself was a journey I that filled me with emotion.

What I Loved:

Liesl is a character with bipolar disorder in a time where people didn’t know what that was. When I read the authors note before beginning to read and was told that Liesl had Bipolar disorder everything made so much more sense. The way Liesl threw herself into her music in the first book, the self-destruction, the apathy, and the anger. Seeing someone going through the full weight of a mental disorder with no one to understand what they are going through being labeled as mad and having no available medication or therapy or anything to help stable themselves and feeling lost because you don’t even know that your thoughts and moods are not something that come from you being an awful person, but have something very real affecting your brain was both unsettling and heartbreaking.

Music as a muse. For Liesl, music is everything. I love that music is what inspires her and even if she isn’t a performer she gets lost in composition. Her fear and loss makes her loose her music in this book and some of the most achingly beautiful scenes are her trying to make music during a time of pain.

Under-lands leaking into the over-world. The unique magic of this book is much more subtle then the last. Yet the remembrances and subtle additions reminds the reader that that world is still out there. It made the “normal” world feel a bit more otherworldly in a really nice way.

Real relationships. The family relationships were grinding and changing in an authentic way. Liesl’s state of mind changing the way she related with her brother and sister and caused tension. A lot of times authors are too afraid to create that disconnect in a family and when it happens it’s disjointed, but in Shadowsong it is done really well. It’s ego against ego and pain from people’s individual wants and needs in such a fantastic way.

The Slow Burn. The pacing takes the story and lets it settle in your mind. It builds up the emotion and makes you care more then you ever did before. I could feel how much heart the author put into creating this story and I appreciated how everything came together.

Final Thoughts:

I have so much respect for what this story tried and did accomplish. I appreciate a fantasy that reads with the aura of authenticity. The poetic touch to the words and the energy this book holds affected me. I just desperately wish there was more to read of this story. However I am satisfied with the ending. It’s a beautifully written story.

I read Wintersong because it sounded interesting but mostly since my co-worker LOVED it! I'm not sure if it's because she hyped it so much that I had high expectations or that I didn't mesh with the book but either way it was just an okay read for me.

I enjoyed the lore and was curious to see where the characters ended up so I picked up Shadowsong with high hopes. I sadly liked it even less. I found there was less fantastical elements and more drama and as a primarily fantasy reader I didn't enjoy that turn of events.

Overall it was meh ending to an okay series for me.

This book is set 6 months after Liesl comes back from her time with the Goblin King. Life seems a lot more dire for her and her family as well as the likelihood of them keeping the inn now that her father has passed away. I honestly could not get far into this book. I thought the first book moved at a very slow pace, and this one seemed to go even slower than the first. While it worked for the first book, it did not work so well, for me at least, in this one.

Great part two of the series. My few David Bowie fans enjoyed these two books. These two works appeal to a unique audience, but they were enjoyed.

Beautiful prose and loyal, loving characters!
Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read and review Shadowsong by S. Jae Jones!
At the onset, the author warns about content being possibly triggering due to the addressing of the issues of self-harm, addiction, reckless behaviors and suicidal ideation. Resources are also given to help. These issues have been a part of the author’s life and reality. This has given her a true understanding of these topics.
The characters reveal themselves in more than one way. Elisabeth, her brother Josef, sister Kathe and Francois, Josef’s accompaniest and friend, travel to Venice after being summoned by an unknown benefactor. The story takes place during the height of classical music. The family has a curse that some call insanity. They see goblins, the Goblin King and kingdom. The siblings are separated by the benefactors, the Count and Countess take Elisabeth and Josef to Snovin Hall for their safety while Kathe and Francois are sent away. Both parties don’t know what has happened to the other pair and are deeply concerned for them. I love the story of the wheelwright, with his loss, supposed madness and death. Beautiful writing that truly showcases the author’s work. Beautiful prose and loyal, loving characters make this story interesting and the dark danger makes it exciting. 5 stars!

Noteworthy experiences while reading this book: This book went places I didn't think it was going.

Check out author's other books? Maybe
Recommend this book? Maybe

Notes and Opinions: After not really loving Wintersong I really wondered if I wanted to read this one at all. But I thought why not and dived into it and what I found was a story that went in a totally different direction than what I thought it was going to go in. In this one, we focus more on Liesl's relationship with Joseph which was wonderful! I didn't think that was where this book was going to go and that really surprised me. You could also see how much the author changed and grew from book one. I think this book was a little better put together than book one and I think I might try another book by this author in the future.

I am really glad that I decided to check this one out. A lot of the book would be a spoiler so I won't get too far into it. But this one had great pacing, was easier to follow than book one, and the characters were a little more hashed out I think. I hope we get another book in this series as I think I will prob. check it out.

Go Into This One Knowing: Better than book one!

This book took forever to finish. I told my husband that it was only 400 pages but felt like 900. I understood by the author's own comments that it was supposed to be an allegory for bipolar disorder, which she herself has. I'm sure, then, that to someone with bipolar, maybe this makes sense as an allegory. It didn't read at all like an allegory to me, though. It felt like the second book of two where too much happened with not enough detail. There was also way too much emphasis on things that didn't seem to have any importance to the plot. For example, you can pretty much delete the characters of her benefactors entirely without the plot bring affected. They are wholly unnecessary and only serve to add to the "way too many characters, not enough fleshing out" thing. Also, the ending with Josef and what transpires (won't spoil it) makes no sense at all. It seems thrown together to have the most pleasant sum up possible. There was also Absolutely Awful Amounts of Alliteration and not nearly enough of the Goblin King, the only character from the first book that I liked. I just did not care for this and I don't think I'd recommend it. I was excited to add a book about bipolar to our mental health reads list at the library, but this is so obscure and so tangential to discussing actual mental health issues, I can't imagine any teen understanding that it's supposed to be about bipolar. They'd mostly read it and say "so...goblins exist and this girl does stuff?" and I would say "yes, excellent summary of both books".

That all being said, this is yet again a beautiful book. The writing and setting descriptions are lovely.

Wow! What a conclusion!
I loved every bit of this!!!
The author did a fantastic job writing a character with bipolar disorder, something you almost never see in fantasy novels.
The side characters were well developed and the plot was thought out and in my opinion AMAZING.
I would definite recommend this duology for anybody who likes Sarah J. Maas Books!

I have a special room in my heart for bewitching fantasy featuring a hidden world, half-forgotten promises, and an intoxicating undercurrent of darkness. This book is written in the characteristic lyrical style that made Wintersong so beautiful, but it has sharper edges and felt emotionally raw. 

In the Author's Notes, we learn that her experience with bipolar disorder influenced a lot of this novel - reflected in Liesl's ever shifting moods and perspective. Although Shadowsong has all the makings of fantasy and fairy tale, its portrait of mental illness is never romanticised. There is darkness and turmoil, but there's also an ever present and crucial note of hope.

Although we are haunted by the ghost of the Goblin King's world for most of Shadowsong, a significant amount of the book is dedicated to exploring the human world. The book especially explores the sibling relationships between Liesl and her brother, Josef, in far more details. We don't often see the development of sibling bonds in fantasy or young adult novels in general, so this was a very welcomed change.

While I thought the pacing for Shadowsong was suited to the themes of the novel, it is a more introspective book than Wintersong. As a result, the plot often took a backseat to the exploration of characters and their mental state. If you're after a fun and quick read, this won't be the book for you. Shadowsong accompanied me during a 4-hours long flight delay in a tiny airport, so I had all the time and attention necessary to dive into this world.

I did find certain concepts in this plot too abstract to follow, such as The Wild Hunt. Part of Shadowsong felt like a distant dream, and this meant an emotional disconnect between myself and the characters. The backdrop of the book is also gorgeously illustrated, from the atmospheric Snovin Hall to the captivating strains of classical music. S. Jae-Jones is a brilliant writer and her proses always draw me in and leave me wistful for her imagined world.

Content warnings: self-harm, addiction, reckless behaviours, suicidal ideations.

Initial thoughts, “SQUEE! I CAN’T WAIT TO READ THIS!”

Thoughts upon getting a copy and finally beginning reading, “UGH! WHEN WILL THIS BOOK EVER PICK UP THE PACE?!”

Thoughts upon reaching about the 43% in point, “YES! IT’S ABOUT FREAKING TIME!”

Thoughts after finishing...

This book was worth the wait, but it really took its sweet time to get the ball rolling story wise. I kid not when I say I was falling asleep every time I sat down to read more than a few pages. I mean, it took me nearly three weeks to get through this. However, all of this aside, once the author hit her story’s sweet spot, this girl couldn’t get enough. Every single thing that happened made sense and made it all worth while. I’ll be honest, my eyes even leaked a little towards the end. It was THAT good.

So, yeah, go into it knowing things will drag a bit to start with, but it all pays off in the end.

Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for hooking me up with this review opportunity.