Thanks to Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Shadowsong is the highly anticipated sequel to Wintersong by S. Jae-Jones. It continues the tale of Liesl who now free of the Underground, but not free of her feelings for the Goblin King, tries to go back to her life before she was the Goblin Queen. Liesl finds she doesn't fit into the place she previously held due to the changes she underwent while Underground. This book shows the struggle Liesl faces trying to carve out a place for herself in the world, along with some fun new challenges.

When Liesl was released from the Underground she denied the Old Laws a sacrifice, and now the Wild Hunt is searching for her, corrupting the Goblin King and the Underground and finding all the others who are "elf-touched" (people who have received gifts from the Underground like Liesl and Josef). With this new "plague" running rampant Liesl is invited to Vienna by a mysterious benefactor. Excited to join her brother on a new adventure Liesl takes the opportunity and brings her sister Käthe along.

But everything is not what it seems. Liesl finds herself more discontented as time goes on, and Josef has lost touch with reality. Can Liesl find a way to save everyone from the new threats they face? Can she trust her mysterious benefactor? Or is Liesl in way over her head?

This book was amazing! Liesl's struggle after leaving the Underground is palpable, and her slow descent into madness was incredibly well written. I was incredibly sorry to see this book (and series) end. Finding out the past of the Goblin King was also very interesting. It was a look into what made him the man he was in the first book. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who loves fantasy, fairy tales, or Labyrinth!

3.5
I would like to thank Netgalley and Wednesday Books for gifting me this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
When I read Wintersong I felt completely heartbroken and just sadness and it continued in this second book of the series Shadowsong. I was hoping for a more upbeat conclusion to Liesl and The Goblin King’s story but that did not happen.
I’m having a hard time writing a review for this book. Even though I liked it, I felt like there was some thing missing. I wish there were more of Liesl and The Goblin King in the book and just not towards the end. I wish there wasn’t so much sorrow… I just felt a little depressed reading it. The pace was a little off in this book as it was in the first book as well. I didn’t feel as connected to the characters as I did in the first book and I don’t think that has ever happened to me before.
Now saying all that there were things that I did like. I liked that questions were answered. We find out who he is. Who he was. How he came to be The Goblin King. I liked that there is a disclaimer with this book for those who have suicidal tendencies and those who have self harming tendencies. I also liked the plot twists in this book and not really knowing where the story would go.

I am so happy that I was able to get this book through Netgalley. In the conclusion of Liesl and the Goblin King’s story, Liesl is faced with many inner battles as she fights to save her brother, the Goblin King and humanity. I was on the edge of my seat throughout this book, in anticipation of what would happen next. The love, anger, and heartache shown by Liesl made me so sad for her and I kept wishing for her happy ending. S. Jae-Jones definitely has a way with words, and I loved her twists and turns, as well as how she really made me feel Liesl’s love for her Goblin King. The only thing better would be to continue the story. But then, I never wish for them to end.

I was actually pretty excited when I got Silentsong from Netgalley. I really liked Wintersong!

But this...I'm not even sure about this. I love the cover of this book! It is simply stunning. But the plot just lost me. And PDF formats get in the way for me sometimes. I tried to ignore that, but the spacing issues kind of made it hard for me to get back into it at some points.

I think I might need to check this out from the library as an actual book to try it again in the future.

It's not a terrible book, it just sadly fell short for me. It's a two out of five read for me until I get an actual book to try again soon sometime in the future. Again, I really did want to like this book. Thank you publishers for giving me the chance to read it.

In Shadowsong, Liesl continues her labyrinthine journey of self-discovery. I thoroughly enjoyed the nods to the movie, and the musical theme that allowed Liesl and her brother to express their emotional turmoil. As with Wintersong, I felt a stronger emotional pull and connection between siblings and friends than between Liesl and the Goblin King. Filled with beautiful and sometimes dark imagery, the conclusion of the Wintersong duology is perfect for those who enjoy giving part of themselves over to fantasy, muse, and strong emotion.

Wintersong broke my heart. Shadowsong healed it. These stories grab your soul and make you care about the characters, even the ones of legend...

Wednesday Books and Net Galley allowed me to read this book for review (thank you). It will be published February 6th.

Liesl is hoping music will save her from her sorrow. She's tried hard to help her brother in his musical career. But they're not a team anymore. He's hiding something from her. It doesn't help that he's in Vienna and she's home. She's about to lose her mind trying to keep the inn going and dealing with no income. Then she gets invited to a party. She and her sister are going to go and see if they can find her brother. His mentor has died and they don't know where he went.

What they find is an odd woman and her husband. They tell them it's time for the hunt and they want to keep her safe. She doesn't know what's true but she's not sure she believes them. They know she's the Goblin Queen, so it will take all she knows and all she can do to get away from them.

The hunt is coming for a life. Whose should they offer? Who will make a difference?

They all make sacrifices before the end of this story. The good news is that it ends well. There's a bit of sadness but there's more happiness. That's what life is made of.

Scheduled to post 1/27/18.

So without the ridiculous love of Labyrinth to ride me through WINTERSONG's sequel, SHADOWSONG, I find I enjoyed this book a lot less than the last one. It just doesn't really hold together all that much.

The pacing issues I had in WINTERSONG are still there in SHADOWSONG, but it's a different kind of pacing problem. In the former the pacing was such that is felt like two books smashed into one, with two distinct beginnings, middles, and ends that created a rather disjointed story. In the latter there's nothing. Very little actually happens for about 95% of the book. It's a lot of Liesl pining over a Goblin King that's next to non-existent in this story and lamenting about her lost relationship with her brother. It's this flat line of nothing, no real movement, no agency, and then 96% of the way into the story Lisel finally makes a decision that ultimately makes for a great ending to the story, but there were 350 pages of not a whole lot in order to get there.

The repetition of descriptions was diminished, but still. The only way for Liesl to describe the Goblin King is as her austere young man. Literally the only description. And it's repeated over and over and over again. It got old in the last book. It's downright ancient here.

Jae-Jones did preface the book with information about how SHADOWSONG was about her dealing with her bipolar disorder and that's why it's so dark. I don't have a problem with dark. And this book had peeks of it, especially as Liesl was trying to make her way through the hedge maze at the ball. It had excellent moments of dark whimsy that I really did love. But the otherworldliness of the last book is lost here. You get it in snips and fits and starts, but nothing like the beauty of the last book and that's a shame.

Take this next opinion for what is it because I don't have a mental illness. However, the illness that Liesl suffers, I'm assuming the same bipolar disorder as Jae-Jones although it's not expressly named, felt very flat. She seemed to just alternate between using the words mania and sadness or depression, but I felt a detachment from Liesl that kept me from feeling much for her. She talked about her own illness in a way that felt like she was trying to gloss over it and at the same time hammer it home it using very basic language. Where the rest of the book had flourish that aspect of it, that was supposedly so personal to the author, felt flat and simply forced into the story.

Quite frankly I felt this story more belonged to Josef than anyone. He had far more compelling things to say, a better character arc, and a more tragic end. Not that the current ending was bad. I just didn't feel all that much for Liesl here. I didn't really care. She didn't really change much from beginning to end, she had little to no agency throughout the entire story, and when she did try to get personal everything felt all the more distant. It just didn't work for me.

SHADOWSON had its moments. There are some truly beautiful descriptions littered throughout the book and I really did love the ending. But ultimately I think this series is hinging way too much on Labyrinth love to drive it forward. There are major pacing issues in both books, and in WINTERSONG Liesl isn't much of a character. Those around her are far more compelling as she simply spends most of her time lamenting her current condition as outside forces shove her along in life. It got old and it was a lot to read for so little return.

2.5

This was an absolutely stunning read. As with Wintersong, the author's prose is lush and descriptive and evocative. I loved learning more about the history/mythology and what Liesl needed to do to save herself and her Goblin King. This was a story about Liesl discovering herself all over again, this time above ground, and while it was hard to see her struggle, to see her and Josef so at odds when their sibling relationship was such a strong part of the first book, it was also wonderful to see how much they loved each other at the end. I was a bit heartbroken over Josef, but I felt like that might be how the story ended and he seemed like it was something he needed/wanted. The only thing that really disappointed me was that there wasn't enough of the Goblin King. His and Liesl's interactions and their passionate relationship was part of what I enjoyed so much about the first book, so I was sad not to get as much of that in this one. Still, this was an absolutely lovely read, and I recommend it!

SO I am not going to lie. I had a really hard time getting through this novel.

I absolutely adored the first novel and read it in one sitting. This one was a bit of a struggle for me. I felt like the begging was just a lot of struggle and back and fourth. I was just waiting for it to have that BAM moment where things really started to get into it.

For me that moment wasn't until around 65%. From that point on though, I got invested and was excited to see where it went.

The ending was NOTHING like I thought it was going to be and I loved that it caught me so off guard. I have to say the book did come around for me and I truly did enjoy the series.

Though the underworld is a dark and unforgiving place for Elisabeth it was full of music, passion and love. Leaving it behind was a matter of life and death, which she lived to regret. Der Erlkönig is and will forever be her muse. This is beautiful, dark, musical, twisted, magical; Full of love, jealousy and change. If you love a fantasy based around the Fae and all things magical, then you’re bound to enjoy this (Hopefully as much as I did). This book will be available from the 6th of Feb...in the meantime you can fall fo this series by reading Wintersong (The first book).

I really wanted to like this. I enjoyed the first title, Wintersong but the second title failed to capture my attention and I found it a challenge to finish.

First things first, I really loved the author's note at the beginning. There's a trigger warning and a discussion of the content of the book that really lays the author bare, as it's clear she put a lot of herself into this book. On a technical level, I greatly admire that and I think she did a wonderful job. On a personal level, I have mixed feelings. With Wintersong I had mixed feelings, but I definitely liked more things than I disliked and I kept thinking about it for days after I finished it. With this sequel, I finished it and I haven't really thought that much about it at all. It just left me feeling a little blah. It felt like a rehash of the first book, which was disappointing because we've already covered this, shouldn't we be on to something new? One of the things I enjoyed the most about Wintersong was the relationship between Liesl and the Goblin King and that's almost entirely missing from this book. What we do get is interesting, but it wasn't enough. Instead we focus on the relationship of Liesl and her brother, Josef (once again leaving the sister on the sidelines, which made me sad). Not a lot happened, plot wise, for a good amount of the book and then suddenly things are happening and it's a little overwhelming so things didn't quite make sense to me. I REALLY liked the flashbacks and I would probably read an entire book made of that storyline/those characters. I thought they were really interesting.

So, yeah, I liked this book, but it didn't quite stay in my thoughts like Wintersong.

It seems like a lot of people have been disappointed by Shadowsong, but as for myself, I really enjoyed it! I was thrilled to return to the dark, haunting world S. Jae-Jones has created. As with Wintersong, I feel like people will either love the writing or feel disconnected to it. I absolutely love the lush, lyrical writing and descriptions and find it matches the tone of the story perfectly.

Shadowsong differs from the first book in that the story focuses almost entirely on Liesl and her growth as character, including her changed relationships with Josef and Käthe. Because it’s much more character driven, the story does move at a much slower pace as there’s not a lot going on plot-wise. I love Liesl’s character and felt very connected to her, so to me this wasn’t an issue, but I could see how it could be bothersome to others. My only gripe was that there was not enough Goblin King! Although we do learn a lot more about the Goblin King, such as his background and – finally – his name, even the interactions between him and Liesl were sparse, which left me wanting. Overall, I was ecstatic to be thrust back into the world S. Jae-Jones created and was very pleased with the sequel!

I can’t fault this book for NOT being about Jareth and Sarah from Jim Henson’s “The Labyrinth” but I can’t pretend that it is any longer either.

Y’all, I can see why some folks love this series. Lots of beautiful writing happening here. Unfortunately, it is lost on me. Please see my review of the first book for a further explanation. Turns out that I feel much the same about this sequel.

I wanted to love it but it’s not for me.

Abandoned at 36%.

Thank you, St. Martin’s Press, Wednesday Books, and Netgalley for providing me with an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book was fun but it didn't necessarily blow me away as the first one. It was much more of the sibling bonding. Full RTC soonish

If Wintersong spoke to my musicians soul (and it did), Shadowsong spoke to the deepest parts of who I am. This book was different from Wintersong in many ways, and yet still followed the beautiful prose writing style that S. Jae Jones does so well.

Readers longing for more romantic moments with the Goblin King will likely be surprised to find that he is not the central focus of this book. Shadowsong follows Liesl and Joseph as they traverse the new lives they find themselves presented with now that Liesl has come back from the Underground. We learn so much more about the origins of the Underground, the Wild Hunt, the Goblin Kings past and the Queens who have come before Liesl. Through all of this background, readers are immersed into more fantasy than the first book, along with more mystery and tension.

Shadowsong speaks to the hearts of the lonely, isolated and lost. We learn the depths of melancholy that live beneath the music created by Liesl, as she questions her identity outside of her father, her brother, her lover. This book will take you thorough a beautifully worded journey inside the mind of someone who's never fully embraced who they are, always struggling to find themselves, caging parts of themselves inside the hearts of those they hold dear. In so many ways, Liesl and Joseph's story resonates with the heart of my past experiences battling mental health issues. Where Wintersong showed us a longing to find someone to value and love Liesl, finding her beautiful and worthy, Shadowsong shows us what can happen when we run from who we are, denying ourselves our identity.

I loved this book, and I think that the context the author provides will speak to readers and help them to see this story in a new light then they originally saw Wintersong. Still filled with the magic of music, the raw and painful emotions of love and loss, family secrets and magical worlds, this book will have readers enveloped in it's story from the first page.

*To be posted 1/30/2018*

The sequel to Wintersong was on Netgalley so I needed to request it right away!



Title: Shadowsong

Author: S. Jae-Jones

Series: Wintersong

Rating: 3/5 Stars

Pub date: February 6th, 2018



Summary

This book picks up where Wintersong left off: Leisel has returned to this realm and she is trying her best to further her musical career. Throughout it all, she gets wrapped up in an interesting tale where she finds out more about the Goblin King and things she never imagined to be possible. All this while Josef is struggling to find out who--and what--he is and how it plays into his musical talents.

Likes

I liked this book just as much as I liked Wintersong. I enjoy the story of Leisel and the Goblin King, how their romance works and how much she cares about her family, most of all her brother. I thought it was entertaining and I think it definitely progressed more than its predecessor. There was a lot more expansion about the King in this book and I felt more connected to their love story than in the first book for sure. I also think she grew much more as a person and proved that she was more than what people expected her to be but also followed her heart at the same time. It was also neat that the setting changed to Vienna and she was able to meet new characters there who advanced the story even more.

Dislikes

This book definitely was very hard and slow to get into. It was probably about 1/3 of the way before I became enveloped in the story.  I did find once I got to that point, it was an easy read and I read the rest in an entire sitting! I think that this story is incredibly magical in a different way and that's something that sets this book apart.

Recommendation

I would suggest this to fans of the first in the series as well as someone who is interested in a different type of love story and magical elements.


Happy reading! ~ Taylor

This is book two of the duology and picks up a few months after Wintersong ends. It is stunning and devastating and I am so glad to have read it. These books are beautiful and I say with no shame that the end of this book made me weep tears of joy and sorrow and regret. There are so many emotions that sweep through you as you read these. Shadowsong is painful and the text is so rich you can hear the music in the words. It was such an intense read and I devoured these books. Absolutely worth reading, and I look forward to anything else this author publishes in the future.

Amazing continuation! I fell in love with Wintersong so I was so very excited for this book! If the first book was about Liesl and the Goblin King, this book was about our heroine and her personality, her loves ones and mainly about the power of love.
Elisabeth cheated the old laws and now there is a price to pay. She must protect her brother and she must save the Goblin King from the shadows that threaten to destroy him. But what can she do? How can she defy powers beyond her mortal world?
Led down a road of lies and deceit, she has to realize what is true and what is not.
The writing was exquisite. The author painted such a dark yet magical world that the reader cannot help but fall in love with.
Overall, I expected a lot more grit considering that author's note. I wanted more scenes with the Goblin King and more development between him and Liesl. On the other hand I loved the scenes between her and Josef. His character really shone in this book.
I had high expectations for this book. Some were met, some others were not but I cannot deny that I love this world and the characters. I cannot wait to read more from this author. I recommend this one.