I love this book and series so much that I've bought it for all of my friends. The cover is gorgeous and the story is a great fantasy that brought me back to my childhood and one of my favorite sleepover movies growing up. I can't wait to read more from this author in the future.

Suspenseful fantasy at its best!
Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read and review Wintersong by S. Jae Jones!
The beginning section, entitled Overture, beautifully explains the story of Elisabeth and the Goblin King. Elisabeth lives with her two siblings, mother, father and grandmother running an inn for their living. Papa drinks too much and that leaves Mother to take care of everything and everyone, with Elisabeth’s help. Josef is the youngest and musically talented. He plays the violin with Elisabeth as his accompaniment. She composes music and plays the piano while Josef helps bring her music to life with his violin. Kathe is the middle child, with beauty and a happy, bright demeanor. Kathe is captured by the Goblin King and Elisabeth must find her before the next full moon or all is lost. Little does Elisabeth know how much she must sacrifice if she’s truly going to save her sister. Suspenseful fantasy at its best, 5 stars!

I really enjoyed the story and the atmosphere, however the main character did not interest me all that such until the last half.

This story was OUTSTANDING!!! The world built was OUTSTANDING and I LOVED IT SO VERY MUCH! I can definitely say that the hype is well placed. (even tho I don't usually listen to it because it only makes me dislike the book) But this story is everything!

Loved the story and plot. Written well and flowed beautifully. The characters came to life immediately and you get sucked into the story before you realize it.

I actually enjoyed most of this book. Set in Germany with old world “religion” of goblins and the Underworld falling out of vogue, with a main female character that doesn’t feel like she fits, I was excited to read. But really turned me off was the sex scenes. Not that there was actual sex, but the way it was portrayed. I can’t deal with characters that go all emo and are like OMG IF I DON’T HAVE SEX I CAN’T MOVE FORWARD WITH MY LIFE. Seriously. Without that ridiculousness, this would likely be a borderline 4 star book. But I could not get over the eye rolls during that part of the book.

Wintersong started slow for me, then completely blew me away! The world building, and character development was fresh, and unique! Solid book, and looking forward to more!

Enjoyed the characters and the suspense. A great read. It was so much more than your typical World War II book. It had all the elements that make an interesting and exciting read.

I thought that the book was ok. It was a little confusing at times. It really wasn't something that I would probably go out of my way to read again. Wasn't terrible but wasn't the best book I've ever read either

I knew from the moment I heard about this book that I wanted to read it and that I would probably love it. I was not wrong. Wintersong feels like a fairytale with depth and complexity. The setting is a dreamworld and the characters are compelling in their flawed, desperate, passion, and the ending left me anxious for the next book. I am happily adding S. Jae Jones to my autobuy list because I want to read everything she ever writes!

Aside from the feeling that you have seen or read this before, aside from some moving parts, and aside from hating the way the second half felt like it was not part of the first half of the book, it still had poignant parts. However, it failed in the areas of an almost forced rape and turned from a romantic love story or fairytale into a sad thing to read when having or not having had S** is all that defines the main character. This was a tragedy and a travesty too. I so wanted to like this book! I so wanted to give it more than the stars I have to give it because this ruined the story. So aside from some good prose and good emotional scenes, this book isn't my favorite.

My copy came from Net Galley. My thoughts and opinions are my own. This review is left of my own free volition.

Liesl is the oldest of three children in an innkeeper's family. Her parents had once been famous court musicians, but now are in the German back country. She isn't especially close to her sister Käthe, who likes pretty trinkets and is more traditionally beautiful than her. Liesl is closest with her brother Josef, also called Sepperl, and they often create music together. But Josef may be going on to train with a master violinist, and Käthe is entranced by the Goblin King of legend. Liesl will have to choose who matters to her, and decide what it is she really wants.

There is influence of Christina Rossetti's Goblin Market in the beginning of the story, as well as the quotes prefacing the different sections of the book. Liesl is a believable kind of heroine, lost in her music and hurt by comments about her appearance or skill compared to her brother's. She knows the old stories about the goblins and changelings, but didn't quite believe them until caught up in it. The power of music is truly important within the scope of the novel, so that you can almost hear it as the novel progresses. It's beautifully done, even the parts that shock and scare Liesl, because there's the lyrical way the scenes progress that really evokes poetry and music.

This book was not for me. I was bored through a good portion of it. When I wasn’t bored, I was irritated with the main character. The writing is beautiful, but it just didn’t come together. I had to force myself to finish it.

Unfortunately, this was a did not finish read for me. It was so beautifully written and the story sounded intriguing... however, it didn’t touch me the way I was hoping. Which makes me feel so bad. It really just felt like I was simply reading words on the page and not connecting with any of them.

Oh, my stars and garters. This main character is so infuriating I kept hoping the goblin king would kill her. If I had the magic ability to kill book characters I’d be sitting in fictional jail right now.

Rarely ever am I so “nasty” in a review but this book had the most frustrating, the whiniest MC I’ve ever encountered. If you thought Katniss could be whiny you’ve not read Wintersong. Liesl makes Katniss look positively charming.

Also, I keep saying that I’m not a prude but I guess I am. Cause, reading about a teenager getting her freak on is NOT my thing.

If the sex scenes themselves weren’t annoying enough, Liesl’s constant pressuring for sex was. NO MEANS NO. Had this been a male character pressuring a female for sex, I have a feeling a lot of people would have been angry. Imagine a male character grabbing a woman by her private parts and demanding to not be denied. Liesl was a wannabe rapist who had absolutely no respect at all for her husband. It is not okay to pout, demand or guilt your partner into sleeping with you. PERIOD.

And can we talk about the whole, “she bled so she’s a virgin,” thing? Puh-lease. Had this author done any amount of reading at all she’d know that not all girls bleed the first time.Even if she did, it’s so overdone in books. Just stop, no one wants to read this one more time in a romance novel. We’re over it.

Plus, the goblin king kept calling her “dear” and “my dear.” This grated on my nerves. I kept reading it in a Rumple (Once upon a Time) voice. Actually, I think I started imagining him looking like Rumple.

Anyway, I always try to say something nice about a book when I review it. So, I mean…the cover is nice. The book was so bad I mourn those hours I’ll never get back. But, the cover is pretty at least.

This book was provided to me by Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review, and have not been compensated for this. All opinions are my own.

Wintersong has a dark beauty to it. I love the opening lines because they remind me of the old German faerie tales where magic isn't always kind and someone just might end up dead. Weird way to describe it, I know, but that's where I'm at, at the moment.

Overall I enjoyed the book, but I have mixed feelings about Liesl. I'm curious enough to check out the second book to see what happens!

I enjoyed this book it Romantic with a bit of a dark twist,

I've never read a book quite like this. Not just because of the type of mythology used (even though that was interesting) and not because of the language (although this was also interesting), what really surprised me was the use of music. I suppose I should have expected it from the book WinterSONG, but music plays a HUGE role in this novel, which was really incredible. I didn't like that sometimes the plot felt sloppy and at times very confusing, but I did love every interaction between the Goblin King and Elizabeth, they carried the story and make me excited to read the next one.

Many thank to Jae-Jones, Thomas Dunne Books, and Netgalley for the free copy of this book in exchange for my unbiased review. Ok first of all I just want to make this clear-I pictured Jareth through the whole book. I couldn't help it. You say Goblin King, I'm going to see David Bowie until the day I die. And in fact there were a few instances when ideas may have been inspired by his cult classic Labyrinth. My biggest issue with the book however, was with how the traits of beauty and unattractiveness were thrown around and judged. Elizabeth believes she's worthless and ugly, and no one NO ONE allows her to think differently except when it comes to her music. Her music is all that's worth loving. I hate that. It actually made me pretty angry that I stopped reading for a few days. So hopefully in the second book we stop throwing the ugly word around. Because I really did enjoy the book to want to finish the duology. For the Goblin King

WINTERSONG is part Labyrinth retelling, part musical love story, part German fairytale. It's a slow-moving, lyrical novel that's hard to label and a bit difficult to get into.
The book's plot meanders during the first 1/3, and it's not easy to tell where the central conflict is, but by the end it feels complete and whole. Certain phrases are repeated throughout, which works both to tie the narrative together and to irritate the reader. Its very much a book that you'll either love or hate, and I think the reviews reflect that. It does rely heavily on a love of classical music and fairytales, so if you like either of those, you'll probably enjoy this one.
Warning that there isn't a happily-ever-after