emruth13
Written on Feb 8, 2017
All her life, Liesl has heard tales of the beautiful, dangerous Goblin King. They've enraptured her spirit and inspired her musical compositions. Now eighteen, Liesl can't help but feel that her musical dreams and childhood fantasies are slipping away.But when her sister is taken by the Goblin King, Liesl must journey to the Underground to save her. Drawn to the strange, captivating world she finds-and the mysterious man who rules it-she soon faces an impossible decision. With time and the old laws working against her, Liesl must discover who she truly is before her fate is sealed.
- ISBN13 9781785655449
- Publish Date 7 February 2017
- Publish Status Active
- Publish Country GB
- Imprint Titan Books Ltd
- Format Paperback
- Pages 368
- Language English
Reviews
shannonmiz
Written on Jan 6, 2017
A quick disclaimer before we start: I have no idea what Labyrinth is, outside of "David Bowie" and "The 80s". So if you are looking for a comparison.... you won't find one here. All I can tell you is that David Bowie isn't in this book? Okay, moving on.
Wintersong hooked me from page one. The writing is gorgeous, lyrical, and just kept drawing me into the story. I really liked Liesl as a character. She was incredibly honest and flawed at times, and I felt like there was something about her that was just so... authentic. I could sympathize with her struggles even though I didn't always share them. I liked how she wasn't afraid to say that she wanted to know the feeling of someone being attracted to her, to show her attention the way people did to her sister.
Speaking of her sister, there is so much focus on family relationships in this book, which is another thing that I loved. So much of the plot revolves around Liesl trying to determine what is best for her family, finding a place in her family, her duty to her family. And I really loved her siblings, and even her mother and grandmother! I could have lived without her father, but I suppose his indifference toward her talent was probably pretty realistic for the time period.
Oh, and her talent! Yes, Liesl and her brother Josef both have quite an affinity for music, but in different ways. Josef plays, Liesl writes, only no one ever knows that she is behind the music. Usually, music in books for me is tolerable at best but in this case, I actually found myself caring about it! Which... I don't know, it says quite a bit about the author's ability to draw me into a subject I am usually apathetic toward. It fit into the story in a lot of really perfect ways, and I appreciated that.
The romance was slow to start, but once it did, I shipped it a lot. There were a lot of swoon-worthy moments. A. Lot. I don't want to say much more about the romance because it would be spoilery, so I am just going to say that I really liked it and move on. There was one aspect I wasn't as fond of, and that was that (and this is a spoiler, so... I will tell you guys not to read it but you will anyway. I know how you all operate!) Liesl says that sex like, changed her whole world. It was... odd. Like, she says:
"My life was divided into two neat and perfect halves: Before and After."
"I emerged from our tryst a different woman: no longer Liesl, but Elizabeth. I tested the edges of this new identity, slipping it on, seeing how it fit."
Like... I get that it might have been good sexy times, but should sex really be identity changing? Not sure how I felt about that as a message.
There are slower moments, and sometimes they were completely fine- like I said, the writing is so stunning, the character development so well done, that I didn't mind most of the slower moments. But there were a few times, especially in the second half of the book, that I felt that maybe speeding things up, or perhaps just not including a few repetitive parts, would have helped.
Bottom Line: This was such a lovely book, with characters that I grew to care deeply about and a magical story that had me hooked throughout. I was so happy to hear that there would be a companion novel, as I cannot wait to jump back into the characters' lives, the world, and the writing!
*Copy provided by publisher for review
cornerfolds
Written on Dec 14, 2016
Initial reaction:
I'd like to start this review with a story: I first saw Labyrinth sitting in my bunk bed on an Air Force Base in Afghanistan. One of my best friends on deployment was obsessed with the movie and was appalled that I'd never seen it! I remember sitting on my bed wondering what in the hell I was even looking at on my laptop screen. Still, something about Labyrinth hooked me. Even though the puppets are bizarre, the music is weird, and Sarah is annoying, the character of Jareth has always fascinated me. When I found out about Wintersong and realized that the Goblin King was going to get a romance, I had to have it!
Wintersong is unique because, while it is a retelling of the Goblin King and does sort of feel like Labyrinth, it is an entirely new story. The main character is Liesl and, instead of trying to rescue a baby brother, she is trying to rescue her sister Käthe. In order to retrieve her sister, Liesl must agree to marry the Goblin King and stay with him Underground. But of course, there wouldn't be much of a story if things didn't become a bit more complicated than a quick marriage.
Let me be clear, I loved every character in this book. Liesl is the ugly sister, the plain one who has only ever wanted to compose music. She's insecure and unsure of everything about herself and I identified with her so hard! I loved her unsteady strength and independence and her relationship with her siblings. But even more than I loved Liesl, I loved the Goblin King.
He remained mysterious all the way until the end, but I loved it. I have always had a thing for love interests who are a little hard to pin down and the Goblin King certainly kept his secrets. Although he has a distinct character apart from the Goblin King of the film, I pictured him as having (younger) Jareth traits and it made the reading experience that much more fun (for me, at least). His story did become more clear towards the end, but I feel like there is still a lot that could be learned about the Goblin King and I'm really hoping for another book!
I've seen some mixed opinions on the actual romance of Wintersong, but I have to say that I loved that too! The relationship between Liesl and the Goblin King was tense and a little angsty and their romance was definitely a slow burn. The Goblin King has his own past to contend with, while Liesl is trying to figure out what it is that she wants. I am not usually one to enjoy slow burn, angsty romance, but this one was sweet and perfect.
Although this is marketed as YA and the main character certainly fits that category, Wintersong didn't necessarily feel like a young adult book. The writing was heavy and lyrical and, while the romance isn't quite to the level of Sarah J. Maas, there were (thankfully) some bits that you might not find in a typical young adult book. I felt like Wintersong combined the best of both worlds. The ending of this book is also not as clean cut as you may be used to. I've seen that some people didn't love the way it wrapped up, but it definitely left me wanting more!
I expected to love Wintersong when I was granted a review copy (thank you, Netgalley!) and I was not disappointed. This is already at the top of my 2017 reads list and I am anticipating that it will stay in my top five. I honestly can't say anything negative! If you're a Labyrinth fan, this is definitely the book for you! Even if you've never seen Labyrinth, though, I think Wintersong is a book that any fantasy lover will enjoy.
nightingalereads
Written on Nov 14, 2016