Wintersong (Wintersong, #1)

by S Jae-Jones

I don't even know where to start. I'm just conflicted. I'm just going to split this into likes and dislikes and make it dot point.

Likes
- I liked the whole dark fairytale mood
- I liked the music - the composing and the playing and the focus.

Dislikes
- I didn't really like Liesl. She's really a very nothing kind of character, just molding herself to whatever everyone wishes of her. She has no self-confidence. Yes she develops it to a certain degree but 400 pages of how plain and boring and ugly does not make me sympathise it just annoys the crap out of me. She was also so easily seduced by her perfect world that she just gives up on her sister - and yes I know that was the point but it just irritates me - she comes across so high and mighty for sacrificing but she doesn't actually sacrifice it right - she actually just considers forgetting about her sister and enjoying it. I have a younger sister. I would never do this. Furthermore this ties in with the whole relationship with the Goblin King. She's either scared of him or not - friends or not, hates him or not - pick one freaking option and stick with it. They spent so much time together and then she just writes him off - not because she forgets him (although I guess to some degree she does) but because she has other things to do - which, timeline kind of screws up here - because she's apparently childhood friends with Hans - did she ditch the Goblin King for her crush or what? Either way I was getting increasingly annoyed by their relationship because she just dithers. She's a ditherer.

- I actually started out liking the Goblin King but by the end of it I was ready to write him off as well. He's not much better than Liesl running hot and freaking cold.

- It was just so dense. And long. I struggled with the last half.

And worst of all - all that for THAT FREAKING ENDING! Are you freaking kidding me right now?!

I have heard there will be a sequel. But I think I might be better just cutting my losses.