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Thanks to NetGalley and Thomas Dunne for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Release Date: February 7th, 2016
448 Pages
Synopsis: Beware the goblin men and the wares they sell.
All her life, nineteen-year-old Liesl has heard tales of the beautiful, mysterious Goblin King. He is the Lord of Mischief, the Ruler Underground, and the muse around which her music is composed. Yet, as Liesl helps shoulder the burden of running her family’s inn, her dreams of composition and childhood fancies about the Goblin King must be set aside in favor of more practical concerns.
But when her sister Kathe is taken by the goblins, Liesl journeys to their realm to rescue her sister and return her to the world above. The Goblin King agrees to let Kathe go–for a price. The life of a maiden must be given to the land, in accordance with the old laws. “A life for a life”, he says. Without death, there can be no rebirth. In exchange for her sister’s freedom, Liesl offers her hand in marriage to the Goblin King. He accepts.
Down in the Underground, Liesl discovers that the Goblin King still inspires her–musically, physically, emotionally. Yet even as her talent blossoms, Liesl’s life is slowly fading away, the price she paid for becoming the Goblin King’s bride. As the two of them grow closer, they must learn just what it is they are each willing to sacrifice: her life, her music, or the end of the world.
Labyrinth is one of my favorite movies, so when I read the synopsis and realized that Wintersong is based on it, I was so excited. While there were parts of it I liked though, there were other things I was disappointed in. Let’s start with Liesl. I liked how she wasn’t your stereotypical beauty, but her “plainness” was brought up much too often. I also didn’t understand the attraction she felt for the Goblin King, even as he was holding her sister captive. I did like the relationships she had with her sister, Kathe, and her brother Josef though. They were complicated and very believable. As for the Goblin King, well, apart from being handsome and having a mysterious obsession for Liesl, I never felt like I actually got to know him. I thought the romance between Liesl and him never grew past the awkward stage, and I never truly became emotionally invested in them as a couple. While I quickly breezed through the first half of the story, I found the pace slowed considerably after that. The world-building however was exquisitely detailed and I loved how the author made music such a big part of it. The ending was bittersweet, yet perfectly capped what was also a bittersweet story. While Wintersong didn’t quite live up to the hype for me, S. Jae-Jones has a lyrical way of writing and I’ll definitely be looking out for her next book. Because of some fairly steamy sexual scenes, I’d recommend this for older teens and adults.
ravenblake99 said:
Great Review! I have this in my tbr but after hearing so many mixed reviews I’m not sure I would totally enjoy it.
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
Thanks Raven! I hate giving “meh” reviews like this.😡 S. Jae-Jone’s writing really is gorgeous, I just wasn’t able to connect with the MCs. Maybe if you still interested, you could borrow it from the library?😕
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LairOfBooks said:
So glad you enjoyed Wintersong Kim! I believe I rated it a 3.75 & had similar feelings about the romance. Although I enjoyed the musical aspects, I did think that it was a bit overkill with the specific musical terminology. However, LOVED the world building, lush writing, details, and Gothic feels. Fave characters: Twig & Thistle ❤ Great review! 🙂
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
Thanks Lilly! I wish I had liked it even more, but I was just never able to connect with Liesl and the Goblin King or buy into their romance. I’ll definitely be looking out for Jae-Jones’ next book though!💁🏻
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LairOfBooks said:
I completely agree & yes I look forward to this author’s future projects 😃💜
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LizScanlon said:
Mega review- what you’ve said does make the book sound fairly intriguing, but at the same time, I don’t think it’s superhigh on the want list… the Goblin King/Liesl relationship does sound a bit awkward.. what was the Goblin King like? I can’t even picture… well, you did say handsome.. but my first mental picture of a Goblin King is something grotesque 😀
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
Thank you so much Liz! The Goblin King isn’t technically a goblin–long story, but he does have pointy teeth! I really kept picturing him as David Bowie in Labyrinth.💁🏻
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LizScanlon said:
pointy teeth…. interesting! I havent seen Labyrinth… another thing going to my to-do list ☺
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
I think you’ll love Labyrinth Liz! Bowie at his best!💁🏻
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BrizzleLass said:
I’ve been debating this but the synopsis is written as though it’s more for younger teens. I’m actually quite glad you have said about it being better for older teens and adults as I may actually give it a go now. Thanks for your fab review. 😁
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
Thanks! I see what you mean, but I definitely wouldn’t recommend this for teens under the age of 16. If you read it, I hope you enjoy it!💁🏻
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YAandWine said:
This one is on my list for February. It sounds really intriguing and different. It has been getting a lot of hype. You’re definitely right there. Sometimes that isn’t always a good thing. I feel like I’m more critical of hyped books.
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
I’d love to hear what you think (and what wine you pair with it!) once you’ve read it!💁🏻
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YAandWine said:
That’s the plan! We’ll see how the TBR goes!
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thebookishlibra said:
Thanks for the honest review. I have this on my wishlist, but I don’t think I’ll be making this a priority read now. I seem to nearly always end up disappointed by books where I don’t feel like I’m connecting with the characters.
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
I know it’s received some 4 and 5 star reviews, so please don’t let me put you off! And despite my issues with the characters, the author truly does have a beautiful style of writing.💁🏻
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jowensauthor said:
The Labyrinth is one of my favorite movies, too, so this sounds kind of interesting.
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
While I thought the two MCs needed more development, the world building truly is phenomenal Jeanne and her writing is almost lyrical.😊
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jowensauthor said:
This will probably end up on my list of books to check out
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
You’ll have to let me know what you think.💁🏻
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jowensauthor said:
Will do
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Carrie said:
This is one I debated on but ended up not requesting. I may still try it out someday if I ever get myself out from my mountain of books.
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
I’d love to hear your thoughts on this Carrie, but I definitely understand about your mountain of books as I have one of my own.😕
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Books, Vertigo and Tea said:
So when I initially read the synopsis for Wintersong, I to thought of Labyrinth. However, I did not know that this was actually a form of a retelling. So I am very curious, but something is holding me back. Something has me convinced this will not work as well as I will want it to for me. Excellent review ❤
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
Argh! I wish I could say that it was perfection, but I really did have a problem with Liesl and the Goblin King and the slow pacing in the latter half of the book. But then there was that gorgeous world building and beautifully written prose. Sigh. I just don’t know what to advise, except to definitely check out some of the other reviews on Goodreads.🤷🏻♀️
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Books, Vertigo and Tea said:
Maybe I will just save the thought for a rainy day 😉 I have a friend need to inform that this is actually a sort of retelling of Labyrinth though. She will read it for sure ❤
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lostartofreadingblog said:
Not exactly my type of book…..But I love the cover !!
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
I think it was the cover that first drew me in.💁🏻
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vinnieh said:
I definitely got a real Labyrinth vibe from reading this review.
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
I think as far as world building goes, she did Labyrinth proud Vinnie!💁🏻
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vinnieh said:
That’s nice to know.
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
I love seeing you comment on my reviews Vinnie!💁🏻
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vinnieh said:
I’m only repaying the favours you bestow on me.
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
Aww. Thank you! I just posted a new one if you have time to peruse it.🤗
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vinnieh said:
I will be over to peruse.
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
Yay!😊
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beetleypete said:
Some of these ideas seem to me to have been taken straight from parts of this book.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_Strange_%26_Mr_Norrell
There was a wonderful TV adaptation, which I really recommend.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2548418/
Best wishes, Pete.
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
I LOVE Dr. Strange and Mr. Norrell Pete! Both the book and the mini-series. While this has plenty of magic in it though, it’s definitely more akin to Labyrinth.💁🏻
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beetleypete said:
OK, got it! (I also loved that series!)
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
I have an autographed copy of the book!😊
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The Shameful Narcissist said:
I was actually curious about what you’d think about this. It’s popped up in my Goodreads feed quite a bit, but I hesitated on adding it. I instantly was reminded of Labyrinth even before knowing it was based on that. The title got me, because I love anything that has to do with winter.
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
I loved the title and cover as well Adrienne. Because I had heard it was a retelling of Labyrinth, I think maybe my expectations were too high for this.🤷🏻♀️ But, there were parts that I really enjoyed, so I’d still recommend it.💁🏻
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Diana said:
That cover is so beautiful.It seems like the book had lots of potential but characterization was abit weak.I have never watched Labriynth.Will check it out if I get a chance.
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
The cover is lovely. You should definitely watch Labyrinth Diana. I think you would enjoy it.
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Jen said:
I’m going to come back and read your review since I’m currently reading it right now. but I’m a little past 100 pages and I’m at a solid 3. I keep comparing it to the movie (which I LOVED!!!!) and it just can’t compete *cries*. And then I saw you gave it 3.5 Stars so I can’t wait to read your thoughts once I’m done!
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
Ooh! We have to compare notes when you done Jen!🤗
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Jen said:
Definitely!
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Lashaan and Trang (Bookidote) said:
The integration of music as something quite important in the story always pleased me. The hype behind this book seemed quite real, but it sucks that it didn’t pan out for you. At least the world-building was pretty good! The Goblin King sounded interesting when I read other blogger’s review of this book. I guess maybe it’s the idea of a “Goblin King” that got me more captivated by the character than how he really turned out for most readers.. 😛
– Lashaan
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
Even though I was disappointed in the characters, her prose and world building is really quite beautiful. I’m definitely interested in seeing what she comes out with next. Have you seen Labyrinth, the movie which inspired it?
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Lashaan and Trang (Bookidote) said:
Are we talking about the one with David Bowie? Or is it Pan’s Labyrinth?
– Lashaan
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
The one with David Bowie.
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Lashaan and Trang (Bookidote) said:
I believe I’ve seen bits of it as a kid, but I can’t recall the whole narrative. I just checked out the trailer for it right now, and wow. Definitely an interesting place to find inspiration for Wintersong. Does it tell the exact same story is just a variation of it?
– Lashaan
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
Wintersong is just a retelling of it. If you can, I highly recommend you see the movie. It’s brilliant!😊
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Jen said:
I finished the book, and while you liked it better than me, we had a lot of the same issues. The 2nd part slowed down considerably, her plainness was brought up too much (for me there were so many phrases and words repeated again and again, it drove me a little crazy), I didn’t under the attraction between them ever. Ugh. It was such a let down when compared to the magical beauty of the movie. I scheduled my 2.5 Star review for this Wednesday. 😦 There’s a final book coming out I believe next year for this series. But I’ll be skipping it.
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
I think I may have been overly generous with my rating. I was mulling over whether or not to give it 3 stars, but I really loved the world she created as well as her style of writing. I know a lot of readers haven’t cared for the emphasis of music on the plot, but I liked that also. I didn’t know this was going to be a duology! Huh. While I don’t think I’d go out and buy it (unless it’s receiving rave reviews from everyone), I probably will borrow it from my library.😊
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Jen said:
I loved her writing style too. I kept hoping that that would be enough to pull me back in, but it never did. She said that she always had it in her mind that it would be two books and that she was ecstatic when the publisher bought rights to the 2nd one – I think I learned that from her on Twitter I believe…or maybe Facebook? So some of those clues we got towards the end will help pave the way for the final book. Here’s hoping that one pans out better for you! 🙂
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
Fingers crossed!
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TeacherofYA said:
I am eager to read this and I have decided that if it doesn’t do the movie justice, I’ll be doing my own retelling!!
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