Book Review: Wintersong

Title: WintersongAuthor: S Jae-JonesPublisher: Titan BooksRelease Date:  7th February 2017 
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 childish fancies about the Goblin King must be set aside in favor of more practical concerns.
But when her sister Käthe 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 Käthe 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 sacrifice, nothing good can grow. 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.

Review:  I know it says it about but I just need to reiterate: 

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

ALL THE FEELS! This was all I needed to sell me this book. This is a classic example of never judge a book by its cover. I more than likely probably wouldn't have picked this up if I saw it in passing unless curiosity got the better of me. But mention the Goblin King and I'm sold. I LOVE Labrynth as a film and in case you live under a rock and don't know what i'm talking about let me refresh your memory:

This book draws all the feels from the film, and every time I read the worlds Goblin King i got a little shiver. The book and film also share a lot of similarities. A weird and wonder twisted world. The ideas of isolation and solidarity. Of bravery and fight and the lengths you're prepared to go to.

The Goblin King was this enigmatic character, full of layers. He has light and dark moments where his cunning and mischievous side comes out. He has a deep rich history and is such a reserved character. You see him in different forms and faces but within all of these he still had (or at least i projected onto him) this air of authority that he carried with him. He felt like a trapped soul and so there was a lot of feeling for him wrapped up in the situation. 

I feel there is a little of Liesl in all of you, she is a vulnerable character that looks for adventure, that questions but that wants to love. She like the Goblin king had a guard and had a purpose and she has to be broken to grow and there were times when you wanted to sake her, to reach into the pages and say it's going to be ok, or to spur her on. 

The world below was in my mind this beautiful twisted creature, very earthy and of the ground,a whole underground world that broke all the rules, coated this this magic rose tinted gloss that hid its true nature. It was like a del toro scene unfolding the truth shattered and the world came to true focus. 

Some of the most beautiful moments here were the music. these rich scenes of them playing both individually and together and you just imagined the music playing and growing getting enveloped in its sound and being carried to another place altogether. Music holds magic and you could really feel this in the pages. Not only for the reader but for the characters and you could feel how it gripped them both.  

I thought this was a standalone but have just seen that Shadowsong is coming and I am here for that. I'm ready to go back into this world, to see how much further the characters are pushed and really get under the skin of the Goblin King.