Edit, December 2017: In the author’s note in Shadowsong, it’s said that Liesl has bipolar disorder and Wintersong is an ownvoices novel that “kept [Liesl’s] diagnosis at arm’s length.” My rating remains the same, but I’ve removed the portion of my review talking about Liesl’s character because it was written before I found out she was bipolar.

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3.5 stars

I finally finished this book. It wasn't bad, but it also wasn't amazing. The only reason it took so long is school, because that always gets in the way.

Anyway.

L I K E S

» The writing. It was so lyrical and painted a picture in my head as I read. My favorite writing style.

» The story. I know this is a retelling of Labyrinth, but as I've never seen it I can't comment on accuracy. However, I enjoyed it nonetheless. It was interesting, and I found myself constantly wanting to know more.

» The music. I'm not a hugely musical person. I sing some. I dance badly when I'm alone. I know basic solfege and staff scales, but I have no rhythm and my musical vocabulary is limited. But there are so few YA that really focus on music, and so I liked this one. Also, it put big musical terms in a way simple enough for me to understand.

D I S L I K E S

» The characters' tendency to flip flop. Meaning basically that one chapter they were one way and another the next. [removed] The Goblin King (why couldn't we know his name??) seemed to cycle through being coldly indifferent, animalistic, and selflessly sweet. I don't like animalistic traits in male characters, not in this way, and the indifference just gets really old really quickly. I know it was supposed to be part of his identities as both Der Erlkönig and "the austere young man," but I just couldn't get on board.

» The romance. You're probably surprised to see this here, as I almost always love romances. But in this book, it felt like their personalities when together were always opposite, to the point of creating awkwardness and tension. It cleared up in the end, but then their mutual selflessness got in the way and … ugh. I'll stop there. They had potential to be cute and passionate and a great couple to ship, especially when they composed together, but no. Just no. Sorry not sorry.

» The dust jacket synopsis lies. I won't elaborate too much for sake of spoilers. But the jacket summary describes a story that only really lasts for about the first half of the story. The second half is different, and while I'm not opposed to surprises like that, the dust jacket is what had me interested. I would've liked if it better described the basis of what actually goes down. (Does that make sense..?)

O V E R A L L

This was an enjoyable book, and in some aspects did take me by surprise. But in many key elements I found it was lacking, and in the end it wasn't what I hoped.