*Early copy sent to me by the publisher. This doesn’t affect my opinion or the content of my review.*

2.5 stars

Tw: self-harm, addiction, reckless behavior, suicidal ideation (per the author’s note in the book)

I wanted to like this. I really did. But honestly, I only read this because the publisher sent me an early copy. I wasn’t a fan of the first book, and I didn’t really like this one either.

First, let me say that I didn’t hate this book. It was unique and diverse, with a bipolar protagonist and side characters of color. I think there was also an
m/m side relationship. I liked Liesl and Josef’s sibling dynamic, and how they were still loyal to one another even after everything. I think communication would’ve helped them a lot, but in the end I did like them regardless.

Unfortunately, that’s where the list ends. I didn’t really like much else about this book. The story was slow, and parts of it didn’t make much sense. I thought more of it would take place in the Underground, so I was a little disappointed that it was almost entirely in the human world.

The ending was nice, but it didn’t make me really feel anything. I think fans of the first book will like it. Personally, though, I was sort of indifferent.

One more thing. You know how, to show the end of a scene or a time jump, books have spaces between paragraphs, sometimes a symbol? In this book there’s only a hashtag, no spaces or anything. It took me some time to realize what the purpose of the hashtag was, that it wasn’t just a typo. This doesn’t affect my rating, but it’s something I thought I’d bring up.

So overall, this book wasn’t for me. I tried to like it, but it just didn’t work. However, I think anyone that liked Wintersong will like this! 😊