Book Review: Wintersong by S. Jae-Jones

Author: S. Jae-Jones

Series: Yes - Book #1 in the Wintersong series.

Cover: The cover is so pretty! It gives me a very whimsical vibe. 

Rating: 1/5 Oof... Warning: this book may bore you to death. (Also, this book in my opinion is for 13+)

Review: Like always, the first part of my review is going to be spoiler free. The second half I will discuss spoilery things and I will rant a lot. Especially with this book lol... Now, I've seen this book a round a lot and I've seen the ratings people have given it as well. In my opinion, I believe I'm a really lenient person when it comes to ratings, but holy smokes, this book was bad. Now, if you loved this book, that's great! This review consists of my opinions and you're free to have yours as well.

Let's see... Wintersong takes place in Germany some odd years ago. Our protagonist is Liesl (I really like this nickname). In this world, there are goblins. The Goblin King (GK) needs a wife every couple of years to make sure Earth survives winter. The GK kidnaps Liesl's sister, Kathe, and now it is up to Liesl to save her beloved sister. 

The characters in this book are so generic... it hurt my soul. We have Liesl, a character more plain than Plain Jane. Her sister Kathe is so gosh darn beautiful and... and... yup... she's just beautiful. GK is the dark, mysterious, and handsome dude. Everyone else is generic background characters. My favorite characters in this book weren't even supporting characters. THAT'S BAD. 

Now, did I love anything about this book? Besides it being a great way to put me to sleep, I enjoyed all the musical details this book had. The writing in certain parts of the book were absolutely gorgeous. Honestly, that's about it for what I love.

As for what I hate in this book? Way too many things. Although the writing is beautiful, Jae-Jones overdoes it. There are so many parts in this book that felt so forced. It felt like she went and found a thesaurus and replaced every 10th word with a more complicated and "deeper" word. But the overall killer of this book for me is Liesl. I've never read a character that has annoyed me more than her.

Overall, if you loved this book, that is 100% fine. For me, I wouldn't recommend this book. I spent 14 hours listening to this book. I wanted to DNF around hour 10. The reason why I didn't was because I was super stubborn. Read at your own risk.

!!!!!!!!!! MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD !!!!!!!!!!

I don't think I've met a more infuriating character than Liesl. Jae-Jones describes Liesl as someone that is easily forgotten, plain and untalented. It is described so often to me that I truly believe Liesl is all of these characteristics. She has 0 redeeming qualities. Apparently, she is an amazing composer and that's cool and all, BUT it doesn't change the fact that she's useless. The only thing she does is complain about how she receives zero attention, but at the same time, she's doing nothing to deserve any attention. 

Besides being useless, Liesl also does the exact OPPOSITE of what everyone tells her to do. She believes that magical creatures are real right? Then why not listen to her grandmother? Also, she was TOLD very clearly that if she becomes the GK's bride, she will die in order for spring and summer to come above ground. If she ever leaves the underground, the world above will turn to winter. So, what does she do? SHE GOES ABOVE GROUND. Man, even her servants were like "don't trust the changelings" and not even one page later she goes and follows the changeling. It's like this girl just wants to create havoc because all of her life no one has looked at her for more than 10 minutes.

I also hate the relationship dynamic between GK and Liesl. They both like/love each other so freaking much, woo hoo!!! First of all, GK is a kidnapper that basically "drugs" his victims with illusions. Second, GK has been courting Liesl since she was a little girl. Lastly, GK is kinda messed up for kidnapping Kathe and guilt tripping Liesl into taking her place. Red flags anyone??????

Liesl also needs to learn to GTFO when people tell her to GTFO. There was a scene where the GK did not want to have sex with her. Liesl in response sits there naked screaming about how she isn't hot enough like her sister to screw. You know Liesl, insecurity is very very unattractive. Also, the dude doesn't want to sleep with you, why are you forcing him to? Not to mention she invades his private spaces. His own subjects don't even dare to disturb him while he's in his private place, but Liesl's train of thought went along the lines of "he doesn't love me enough so F!@# him and his private space." 

There is just so much passive aggressiveness between every single character. My god, I can hear, taste, see, smell, and touch all the jealousy that oozes out from Liesl. Also, no matter how many times I hear how "hot" the GK is, I cannot erase the fact that the dude is a kidnapper, rapist, and possibly a child predator. Hello???? RED FLAGS????????????????

I also hate how Liesl's self-worth is amounted to if any guy is willing to bone her. Christ, she is only 19 and hasn't had a single boyfriend yet so she thinks if she can get a lowlife of a GK to screw her, she will magically turn into a powerful woman. She's such a freaking hypocrite. I swear the first half of the book was all about how Kathe needs to keep her legs closed. The second half of this book is Liesl not being able to keep her legs closed. Slut shaming just stop. 

Man, the only relationship I want to read of this entire book is the one with Josef and Francois. Those two seem to know how to SUPPORT, LOVE, AND CARE for each other, unlike some other characters in this book.

I don't want to rant forever even though I could, but the last annoying thing about this book was the writing. It felt like every single line had to be a mini poem. There were so many "secret meanings" in the way each character talked. Like, just spit it out reason X, Y or Z this or that happens. It's not that hard! Holy smokes. Maybe I was driving when I was listening to this audiobook, but the plot kept jumping everywhere. I don't think driving really has anything to do with it because I can follow other books just fine. Maybe I'm too harsh on this book? Either way, this was 14 hours I can't get back.

Audiobook Rating:

I feel sorry for Eva Kaminsky. I don't think her voice acting was particularly bad, but the story really didn't help. This was just a bad situation where no amount of perfume can hide the smell of shit. Because of that, I have to give it a 3/5. Maybe I'll hear another book that will star Kaminsky and I'll change my mind. 

Top 3 Favorite Characters

Josef - Cool little brother that is 100% innocent in everything that this book is. He needs to be protected from the atrocious story that he is being put in lol... Also love how talented he is.

Francois - Another cool talented guy. I don't have much to say since he never really talked much...

Twig - My favorite goblin. Why? Because I just like her lol...

So... Maybe I am really harsh on this review. I don't think I've been annoyed at a book like this for a while. I can't remember what was the last book that I hated. I usually try to finish a series when I start one, but this will be the end of the Wintersong series for me. Have you guys read this book? what are your thoughts? If you loved it, that's 100% okay. I won't bite you lol.