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A review by ec_newman
Wintersong by S. Jae-Jones
3.0
This should not be shelved under YA, just a note. It is most definitely in the realm of NA or older, due to content and very much the age of the protagonist and the experiences she goes through.
This is a book I have a hard time knowing exactly what I think of it. In some ways, I did enjoy it. I finished it in three days which is impressive for the way my schedule has been. The world, the magic, the Goblin King, the music (very much a slight Phantom of the Opera vibe here) was all intriguing and new to me for the most part. So that was good.
But there were other things that bugged me. People talk about the beautiful prose, and i'm not sure I completely agree. There was the occasional sentence or paragraph that flowed well, but often it was figurative language that felt disjointed, or forced. Moments that needed to be drawn out were rushed, and stuff I didn't want to belabor on seemed to take forever. There was repetition of thoughts and ideas that had already been established, in the way I notice in my own drafts in the early stages where I forget if I've said that already or not. Like I get that Twig is the nice one. (I'm pretty sure it was said five times separately). The content that makes this not a YA was unnecessary to me. I got the desperation, I didn't need it detailed. Also, the prologue that reads like a fairy tale was lovely, but it gave stuff away about the protagonist's earlier years, and when she was trying to remember it, I was annoyed because I knew it already due to the prologue. Had that not been there, finding out along with her would have been more enjoyable.
So I commend the author on this story because it's definitely interesting, pieces of it fantastical and the lore was inviting. But for me, I won't continue this series. But I might pick up another by the author, in a different setting.
This is a book I have a hard time knowing exactly what I think of it. In some ways, I did enjoy it. I finished it in three days which is impressive for the way my schedule has been. The world, the magic, the Goblin King, the music (very much a slight Phantom of the Opera vibe here) was all intriguing and new to me for the most part. So that was good.
But there were other things that bugged me. People talk about the beautiful prose, and i'm not sure I completely agree. There was the occasional sentence or paragraph that flowed well, but often it was figurative language that felt disjointed, or forced. Moments that needed to be drawn out were rushed, and stuff I didn't want to belabor on seemed to take forever. There was repetition of thoughts and ideas that had already been established, in the way I notice in my own drafts in the early stages where I forget if I've said that already or not. Like I get that Twig is the nice one. (I'm pretty sure it was said five times separately). The content that makes this not a YA was unnecessary to me. I got the desperation, I didn't need it detailed. Also, the prologue that reads like a fairy tale was lovely, but it gave stuff away about the protagonist's earlier years, and when she was trying to remember it, I was annoyed because I knew it already due to the prologue. Had that not been there, finding out along with her would have been more enjoyable.
So I commend the author on this story because it's definitely interesting, pieces of it fantastical and the lore was inviting. But for me, I won't continue this series. But I might pick up another by the author, in a different setting.