I love the way she writes for the most part – Wintersong and most of Shadowsong were absolutely beautiful. Now, I know that S Jae-Jones is a flowery writer. The only thing that kept this particular read from being a 5 star book, for me, was the overly flowery writing. I liked the stories of the past, the folklore, the original take on goblins. There was more of a focus on the magic, the history of the Underground and the history of the King himself. I missed my Goblin King, but I did enjoy this book, perhaps more than the first (as my rating indicates). Romance is not the focus of Shadowsong – you have been warned! S Jae-Jones gives you glimpses of it, but the main focus of Shadowsong is Josef.

He is mentioned a lot, and his history is finally shown, but he and Elisabeth spend around 90% of the book completely apart. SO for fans of the The Goblin King, I feel I should say outright – this book does not feature him heavily. I mean, who wouldn’t dream about the guy though? He’s pretty dreamy. Pretty sure I even dreamed about the sexy Goblin King. I haven’t eaten since I started it last night and I only slept around six hours. The first thing I will say is that this is a quick read. I finished Shadowsong less than 12 hours later. I finished my re-read of Wintersong last night at 1am and promptly wrote my review (I didn’t write one the first time around for some reason).

This book gave me so many feels! Good feels, bad feels, lovey feels…I’m honestly kind of reeling still. I’ve waffled back and forth on this rating so many times its insane. I received an Advanced Readers Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review What will it take to break the old laws once and for all? What is the true meaning of sacrifice when the fate of the world-or the ones Liesl loves-is in her hands? When troubling signs arise that the barrier between worlds is crumbling, Liesl must return to the Underground to unravel the mystery of life, death, and the Goblin King-who he was, who he is, and who he will be. Her younger brother Josef is cold, distant, and withdrawn, while Liesl can’t forget the austere young man she left beneath the earth, and the music he inspired in her. Although she is determined to look forward and not behind, life in the world above is not as easy as Liesl had hoped. Six months after the end of Wintersong, Liesl is working toward furthering both her brother’s and her own musical careers.

Jae jones