Publisher: Wednesday Books
Series: Wintersong #2
Format: e-ARC
Source: Netgalley
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Six months after the end of Wintersong, Liesl is working toward furthering both her brother’s and her own musical careers. Although she is determined to look forward and not behind, life in the world above is not as easy as Liesl had hoped. Her younger brother Josef is cold, distant, and withdrawn, while Liesl can’t forget the austere young man she left beneath the earth, and the music he inspired in her.
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. 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?
Shadowsong was a definite improvement over Wintersong.
For one, there was much more character development from Liesl. In Wintersong, she was constantly whining about how plain and unattractive she was, and it was really annoying. She is still selfish for part of the book, but then she finally understands what she needs to do. It's a big epiphany from her.
I enjoyed Josef's thoughts and inner workings, because he wasn't present much in book one. I also felt so bad for him because you could tell that the entire ordeal was killing him mentally and emotionally.
I wish we had gotten more from Kathe and Francois, because even though they were only in the book for a few chapters, they were still important.
The two biggest downfalls for the story were the Count/Countess storyline and the lack of the Underground as the setting. The plot was ridiculously slow because of those two aspects. The majority of the story takes place at the Count and Countess's estate in the country, and although there is a lot of information revealed about how "bad" they are, it never feels like Liesl and Josef are in any danger.
I also understand why the Goblin King wasn't around for much of the story, but it was still lacking. Then when he does appear in the end, everything just wraps up so nicely except for what happens to everyone afterwards. There is no mention of what Kathe and Francois were up to, how Josef is doing in his new role, and what happened with their mother and grandmother. It seems that the side characters were not fully wrapped, if that makes sense.
It was almost like the relationships from the first book disappeared. What happened to Liesl and Kathe's sisterly bond? What happened to Josef and Francois's great love? Where was the passionate romance between Liesl and the Goblin King? The lack of these relationships really made me question why I even read Shadowsong. We barely get even a hint of romance. It was disappointing, to say the least.
Overall this was an interesting duology that needed to be polished more before coming into the world.
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