WINTERSONG
When the book first sparked my interest, it was mainly due to the fact that the author was inspired by the Eighties cult classic, Labyrinth. The story follows Liesel, a girl in 19th Century Bavaria, who grew up on fairytales and stories about the Goblin King. When it appears that the Goblin King has kidnapped her sister and intends to turn her into his bride, it’s up to Liesel to save her, before it’s too late.
Unfortunately, the novel really doesn’t seem to know where it wants to go. Reviews on the back cover keep insisting the book is ‘steamy’, but the main characters are so bland I was baffled over who was finding this invisible sexual tension. Liesel is an irritating main character, as the book is written in first person and as such, we are forced to endure her endless whining about how boring and untalented she is compared to her beautiful younger sister and prodigy younger brother. I liked that the novel addresses her petty jealousy towards her sister and Liesel realises that she has taken her for granted, as I felt there was a very “not like other girls” vibe in Liesel’s narration during the early parts of the story.
However, something about the meandering plot made this book a drag to finish, especially since the novel is split into two halves that it really didn’t need to be. It just doesn’t deliver on the promises of a dark, sensuous romance and there was nothing really motivating me to root for the characters or particularly care about what happened to them, nothing about them really broke out of their stock archetypes for me. Overall, if you’re looking for a ‘sexy’ fantasy novel, I’d look elsewhere, because you won’t find anything close to a David Bowie here.
BOOKS
words: sasha hughes