Wintersong by S. Jae-Jones (review)

At the dawn of the nineteenth century, Liesl has resigned herself to a life of spinsterhood: unlike her gorgeous sister, plain Liesl will never win a husband with her looks, and unlike her little brother, her gender will never allow her to achieve her true dream of being a composer. She’s steady and brave, however, two traits that come in quite handy when the Goblin King, a creature of myth and legend, kidnaps her sister. Liesl finds her way to the Underground and strikes a deal with the Goblin King that returns her sister to the world above but keeps Liesl not only in the realm of the Goblin King but married to him. Much to her shock, Liesl finds herself flourishing in a place where she can compose all she likes and where she finds someone in the Goblin King who truly desires her (it helps that he’s surprisingly handsome). Everything in the Underground, however, comes with a price. This pulls heavily from Christina Rossetti’s “Goblin Market,” and it has similar notes of melancholia, lust, love, and loyalty; elements of the myth of Persephone and German folklore are drawn on as well, creating a quiet symphony of deep emotion. The Goblin King exudes power and arrogance along with vulnerability and grief, and Liesl’s sexual encounters with him range from bacchanalian bliss to acts of comfort and reassurance. While discordant details sometimes interrupt, their mutual stories of sacrifice are moving and complex. At the heart of the story is a haunting melody of love gained and lost, and this may lead readers to Clare Dunkle’s classic and similarly themed Hollow Kingdom trilogy.