Wintersong by S. Jae-Jones
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

"The Goblin King was the silhouette around which my music was composed, and the Goblin Grove was the place my shadows came to life."

I have mixed feelings towards this book. I was first drawn to it because it was advertised as being inspired by Labyrinth. I have such love for that movie that I was already sold on Wintersong before I had even touched the book. Now I feel like I should have known it would explode in my face.

The story revolves around Elisabeth. She loves music more than anything but has learned to hide her compositions out of fear of rejection. Her entire life she has been told her music would never amount to anything because she is a woman and not talented enough. The only one she has shared her music with is The Goblin King, who met her in the forest outside her house when she was little. But now Elisabeth is grown and when he kidnaps her sister she must follow them Underground to rescue her.

Sounds familiar doesn’t it? Well, the sister is rescued before the first half of the book, from there the focus is her relationship with The Goblin King. It’s not that I didn’t like them together, I did in fact, but there were little things about them that I wasn't a fan of.

Elisabeth on one side came off as the exact sort of heroine I dislike. She has been denied her music for too long, making her a it resentful towards her successful brother. She is so insecure of her looks, so convinced that she is ugly that she resents her beautiful sister. And refers to herself as the untalented, unlovely sibling. She whines and complains way too much for my taste.

The Goblin King is David Bowie. He is described almost exactly like Jareth from Labyrinth, and even quotes him from time to time:

“I’ve given you everything you’ve ever wanted. I’m tired of living up to your expectations.”

As someone who loves David Bowie deeply, I must admit it was kind of charming at times. Minus the quoting part, that seemed a bit lazy to me. But it made it very difficult for me not to compare Wintersong and Labyrinth during the entire time.

My biggest issue was the writing style. While it’s lyrical and it works perfectly for the music descriptions, I don’t think it does when applied to people. Especially on the sex scenes. I kid you not, the first time they slept together I had no idea what was happening, the writing was too abstract for me.

I don’t think Wintersong is a bad book by any means. There were things I definitely enjoyed, most of all the romance (at least when they had their clothes on). But there were also many things I did not. I will probably pick up the second book anyway, I'm still curious about what will happen next.

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The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

“Families are messy. Immortal families are eternally messy. Sometimes the best we can do is to remind each other that we're related for better or for worse...and try to keep the maiming and killing to a minimum.”

 The thing about the first two Percy Jackson books is, and this is totally my take on them, that they’re more careless and funny than the ones which come after. I think it might have to do with the fact that in these two the characters are still very young and haven’t yet experienced the most difficult trials that await them; it’s kind of a similar feeling I get from the first three book in other similar middle-grade series such as Harry Potter.

 Having stated that, I can only say I really loved this book. It has the same funny ancient Greek and popular culture clash that made the first one so unique, the same bad puns and rambling internal monologue that is Percy’s mind, and while it manages to maintain the charm of the previous book it also includes new characters and expands the demigods’ world in such an effortless and funny way.

 It turned out to be a very quick read for me this second time around, again I fell in love with the same old character and the new ones, and like all other books on this series it didn’t fail to bring a smile to my face most of the time I was reading.

 I don’t want to say much else, the truth is when I first read this book, back in my high school years I didn’t know much about the plot and it suited me fine, I just didn’t care beyond the fact that it was a sequel and I needed to know what happened to everyone. I hope it’s enough for you too, but if you have read The Lightning Thief and enjoyed it then I guess I don’t need to convince you.

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Prince of Shadows by Rachel Caine
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

"I understood with fatal clarity how my cousin could have thrown away his life, all our lives, for love. If this was sorcery, then I had learned to love it. Rosaline Capulet tasted like all I had ever wanted in my life, and I knew that for truth."

I love retellings, but the thing about them is that sometimes they don’t live up to the original work that inspired them. Romeo and Juliet is very hard to top, it’s so iconic that even people who care nothing about literature know it. Having stated that, I think this book deserves all the credit.

As you have probably guessed, Prince of Shadows is a retelling of Romeo and Juliet, only it’s told from Benvolio’s point of view as he narrates his, Romeo’s and Mercutio’s stories and the events we already know. It has many of the original themes but offers a different perspective of them and a bit more background on each character’s emotions and motives. But what completely transforms the story is the author’s characterization. It makes relating to these characters easier as she provides a modern perception of them.

Romeo is a lovable fool, he falls into insta-love with Rosaline, but sheds it like an old coat the moment he sees Juliet. He spends his days daydreaming and writing little poems in dark corners when he's not fighting Capulets on the street.

Mercutio is a tragedy, his love for another man ends up being his downfall when his family finds out. His father turns his back to him and he feels abandoned by his friends which only depresses him further.

And Benvolio is the Prince of Shadows, a sneaky thief who at night robs the one who cross him during the day. He is the most responsible among his friends and so is expected to keep his cousin in line, which proves to be a challenge when Romeo demonstrates to have no common sense at all. Though that doesn’t mean he is immune to the charm of Capulet women himself.

Benvolio and Rosaline’s love exists parallel to Romeo and Juliet’s, but works very differently. While he thinks of her constantly and admires her from a distance, both Benvolio and Rosaline are wise enough to keep away from each other’s arms until it proves too difficult. They bond out of their shared concern for their families and mutual admiration; it’s almost like a mature version of their cousins’ romance.

All in all, I found this retelling very pleasing, the writing style is a merge of old and new that suits the story perfectly. It has the right atmosphere and all the best parts of the original story while also being appealing to modern readers such as me.

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These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

“I know a thousand different smiles, each with its own nuanced shade of meaning, but I don't know how to reach the few feet away to touch this person next to me. I don't know how to talk to him. Not when it's real.”

This was one of those delightful, yet very rare times when against all odds a book that I didn’t think I’d enjoy makes it to my favourites. These Broken Stars was, very different from what I expected but in the end, I loved almost every minute of it.

The plot is simple, the Icarus, a very luxurious Spaceliner unexpectedly crashes in the middle of it’s journey through space, apparently the only survivors are Lilac, a young heiress whose father owns almost every known planet, and Tarver, a war hero who comes from a modest family. Both are forced to cooperate as they end up in an unknown, deserted planet. Not much happens besides this really, the book is more focused on Lilac and Tarver’s unlikely alliance and the bond they form as they survive their surroundings than action scenes.

At first, I was a bit wary of this because it seemed like the entire situation had been constructed to get the two main characters together, and in a way, that’s the main purpose, but where I was expecting them to fall into each other’s arms at the first realization of their situation, they didn’t. Their relationship starts badly, Lilac tries to push Tarver away, so her father doesn’t make him a target for being interested in his little princess, and she behaves abominably for the first thirty percent of the story. However, there is a certain determination to her that though it doesn’t make up for her behaviour, it does make it a bit understandable.

Tarver on the other side, is a perfect gentleman, probably one of the most decent romantic interests I have encountered in similar books. He stands by this brattish girl and makes sure both he and her survive through their hostile surroundings, where any other would have abandoned her at the first chance. Of course, after a while Lilac does rise to the occasion and becomes the kind of heroine I personally love, determined and strong and yet still feminine. Their romance flows very realistically, they gravitate towards each other not only because of their status as survivors but because of the things the share.

The writing is beautiful and the descriptions, detailed, it brings the story to life and successfully portrays the character’s emotions in a way that makes it very easy to sympathize with them and understand them. Even though it was written by two different authors the story flows as if it was the work of one.

There is, however, almost no world-building and sometimes the plot feels a bit too slow. But when it comes to the romance and its portrayal, the book excels all expectations, and considering this is probably the objective, I would call it a win. I don’t know what else I can say about this book, besides that it has certainly carved a place in my heart.

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