Windsong: A Review

A beautiful blend of Beauty and the Beast, the Golden Compass and Norwegian Fairytales

You guys, I'm absolutely enchanted with Windsong.  It's possibly the best book I've read all month. Let me just lay it all out right now:

Full on five stars ya'll...no hesitation.

Blurb: 

Life doesn’t wait for tears to finish.

Eighteen-year-old Roxana Welhaven has lived her life by this motto. When her mother is diagnosed with terminal cancer, Roxana swallows her tears and vows to do whatever is necessary to save her.

Even if it means making a deal with a talking polar bear.

The bear offers to cure her mother, but only if Roxana lives with him for one year. When she agrees, the bear whisks Roxana through a portal to another world and gives her lavish accommodations in an enchanted castle. Although she’s determined to serve her year and return home, the impatient and high-strung Roxana finds her heart drawn to the bear’s tranquil nature. He’s compassionate, clumsy and utterly adorable.

He's also a cursed man, trapped inside a bear’s body.

True love won’t be enough to break his enchantment. To save him, Roxana must embark on a treacherous quest to find his captor, a journey that will lead her east of the sun and west of the moon.


A retelling of the Norwegian fairy tale East of the Sun and West of the Moon.

Artist Credit: Kayshasiemens

Thoughts:

First I want to warn you all, this book made me cry multiple times. I almost feel like you can't fail when you have fairy tale retellings, and this one feels like it has so many aspects of stories we already know.  Like beauty and the beast, and of course the Norwegian Fairytale, East of the Sun, West of the Moon. Roxana is a tough young lady, which if you know me you know I already like her. She's put in a difficult situation and makes difficult choices for the betterment of her family.  Along the way she slowly opens her heart to the bear and his meat eating horse friend, Vidar.

The book is broken up into four parts, which help with the organization of the story. My neurodiverse brain loves organization, ya'll. Part one was Roxana and the bear getting to know each other, and this bear...you guys.  He is an absolute clumsy, adorable sweetheart.  The book starts to take a darker turn, but you really aren't told why. Part two the darkness really creeps in, and Roxana is given an out, but she refuses to take it. Part three is where the difficulty really reigns in and Vidar and Roxanna become inseparable on their journey. How am I supposed to adore a frightening meat eating horse...but I do. Every girl needs a scary horse. Part four ties the story up, but I won't tell you more than that.

I found it easy to get pulled into this book.  Stephanie Donahue is brilliant at playing with reader's emotions and making us feel deep connections with her characters.  Get ready to fall in love with all the characters, and maybe even feel a little bad for the villain in the story too. This is a book that I will likely reread when I need to get away from life, and my re-read list is very very small.

Windsong by Sephanie Donohue is available for pre-order now, and will be available for purchase June 29, 2022!

Disclaimer: I received an advanced e-copy of this book free for review.  This however does not affect my opinions, as I do not leave a review for each book I receive. There are links to bookshop here, clicking these links won't cost you anything but any purchase helps support this blog.  Thanks!