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sunshinestark's review against another edition
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, and Body horror
madamenovelist's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Blood, Gore, Vomit, Violence, Confinement, Child death, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Alcohol, Torture, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Drug use, Death, Cursing, and Addiction
ash_ton's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
when Laura said "I'd do ANYTHING for you May" i cried. idk man 🤧
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Violence, Blood, Body horror, Death, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Confinement, Grief, Kidnapping, Child death, Torture, Medical content, Murder, and Physical abuse
Minor: Cannibalism, Kidnapping, and Vomit
aliveinbooks's review
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I will start off by saying this is a good story. The dual point of view from different perspectives was a nice touch to keep you guessing and there is definitely a decent amount of gore that sells the idea of the goblin market. It's great writing and each character stands on their own. That being said this wasn't the book for me. I had a hard time connecting with the adults and adolescents in the story and the amount of beating around the bush was akin to edging in the most frustrating experience for me. I also didn't feel the dark atmosphere the author was trying to convey in the novel. It's a great book overall and good for anyone dipping their toes in soft YA horror.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood and Body horror
Minor: Death, Death of parent, and Violence
cameronreads's review
2.0
I think it was abundantly clear that the author of this book was not Jewish. Disclaimer; neither am I, but I think it's important to talk about. As soon as I realised the goblins in this book would be evil characters alarm bells were set off in my head, and since doing some research into the tropes used, I think this book does do harm. There is of course one good goblin, but the general idea is that the goblins are evil and want to hurt people (and eat them on occasion) and have magical blood. All things that are outrageous stereotypes of Jewish people, especially considering goblins have been used as a way to represent and do harm to Jewish people. I'd really recommend looking at some Jewish reviewer's discussions on this.
My opinions on the plot and characters of this book are rather average. I think the basic idea was there, but something about the pacing and what this book emphasised was off. I wasn't all that attached to the characters, especially because the character we're meant to be saving all through this book is never seen on page until the end. It meant the stakes didn't feel very high. To be honest, I would have read a whole book about one of the point of views (May's) if it had been expanded on and we had got to spend a bit more time with it (and there wasn't such antisemitic themes).
I do however like the casual queer representation. The main characters are ace and bi respectively, and there's a pan side character, and all of these words are said on page. There's no prejudice against them because of their sexualities, and the main romance is a sapphic one. That was all really nice to see.
I'm really mad about this one - I loved Bovalino's other book and the other goblin market retelling I've read (In An Absent Dream, Seanan McGuire) so I really wanted to love this too. Unfortunate.
My opinions on the plot and characters of this book are rather average. I think the basic idea was there, but something about the pacing and what this book emphasised was off. I wasn't all that attached to the characters, especially because the character we're meant to be saving all through this book is never seen on page until the end. It meant the stakes didn't feel very high. To be honest, I would have read a whole book about one of the point of views (May's) if it had been expanded on and we had got to spend a bit more time with it (and there wasn't such antisemitic themes).
I do however like the casual queer representation. The main characters are ace and bi respectively, and there's a pan side character, and all of these words are said on page. There's no prejudice against them because of their sexualities, and the main romance is a sapphic one. That was all really nice to see.
I'm really mad about this one - I loved Bovalino's other book and the other goblin market retelling I've read (In An Absent Dream, Seanan McGuire) so I really wanted to love this too. Unfortunate.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Antisemitism, Blood, Body horror, Cannibalism, Confinement, Death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Child death, Grief, and Torture
Minor: Death of parent
catwhisperer's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Violence, and Blood
katiewhocanread's review
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Body horror, Death, Confinement, Torture, and Mental illness
mals_library's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Cannibalism, Gore, and Violence
Moderate: Vomit
tinybluepixel's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
I received an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I thought a long time about what to write in this review. Admittedly, I was not familiar with the Goblin Market poem (of which this book is a retelling), although it seems that other reviewers are. However, only hearing the word 'goblin' sets of the alarm sirens in my head, and, well ... Instead of saying anything more, let me cite the wikipedia article on the poem, specifically, the section on interpretations: "Some critics believe that some feminist interpretations of the work leave out an anti-semitic nature within the poem. The critic Cynthia Scheinberg believes the Goblins to be "Hebraic", anti-semitic and anti-Judaic characters that the tested Christian sisters Laura and Lizzie must face in order to transition into wholesome and complete young women." Now, we all know wikipedia is not the end-all-be-all of scientific research, but it does feel like a lot of reviewers on here seem to think of the original poem to be some kind of sexy coming-of-age story.
And ... yeah. An underground race of sub-human creatures who lure humans away to kill and eat them? Oh, that's a big yikes. A really big one. And if a portion of these creatures are described as having green skin? Hm. An even bigger yikes. And then their main area of existance is a market, where they trade in blood and tears and locks of hair for cursed fruit? Oh. That's ... I mean, that's not great.
Now, from other reviews on this book, it seems that Goblin Market retellings are ... a thing? And I'm not sure how retelling such a deeply antisemitic could ever work.
It doesn't work in this book.
I'm not sure if the author was aware of the antisemitic background of the poem, but honestly, it kind of feels hard to miss. The goblins in this book are not like the H*rry P*tter ones, but more akin to fairie creatures, built on trickery and brutality. However, they do still very much lure human teenagers underground and kill them. So, in my personal opinion, there wasn't much done to subvert the antisemitic tropes in the source material.
In addition to the antisemitic nature of the goblins, the rest of the novel just felt jumbled together. It's dual perspective, dual timelines: In the past, May falls in love with a goblin and disregards the treaty with the goblins to see her. In the present, Lou (May's niece) tries to save her other aunt Neela (May's sister) after Neela is captured in the market. It is said many times that Lou doesn't believe in goblins, but she sure as hell accepts her reality soon enough. It's weird, because at points it seems like the narrative can't decide whether Lou believes in the market or not? Additionally, we know exactly what happens to May because she tells Lou before we get to read things from her POV, so there's no suspense at all during her chapters. We already know she's gonna get captured. We already know she's gonna kill the market prince.
Also, what was the whole witch subplot about? Felt like a totally separate book, a totally separate story, and honestly, if it would've been left out, the story wouldn't have been altered at all. Same with May's pregnancy. None of these things had an impact on the story at all, nor were they necessary.
Now, to round this review out with: I liked that the author explicitly stated the sexualities of Lou, May, and Neela. It feels like it's too rarely that we actually read the words asexual and bisexual in books. Sure, there's asexual and bisexual characters, but how often do we actually read those words? That was a nice surprise. I just wish Lou's asexuality would've been more integrated into the story and not just used as an explanation as to why she feels alienated from other people her age. For example, the market works a lot on sexual temptation, and I think an asexual character in that environment could've made for interesting interactions. But alas, it was not to be.
I thought a long time about what to write in this review. Admittedly, I was not familiar with the Goblin Market poem (of which this book is a retelling), although it seems that other reviewers are. However, only hearing the word 'goblin' sets of the alarm sirens in my head, and, well ... Instead of saying anything more, let me cite the wikipedia article on the poem, specifically, the section on interpretations: "Some critics believe that some feminist interpretations of the work leave out an anti-semitic nature within the poem. The critic Cynthia Scheinberg believes the Goblins to be "Hebraic", anti-semitic and anti-Judaic characters that the tested Christian sisters Laura and Lizzie must face in order to transition into wholesome and complete young women." Now, we all know wikipedia is not the end-all-be-all of scientific research, but it does feel like a lot of reviewers on here seem to think of the original poem to be some kind of sexy coming-of-age story.
And ... yeah. An underground race of sub-human creatures who lure humans away to kill and eat them? Oh, that's a big yikes. A really big one. And if a portion of these creatures are described as having green skin? Hm. An even bigger yikes. And then their main area of existance is a market, where they trade in blood and tears and locks of hair for cursed fruit? Oh. That's ... I mean, that's not great.
Now, from other reviews on this book, it seems that Goblin Market retellings are ... a thing? And I'm not sure how retelling such a deeply antisemitic could ever work.
It doesn't work in this book.
I'm not sure if the author was aware of the antisemitic background of the poem, but honestly, it kind of feels hard to miss. The goblins in this book are not like the H*rry P*tter ones, but more akin to fairie creatures, built on trickery and brutality. However, they do still very much lure human teenagers underground and kill them. So, in my personal opinion, there wasn't much done to subvert the antisemitic tropes in the source material.
In addition to the antisemitic nature of the goblins, the rest of the novel just felt jumbled together. It's dual perspective, dual timelines: In the past, May falls in love with a goblin and disregards the treaty with the goblins to see her. In the present, Lou (May's niece) tries to save her other aunt Neela (May's sister) after Neela is captured in the market. It is said many times that Lou doesn't believe in goblins, but she sure as hell accepts her reality soon enough. It's weird, because at points it seems like the narrative can't decide whether Lou believes in the market or not? Additionally, we know exactly what happens to May because she tells Lou before we get to read things from her POV, so there's no suspense at all during her chapters. We already know she's gonna get captured. We already know she's gonna kill the market prince.
Also, what was the whole witch subplot about? Felt like a totally separate book, a totally separate story, and honestly, if it would've been left out, the story wouldn't have been altered at all. Same with May's pregnancy. None of these things had an impact on the story at all, nor were they necessary.
Now, to round this review out with: I liked that the author explicitly stated the sexualities of Lou, May, and Neela. It feels like it's too rarely that we actually read the words asexual and bisexual in books. Sure, there's asexual and bisexual characters, but how often do we actually read those words? That was a nice surprise. I just wish Lou's asexuality would've been more integrated into the story and not just used as an explanation as to why she feels alienated from other people her age. For example, the market works a lot on sexual temptation, and I think an asexual character in that environment could've made for interesting interactions. But alas, it was not to be.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Kidnapping, Violence, Antisemitism, Addiction, Blood, Body horror, Death, Cannibalism, Drug use, Medical content, Murder, and Torture
melaniereadsbooks's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Thank you to Page Street Books and Pride Book Tours for providing a finished copy of this book.
18 years ago, May Wicket broke all her family's rules to go into the Goblin Market. Her sister managed to free her, but not without consequences.
Today their younger sister has made the same mistake, and is stuck within the market. Lou has grown up knowing nothing about the market, but is determined to save her aunt/best friend...no matter what it takes!
18 years ago, May Wicket broke all her family's rules to go into the Goblin Market. Her sister managed to free her, but not without consequences.
Today their younger sister has made the same mistake, and is stuck within the market. Lou has grown up knowing nothing about the market, but is determined to save her aunt/best friend...no matter what it takes!
This book is so good! I was in love with it right from the beginning. It is lyrical and atmospheric and creepy and so so so good. Lou is such an amazing main character and the on page asexual rep is incredible! I want to write an essay about the parallels between the temptations of the market and Lou's asexuality!
The world building around the Goblin Market in York is really interesting and I love the Wicket family's origins...which I'm not going to say what are because spoilers. I really loved Lou the most of all. She is such a great character and her fierce determination to save Neela and her mother no matter what it takes and what could happen to her is so good to read.
The chapters written from May's timeline are also really interesting though I didn't really connect with her as much as I did with Lou. I did love how the two stories were interwoven and the flashback chapters happened in the exact right spaces to really bring Lou's story into focus!
This book is incredible and worth every second and I really hope you pick it up!
The world building around the Goblin Market in York is really interesting and I love the Wicket family's origins...which I'm not going to say what are because spoilers. I really loved Lou the most of all. She is such a great character and her fierce determination to save Neela and her mother no matter what it takes and what could happen to her is so good to read.
The chapters written from May's timeline are also really interesting though I didn't really connect with her as much as I did with Lou. I did love how the two stories were interwoven and the flashback chapters happened in the exact right spaces to really bring Lou's story into focus!
This book is incredible and worth every second and I really hope you pick it up!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror and Confinement
Moderate: Torture, Blood, Death, and Gore