Reviews with content warning for Cannibalism - Not Good for Maidens

I really liked both of the perspectives in this book, both were separate and strong characters within their own right and they both had stories that, whilst they mirrored each other, were very different. They both had different personality traits and different motives for going into the Market and different points to prove and I enjoyed that. I loved the representation too, giving us both great asexual and bisexual rep !!!! I also loved the contrast between May and Lou, and how May grew up around the Market and was actively drawn to it, but couldn’t stay, and how Lou grew up sheltered from that side of her family history and only reluctantly entered the Market to save her Aunt and wanted to stay.

This book was far from perfect, but I enjoyed the vibes immensely and it was dark and gothic without rlly being scary. I felt like the conclusion to Lou’s story and her getting her Aunt out of the Goblin Market felt too easy, but I still enjoyed it nonetheless.

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tigger89's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

CW: discussion of antisemitism

Y'all. Let's talk about goblin markets. So, their origin(the poem Goblin Market, by Christina Rossetti) is commonly agreed upon to have contained antisemitic depictions. You can find details on google, and I encourage you to read up if you're unfamiliar. So it's one of those things that you should tread carefully with. Maybe be extra careful not to Jewish-code your predatory goblins, right?

Unfortunately, I didn't find this book to be very careful about it. Not only did this version of goblins draw from several elements associated with negative portrayals of or conspiracies about Jews(green skin, monstrous appearance, untrustworthy, habitually disguising themselves in plain sight among the non-goblin population to seek prey, etc), but also the plot veered far too close to blood libel for my liking. Namely, the fact that the goblins are portrayed as tricking young people so that they would get trapped in the market, where the goblins would consume their flesh and, as described often and in great detail, their blood.

So that's my thoughts on that. The horror plot would have been fine without the elements that read as Jewish-coding, but with that being how it was it made me very uncomfortable to read. And it's a shame because there were other parts of this book that were so good, especially the way the relationships between each pair was written and the alternating present-past chapters. Even the environment of the market and the way the horror and suspense elements were written was great, but because of the elephant in the room I couldn't fully immerse myself in rooting for either pair of girls.

Readers who enjoy LGBTQ stories will find a number of characters here: Lou is asexual, May is explicitly bisexual, and Neela is assumed to be pansexual. I'd been concerned at first that the book might be saying something weird about bi/pan people and vulnerability to sexual temptation, but by the end of the story my concerns were assuaged. The queer rep in this book is fine. Love a good ace lead. I just wish the rest of it had avoided the antisemitic baggage.

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ash_ton's review against another edition

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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 🤧

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rowans_revenge's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

Bovalino paints two vivid and gruesome pictures, side by side illustrating the burden of duty and the exploration of identity. The setting description is vivid and significant, and, though the characters are clearly outlined, I wish they were described with the same intensity as the goblin market or the streets of York.

That being said, the characters are lovable and relatable, and I found myself cheering for the characters as I read this riveting story of queer love forbidden in the best way, identity, and a heroine exploring Hell.

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cameronreads's review

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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.

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