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caitybell's review against another edition
4.0
Goblin King is the sequel to White Stag, and if you know me at all, you know that I am weak for anything Fae/Goblin related. Especially something considered to be a darker vibe with a good romance. Unfortunately, my reading has taken a nosedive since COVID hit the world, and this year has been hard on my drive to read anything YA. I felt the need to say so since I received this ARC and feel terrible about not being able to review it accurately yet. Both Goblin King and White Stag are high up on my TBR and I hope to have them both read before the year is up! Stay safe and healthy, everyone. (Also, isn't this cover GORGEOUS?)
mteletubi_08's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
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? It's complicated
3.75
soren is my kitten đ«¶
teaturtlesandbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
itputsthebookupontheshelf's review against another edition
4.0
Goblin King was one of my most antticipated books of 2020... Unfortunately, it did not make my favorites list. I absolutely adored the adventure, brutality and ending of White Stag and couldn't wait to get to this second book. I really hate to say that I was dissapointed. It was still a good book, it had a lot of insight as to why Lydian was the way he was and how the Permafrost was affected by the changes that took place at the end of the first book.
Honestly, my biggest problem with this book was that it focused so much on the romance between Janneke and Soren. I realize that the premise of this specific book was that the romance between them was also the problem... I just didn't love it. Both Janneke and Soren were too "smoochy" which was the complete opposite of why I loved the original book. It was more annoying than anything and I almost didn't want to finish the book. I found myself liking Lydian more than the majority of characters this time around, as he had the most interesting story line in this book.
The journey itself wasn't bad, there was still a lot of creativity, interesting creatures and tasks along the way. That along with the writing style that I've come to love so much from Barbieri were the only things that saved this book for me. I'm not sure if there is going to be a third book or not, if there is, I don't know how I feel about wanting to read it. I mean, I probably will just to see what will come next, but it won't be on my most anticipated list this time. Fingers crossed that it's less about the romance and more about the Permafrost, creatures and world.
Thank you to St Martin's Press and Netgalley for a copy of this title in exchange for an honest review. 3.5 â
Honestly, my biggest problem with this book was that it focused so much on the romance between Janneke and Soren. I realize that the premise of this specific book was that the romance between them was also the problem... I just didn't love it. Both Janneke and Soren were too "smoochy" which was the complete opposite of why I loved the original book. It was more annoying than anything and I almost didn't want to finish the book. I found myself liking Lydian more than the majority of characters this time around, as he had the most interesting story line in this book.
The journey itself wasn't bad, there was still a lot of creativity, interesting creatures and tasks along the way. That along with the writing style that I've come to love so much from Barbieri were the only things that saved this book for me. I'm not sure if there is going to be a third book or not, if there is, I don't know how I feel about wanting to read it. I mean, I probably will just to see what will come next, but it won't be on my most anticipated list this time. Fingers crossed that it's less about the romance and more about the Permafrost, creatures and world.
Thank you to St Martin's Press and Netgalley for a copy of this title in exchange for an honest review. 3.5 â
alannar2422's review against another edition
3.0
Would it be bad if I say I was only here for Soren?
ameserole's review against another edition
3.0
I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Okay, so I read White Stag about two-ish years ago. So I'm going to admit that I didn't dive back into that book before diving into Goblin King. Definitely took a risk and I think it worked out for me in the end.
Due to this being the sequel, I assumed that this picked up right where the first book left me (which was a cliffhanger no doubt). So you will still be following Janneke and Soren but they are on a new journey. She is one with the stag and he's the goblin king. There was also some kind of harry potter prophecy that she was going to bring doom to the world.. yada yada nonsense.
I'm not going to lie, a lot happened throughout this entire book. Like so much. Not all good either because some things that happened were just a bit weird to me. Then there's Janneke and I'm not sure what happened to her between the books because she was rubbing me the wrong way in this one.
Not sure if there's going to be another book or not, but if there is - then I would like to see a bit more character growth and maturity. Maybe even some tension and twists/turns. I just want more.
Okay, so I read White Stag about two-ish years ago. So I'm going to admit that I didn't dive back into that book before diving into Goblin King. Definitely took a risk and I think it worked out for me in the end.
Due to this being the sequel, I assumed that this picked up right where the first book left me (which was a cliffhanger no doubt). So you will still be following Janneke and Soren but they are on a new journey. She is one with the stag and he's the goblin king. There was also some kind of harry potter prophecy that she was going to bring doom to the world.. yada yada nonsense.
I'm not going to lie, a lot happened throughout this entire book. Like so much. Not all good either because some things that happened were just a bit weird to me. Then there's Janneke and I'm not sure what happened to her between the books because she was rubbing me the wrong way in this one.
Not sure if there's going to be another book or not, but if there is - then I would like to see a bit more character growth and maturity. Maybe even some tension and twists/turns. I just want more.
magicbetweenpages's review against another edition
3.0
I just felt that this sequel fell a bit flat for me. It took me the longest time to get back into the story and it was a bit slow-paced in my opinion. The jump into the adventure part of this book felt flimsy and not much happened. At times I felt like Soren was a sulky teenager and the plot of having Lydian prancing around with not much fight or push back was a bit weird.
Of course, it ended in a cliff hanger, so let's see how the next one goes.
Of course, it ended in a cliff hanger, so let's see how the next one goes.
lookingforamandaa's review against another edition
3.0
While I liked this book better than the first, the ending really stole some of the enjoyment for me. I liked Janneke in this book. She's really showing how much progress she's made healing from the horrors of her past. This especially is shown when Sorren is permanently injured and she has to be for him what he was when she was first healing. I really enjoyed this role reversal. I also liked the quest these characters were on. Janneke is hearing Lydian in her head and he's warning her that the world may end unless she stops it. So, Janneke and her friends, plus Sorren go off to complete an impossible task. But the synopsis made it sound like this was the final book. It wasn't. The epilogue made it clear that there has to be another book, but there's no information about this next book. There's just something that changes for me when I'm thinking this will wrap everything up and that doesn't happen. I definitely would still recommend this series to those that like darker fantasy. I also loved the Norse mythology that the world is based on (also very glad I just read the Magnus Chase books or else I would have had no idea about the world because not much of it is explained.) Overall, I liked it. It was entertaining while also covering tough topics.
sarag19's review against another edition
4.0
Goblin King by Kara Barbieri
3.5 out of 5 Stars
***ARC received from St Martins Press and NetGalley in exchange for honest review, opinions are all my own. Thank you!***
Goblin King is the follow up to White Stag and takes place approximately a year after the end of White Stag. I donât know how many books there are in this series, whether its just a trilogy or not but it really feels like the middle book in a trilogy. In that not a lot gets resolved but sets the time to set up a bigger conflict.
Janneke is still struggling with her powers of the stag even though it has been a year since the events of the hunt. I appreciated that Janneke is not just this all powerful being at the beginning of the book she has gone through a huge change that was likely going to take her months to even years to be able to come to terms with how to use. I liked Soren in this book, we get to see him struggle both in his role as Erlking and later in the book when he has to deal with the ingrained prejudice of the goblins. Janneke and Soren have always had a bond built on survival. I really liked how their bond was explored but I wish that we had been able to witness more of Sorenâs coming to terms with what was happening to him. It all happened off page and felt like a really quick resolution to that characters story line. I think having chapters from both characters views would help balance the book out, instead of just giving up Sorenâs feelings from Jannekeâs perspective because sometimes she can get a bit too poor me which can drag things down.
Lydian is back and I looked over my review of Goblin King and wished for more of Lydianâs character, how he began the mad monster that he was. We do get more about Lydianâs backstory and what it was that drove him mad. Its not a lot but enough to fill in the gaps about his backstory. Lydian spends a lot more of this story being lucid but it is not out to make him a forgivable character. Janneke and Soren remain angry and a bit fearful of Lydian there is no push to make them forgive him if anything he is used more as a plot device to keep things moving along. Which is not a bad thing but its clear he has a very specific purpose in the book that doesnât allow him to roam outside of it.
I think what really carried this book for me is that we got to see more of the world outside of the permafrost. It uses Norse mythology which allows the book series to explore a lot more and not be so stuck in a single location. The first world and new character we get to meet is Hel both the location and the person. I wish we had gotten to explore more of Hel, there is a lot of dark things there that could have been explored more because there was a lot of potential that went a little flat. I did really like the trails that Janneke had to go through, because despite it all, its truly a no win situation.
Niflheim had an interesting premise that almost fully delivers but falls just a little short. I think this would have helped if we got different character views or at least from Sorenâs point of view. Soren leaves the group for a few chapters and it would have allowed the book to explore Niflheim and what he is up to a little more in depth or at least to explore more of this character. He seems to be a crucial part of the prophecy that is driving the story so I want more of him.
Like the last book, this sets up a very interesting sequel that I look forward to reading.
3.5 out of 5 Stars
***ARC received from St Martins Press and NetGalley in exchange for honest review, opinions are all my own. Thank you!***
Goblin King is the follow up to White Stag and takes place approximately a year after the end of White Stag. I donât know how many books there are in this series, whether its just a trilogy or not but it really feels like the middle book in a trilogy. In that not a lot gets resolved but sets the time to set up a bigger conflict.
Janneke is still struggling with her powers of the stag even though it has been a year since the events of the hunt. I appreciated that Janneke is not just this all powerful being at the beginning of the book she has gone through a huge change that was likely going to take her months to even years to be able to come to terms with how to use. I liked Soren in this book, we get to see him struggle both in his role as Erlking and later in the book when he has to deal with the ingrained prejudice of the goblins. Janneke and Soren have always had a bond built on survival. I really liked how their bond was explored but I wish that we had been able to witness more of Sorenâs coming to terms with what was happening to him. It all happened off page and felt like a really quick resolution to that characters story line. I think having chapters from both characters views would help balance the book out, instead of just giving up Sorenâs feelings from Jannekeâs perspective because sometimes she can get a bit too poor me which can drag things down.
Lydian is back and I looked over my review of Goblin King and wished for more of Lydianâs character, how he began the mad monster that he was. We do get more about Lydianâs backstory and what it was that drove him mad. Its not a lot but enough to fill in the gaps about his backstory. Lydian spends a lot more of this story being lucid but it is not out to make him a forgivable character. Janneke and Soren remain angry and a bit fearful of Lydian there is no push to make them forgive him if anything he is used more as a plot device to keep things moving along. Which is not a bad thing but its clear he has a very specific purpose in the book that doesnât allow him to roam outside of it.
I think what really carried this book for me is that we got to see more of the world outside of the permafrost. It uses Norse mythology which allows the book series to explore a lot more and not be so stuck in a single location. The first world and new character we get to meet is Hel both the location and the person. I wish we had gotten to explore more of Hel, there is a lot of dark things there that could have been explored more because there was a lot of potential that went a little flat. I did really like the trails that Janneke had to go through, because despite it all, its truly a no win situation.
Niflheim had an interesting premise that almost fully delivers but falls just a little short. I think this would have helped if we got different character views or at least from Sorenâs point of view. Soren leaves the group for a few chapters and it would have allowed the book to explore Niflheim and what he is up to a little more in depth or at least to explore more of this character. He seems to be a crucial part of the prophecy that is driving the story so I want more of him.
Like the last book, this sets up a very interesting sequel that I look forward to reading.