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3.44 AVERAGE
3.44 AVERAGE
I think the premise of GRETA AND THE GOBLIN KING was interesting and it had some serious potential, but I didn’t connect with the book like I wanted to. I appreciated that the whole love interest concept was barely there and that Greta was a BAMF who had to learn to survive when she got dropped into this foreign world hostile to humans, but there was just something . . . missing. I don’t know. I can’t explain it.
I wasn’t feeling it from the very beginning. I liked Greta enough. I liked her stubbornness and her spunk and her willingness to survive and how she held certain people dear. Her antagonistic relationship with the Goblin King was interesting enough. The build up to the eclipse, where everything was about to go tits up, was suspenseful. It just didn’t . . . click.
I really started losing interest where she comes across other humans and turns into a Wendy to the Lost Boys. Just wasn’t feeling it. At least the book read quickly and I didn’t feel bogged down by it.
I don’t know what to say. It probably has a lot to do with my life at the moment. More stressors than normal and it takes quite a bit to grab my attention right now. GRETA AND THE GOBLIN KING was interesting. There really wasn’t anything inherently bad about the book. It just wasn’t for me at this point in time.
3
I wasn’t feeling it from the very beginning. I liked Greta enough. I liked her stubbornness and her spunk and her willingness to survive and how she held certain people dear. Her antagonistic relationship with the Goblin King was interesting enough. The build up to the eclipse, where everything was about to go tits up, was suspenseful. It just didn’t . . . click.
I really started losing interest where she comes across other humans and turns into a Wendy to the Lost Boys. Just wasn’t feeling it. At least the book read quickly and I didn’t feel bogged down by it.
I don’t know what to say. It probably has a lot to do with my life at the moment. More stressors than normal and it takes quite a bit to grab my attention right now. GRETA AND THE GOBLIN KING was interesting. There really wasn’t anything inherently bad about the book. It just wasn’t for me at this point in time.
3
This review is also on my blog, Read Books and Live Green
Wow, let me start off with saying, Wow, it the cover not just totally amazing.....Okay, now that I have finished my cover love, I gave this book 4.5 stars which rounds up to five. I really liked this book. It had such a fun likeable quality! :) I read this just the other day, but had to wait a while to write the review so that I could process the information.That is highly unlike me, I personally like writing a review RIGHT after I finish the books I can IMMEDIATELY get my thoughts down. For this book I had to think, so here is what I've thought:
THE PREMISE
Greta has lived in Mylena for FOUR years after saving her brother from the witch. (I loved that part how it was like the fairytale, Hansel and Gretel:) So Greta is a bounty hunter and she kills evil things and collects money. Her pater Luke is the one who found her when she first came to Mylena. There is also a goblin king, Issac, and a group of boys in the forest. Okay that summary sounds really confusing, but whatever. :)
THE PROS
1. I love Greta. She is like so Kick-ass!! You totally get where she's coming from!!
2. Issac. Wow, I read other reviews that said who knew goblins could be hot and I didn't believe them. *shaking head at insane stupidity*
3. Let me reiterate the awesomeness of the cover!! WOW
4. The concept. The idea of going leaving Earth through a witch's portal sounds chronicles of Narniaish, but it's really not. The way the author wrote this was unique and original!
5. The ending. It is not a cliff hanger THANK GOD. I really hate cliff hangers unless the next part is immediately available, so I can continue it, but waiting a whole year? That's cruel. The ending in this left some open questions, but if you didn't want to keep reading the series you wouldn't have to. On top of that it was incredibly sweet! :)
6 The group of guys living in the forest. They were all so sweet and for the most part I liked them all.
THE CONS
1. I wish there had been more world-building. I know what the forest is, but I would love to have more descriptions of the cities. Next book maybe???
2. Wyatt. I liked him as the leader of the boys, but as Greta's love interest, ummmm, no thanks. I made me slightly mad at Greta for leading him on.
3. I felt like something was missing. I have no idea what, but I felt like it was off or something?? Maybe because I was so sick when reading it??? Hmmmmmm.
OVERALL
I really liked this book. It was a fun read and held my attention with it's fast pace and loads of action. (The first two chapters....wow, really caught my attention!!)
WOULD I READ THIS BOOK: YES
WOULD I BUY THIS BOOK: YEAH
WOULD I RECOMMEND THIS BOOK: TO THOSE INTO FANTASY
WILL I READ THE NEXT BOOK: YEP
WOULD I READ OTHER BOOKS BY THIS AUTHOR: YEAH
AM I HEAD OVER HEELS IN LOVE WITH THIS BOOK: PRETTY CLOSE TO IT.
Wow, let me start off with saying, Wow, it the cover not just totally amazing.....Okay, now that I have finished my cover love, I gave this book 4.5 stars which rounds up to five. I really liked this book. It had such a fun likeable quality! :) I read this just the other day, but had to wait a while to write the review so that I could process the information.That is highly unlike me, I personally like writing a review RIGHT after I finish the books I can IMMEDIATELY get my thoughts down. For this book I had to think, so here is what I've thought:
THE PREMISE
Greta has lived in Mylena for FOUR years after saving her brother from the witch. (I loved that part how it was like the fairytale, Hansel and Gretel:) So Greta is a bounty hunter and she kills evil things and collects money. Her pater Luke is the one who found her when she first came to Mylena. There is also a goblin king, Issac, and a group of boys in the forest. Okay that summary sounds really confusing, but whatever. :)
THE PROS
1. I love Greta. She is like so Kick-ass!! You totally get where she's coming from!!
2. Issac. Wow, I read other reviews that said who knew goblins could be hot and I didn't believe them. *shaking head at insane stupidity*
3. Let me reiterate the awesomeness of the cover!! WOW
4. The concept. The idea of going leaving Earth through a witch's portal sounds chronicles of Narniaish, but it's really not. The way the author wrote this was unique and original!
5. The ending. It is not a cliff hanger THANK GOD. I really hate cliff hangers unless the next part is immediately available, so I can continue it, but waiting a whole year? That's cruel. The ending in this left some open questions, but if you didn't want to keep reading the series you wouldn't have to. On top of that it was incredibly sweet! :)
6 The group of guys living in the forest. They were all so sweet and for the most part I liked them all.
THE CONS
1. I wish there had been more world-building. I know what the forest is, but I would love to have more descriptions of the cities. Next book maybe???
2. Wyatt. I liked him as the leader of the boys, but as Greta's love interest, ummmm, no thanks. I made me slightly mad at Greta for leading him on.
3. I felt like something was missing. I have no idea what, but I felt like it was off or something?? Maybe because I was so sick when reading it??? Hmmmmmm.
OVERALL
I really liked this book. It was a fun read and held my attention with it's fast pace and loads of action. (The first two chapters....wow, really caught my attention!!)
WOULD I READ THIS BOOK: YES
WOULD I BUY THIS BOOK: YEAH
WOULD I RECOMMEND THIS BOOK: TO THOSE INTO FANTASY
WILL I READ THE NEXT BOOK: YEP
WOULD I READ OTHER BOOKS BY THIS AUTHOR: YEAH
AM I HEAD OVER HEELS IN LOVE WITH THIS BOOK: PRETTY CLOSE TO IT.
I love a good book (or movie—I’m talking about you, Jareth) about goblins. I was excited to give this a try. Greta is a human girl who, while trying to protect her brothers four years ago, accidentally landed up in Mylena, a world inhabited by goblins, ghouls, and ogres, where humans like Greta are the enemy.
The biggest problem is the pacing. It’s obvious from the title of the book that Greta is supposed to end up with the goblin king. The book starts two weeks after Greta and the goblin king, Isaac, met. Their meeting and the events from the last two weeks are hinted at through a series of flashbacks. The book should have started at least two weeks earlier and not told the meeting through flashbacks.
Periodically, goblins transform into grotesque, menacing creatures. Almost from the beginning of the book, Isaac tells Greta he will transform soon. So much time is spent building up to the transformation. Then it begins, a mere 50 pages before the end. Again, too much time was spend on build up and not enough on the final confrontation with the villain, Agramon, and the transformed Isaac. And as for Agramon, he is a meh villain.
Then, in typical YA fashion, an awkward love triangle was thrown in for no apparent reason. Although I know I was supposed to root for Greta and Isaac, without seeing their initial meeting, I was totally indifferent to any relationship between them. Instead, I much preferred Wyatt, who we met partway through the book and actually got to see him interact with Greta.
At the end of the day, this book has a thoroughly intriguing concept and had much potential to create an interesting world, but the promise falls short with the novel’s average execution.
The biggest problem is the pacing. It’s obvious from the title of the book that Greta is supposed to end up with the goblin king. The book starts two weeks after Greta and the goblin king, Isaac, met. Their meeting and the events from the last two weeks are hinted at through a series of flashbacks. The book should have started at least two weeks earlier and not told the meeting through flashbacks.
Periodically, goblins transform into grotesque, menacing creatures. Almost from the beginning of the book, Isaac tells Greta he will transform soon. So much time is spent building up to the transformation. Then it begins, a mere 50 pages before the end. Again, too much time was spend on build up and not enough on the final confrontation with the villain, Agramon, and the transformed Isaac. And as for Agramon, he is a meh villain.
Then, in typical YA fashion, an awkward love triangle was thrown in for no apparent reason. Although I know I was supposed to root for Greta and Isaac, without seeing their initial meeting, I was totally indifferent to any relationship between them. Instead, I much preferred Wyatt, who we met partway through the book and actually got to see him interact with Greta.
At the end of the day, this book has a thoroughly intriguing concept and had much potential to create an interesting world, but the promise falls short with the novel’s average execution.
I've always had a soft spot for goblin stories, and I just couldn't resist downloading this to my nook. In fact it had already made its way to my 'buy' list months before it's publication.
It's safe to say I had high anticipation when starting this book, and I was not at all disappointed. In fact I was blown away.
This has to be one of the best dark fantasy/romance books I've read in a long time, and I devoured it in no time. Greta was fantastic, a strong and self sufficient heroine who pushes herself to the limit. She is no damsel in distress, or some weak willed girl, and it's absolutely refreshing!
The writing presented well plotted challenges and real emotion. I'll admit a little more back story between Isaac and Greta would have been nice; they had a very strong connection that never got really explained, and it stopped me from completely clicking with their relationship. It just felt like I was missing the entire 'before' story, like starting on book 2 in a series instead of book one.
I can not wait for the sequel....and maybe a prequel?
It's safe to say I had high anticipation when starting this book, and I was not at all disappointed. In fact I was blown away.
This has to be one of the best dark fantasy/romance books I've read in a long time, and I devoured it in no time. Greta was fantastic, a strong and self sufficient heroine who pushes herself to the limit. She is no damsel in distress, or some weak willed girl, and it's absolutely refreshing!
The writing presented well plotted challenges and real emotion. I'll admit a little more back story between Isaac and Greta would have been nice; they had a very strong connection that never got really explained, and it stopped me from completely clicking with their relationship. It just felt like I was missing the entire 'before' story, like starting on book 2 in a series instead of book one.
I can not wait for the sequel....and maybe a prequel?
very different place and plot than I'm use too. I don't really go for goblinish stuff. If you are a total amateur to the world of goblins, this is a good introduction and easy to follow with all the "magic" and "descriptions" of the monsters.
I really enjoyed the love part of the story. Without revealing a lot, yes there are the "toe curling" moments, and I really liked the dream aspect. Sometimes I had a bit of an eye roll at corny lines, but they were done with style :)
The girl is really kick but and fights for herself, which I really liked. It was a bit confusing in the first couple chapters and a bit in some areas which is why i dropped it down a star, but questions will be answered, just stick though it.
I really enjoyed the love part of the story. Without revealing a lot, yes there are the "toe curling" moments, and I really liked the dream aspect. Sometimes I had a bit of an eye roll at corny lines, but they were done with style :)
The girl is really kick but and fights for herself, which I really liked. It was a bit confusing in the first couple chapters and a bit in some areas which is why i dropped it down a star, but questions will be answered, just stick though it.
Greta and the Goblin King started out really well. What sucks though is towards the middle it started to go down hill. There were something about this book that I really liked and some things that I hated. Here they are...
Cons
-So Greta started out the book as a badass heroine. She stayed this up until the middle. After she meets a certain group, she just loses it. She becomes weaker emotionally and physically. I don't know why. They finally gave her something to live for. Something to protect. A purpose. Yet she just lost her badass-ness. I will say that she did start to get it back towards the very end, but I mean...it's a bit too late for redemption if you ask me.
-Issac, was yet another character, that started out awesome and then lost his appeal. At first I liked him. He was arrogant, funny, and seemed like he would eventually improve as a character. But nope.
No, Issac actually became a worse character. He was possessive, intrusive, and irritating. He didn't respect Greta's privacy at all. She asked him multiple times to stop invading her dreams/mind (yep he did that) and he continued to do it. Lastly, he just couldn't let Greta go. He was selfish. He wasn't doing what was right for Greta, but what was right for himself. So, in the end, I seriously disliked Issac.
So, I think you might say that strongly disliking the main characters could be a problem. Just a little bit...
Pros
-The group that Greta met, I liked a lot. They were a group brought together by awful circumstances and together they formed a family. I felt terrible for the things that they went though at such young ages, but I really enjoyed seeing them all working together despite what they went through. It was inspiring. (If only Greta saw that...)
-I liked the idea of Mylena. It was a world that was similar to our world, yet different. There's different races of creatures that have to all coexist. But there is also magic and other worldly aspects (two suns, two moons, ect).
-For the most part, I liked the ending. There were a couple things that I strongly disliked, but I liked most of it. (I don't want to give away the ending, so I'll just leave it at that.)
So that was my overall opinion of the book.
Cons
-So Greta started out the book as a badass heroine. She stayed this up until the middle. After she meets a certain group, she just loses it. She becomes weaker emotionally and physically. I don't know why. They finally gave her something to live for. Something to protect. A purpose. Yet she just lost her badass-ness. I will say that she did start to get it back towards the very end, but I mean...it's a bit too late for redemption if you ask me.
-Issac, was yet another character, that started out awesome and then lost his appeal. At first I liked him. He was arrogant, funny, and seemed like he would eventually improve as a character. But nope.
No, Issac actually became a worse character. He was possessive, intrusive, and irritating. He didn't respect Greta's privacy at all. She asked him multiple times to stop invading her dreams/mind (yep he did that) and he continued to do it. Lastly, he just couldn't let Greta go. He was selfish. He wasn't doing what was right for Greta, but what was right for himself. So, in the end, I seriously disliked Issac.
So, I think you might say that strongly disliking the main characters could be a problem. Just a little bit...
Pros
-The group that Greta met, I liked a lot. They were a group brought together by awful circumstances and together they formed a family. I felt terrible for the things that they went though at such young ages, but I really enjoyed seeing them all working together despite what they went through. It was inspiring. (If only Greta saw that...)
-I liked the idea of Mylena. It was a world that was similar to our world, yet different. There's different races of creatures that have to all coexist. But there is also magic and other worldly aspects (two suns, two moons, ect).
-For the most part, I liked the ending. There were a couple things that I strongly disliked, but I liked most of it. (I don't want to give away the ending, so I'll just leave it at that.)
So that was my overall opinion of the book.
This one held my attention at first but then descended into unoriginal teen/romance/fantasy nonsense, love triangle and all. I didn't really care for the narration that consisted of phrases like "stupid terrified" and the plot lost my interest quickly. Also, development of relationships would've been nice. When Greta points out to one of her love interests that he only likes her because she's the only girl around, I was agreeing with her. Of course the boy protests but...let's be real. They knew each other for about half of a conversation before his insta-love made an appearance.
Anyways, if the usual tropes and generic teen fantasy stories don't bother you then it's a perfectly serviceable book.
Anyways, if the usual tropes and generic teen fantasy stories don't bother you then it's a perfectly serviceable book.
Whoa that was awesome. Greta and Isaac I think i'm inlove. Can you be my new bffs?
Review to come. ^.^
Review to come. ^.^
Greta has been in Mylena for four years, ever since she saved her brother from going through a portal. She works as a bounty hunter and has some unfortunate meetings with Isaac, the goblin that she can't stop thinking about. Then, in a span of a week, her world gets thrown to chaos.
I liked Greta. She was a kick butt character and a little bit sassy, and those are my favourite characters. She was ready to step up to the plate when necessary, but she also had moments when she remembered some bad memories. That way, Greta seemed a little real and not as invincible.
I found that the little love triangle was unnecessary. I think that it was pretty obvious who she was going to pick and personally, I didn't like the other guy. He was great with his band of misfit toys, but other then that, I wasn't a fan.
Overall, I enjoyed this book. It was interesting, fun filled and never had a dull moment. I'm excited to see where Jacobs takes us next.
I liked Greta. She was a kick butt character and a little bit sassy, and those are my favourite characters. She was ready to step up to the plate when necessary, but she also had moments when she remembered some bad memories. That way, Greta seemed a little real and not as invincible.
I found that the little love triangle was unnecessary. I think that it was pretty obvious who she was going to pick and personally, I didn't like the other guy. He was great with his band of misfit toys, but other then that, I wasn't a fan.
Overall, I enjoyed this book. It was interesting, fun filled and never had a dull moment. I'm excited to see where Jacobs takes us next.
Actual rating: 3.5
I would have given it a four if I didn't sense a love triangle. Actually, let's get right into this bit before I rehash my love for the nonstop action and surprisingly, quite likable character.
The Love Triangle
There wasn't a triangle at first. There was only that too intense, arrogant, thank-goodness-I-didn't-find-the-word-gorgeous-in-describing-him goblin for our main character to contend with. Their... relationship was explosive, they're always clashing. As if there was even love in the first place between them what with the secrets and lies and her being, in fact, human. The goblin fell first but I wasn't sure until all the hints he made and the actions he did. Even if he was really pushy and being all alpha male. Should I fault him for him acting a caveman. My modern female self says yes and probably the reason why I gave this book a 3.5 rating aside from there being a love triangle. At least he recognized that she could get it on with all the creatures after her.
The other male in this triangle was all human and Greta met him when she was on the run from the hunters and a big, ugly demon. Hmmm, I still think that the "feelings" that sprung up between them was a situational one. She, because he was one of the first humans she encountered in this otherworld and he, because she was the first female he met in this otherworld and of course the feelings that arise between people in times of great crisis. So no, I won't take task with this one. And for Greta to be even considering... Well, I guess I couldn't fault her. A goblin and a human... hmmm, which?
Full review at Whatever You Can Still Betray.
I would have given it a four if I didn't sense a love triangle. Actually, let's get right into this bit before I rehash my love for the nonstop action and surprisingly, quite likable character.
The Love Triangle
There wasn't a triangle at first. There was only that too intense, arrogant, thank-goodness-I-didn't-find-the-word-gorgeous-in-describing-him goblin for our main character to contend with. Their... relationship was explosive, they're always clashing. As if there was even love in the first place between them what with the secrets and lies and her being, in fact, human. The goblin fell first but I wasn't sure until all the hints he made and the actions he did. Even if he was really pushy and being all alpha male. Should I fault him for him acting a caveman. My modern female self says yes and probably the reason why I gave this book a 3.5 rating aside from there being a love triangle. At least he recognized that she could get it on with all the creatures after her.
The other male in this triangle was all human and Greta met him when she was on the run from the hunters and a big, ugly demon. Hmmm, I still think that the "feelings" that sprung up between them was a situational one. She, because he was one of the first humans she encountered in this otherworld and he, because she was the first female he met in this otherworld and of course the feelings that arise between people in times of great crisis. So no, I won't take task with this one. And for Greta to be even considering... Well, I guess I couldn't fault her. A goblin and a human... hmmm, which?
Full review at Whatever You Can Still Betray.