Monday, February 18, 2013

Review: Greta and the Goblin King by Chloe Jacobs

From Goodreads: While trying to save her brother from a witch’s fire four years ago, Greta was thrown in herself, falling through a portal to Mylena, a dangerous world where humans are the enemy and every ogre, ghoul, and goblin has a dark side that comes out with the eclipse. To survive, Greta has hidden her humanity and taken the job of bounty hunter - and she’s good at what she does. So good, she’s caught the attention of Mylena’s young goblin king, the darkly enticing Isaac, who invades her dreams and undermines her will to escape. But Greta’s not the only one looking to get out of Mylena. An ancient evil knows she’s the key to opening the portal, and with the next eclipse mere days away, every bloodthirsty creature in the realm is after her - including Isaac. If Greta fails, she and the lost boys of Mylena will die. If she succeeds, no world will be safe from what follows her back ... 

My Rating: 3.5 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: Greta and the Goblin King by Chloe Jacobs was a book that started off great, but could have used a little more clarity towards the end. Here’s what I liked and disliked about the novel: 

Pros:
  • One of two female bounty hunters in the story, Greta is a likeable protagonist who’s quite capable of taking care of herself due to her career choice. However, she also displays moments of physical and emotional vulnerability. For example, having been stuck in Mylena for the past four years, she desperately wants to return home yet also wonders how she’ll fit in once she gets back.
  • There’s plenty of action in Greta and the Goblin King.
  • Mylena has tons of fantastic creatures.
  • I liked the allusions to Hansel and Gretel.
Cons:
  • I didn’t really enjoy the romance between Greta and Isaac. At the beginning of the novel, Greta is angry at Isaac for manipulating her; but midway through the book, she suddenly starts feeling differently and begins making out with him. The change in heart was way too fast for me!
  • The attraction between Greta and Isaac stems from their first meeting – a meeting that Greta keeps referring to. However, we’re never given a proper flashback of it, and so I couldn’t really understand why Greta found Isaac so appealing.
  • There’s a love triangle. Unfortunately, Greta comes to care about Wyatt pretty quickly too.
  • I felt the ending was slightly rushed and so was left a little confused by the time story wrapped up.                               
Greta and the Goblin King was released in December 2012 by Entangled Teen.

Comments About the Cover: I love the cover since it indicates that the novel is most likely a fantasy, features a heroine who can wield weapons, and probably has a hot guy who may or may not be a villain. 

In exchange for an honest review, this book was received from the publisher (Entangled Teen) for free.
original image from thegate.ca

8 comments:

  1. There's a love triangle? Boo. :( It's a shame the romance wasn't quite well paced, but I'm glad you enjoyed Greta. Sometimes if I like the main character well enough, I can overlook the rest. Great review!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Okay, so not a fan of love triangles and quick moving romances at all. Aw. It's really such a shame because Greta sounds cool and I think I would like the world and the creatures. Oh well! Thanks for the review anyway - it was quite helpful!

    ReplyDelete
  3. NO MORE LOVE TRIANGLES Z!!!!! I was hoping this one wouldn't have one so I'm a little bummed. I'm not super excited about her seemingly quick change of heart toward Isaac either, but other than those two things it sounds like a fun read. I haven't read many books with goblins, so that alone has me curious:)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Not sure how I feel about goblins. I still picture them as small, green, and mean so it might take a lot of convincing and persuasion to give them a try. I do like the sound of Greta though. Too bad for the lack of romantic chemistry and love triangle. :(

    ReplyDelete
  5. So a love triangle AND sort of insta lovy? Boo-urns! I haven't seen any reviews that wanted to make me pick up this book, yet. But that could also be because it's a fantasy and all. Great review, chickie!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hmmm, a change of heart should definitely not come that quickly. I really like when they have a slow burn, not sudden OMG WE'RE IN LOVE NOW. I've been iffy on this book, and I think maybe it's not for me.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Aw no. I was happy to see Greta was a likeable character, but then you say the romance moved too fast. I love the tension in relationships that then building into something more. And then a love triangle!! I've had this for a while and need to read it soon. It's not sounding so appealing now. I have to admit that it was the cover that appealed this book to me. I love it too. Fantastic review :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Oh darn. I mostly wanted to read this book because of the romance, but if you didn't like that part then I think I might not either. 3.5 hearts isn't bad, but I think I'll push it a little further down my list now. Thanks for the help! I was hoping a trusted reviewer would write about this book.

    ReplyDelete

I love comments and will reply back via either email or stopping by your blog. Please note that this is an award-free zone.