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