Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Review: Greta and the Goblin King

Title: Greta and the Goblin King
Author: Chloe Jacobs
Publication date: December 11, 2012
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Source: library

Rating: 5 stars

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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 first thought when I was reading this book was: "This is.... a debut novel?!"

Because it was flipping fantastic.

 You know how sometimes you read a book and you just love it so much and you want everyone to read it and fall in love with it? That's how I felt about Greta and the Goblin King.

The characters:
Greta is officially my new favorite heroine. She is a badass and I loved her for it.

"She needed to remember this moment. Not the fear or the loneliness- although those feelings were strong enough to tear her apart inside- but the anger. That was something she could use, it would give her strength."

Four years in the harsh world of Mylena has turned Greta into a tough-as-nails bounty hunter who can go head to head with just about any goblin/fairy/gnome. Greta reminded me a lot of Rose Hathaway from the Vampire Academy series in that she too was a wonderful mixture of strength and sarcasm. But, like Rose, Greta also had heart. She cared even when she didn't want to, when she knew better, and it was obvious that she was the type of person who would do anything and everything for the people she cared about.

Speaking of the people Greta cares about..... Isaac. The young goblin king.
Le swoooon.
In my mind, goblin is not synonymous with hot, but Chloe Jacobs has convinced me otherwise! Isaac and Greta have a fairly rocky history of lies and deception but their chemistry is off the charts. I loved that they kept pushing each others' buttons, challenging one another, and their occasional back-and-forth snark certainly doesn't hurt. ;)
There's hint at a possible love triangle in the next book, which brings me to my next point....

The human boys. These are kids and teenagers stranded in a foreign and dangerous land and, against all odds, they have managed to survive. Led by Wyatt (the potential other love interest), these boys have become a family. I loved them. From adorable little Jacob to tough, angry Ray to responsible golden boy Wyatt, I loved each and every one of them.

I'm not worried about there being a love triangle--in fact, I'm kind of looking forward to it (shocking words, I know!) because all three characters are so well-developed and none of them are present just for the sake of creating romantic conflict. I think this story has the potential for a really well-written love triangle, albeit possibly heart-wrenching because I love both boys very much.

The plot/setting:
This is YA fantasy done right. The world-building was great, the pacing was impeccable, and the adventure was riveting. The action starts pretty much from the very first page and keeps my attention for the rest of the book. Background information about the world of Mylena and how Greta got there was given as the book progressed in a way that didn't disrupt the flow of the story which was something I really appreciated.

Oh, and did anyone else realize see the influences of the Hansel and Gretel fairy tale in this story?? I wouldn't necessarily classify this book as a direct fairy tale retelling, but Chloe Jacobs definitely took some of the basic elements of the Hansel and Gretel tale and spun it into a completely unique and captivating story. When I realized the connection, it was like:



All in all:
Sigh. Guys. I really loved this book! I gobbled it up and I can't stop going back and re-reading bits of it over and over. I really need that second book. If you like fantasy, adventure, general epicness, and a seriously awesome heroine, then you really need to go pick this book up. 

Oh, and the romance was great too... you know.... if you're into that kind of thing.  ;)

12 comments:

  1. That sounds soooo good, definitely gonna try and find this one out!

    http://thehouseofliterarymirrors.blogspot.co.uk/

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  2. Great review!! I have this on my kindle and what's become the never ending TBR pile!

    To me this book seemed like it would be a lot like the Labyrinth in some ways! David Bowie definitely made a hot Goblin king, so I cannot wait to meet this other goblin!!

    Looking forward to reading this one ever more now!

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    Replies
    1. Ooh I haven't heard of the Labyrinth, but now I will definitely have to check it out. Thanks!

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  3. You read the BEST books Joie! O____O Amaze-balls on kick-ass heroines!!! And how could a goblin be hawt, yes, I shall see about reading the book to see about that! ;D Joie AFALDFKJALDKF why anticipate a love triangle!!! TT___TT What has this book made you into? XD

    WONDERFUL, WONDERFUL REVIEW!!! ^^

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    Replies
    1. Yes, yes, you definitely should read it soon! I'd love to hear what you think of the characters! :)

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  4. Kick-butt heroine, awesome romance, and it's fairy tale inspired? Sign. Me. Up. Awesome review! You've got me foaming at the mouth for this one :D

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  5. A love-triangle you are looking forward to? Wow! I do know some love-triangles I like and I'm always happy when they work out :) As you might know, I'm a huge fan of fairytales, so the fact that she used Hansel & Gretel is great :D

    Mel@thedailyprophecy.

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    1. I know! I never thought I would actually look forward to a love triangle. I think you'd really enjoy this one, Mel! The fairy tale aspect isn't emphasized, but it was still really cool.

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  6. Lovely review :)

    And sorry I'm so late responding to your comment!!

    I've been swamped at school and had about zero time for blogger/goodreads.

    Anyways, I would definitely recommend that you read Raven AFTER Requiem, but Annabel and Hana are awesome reads at any point in the series!

    If you read them, let me know what you think :)

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    Replies
    1. No worries, school has been pretty busy for me too. I'm pretty behind on the Delirium series- my TBR shelf just seems to be growing and growing- but I'll try to read them soon!

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  7. Hello, I check your blog regularly. Your writing style is witty,
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    ReplyDelete

Thanks so much for commenting! I read every single one and they always make my day! <3

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