J.A. Belfield

I enjoyed Greta and the Goblin King a lot. The pace was great. The writing smooth and simplistic (in a good way). The story easy to get into as the reader gets dropped into the thick of it all (though I also had a small issue with that, too, which I’ll come to in a sec). Greta was a great lead. Isaac was … well Isaac. And then we get Wyatt, which adds another twist to it all. Oh, and around all that, there’s a race against the clock, a sort-of prophecy, evil baddies that look nowhere near as scary and unappealing as one expects, rampant beasties with attitude and discipline problems (heh) … need I go on?

So, why the 4 stars instead of the 5?

Well, I almost felt that the story began in the wrong place. I get the authors intentions of not boring us with dragged out relationship development so she could get us to the meat of the story a lot faster. However, I kinda missed that a little. We see most of the interaction between Greta and Isaac during her dreams, and during those, it seems less like love and more like a possessive obsession on his behalf, like he’s decided he wants her and there’s nothing to dispute and he will keep hounding her until she comes to her senses, dammit. So because of us missing out on them developing together, the full understanding of how they get to where they do is a little lost because it’s not something we get to ‘see’. Though, I will say, even though I feel that way, the author still did a bang-up job on Isaac. Because from the first scene she had me thinking ooh-la-la. And when Wyatt showed up? Yeah, he was sweet and all, but damn, he wasn’t Isaac, and I wanted to yell, ‘What’s wrong with you? Why would you contemplate wanting the safe human when you could have the dodgy goblin?’ So, yeah, even whilst I didn’t connect 100% with their relationship, I certainly connected 100% with him.

The second bit that bugged me was the ending. Not the way it ended. Just that it felt a little rushed. From the bit where Greta gets into a pickle (cryptic much?), to the part where we realise it’s okay after all, it just seemed to flash by, when I felt it could have been fleshed out a little more so the reader was left hanging to wonder if it would be okay with slightly more oomph. And then it ended …. <spoiler alert> … without a snog, too. I wanted a snog at the end. And I didn’t get one. But that’s just me being Isaac greedy.  </spoiler alert>

And the final detail to bug me was the few POV breaches I spotted. Anyone who follows my reviews should pick up how much of a bugbear these are for me, so I only have to spot a slight singular one in a story and I stumble. Granted, there really weren’t many in here at all, but there were a few.

There, those are it. Not much to gripe about at all really. Which means that, all in all, Greta and the Goblin King is more than a decent read; it’s a great introduction to a new cast of characters, an interesting world, and a future of exciting and innovative adventures.