Scan barcode
betharanova's review against another edition
1.0
I was right in that the cover isn't accurate, at least. Fun worldbuilding, interesting premise, some very cool ideas. Unfortunately man cannot live on vibes alone, and cardboard characters who amble about and forget the stakes do not a plot make
strayfe_angel's review against another edition
5.0
Super enjoyable - horrible cover. Fresh unique take, and perfect way to make your good guy forgivabley bad.
booklover160's review against another edition
3.0
So here's the thing; I have a weird obsession with goblins?????? idk but I love them as like antiheroes.
Buuuut this book was just... bizarre? The concepts are interesting but not fleshed out entirely. The pacing was super off. I wasn't introduced to anything in the start so it felt like the second book in a series (I seriously had to double check I wasn't going out of order.) I did like the book, it was a story that I enjoyed and finished and am considering the next book (I heard its better anyway).
The characters I did like. I didn't love them, I liked them. I didn't learn enough about them in this one book. I felt like the relationship was also super fast and not very developed. As for the piece of shit Steve, he can choke on a dick for all I care and Husk did an excellent job of making me hate him.
Anyway, if you're going into this book as a one-off, it's not satisfying. But I think the trilogy will turn into something pretty good.
Buuuut this book was just... bizarre? The concepts are interesting but not fleshed out entirely. The pacing was super off. I wasn't introduced to anything in the start so it felt like the second book in a series (I seriously had to double check I wasn't going out of order.) I did like the book, it was a story that I enjoyed and finished and am considering the next book (I heard its better anyway).
The characters I did like. I didn't love them, I liked them. I didn't learn enough about them in this one book. I felt like the relationship was also super fast and not very developed. As for the piece of shit Steve, he can choke on a dick for all I care and Husk did an excellent job of making me hate him.
Anyway, if you're going into this book as a one-off, it's not satisfying. But I think the trilogy will turn into something pretty good.
beastreader's review against another edition
3.0
Roan is the Goblin King. He lives in the Shadowlands and his heart has been replaced with gold. Roan has been summoned by a woman. When Roan arrives, he finds the woman unconscious and bleeding. Roan takes the woman back to Shadowlands.
Eliza awakes to find herself in a strange land with a strange man. Though the man is not a stranger to Eliza. In fact the last time that Eliza saw the Goblin King was when she was a young girl. At that time, Roan told Eliza not to summons him again. Now that she has, Roan does not plan to let her go. Because every king needs a queen, Roan wants Eliza to be his queen.
Shona Husk is a new to me author. I like the premise of this new series about hunky goblins. I have to admit that if all the goblins look like Roan than I would not mind being a goblin queen. I think that green might just become my new favorite color. Eliza on the other hand was someone that I had to warm up to in the beginning. I wanted to shake her and tell her that she was making a huge mistake wanting to go back to Earth and her fiancé. Who was a major jerk by the way. Of course, Eliza did get her head on straight in the end. The romance was good but mild at best. Eliza and Roan did not really hook up until later in the book. They were separated most of the time. Ms. Husk did create a magical world. The Goblin King is worth its weight in gold. I will check out the next book, Kiss of the Goblin Prince.
Eliza awakes to find herself in a strange land with a strange man. Though the man is not a stranger to Eliza. In fact the last time that Eliza saw the Goblin King was when she was a young girl. At that time, Roan told Eliza not to summons him again. Now that she has, Roan does not plan to let her go. Because every king needs a queen, Roan wants Eliza to be his queen.
Shona Husk is a new to me author. I like the premise of this new series about hunky goblins. I have to admit that if all the goblins look like Roan than I would not mind being a goblin queen. I think that green might just become my new favorite color. Eliza on the other hand was someone that I had to warm up to in the beginning. I wanted to shake her and tell her that she was making a huge mistake wanting to go back to Earth and her fiancé. Who was a major jerk by the way. Of course, Eliza did get her head on straight in the end. The romance was good but mild at best. Eliza and Roan did not really hook up until later in the book. They were separated most of the time. Ms. Husk did create a magical world. The Goblin King is worth its weight in gold. I will check out the next book, Kiss of the Goblin Prince.
blodeuedd's review against another edition
3.0
Ok so the guy on the cover might not look much like our hero, he has got dreads and when he is a goblin he is all icky, but then this can be how he looks at the end :)
Anyway, to the story! Roan lives in the shadowlands, a horrible place of nightmares. He is cursed and has been for 2000 years. He used to be a good king, but now he is a man whose greed might make him into the goblins he hate. He is loosing little by little to the curse. But there is something there, and sure at times in the beginning I thought he was a bit too alpha idiot, but I still could not look away.
Eliza, the deal that annoyed me there for a moment was how fast she fell, but come on, this is a romance after all. So I went along with that, cos in the end, Roan is a hottie, he is alpha, and he is a mighty warrior. Eliza has grown weak and scared. She is being bullied by her idiotic fiance and even though she has everything her lives sucks. She just wants out. And when these two meet, a woman who needs something more, and a man who needs help fighting his demons, well you can guess what happens. Flames of passion and lots of drama.
Because life is not easy. She has her ass of a fiance. He has not much time left to live with his fading human soul. The goblin is taking over. They are doomed from the start, but they still can't stay away from each other.
It was the goblins, the curse and the world that did it for me. It was good, and I also really liked his brother Dai. When the book ended I kind of wanted a book with him too, must be because he was a nerd. I do like the more beta male too.
All in all a good book that had me reading fast, I enjoyed the romance and the passion they shared. It was a fairytale happy ever after with goblins, fights and the will to love.
Anyway, to the story! Roan lives in the shadowlands, a horrible place of nightmares. He is cursed and has been for 2000 years. He used to be a good king, but now he is a man whose greed might make him into the goblins he hate. He is loosing little by little to the curse. But there is something there, and sure at times in the beginning I thought he was a bit too alpha idiot, but I still could not look away.
Eliza, the deal that annoyed me there for a moment was how fast she fell, but come on, this is a romance after all. So I went along with that, cos in the end, Roan is a hottie, he is alpha, and he is a mighty warrior. Eliza has grown weak and scared. She is being bullied by her idiotic fiance and even though she has everything her lives sucks. She just wants out. And when these two meet, a woman who needs something more, and a man who needs help fighting his demons, well you can guess what happens. Flames of passion and lots of drama.
Because life is not easy. She has her ass of a fiance. He has not much time left to live with his fading human soul. The goblin is taking over. They are doomed from the start, but they still can't stay away from each other.
It was the goblins, the curse and the world that did it for me. It was good, and I also really liked his brother Dai. When the book ended I kind of wanted a book with him too, must be because he was a nerd. I do like the more beta male too.
All in all a good book that had me reading fast, I enjoyed the romance and the passion they shared. It was a fairytale happy ever after with goblins, fights and the will to love.
nelsonseye's review
3.0
A genuinely good book. I feel a tad guilty about not rating it higher but it didn't grab me the way other books have.
marpesea's review against another edition
I lost momentum-- this one didn't grip me and when I came back to it I had difficulty caring about the characters. Too much angst and not enough swooning.
snarkymotherreader's review against another edition
3.0
The Goblin King by Shona Husk reads like a more romantic, less-80’s version of Labyrinth, sans the awesomeness of David Bowie. Eliza, our rich and confused damsel in distress, summons Roan, the Goblin King, in an act of drunken idiocy. She doesn’t understand that he is not a man to be trifled with, and spending several lifetimes being summoned out of his prison-like home in the Shadowlands doesn’t make him the most reasonable person to deal with. Add to his poor attitude their previous encounter when Eliza was a young girl and you have a recipe for a supernatural kidnapping with a dash of Stockholm syndrome.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the premise of The Goblin King: forbidden love, a tormented hero, auxiliary characters who have the possibility to be heroes in their own right. The pieces of the story, however, didn’t quite fit together for me. Eliza’s status as a damsel in distress was forced, at best. Yes, her fiancé was scum and he deserved a hard fist in the gut, but he wasn’t truly menacing. The only real danger Eliza encountered was with Roan or in the Shadowlands, and even then it was a foregone conclusion that Eliza would be victorious (yes, I know, it’s a romance so she HAS to be victorious, but there were never really any OMG IS SHE GOING TO PULL A JR WARD AND SURPRISE ME?? moments). Even the romance seemed a bit forced. There was no snap, crackle, pop between Eliza and Roan. I saw the possibilities for steam wafting below the surface, but it never escaped the cracks and crevices of the Shadowlands.
I wasn’t completely turned off by The Goblin King, and I plan on giving the Shadowlands series another try with Kiss of the Goblin Prince.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the premise of The Goblin King: forbidden love, a tormented hero, auxiliary characters who have the possibility to be heroes in their own right. The pieces of the story, however, didn’t quite fit together for me. Eliza’s status as a damsel in distress was forced, at best. Yes, her fiancé was scum and he deserved a hard fist in the gut, but he wasn’t truly menacing. The only real danger Eliza encountered was with Roan or in the Shadowlands, and even then it was a foregone conclusion that Eliza would be victorious (yes, I know, it’s a romance so she HAS to be victorious, but there were never really any OMG IS SHE GOING TO PULL A JR WARD AND SURPRISE ME?? moments). Even the romance seemed a bit forced. There was no snap, crackle, pop between Eliza and Roan. I saw the possibilities for steam wafting below the surface, but it never escaped the cracks and crevices of the Shadowlands.
I wasn’t completely turned off by The Goblin King, and I plan on giving the Shadowlands series another try with Kiss of the Goblin Prince.
hannas_heas47's review against another edition
3.0
I was pretty bored. It was a refreshing change as far as paranormal goes but it just lacked passion and excitement. the story didnt suck me in and make me a believer. It was written well but not good enough to devour.