Scan barcode
A review by snarkymotherreader
The Goblin King by Shona Husk
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.