Book Review: The Goblins Of Bellwater; Molly Ringle.

I loved this book so much! I'm not normally a fan of New Adult, and while this didn't really read as 'sexual' like others of the genre, this worked in it's favour. There was more depth and development in this one, and it was every bit the magical story I wanted it to be!

SOURCE: Netgalley
TYPE: E-Read

TITLE: The Goblins Of Bellwater
AUTHOR: Molly Ringle
SERIES: --
PUBLISHER: Central Avenue Publishing
PAGES: 289
GENRE: Contemporary, New Adult, Urban Fantasy, Romance

RATING: 5/5 Stars

Blurb:
Most people have no idea goblins live in the woods around the small town of Bellwater, Washington. But some are about to find out. Skye, a young barista and artist, falls victim to a goblin curse in the forest one winter night, rendering her depressed and silenced, unable to speak of what happened. 

Her older sister, Livy, is at wit's end trying to understand what's wrong with her. Local mechanic Kit would know, but he doesn't talk of such things: he's the human liaison for the goblin tribe, a job he keeps secret and never wanted, thrust on him by an ancient family contract.

Then Kit starts dating Livy, and Skye draws Kit's cousin Grady into the spell through an enchanted kiss in the woods. Skye and Grady are doomed to become goblins and disappear from humankind forever, unless Livy, the only one untainted by enchantment, can unravel the spell by walking a dangerous magical path of her own.

What I Liked:

• This was a fantastic adaptation of one of my favourite poems in school! Christina Rossetti's 'Goblin Market' has captured the imaginations of many people and Ringle wrote the goblins to be exactly how I imagined: sinister, mischievous, and far stronger and cleverer than they look and act. I liked the modern setting, it felt fresh and relatable with twists of the strange and unpredictable to keep things interesting.
• This is a New Adult book and while it contained sex, it didn't take over the whole book. I'm also pretty glad there wasn't any human/goblin action and the fae (and their actions) were treated as 'evil' beings rather than romanticised. This is how they should be! The romance that was actually found in this book directly addressed the consensual side of things and was pretty steamy, but also sweet.

What I Disliked:

• I have no real complaints here. This was a fantastic book and I enjoyed it immensely. I have to say that when Kit told Livy his big 'secret' her reaction did strike me as a little OTT. I don't think I'd jump to 'serial killer', maybe just a bit superstitious or weird. But other than that tiny gripe, I was hooked by this book.

Overall Conclusion:

This really is a top contender for favourite book of the year, it's so good. So much magic and folklore entwined into a gorgeous, contemporary setting. Ringle is a very visual writer with great descriptions, wrote complex and likeable characters, and her plot flowed very nicely with a lot of twists and turns to keep things interesting. There really aren't any faults with this one. I strongly recommend it, especially if you want to read more books about goblins and the fae generally.