Hmmmmmmm...... what to sat about The Goblins Of Bellwater?!?

I will admit that I had been really looking forward to reading this book ever since I first heard about it, I mean it sounded totally like my thing with goblins and a dark scary wood, battling to save a girl from joining the goblin hoardes..... the truth turned out to be a disappointment to me personally.

Don't get me wrong, it was a perfectly readable and decent book but it left me very disappointed for a couple of reasons:

1. I was expecting a book containing a mass of creepy, sneaky little goblins, up to no good and causing trouble as the main focus of the book. Yes, the goblins where there doing all that but the focus of the book wasn't with them as much as I had hoped and prayed. They were just secondary to the human and their woes/affairs.

2. This turned out to be less of fantasy book than I wanted and turned into much, much more of a romance book that I wanted to read. I can do romance in certain settings but personally I didn't like it here with the two human couples. Most of the books focus was on the insta-love rather than battling with the goblins, I found that a little sad.

As I said, the book is a perfectly good read but I think in my mind I had hyped it up to be something it wasn't for me and that's probably why I was left feeling so gutted and more than a little cold after reading it.

I do other had much better luck with The Goblins Of Belltower that I did as it probably deserves more praise that I give it right now.

Before we talk words can we please take a moment to stare at the cover! Look at how beautiful that cover is. It completely draws me in and makes my eyes happy. I love it! *claps for the cover design* I loved the goblins, the magic and the folklore infusion in this book. It was a quick read and I loved the somber undertone that pushes you to keep reading, to find out how things will end. Molly's writing is fantastic and I really would love to see her do another tale re-imagined. The last quarter of the book was so mesmerizing I loved how we got to see different fae incorporated.

*I received this ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

Actual rating: 3.5 stars

I liked this a lot- a creepy and magical goblin tale with such strong links to nature. I loved the Pacific Northwest scenery and the relationships between the main characters was cute/real hot.

Really solid and enjoyable and I read it in practically a day.

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 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. Kit would know, but he doesn’t talk of such things: he’s the human liaison for the goblin tribe, thrust on him by an ancient family contract. Unaware of what’s happened to Skye, Kit starts dating Livy, trying to keep it casual to protect her from the attention of the goblins. Meanwhile, unbeknownst to Kit, Skye draws his cousin Grady into the spell through an enchanted kiss in the woods, dooming Grady and Skye both to become goblins and disappear from humankind forever. It’s a midwinter night’s enchantment as Livy, the only one untainted by a spell, sets out to save them on a dangerous magical path of her own.



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The Goblins of Bellwater
Molly Ringle

For a title including 'Goblins' this book did not have enough goblins in it. I was fully ready for a goblin filled adventure and I was completely let down when I realised this was basically a contemporary romance with a sub plot about goblins. This is another one of those books that were in the fantasy genre on Netgalley, and I really should start double checking on Goodreads before requesting.

The romance itself was extremely toxic. Skye and Grady's romance is all because of the goblin curse. She first kisses him which 1. traps him as her chosen mate for the curse, and 2. is not consensual at all. This non-consent just continues throughout the book, including when they have sex in front of all the goblins in the woods. It wasn't cute, I wasn't routing for them and it was just an awful trash romance to read.

The forest itself is extremely creepy and eerie and feels magical. But... we rarely spend any time in the magical part. We're there as Skye gets cursed, as Kit liaisons with the goblins and then for the big finale. That is basically it, I came for a magical wood full of goblins, all I got was annoying characters who just want to bone all the time.

Goblins of Bellwater nearly redeemed itself when Livy has to fight her way through different magical tasks to get to her sister to save her. But then I realised, the entire book could have been written this way. The author clearly has the skill to write a fast paced, magical filled adventure. Unfortunately, that is not what she gave us. This book was so slow to read, and I really should have DNF'd because it never lived up to it's expectations.

Overall, I really disliked this book. I would've been a bit more lenient about the romance if it was just me being dumb when requesting it. But the 'romance' was just so bad that I really don't think anyone would enjoy reading it. It was also way too slow pacing in the non fantasy parts, and the fantasy areas lacked completely.

POSITIVES
+ Forest feels creepy and magical

+ Livy's journey for her sister

NEGATIVES
– Romance is toxic

– Not really a fantasy

– Poor pacing

I received Gobins of Bellwater by Molly Ringle from the publisher via Netgalley. This is an unbiased and honest review

In a small northwestern town, two sisters are drawn into the world of goblins and fae when one is unwittingly cursed. A modern take on Goblin Market with lyrical prose and a naturalistic slant, the Goblins of Bellwater is perfect for fans of Holly Black.

Sadly, this is one of my DNF pile. I tried so hard to give this a chance but to no avail.

The Goblins of Bellwater was a fun and immersive story. At times it was hard to put the book down. The characters were relatable, and the setting was magical. I loved that the story had a good mix of romance and sisterly love. One downside was that the characters fell in love a little too quickly for my taste - but I did feel that given the quickness of the read it was okay.

The book made me more interested in stories about fae so it could be a good jumping off point into the genre for others as well.

This novel wasn’t as immersive as what I was expecting from a story that claimed to be a modern retelling of a narrative poem as iconic and ethereal as “Goblin Market.” The poem is famous for having multiple layers of meaning and interpretation, and I was hoping to find something comparable in this book, but I ultimately found it to be just a very standard teen/new adult fantasy novel. I would recommend to younger adults and less discerning fantasy fans.

"A novel about goblins... I'm sure it'll be amazingly creepy as hell!"
What a pity that those poor goblins were more bit players than real characters. Really, why ruining a book that could have become super intriguing and spooky and entertaining with an endless load of mawkish ROMANCE?
Every 5 pages someone was kissing or pining for their romantic interest; I seriously had an hard time finishing the book.

I did enjoy the concept of the "liaison", a human who acted as a mediator between men and goblins who guaranteed that no harm would happen to the first ones by giving the latters what they wanted. Moreover Kit is the kind of male character who usually catches my attention.
Sadly, this characters fell too in disgrace as soon as he gets to involved with the right girl and becomes a sort of medieval knight with suicidal instincts.

Last but not least, I found a bit too rushed the last part, especially the one concerning Livy. Avoiding any kind of spoiler, I'll just say that the "trials" she had to go through felt more ridiculous than adventurous, because she actually did nothing by herself.
Pity, I really felt like reading some nice paranormal fantasy about goblins!

I was immediately drawn to The Goblins of Bellwater. The cover is absolutely stunning, and I'm all about goblins and creepy forests.

Unfortunately, it fell a little flat for me. Not that it was bad, just not exactly what I expected. The writing style made it hard for me to get through. There were a few times where I had to put the book down because it wasn't compelling enough to keep me focused - both with the writing and the plot.

Speaking of plot, that was another issue for me. The enchanted sex in the forest - while a bunch of goblins are peeping - was super strange to me. It didn't seem all that... consensual?

I guess this one just wasn't my flavor of milkshake.

While I liked the creepy atmosphere the writing seemed lackluster. There where moments where it jumped from different characters and the way of was written was confusing to me. I liked the premise of the book though.

3.5

Solid YA! I was very impressed with how goblins were worked into the story (okay, are the story) in a non-traditional, non-frightening way. The story was new, creative and the author did a superb job illustrating the lush backgrounds of Washington and the fae that come with it.

A great story and not overly complicated which is great. Sometime it's nice not to have a book where you need to think about it.

Occasionally the chapter heading is at the bottom of the page and this could be changed by double spacing so it's attached to the right chapter. Not a big thing though.

a intriguing read I definitely enjoyed it. I would recommend this to YA and those who like fantasy.

Loved this book! It was well written and captivating.

Goblins of Bellwater was an interesting story that got more interesting as it went on. I feel it was a bit rushed though. I love how the characters were older (20’s) because that helped relate the story more to me. I loved the take care of the environment message hidden throughout the book.

Spring-boarding a modern story off of Christina Rossetti's The Goblin Market seemed like a clever premise for a novel. Unfortunately, this failed badly in the execution.

While the pacing is decent and the characters are likable enough, the positives end there. The writing (especially the dialogue) is ham-handed and juvenile, the solve is hokey, and the plot is problematic and unimaginative.

This was a cute idea, but the final product isn't a good read.

Great teen read that I read in a single sitting. Well fleshed out characters in a setting clearly loved by the author. Will be of particular interest to residents or those interested in the Pacific Northwest.

Not quite my cup of tea, but an interesting take on the world of fae!
This is pretty sexually charged--and that works well. Fans of Maas' ACOTAR (which I quite enjoyed) might also like this trip into the world of fae!

This is a wonderful and magical tale about fae creatures that resided in the local Washington forests one wintry season. From page one, this story was so atmospheric and I was completely swept away in this tale of goblins and the horrible things they are capable of in their treetop village. Yet, the goblins only do terrible things if their need for gold is not met by their goblin liaison, Kit.

*thank you to Netgalley and Central Avenue Publishing for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review*

4 stars.

Not since The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald have I enjoyed a novel about Goblins so much. This fantasy story was brilliant! I love the cover! It's stunning! I also really liked that the characters were in their 20s. It was a nice change from most fantasy stories I've read were the characters were in their teens. Though, I really could have done without the sex parts. The really didn't need to be in there at all and I probably would have given this an extra half star if that had been taken out. Still, this was enjoyable and the ideas the author came up with were really good. I liked the relationship between Skye and Livy, the sisters. Definitely recommend if your in the mood for a good fantasy with older characters.