I received this ARC copy from NetGalley for an honest opinion. Even though it took me a long ass time to finish(life happening), I enjoyed this book. I never read books about fae well if you don’t count TMI/TID/TDA series by Cassandra Clare. I loved someone wrote a book about how evil fae can be & not just the good fae because like who doesn’t want evil fae! I liked everything that happened in the book & I hope there more in the series if not this book is awesome!

Be forewarned: this book is odd and full of sex, and will mess with you. It's not a usual kind of novel, and definitely not contemporary romance as it's being advertised. All this aside, I think I loved this novel, but I'm left unsure because of just how strange it was. Ever see the movie "Dark City," or "Labyrinth"? Even "Pan's Labyrinth"? A bit like that. 

This book falls more under the umbrella of "Magical Realism" than contemporary romance, in my opinion. The fascinating world of the goblins is explored, and boy does it put you on edge the whole way through! The author has an incredible talent for drawing you into the story, all while making you feel simultaneously attracted and repulsed by what you read.

One of the biggest complaints I've seen in reviews has been that the romance(s) felt forces, and the sex was terrible. I think that was the point, and if so, then I really, really appreciate it. It was so different from what I'm used to reading! The relationships are toxic and odd,  so... human. These four people are linked by blood, love, or by lust, and it ties them together in such a way that their lives depend on each other. It's surreal and unusual. All in all, don't come into this expecting a meet cute and romance, prepare to feel uncomfortable as heck.

The atmosphere is so macabre. I loved feeling dragged into this world, and the idea of goblins in the forest, stealing your iPhones, felt like a refreshing update on a tale as old as time. The challenges Livy faces at the end completely encompass the adventure of a fairy tale hero, and I love that the love of her sister brings her through.

So long as you're willing to read a book that will leave you feeling icky and uncertain, then you should give this book a try. Do not go into it looking for romance: get ready for the disgusting side of magic, and especially, for the Goblins.

That was what she hated most about this spell, sometimes. The goblins had taken her love of the forest and tainted it, bound it up with their magic.


Goblins starts off so strong; the goblins right from the beginning are reminiscent of actual folklore, being creepy, horrible little critters. They’re greedy, grotesque, carnal, and violent. Reading their treatment of Skye is downright painful, as every move they make is laced with cruelty. Unfortunately, though, the book goes downhill fairly quickly beyond that point, and by the end, I think I was just ready for it to be over as quickly as possible.

→ what i liked ←

“That’s why the locals called them weeds.” Livy sounded glum. “They actually are an invasive species.”

This book is so incredibly atmospheric. The settings are described so beautifully that you find yourself feeling as though you actually are in a damp, dark forest at night, surrounded by mushrooms and critters. I’ve never even visited the PNW, yet even the daytime scenes had me feeling as though I could blink and find myself transported into a beautiful, wet, misty land of greenery and coziness. Not to mention, the descriptions of the goblins themselves are so creepy and perturbing!

Mental illness is handled beautifully in this book; Skye’s silence is mistaken for a deep depression, and her sister is so loving and concerned. The Sylvain boys, despite hardly knowing Skye before the events of the story, are nothing but understanding and caring – especially Grady, which leads me to my next point.

This story has hardcore insta-lust, and I would say, even insta-love, but it’s actually for a reason. The curse placed upon Skye has made it so whomever she chooses as her mate must want her back, so you’re never left thinking, “How do two grown adults fall for each other so quickly?” The two of them even frequently consider the aspect that it’s abnormal for them to be so attached. Oh, and did I mention that the men are younger than the woman in both ‘ships? Yeah, that happens, and I never see that, so I couldn’t help but love it.

→ what i didn’t like ←

“You sure? You want me here?” “Want you,” she whispered. The way she said it, gazing at him, choosing those words to echo – an erotic thrill shivered through him.

The writing is quick and easy, but things are just too convenient and predictable, especially towards the end of the book. There is one small twist, and while it’s a fun one, I definitely didn’t find it even remotely surprising (you kind of guess it right at the beginning). Speaking of odd writing, there are a lot of mentions to sex, and most of them feel unnatural and a little bit forced. The discussions and scenes don’t often feel natural to the story. (Speaking of the sex, if you’re turned off by the fact that many reviewers are calling this book erotica, I wouldn’t be too concerned – everything is only implied or done in a “fade to black” style.)

Mostly, the ending was just such a disappointment; while the rest of the book hadn’t been remarkable, I’d have given it 4 stars for fun’s sake, but the ending is so rushed and predictable that it immediately lowered my rating to 3. I felt like there was this obvious desperation to tie up all of the loose ends, while so much of the book had been spent on descriptions of unimportant aspects, such as Grady’s cooking, or Kit’s frustrations over how nobody believed in the goblins’ existence.

→ final thoughts ←

All in all, The Goblins of Bellwater is a quick, fun read, and given the fact that you can nab an ebook of it on the Kindle store for $3 or less right now, if you’re interested in a new adult romance with fantasy and lore thrown in, I’d tell you to go for it. That said, I wouldn’t expect anything overly intense or captivating.

CONTENT WARNINGS: trauma, physical assault, mentions of sexual assault, PTSD, depression.

All quotes are taken from an unfinished review copy and may differ from the final release. Thank you so much to NetGalley and Central Avenue Publishing for granting me this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

At the beginning I felt that the book was for a young audienc, but then it switches and it was a bit shocking in it flip so that it becomes for a more mature audience. I don’t believe young adults will stick wi5 it long enough to get to the “juicy parts.” I did not really want to finish it.

I thought the book was well written. The characters are well done out.

I received this via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
This is a story of four people and their battle to stop a group of malevolent goblins.
What I like most about this story was the eerie scene descriptions and the history of the goblins. What I didn't like was the romance between the characters. It wasn't believable and some of the sex scenes were distasteful for me. I wish the storyline would have followed the goblins, as I found them more interesting than the protagonists.
My advice is to skip through the relationship between the characters and enjoy the world building.

I really liked the concept - I love dark fantasies, and this was very reminiscent of Holly Black’s Ironsides trilogy (as well as her newer ‘Cruel Prince’. This was a really promising concept, but the whole Skye - Grady relationship did kind of weird me out. Skye became so passive - and I get that she kissed Grady & cursed him - but she barely spoke or interacted with him - their relationship was not healthy at all - & it actually kind of grossed me out. The line between consensual and nonconsensual was so blurred - and it made for an uncomfortable read. The book (kind of) tried to explore that - and it did not do the concept justice - and kind of felt icky. Aside from that - I really liked the goblin world and how they were at odds with the other fey - but I felt like too much time was spent on the humans and their relationships - and not enough was spent on world building. Finally - the other fey coming to save the Day was rather convenient and happened too quickly, with not enough context - to feel natural. Not my favourite read - but I hope the author does explore the fey a bit more in a future book. I would love more history!

Well, where to start?
I am having a hard time here with this.
I'll be honest and say that I nearly gave up a few times as the first 50% was a bit slow for me. Then I started with the over analysing. Was it me? Am I way out the target audience? Was it my mood? I hate it when I do that.....
This will probably be short. Maybe it's best if I list the things I liked and didn't....
What I liked:
The cover (artwork is superb)
The unique premise (goblins are so under used!)
The creepy evil goblins! (they were naughty!)
The romance (although a bit insta-love)
The fae folk!
What irked me:
I was expecting more fantasy (my expectation may have ruined it for me!)
I didn't feel I connected with the characters (in fact sometimes I was shaking my head at them!)
I found it extremely slow until it comes together at around 50% (glad I didn't give up though, I hate to DNF a book!)

Sisters Skye and Livy live on the edge of the woods. Throughout her youth, Skye has heard, smelled, and seen weird things in the woods, calling to her. Finally, she gives into the temptation and follows. Meanwhile, Livy starts getting to know Kit, the local mechanic who knows more about the mystery of the forest than he is letting on.

The Goblins of Bellwater is a retelling of Christina Rossetti's poem, "Goblin Market." The Goblins of Bellwater takes on the overall storyline of the poem, in all of its eerily sensual glory. The author digs deeper into the story than even Rossetti did and subsequently added explanations for the goblins' existences and desires; a double romance between the sisters and two cousins; and a satisfyingly conclusive ending. The story was compelling, creative, and sensual. The imagery was stunning in the contrasts of the grotesque and the beautiful.

I really enjoyed this intriguing story. Despite my prior knowledge of the poem, the story kept me guessing. I loved the imagery the author created, perhaps most of all. I would love to see some of the scenes depicted in art. I recommend this book to adult fans of romantic fantasy.

I received a complementary copy of this book from NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

This book was truly magical. Not just a beautiful cover it was a beautiful story. So well written I couldn't put it down. I loved everything about it and really enjoyed the characters and how they changed throughout the book.

I love Christina Rossetti’s poem “Goblin Market” and whenever I see a retelling that reflects the original poem and its themes of sisterhood and female empowerment, I want to read it right away. So of course, when I came across The Goblins of Bellwater being a new adult, modern-day retelling of "Goblin Market," I knew I had to read it. And you guys, this book did not disappoint. 

The Goblins of Bellwater has the perfect amount of romance and fantastical elements, with a innovative contemporary storyline that parallels Rossetti's poem. I love that the author, Molly Ringle, does not romanticize the goblins. Instead, she provides them a heartbreaking backstory, but they are still ruthless creatures with greedy and uncaring intentions. 

In The Goblins of Bellwater, the four main characters all have their own well-developed personalities. Each of them are ingrained with aspirations, but these dreams are halted by goblin mayhem. I don't want to give too much away in regards to the characters and plot, but the goblins are only appeased when they are given gold or other valuable treasures. If this routine of appeasement is stopped then the goblins retaliate in the most bizarre and evil ways. Temptation is tested in this story, but I love that sisterhood and love are the empowering forces that drive these characters to go against the goblins. 

Overall, I highly recommend everyone to get tangled in this goblin-infested but love-conquers-all book. The overall story is well paced, I loved the characters, and there is a good mix of sensual romance. If you like your contemporary novels meshed with a fantasy twist, The Goblins of Bellwater is the right book for you.

The Goblins of Bellwater was inspired by the poem: Goblin Market. I've read the poem before and liked it, which is why I was super excited to read this retelling.

While The Goblins of Bellwater contains goblins and fruit (like the poem!) there's also something called a "Goblin liaison" in the book. The goblin liaison is Kit and his job is to basically steal gold for the goblins. In return, they give him the ability to steal and not get caught. He makes it a point to invoke protection for his cousin, Grady, when he comes, but that doesn't really help. You see, the goblins have enchanted Skye, the sister of the girl who will eventually be Kit's love interest and well, one thing leads to another.

This is supposed to be a romance, which is not a genre I read often, but I found this book to be really interesting. It's obviously not for kids or teenagers (though I can't really say how explicit the romance gets because I skimmed (basically skipped) those sections), but I thought that the world building was very well-done and I'm always up for a story involving plots and loopholes and trying to outsmart crafty creatures.

Kit, Lib, Skye and Grady were all well-developed and I really liked reading their story. I thought the romance developed naturally and made sense within the plot.

If you're into fantasy, and especially if you're a fan of romance, then you'll probably enjoy this book.

Disclaimer: I got a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a free and honest review.

** I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own**


So, this time I'm sharing just part of the book description from Goodreads - by all means pop on over and check it out if you want to see more =)


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.







Not to sound like a broken record but, this cover! I feel like there are so many amazing covers this year! I might have to do a blog post in January of my favourite covers of 2017 (assuming I can narrow it down!)


This is a new adult paranormal romance - which in this case means there is sex and a lot of it! In fact, sometimes it felt like the goblin curse was there largely so the characters would get sexy. This was a bit of a surprised to me, since I was expecting YA (totally my fault - I have no idea what I even based this assumption on!)

The world/mythology building was pretty brief, but enough to satisfy me - and I really liked this imagining of goblins and other fae, which was a bit different from others I've read lately. There is also a great 'quest' aspect to the story, which felt was really well done.

Overall an entertaining read, I gave this one three stars.

A lovely contemporary fairy tale similar to the early urban fantasy of Charles DeLint, Alan Garner, and Emma Bull. I very much enjoyed it

A book based off of the poem “Goblin Market” by Christina Rossetti. It is my belief that the story accurately captured some of the creepiness of the Goblins in aforementioned poem.

I really enjoyed the mix of fantasy and realism in this book - the goblins and the humans.
There was a lot of romance - so much to the point that I think a YA tag may not be all that accurate. New adult alone may be more accurate. I noticed a lot of readers didn't enjoy all of the romance, but I didn't so much mind it, I think due to the situation of the relationships being ones you don't normally read about.
All in all, I enjoyed this book and would certainly read more by this author!

I was given a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book took me a little bit to get into, the first 15% was hard to be interested in. We're introduced to Kit, the liaison between humans and goblins. I didn't find him a very interested character until after he meets and starts interacting with Livy, whose character I did really enjoy. It's amusing to me that although Kit starts off as the main character, it's really Livy who ends up saving the day. Kit himself is rather plain, he's your average guy who happens to have a weird job. Because he was so average I found him dull. I found Livy to be an interesting character because of her love for her sister Skye. Their connection and bond was really well written. Skye herself spends a lot of the book not actually talking, she was more of a minor character. Same with Grady. The two of them were okay, but nothing super special.

The Goblins of Bellwater is well written, I always had a really clear mental image of what was going on because of the great descriptions. The book made me hungry several times because of the food that Grady cooks.

Overall I didn't find the book spectacular. It was a little cliche at the end, and I felt like the stakes weren't quite as high as they could have been. Or maybe it was that they weren't believable enough. It's just that I never worried that Livy wasn't going to save the day and her sister. I knew she would and so I found myself a tad bit bored.

But that said I did enjoy a good quantity of the book. I gave it 3 stars on Goodreads.

***This book was reviewed for Central Ave Publishing via Netgalley

The Goblins of Bellwater is a bewitching tale of curses, enchantment, and the power of the unseen. In the woods around Bellwater, Washington, a tribe of mischievous goblins dwell. So long as their human liaison, Kit, brings them a tithing of gold each month, they will (mostly) behave. But if the tithe is late…

Skye is caught by the goblins one evening, after Kit is short with his monthly allotment. Forced to eat of goblin food, she is destined to grow more withdrawn from human society, eventually returning to the forest to choose a mate and join the goblin tribe as their newest member. Skye cannot speak of her trauma, thanks to the goblins’ curse. In a desperate attempt to thumb her nose at the goblins, she chooses as a mate one most unexpected. That choice may just be the key to her salvation.

I enjoyed the amoral nature of the goblins. They didn't strike me as truly evil, even when malicious. They simply lived out the dictates of their species. It was interesting that, despite a sexual nature, goblins increased the tribe by transforming people. There didn't seem to be baby goblins.

These goblins are an 'invasive species’ not native to the state, nor even the continent. They followed Kit’s ancestor to North America. The local faefolk of Washington do not like these interlopers, who are so like the humans that desecrate the area with trash, but they are constrained by laws of magick that limit how and when they can intercede. Skye’s curse opens the ideal opportunity, but are her sister Livy, and the liaison Kit up to facing the goblins?

I loved that the nature spirits of the Americas are called fae too. That's how I've always treated mythic beings of any culture that do not fit another specific category, like 'dragons’ or 'vampires’. There are behaviours and traits that sing 'fae’ no matter the continent.

I enjoyed that much of this story involved Skye and Grady struggling with themselves. To be cursed and unable to speak of it as you fight against changes to turn into a goblin, I could feel their terror and frustration. And the bitter pill Kit must swallow serving the goblin tribe against his will.

There is a strong elemental theme running through the novel. The four base elements of alchemy and magick- Earth, Air, Fire, and Water. Quintessence, the fifth element of Spirit, is never directly mentioned, but I saw it in the transformation of Skye and Grady back to humans, and the goblins to other fae. Livy must travel through the elemental realms to reach the goblin village, allowing the fae to follow behind her. She traversed the paths, progressing through her own internal transformation, and paving the way for the transformation of the others.

I didn't see the goblins as 'evil’. More that they simply lived the dictates of their species. I really liked them, truth be told. They are completely honest in what they are. I found them rather refreshing.

I can't rave about the cover enough, either! It's beautiful in its simplicity. The cover is what drew me in first, prompting me to read the blurb.

📚📚📚📚📚

I came for the goblins but I was given two flat romances instead. There are goblins but there is a huge gap where the characters just fall in love with each other rather quickly. In the end, I wasn't sure if I cared if any of them would survive.

I was captivated by the story, the relationship between Skye and Livy seemed a bit magical before the magic began. Personally, I LOVE how the goblins get their names in the human world, they're eccentric and eclectic, a few are down right ridiculous. I enjoyed how Ringle made everything feel real. I was lost in her forest with Skye, wrestling with my own good and evil sides with Kit, I was inspired by Livy's somewhat idiotic bravado, and even felt for Grady. However, I did find a few issues with this book. Personally, this is for those 18 and older, the poem its sparked from is, as I've said, pretty darn sexy and the book keeps true to that; though it seems forced at times. Also, while the story has this truly timeless feel to it, the characters do not. They're all a tad to young for some of their lines and life experiences. That doesn't actually trip you up while reading though, just something I picked up on when discussing the book with other readers. A few times I just turned my head and said, "wait a second."

Overall this is a novel that will suck you in from the cover art, to the romance, to the history, and lore. I'd love to see more of these characters, especially a few of the goblins. You'll fall in love with these familial relationships, and then some. Oh! But do read the original poem first, it will really help.