I forgot to leave a review for this, but I really enjoyed it! It's been out for ages, so I won't say much more than I need to for my star rating. <3

Steer clear of the Goblin Market. It's a warning May didn't head and now, nearly two decades later, her niece and much younger sister are repeating her mistakes. But what exactly happened in the market to force May and her sister away from Yorkshire? And what awaits the younger generation now that they are venturing into the market themselves. This is a wonderfully dark fairy tale inspired by the poem, "The Goblin Market."

Let me start by saying I absolutely love Tori and everything I've read from her so far, this book though... it hurts me that it's not a 5 star read but honestly if it wasn't Tori's it may have been rounded down instead.

I rarely feel this way but this book definitely suffered from second book syndrome unfortunately.
I wasn't familiar with the poem this was inspired by so I went into it without knowing much but in any case I don't think it'd have mattered.

The story alternates between chapters in the present told from Lou's POV and chapters in the past told from her aunt's May POV (both 3rd person).
The horror elements were great, I really enjoyed the chapters when they were finally visiting the market (in the past and in the present), but.. there was a lot of repetition in the first half and the first 45% of the book I didnt feel like anything was happening. The MC, Lou, kept going in circles about how "she didn't know anything", "how much she missed Neela", "why would Neela keep secrets from her", "what would Neela do", "how her life would end if Neela was hurt" and I get that, truly, but it was literally in every single chapter and no one was giving her answers, and she didn't really press them or do anything else and that was that. I kept feeling like the idea for the book was underdeveloped, like there wasn't enough meat there to base a whole book on the back of it, or at least not the way it was structured or how short it was.

The chapters from May's POV were better, more interesting, her story was more compelling, by the end of it you couldn't help but draw parallels between the way Lou is feeling now and the way May was feeling when she was about her age. May and Eitra's love story, even though it was good and I liked Eitra (she's my fav character after Laura) , felt so rushed, if that's not the definition of insta-love I don't know what is. There was no time for this thing between them to grow, the first time they locked eyes they were already half in love, which had even me questioning at one point if May was enchanted or what.

All that aside, I liked the twist toward the end and I liked the ending. I won't hold this book against TB, though this is definitely not her best work, at any rate this is a decent YA horror with magical elements.
Can't wait for Tori's next book!

Eternal gratitude to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

I LOVED this book! The concept drew me in so quickly—it was so deliciously dark, and I was so tense for a huge part of it wondering what would happen next.

I love that family was at the heart of this book, and that the protagonists were so determined to protect the people they loved.

The writing was well done, the world building was interesting and had depth, and I wish there was a sequel 🙏 overall I’d recommend it to people who love a more urban fantasy or darker magical realism vibes!

Loved the premise, and that it was a retelling. The dual timelines was a little confusing, but the characters were what made me stay.

I had never heard of the poem 'Goblin Market' before, but wow is it interesting! The atmosphere of this retelling is suffusive throughout the entire book and all of the characters were very compelling.
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I love books with dual-timelines, and I thought that this book executed it well! I may be a little biased though because one of the POV characters is named May :)
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Family dynamics were woven into the story well, and I especially loved the idea of "Unbelonging" and how it was continuously worked through and used to show Lou's character development.
thank you to netgalley and the publisher for providing me an arc.

I thought with certainty that this would be a 5-star read, but I felt pretty disappointed by this book. I have always been a fan of anything fairytale-related, especially retellings as of recent! I love the Goblin Market story, so I was thrilled to read this, but I found that much of this just felt half-baked. I think honestly that the pacing was a huge issue here: the POV of past and present did not do this story justice and felt like it interrupted the pacing of what was happening in the other POV the entire time--somehow they did not feel like they were on the same wavelength. Beyond that, I just had too many questions that were left unanswered, and the worldbuilding felt like it was thought about in the aftermath when it should have been a foundational aspect of the story.

I truly loved that Bovalino created a dark fairytale featuring queer characters, but the story itself did not deliver what was promised. It barely even felt scary and did not have the high stakes I feel that the story should have given the premise. I will read more Bovalino in the future, but this book didn't work for me.

This book is a mixed bag, but ultimately an enjoyable read. It is a retelling of the Goblin Market tale. The plot is strong, but the characters are not fully fleshed out. The book is told in dual timelines and points of view, which can be a bit distracting. It also follows a familiar "chosen one" storyline, which some readers may not be fans of.

However, my biggest annoyance was the way the book suffers from a lack of depth in its characters and a somewhat cliched plot. The characters do not feel fully fleshed out and can feel one-dimensional at times, which makes it difficult to become fully invested in their choices and stories.

Despite these flaws, 'Not Good For Maidens' is still a good choice for readers who enjoy Retellings, especially Retellings of fairytales and the goblin market. I would be interested in more of the author’s work in the future.

This book was a fantastically spooky take on "The Goblin Market" by Christina Rossetti originally published in 1862. Bovalino excels that creating a grim and intriguing atmosphere that really pulls you in. While the dual-timeline storytelling style was a bit confusing at times, overall it really worked to intervene the different characters and stories going on.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys darker fairytales or just wants a good spooky YA book to settle down with.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Page Street Publishing for the free e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Be careful of the Goblin Market, it will entrance you with beauty and awe but it also has sharp teeth. Not Good for Maidens is a richly dark horror fantasy that dives into the old folk tales and stories. The dual storylines allows for rich context about the Goblin Market and allows for depth. The plot is steady and really immerses readers in to the world Bovalino was creating. I would have liked more depth in the characters and growth.

I think this book is great for 10/11th grade. Perfect reading level and themes. I especially liked the way the broader themes of family responsibility vs personal responsibility and development are explored as journeys through the market.

The atmosphere and tone of this book is set by the constant hum of the goblin market calling to the humans. I honestly just love a good goblin market retelling and this book delivered me a great story. It started out a bit rough for me, and then ended a bit rough for me. The family dynamics with Lou, her mom, and May--the secrets and how they were handled was overly frustrating for me.
That being said though, once the book got going and the story lines began to cross things got good. May and Eitra had my heart! Appreciated the queer representation and felt it was well-handled.
4/5 stars on this one from me! I really enjoyed this one. Do recommend!

A good low fantasy read! Very much 'Daughter of Smoke and Bone' vibes. A little drop you in the middle in the beginning which wasn't my fav, but you catch on quick. I like the resolution. Thank you to Netgalley and publisher for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

This is definitely a fantastic Spooky Season read! YA fantasy with horror elements, and queer representation. Highly recommended.
Thank you very much to Page Street Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC!

I loved the idea that this was a retelling of Christina Rossetti's Goblin Market and the audiobook reading was enjoyable, with an engaging and emotive voice, but I could not suspend disbelief and live in the story, which seemed forced at times. A host of goblins and dark creatures have an ancient pact with a band of human witches to dwell in a space between the human and supernatural world called the Goblin Market, where they are free to tempt unknowing people into their traps to be caught, tortured, and eaten. The human witches help rescue and heal people who escape the market. My point of contention is that I didn't understand why the goblins, who seem to number only in the dozens or a few hundred at most, are allowed to continue their violent and cruel hunting, when they are clearly outnumbered by millions of humans in England. It seems like the witches could simply destroy them with modern technology and warpower. The premise lacked plausability in a way that detracted from the enjoyment of the fantastical elements. The author's endeavor to bring this story to the modern world is appreciated but not fully formed.

Beautiful writing style, great development. I am honestly super excited to read more stories from this author; the narrative is amazing, the reimagination of the Goblin Market tale was extremely creative. And I loved the LGBTQIA+ representation! A powerful fantasy book, with a great creepy atmosphere.

Tori Bolivano in my opinion is well underrated author.
I loved her first book "The Devil makes three" and this book was excellent too.
Great atmosphere of Britain.
Beautiful story of witchery craft, just what you need for the Fall read.

I received an ARC of Not Good for Maidens from Page Street Publishing in exchange for an honest review.

I have fond memories of encountering Christina Rossetti’s “Goblin Market” for the first time in college, but it doesn’t seem to have a strong grip on pop culture the way some poems do, so I was eager and excited to discover a book inspired by it. It was with disappointment, then, that I found out that Tori Bovalino’s Not Good for Maidens (what a title!), although it features some striking imagery and carries forward the queer coding and latent sexuality of the original text, struggles to cohere its nebulous worldbuilding and half-baked themes across multiple timelines.

The contemporary timeline follows Lou, a young woman whose aunt Neela is kidnapped and taken to the goblin market. Lou’s quest to rescue Neela forces her and her family to reckon with their experiences involving the market several decades earlier. The other timeline follows those events from years before, when Lou’s aunt May became involved with a goblin named Eitra. May must confront the trauma she went through in order to help Lou get Neela back.

The dual timelines are probably the biggest problem with Not Good for Maidens. May is a more interesting character than Lou, and the past timeline is more interesting than the present, but the most frustrating part is that the parallel timelines fail to illuminate one another in any meaningful way—they are hardly more than two similar stories threaded together, and even though they are primed to comment on queer relationships, familial relationships, and intergenerational trauma, they never do so. This book might have been better if it had been a novella about May. Multiple timelines should not be employed without a darn good reason, and there isn’t a good reason here.

The worldbuilding is an absolute mess. Witches are a part of this story for some reason, but they are shoehorned in without much explanation, and the relationship between the goblin market and the real world never quite locks in. The horror elements of the market are emphasized (this is on the darker side of YA), but the more crucial aspect—temptation—is lost, which strips the themes of resonance and the characters of sympathy. Bovalino’s prose is at its strongest when she leans into the frightening imagery, but it is otherwise sluggish, dense but lacking substance.

I’ve listed a lot of negatives here, but I don’t think this book is bad so much as a baffling case of unrealized potential that needed more time in the metaphorical oven. A tighter structure might have prevented that potential from being buried under so much padding and so many muddled themes. I hope to someday find an invigorating modern take on “Goblin Market,” but this wasn’t it.

I enjoyed the creepy atmosphere and the references to the original poem. I feel like teens who like horror and thrillers will definitely pick this up.