I was really excited for Not Good for Maidens, especially when I started reading it and it seemed as if the author was not going to shy away from the grim/dark elements of the Goblin Market. Unfortunately the story was rather disappointing for me. I had a hard time connecting with Lou and the pacing was too slow for my taste.

NOT GOOD FOR MAIDENS is dark and macabre and unlike anything I have ever read before. I mean that as a compliment. I loved the creepy tone of this book and its setting both in the goblin market and in York. I have never heard of the original tale but I imagine that Bovalino does it justice, because this world-building and depiction of goblin legends and lore was super creepy and kind of horrifying. This is one of those books that crosses genres and is the perfect blend of horror and fantasy that will delight fans of both. This book has two different, yet interweaved, POVs and timelines that I was so relieved to find work well. You can't help but be invested in both May's and Lou's stories and notice the threads that bind them. I also really appreciated how Bovalino depicted Lou's divorced family in a way that is healthy. She navigates complicated relationships and generational trauma deftly and it is refreshing to see it not portrayed in ways that feel stereotypical or cliche. Just like in her first book, Bovalino's writing is lush and cutting and she has done a great job at writing horror. NOT GOOD FOR MAIDENS is a dark and ghastly book that will beckon you in just as the goblin market does in the story, and I deeply enjoyed this and look forward to more from this author!

Tori Bovalino follows her outstanding YA debut horror novel The Devil Makes Three with another deliciously captivating dark read. Not Good for Maidens is inspired by the Christina Rosetti poem Goblin Market and has some plot similarities in which two sisters are tempted by fruit by goblins. This skeleton of an idea morphs beautifully into a YA novel which is sure to appeal to fans of Holly Black and others who write dark fantasy using fairy or folk tales as inspiration. The story unfolds through two narratives told eighteen years apart, in the present-day Lou Wickett lives in Boston and is looking forward to the return of her aunt Neela, who is very close to her in age and the pair are more like sisters. However, early in the action Neela disappears and we realise this is connected to the family’s history in York. Lou lives with both her mother and her aunt, who have been keeping secrets from her regarding their joint history in York, where they come from a long line of witches. The second narrative jumps back eighteen years to York where (aunt) May was the same age as Lou and was having a great time in York, until she falls for another girl. The problem was the girl was not any old girl, she was a goblin and much of the novel concerns the weird relationship between humans and goblins in York, which coexist in the Goblin Market. This is a very dangerous place for humans (goblins eat people) but at certain times and for short periods it is (relatively) safe for humans to visit the Market as long as no rules are broken.

I enjoyed both narratives, which both have great LGBTQIA+ representation with Lou being asexual, however, I would have liked to have seen this explored further in the Goblin Market story as seduction was a big part of how the market ticked and this plotline seemed to lead to a dead end, unless acceptance was enough. The goblins are portrayed as horned creatures, which can use glamours to appear human and I struggled to shake off the Tolkien version of goblins from The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings. Bearing in mind goblins eat humans, there was a fair bit of gore thrown into the mix, clearly showing what happens to those who are too dumb to survive in the Goblin Market. Considering Lou has no idea she comes from a family of (former) witches she adapts very quickly when she realises to rescue her aunt she has to visit the Goblin Market herself. The story was a fine balance of clever characterisation and well-developed fantasy setting where to survive following the rules is vital and it was made even more believable that there is no indication that Lou will become a witch overnight. The romance in the historical setting had a Romeo and Juliet vibe and the idea that covens of witches might operate in plain sight was nicely portrayed. There is even the hint of a sequel! Great stuff. AGE RANGE 13+

Thank you to TBR and Beyond, the publisher, and the author for letting me read an e-ARC of Not Good for Maidens.

Not Good for Maidens is a beautiful story that examines what it means to discover yourself, both separate from and together with your family, and how you can love people that you have never really known. It follows two generations of Wickett women 18 years apart as they feel the call to the Goblin Market and is very much a horror novel, if you don’t care for blood or gore then this is not the book for you.

The grotesque beauty of the market and its lure are written in such a way that you can understand why people are drawn to it even after seeing and experiencing it’s horrors. Bovalino’s prose is entrancing and her magic grounded in historical writings and traditions that make it feel like a goblin could be singing outside your window that night. The relationships between the characters are realistic and complex, the way this family loves each other and chooses each other time and time again was heart warming to read.

There is representation for many different aspects of the queer community. May is a bisexual woman coming to terms with her sexuality in late 90’s, early 2000’s York, England. Lou is ace and Neela is pan. While it always seems to be the queer women that are most drawn to the market, maybe because they are more able to recognize unconventional forms of beauty and attraction. I absolutely loved how Lou’s asexuality works to her benefit when dealing with creatures who use physical pleasure and desire as the basics of their tricks.

When doing some research on the topic I found that some people believe the poem Goblin Market by Christina Rossetti to have antisemitic undertones. While Not Good for Maidens is partially inspired by that poem, I think it manages to avoid the same stereotypes. I am not Jewish so take this with a grain of salt but I was trying to keep an eye out for any major antisemitic stereotypes being used during the interactions with or descriptions of goblins and I personally did not see any. If you don’t know about the history of goblins being used as an antisemitic caricature of Jewish people I recommend you look into it because it is sadly something that continues, especially within the fantasy community, to this day.

If you are looking for a dangerous, spine-tingling, and queer story about familial love then this is the book for you.

A retelling of one of the nineteenth century’s queerest poems, Tori Bovalino’s new novel Not Good for Maidens (June 2022) is a fast-paced paranormal adventure-thriller that quickly became one of my favourite books of the year.



The novel adapts and retells Christina Rossetti’s famous Victorian poem, “Goblin Market” (1862). Not Good for Maidens follows Lou, the teenage daughter of a family of women who are intimately familiar with the twisted and dangerous corridors of the goblin market. Although her mother and her aunt have done their best to shield Lou from their haunted past, history inevitably repeats itself when Lou’s teenage aunt Neela is kidnapped and taken to the market. Although Lou has only read about the manipulative offerings of fruit and treasure, she knows how tempting the goblin market can be before it turns deadly. But Lou quickly realizes that she is the only one who can save Neela by learning the spells, songs, and tricks that will allow her to outsmart the goblins, enter the market, and retrieve Neela safely. Safely, that is, if Lou can manage to pull her out before the market disappears for the year and Neela is lost forever.



In short, this book was fabulous. If you’ve read and loved Rossetti’s original poem, then this retelling seems as though it’s been a long time coming. Bovalino balances the nuances of the poem with her own original narrative, crafting a literary world that is both fantastical and deeply rooted in the bonds between women. The text highlights and explores the power of female friendship and queerness, and I loved the way the novel seamlessly wove a history and a fantasy world around the goblin market.



Even if you have yet to read Rossetti’s work, this book will appeal. The world and the writing are immersive, with a lot of vivid detail. The characters are unique and develop alongside the supernatural world, and Bovalino’s rich descriptions really bring the goblin market to life. I loved that this novel highlighted the queerness of the original poem by centering queer lives in the narrative and by representing queer identities in nearly every character. This was such a refreshing take that thoroughly impressed me.



I can’t recommend Not Good for Maidens enough as the perfect read for fans of queer paranormal fiction. It promises to be one of the most talked about queer novels of the summer.

*I received this book as a digital ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

Thank you NetGalley, Page Street Publishing, and Tori Bovalino for approving my request for this book… seriously, I was annoyingly checking my email every day since I requested it because I wanted to read it so bad.

CW: Dead bodies/blood/violence

God this was so good! The Goblin Market is a banger of a poem, but I never really thought of what happened after the poem ended. Luckily Bovalino did!

This book is told from two perspectives: Louisa in the present and her Aunt May eighteen years prior. Louisa knows nothing about how her mom and Aunt May grew up. She’s never even been to York where her Nana Tee and Aunt Neela still lived.

That all changes when her best friend and aunt, Neela, is kidnapped and Lou can’t just sit at home in Boston while her mom flies off to York to try an save her. But this is bigger than just a kidnapping; bigger than her mom’s supperstitions.

I’m just… so obsessed. Already preordered a physical copy. The writing style is nice, the pace is quick and never feels lagging, LGBTQIA representation was great, and the personal growth of many of the characters is very clear.

If you like fantasy based horror, or just fantasy and don’t mind descriptions of violence and blood, pick up this book! I’d also highly recommend reading the Goblin Market if you want more background info going into the novel, but it’s not at all necessary to understanding the book as Bovalino explains the necessary parts of the lore very clearly.

5/5

Tiktok has been raving about this book and for good reason - the Wickett women are the kind of main characters you can't help but root for, even when they get into trouble of their own making.

3.7/5 stars.

Tori Bovalino delivers yet another enticing thriller novel, this time focusing on the alluring goblin markets that love to lure in teenagers - their most recent captive being Neela, the aunt of our protagonist Louise.

The story primarily focused on Lou and her mission to save Neela, as she is thrown into a world where magic and witches and goblins exist - one that her family have all known about. The story deals with family ties and sisterly bonds, along with family secrets that Louise is only now uncovering. It was great to see the goblin market and the secrets of witches through the fresh eyes of Lou, as both the reader and Lou are learning about this for the first time. It made the goblins seem even scarier as Lou was incredibly inexperienced and uneducated on how to deal with them - not that that would stop her from getting Neela back.

We also got many chapters from the perspective of May, Lou's aunt, 18 years ago when she too was lured in the market. We got to see first hand what made the market so enticing, and also see in Lou's chapters what kind of long lasting effect this had on May. It was two mysteries in one - finding what happened to Neela and what had happened to May - and made the story even more interesting.

I do feel the story dragged on for a bit too long, with issues that could have been resolved quicker. But, I overall enjoyed this novel.

I didn’t know what it expect with this one, but I was pleasantly surprised. I think I would have enjoyed it more if the story got to the action/triggering event quicker. But overall. I loved the feel and the vibe of this novel!

I’m DNFing this book at the 50% mark. It is in no way a bad book, in fact it’s really well written and very atmospheric, it’s just not my personal taste in fantasy these days and, as such, I find myself a bit indifferent towards it.

Tori Bovalino’s writing is absolutely gorgeous. I loved The Devil Makes Three and it’s just as wonderful here. The concept of the goblin market and the magic system is really cool, just not to my personal taste. I would really recommend this book if you enjoy the Wayward Children books as it has a really similar vibe in my opinion. I can’t wait to see what Tori Bovalino writes next.

The people I would encourage to read this are fans of her last book, "The Devil Makes Three," and fans of full-on horror. Body horror, gore--it's all there. Please read content warnings before venturing into this story.
If you're cool with all that, by all means this is the book for you. It's got a little bit of everything else--there's cute fantasy with elderly witches, sweet romance, angst, treachery, dangerous quests--in other words, a lot to love! I enjoyed it a lot, and I think other readers will too, as long as they've got strong stomachs.

Lou has lived a relatively normal life, up until the point she finds out she is descended from a long line of Witches who oversee the Goblin Market in York. To make matter worse, Neela, her teenage Aunt has been kidnapped by the Market. Between learning the rules of the Market and the lore, Lou is more than in over her head. She only has three days to get in and find Neela, three days to save her aunt, any more and the Market wont only be getting Neela, but Lou herself.

Not Good for Maidens is an intoxicating tale told from two POV's. Lou is someone who has never believed in magic, up until the moment she realises that her mum and aunt are Witches, descended from a long line who protect mortals from the Goblin Market that appears in their hometown of York every summer. After being thrown out of their coven and forced to move away, they thought that life was behind them, but then their younger sister gets kidnapped by the Market and everything changes. Lou is understandably annoyed that such a large part of her life has been kept from her, but she loves Neela, feels like they are two parts of the same coin, and is determined to do anything she can to save her. She is stronger than she thinks & may just be exactly what is needed to save Neela, someone who knows nothing but fear for the Market and the creatures that live there.

May, Lou's Aunt is the second POV, and her chapters are told in flashbacks explaining how both she and Lou's mum were thrown out of their coven and sent to live in America. She absolutely does not want to return to York and the Market, but will not let Lou go in without knowing what she is dealing with. Her chapters give us a better understanding and fear for the Market as well as showing how she blames herself for both past and present events. May is someone living with regret, but also resentment for not having a choice over her own path in life, no options as to whether she was going to become a witch and take over from her mother, and then to have all that taken away from her. Through these two POV's we get introduced to plenty of people from the magical world from Laura, Lou's mum to Eitra, the Goblin who initially seduces May into going to the Market. Bovalino's characters are wonderfully morally grey, never wholly good or bad... well except for the Goblin King, and they all bring an added depth to the story making us feel fear, love, excitement.

With the Goblin Market, Bovalino creates a place that's as enticing as it is to be feared. The initial glamour and glitz, gives way to a much darker underbelly, and her use of flashbacks to show us just how easy it is to fall for the allure of something magical, something darker and strange, something forbidden was incredibly well done. I especially loved how she used Lou, and her not knowing anything about magic and the market, to give the reader a deep dive into the magic system and world without it feeling like an info dump. Her descriptive writing really brings the Market to life, the glamour and the gore. There were plenty of parts that would make me eager to visit, and more that ensured I would want to stay far, far, away.

The story moves at a fairly fast pace, helped along by the switch in POV's. Bovalino manages to keep us on our toes, giving us just enough information to understand what is going in and then drops in a HUGE plot twist that had me gasping out loud. There is a romance arc, shown through the flashback POV's, but the main theme of the story is family, what we would do for them, as well as the burdens that come with being a Witch in charge of the Market, and the choices and sacrifices that have to be made to live that life. Lou resented not being given the choice of the life her mother lived, with her mother just desperate to protect her from a world significantly more dangerous than her own. It shows how complicated families can be, without or without magic.

Not Good for Maidens was a fast and dark read I absolutely flew through. Not for the faint of heart, this is a book that shows all the allure and the danger of the magical world. Filled with unbelievably real characters, a forbidden romance arc and plenty of magic. This is my first book by the author, but it will not be my last.

I got approval for the audio book of this one and was already listening to it before I was approved for the digital copy, and I kind of wish I hadn’t. I found the narration extremely annoying and I couldn’t get past it to enjoy the story. I also found things repeated a lot, like I heard the word market so many times and in that accent I just couldn’t stand it! The gore of the human body parts was also mentioned a lot and I’m not turned off by gore, it just seemed to be talked about excessively. I fear my experience of this story was ruined by the narration and I think I may have had a better experience with it had I read it instead. So my star rating is only directed towards the audiobook version.

To leave on a positive note, both covers for those book are STUNNING 😍

⭐️⭐️💫

Thank you so much, NetGalley, Page Street Publishing and Page Street Kids, for the chance to read this book in exchange of an honest opinion.

TW: violence, blood, torture

In York, beneath the streets, there's a goblin market calling to the Wickett women, witches that take care to its victims. They know they have to defend their city and they shouldn't visit the market itself, but one day May fell for a goblin girl, triggering a waterfall of violence, escapes and memories and, even after years and after May and her sister Louise left for Boston, the goblins remembered.
Seventeen years later, Lou, May's niece, knows nothing of her magical lineage, but when her aunt Neela is kidnapped, she's willing to do anything to get her back, including visiting York for the first time and discovering what her mother and aunt hid from her.
Confronting her past and magic, Lou has to find a way to save Neela without losing herself in the market too.

Told by May's POV eighteen years ago and by Lou in the present day, Not good for maidens, is a brilliant and creepy story swinging from past to present, until everything is connected and secured.
Set in a world filled with magic, violence and rhymes and in another, modern and known, the story is thrilling, full of magnificent characters, losses, love and so much more.
The main characters are the young May and Lou and the reader is able to follow them falling in love, discovering dangers, losing someone, suffering, fighting back, learning things and getting their own lives back. May, in the past, fell in love, lost someone and she's forced to move, Lou, in the present, is afraid to lose someone, angry and upset because her family hid from her magic and secrets and willing to do anything to get Neela back, even getting involved in something she knows nothing about and risking her own life.

The story is intriguing and wonderfully written, eerie and interesting, describing a dangerous world, the goblin market, who calls to its victim, a market filled with blood and bones, fascinating creatures and magic. It's a love story, too, almost an enemy to lovers, if the enemy is so because rules and society and race. It's a story of family bonds, siblings love, full of strong female characters, from the main to the side ones, willing to do anything to protect their loved ones and their city.
I loved how strong is the love in this book, the family, queer and sisters ones.

Eerie, intriguing and brilliant, I loved everything!

‘Not Good for Maidens’ is a horror/fantasy retelling of Christina Rossetti’s Goblin Market. The Wickett women are a family of witches that tend to the Goblin Market’s victims, even as the market itself calls to them. Then one day a Wickett woman fell for a Goblin girl and everything changed. Set in both the present and eighteen years ago, we get the stories of two generations of Wickett women and the call of the Market.

This is the goblin market book I’ve been waiting for my entire life. I devoured this book in the span of a few hours and I want to immediately read it again. The complex family dynamics, the goblins, the magic, the lure of the market—perfection!

Thank you to NetGalley and Page Street Publishing for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely loved this book, great pace definitely a page-turner, almost made me miss my stop because I had to know what was happening. This is a retelling of The Goblin Market by Christina Rossetti and the way that its written is beautiful. The inclusion of "Scarborough Fair" is ingenious as it is a proper earworm that got stuck in my head and kept me thinking about this book all day! I loved the inclusion of bi, lesbian and Ace characters and the star-crossed sapphic love story was brilliant. The group of strong women are all amazing, I wish there was more about Nana Tee and Joss but I loved all of the characters we got to know and I cant want wait to read more by this author!

Hmm where do I start. Not Good for Maidens is a horror fantasy retelling of Christina Rossetti’s "Goblin Market". I hadn't read Goblin Market before so I wasn't exactly sure what to expect with this story. The synopsis and the cover originally drew me in but I found myself struggling with this book. I kept picking it up and putting it down. The first 40% of the story felt like dancing around what the market was and how bad it was. I really didn't enjoy the pacing or the flipping between past and present. Normally I find that alternating timelines help progress the story plot but in this case I felt both timelines were the same with no progression. Both sisters were trying to save someone in the market without actually getting to the market until around the 50% mark. The first 50% of the book was spent waiting to know what the market is and then finally when we get to the market the time constraint of 3 days in the market made the ending feel almost cramped.

I really wanted to love this book because I adored The Devil Makes Three but I felt this story just fell a bit flat with me. The stakes never felt high enough because by the time we knew what the market was and how dangerous it was the story was almost over. Also there wasn't enough background on the witches or the goblins. I felt like I never fully grasped the why and how of the market and goblins. The magic system was never really explained so it felt like it was thrown in. Also didn't care for the romance, It was so insta love that it was a bit unbelievable. I understand the allure of the market but risking everything for someone you've only known for 2 nights felt extreme. I did really appreciate the LGBTQIA+ rep in the story and thought it was done well.

Overall its not a bad story I personally think I overhyped it in my mind after the authors first book. I just didn't connect with this story or characters and so many things just felt ...unexplainably off. Maybe give this a shot if you are looking for a Goblin Market retelling and enjoy urban fantasies.

thank you Page Street Publishing and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Awesome riff off of Rosetti's The Goblin Market! I loved the relationships between the characters, mostly women. I'm always up for tales with uncovering family mysteries and trauma. The layers of the Goblin Market were great, and the identities of the goblins the characters were involved with was tense.

I really really loved this book. Fans of Holly Black will really enjoy this gory, fantastical trip down to the goblin market.

Lou has grown up with no idea that her mother, aunt, and the rest of her family across the pond in York are actually an ancient coven of witches, there to protect the locals from the annual goblin market visit. When Lou’s aunt (and best friend) Neela goes missing in the market, Lou is determined to not only uncover her family’s past, but to save her cousin and discover who she really is in the process.

There is a TON of LGBTQIA+ representation in this book as well as really wonderfully sweet relationships between family. Lou is ace and her aunt, May, is the catalyst for an epic, sapphic love story.

The world building was fun and there weren’t many points where I was bored. Trigger warning for A LOT of blood and on page body horror. These goblins are true to their goblin nature and I really enjoyed that the author had a pretty diverse cast of characters while also letting goblins truly feast (pun intended

I'm not quite sure how to feel about this book. I think the anti-semitism, that already played a huge role in the original poem, should have been more challenged.