This is a fascinating portrayal of the infamous goblin market, there is a very in-depth magical and 'trade' system that encompasses the whole novel (it can be a little hard to keep up at times because there is SO much) and it's clear a lot of thought has been put into the world building.

The meld of fantasy and historical fiction is good and works well for the setting. It is an interesting premise and read but I didn't love it. It took a long time for me to finish this and I'm unsure if the pacing or the characters were my biggest issues. I just didn't like Deri and struggled to empathize with him for the majority of the book. I liked Owain but felt like he was honestly more of a side character, the onus was always on Deri, and Owain was just constantly reacting to Deri's moves and Deri's perception of himself was... eh.

Overall this was a unique concept and had a lot going for it but it just didn't wow me.

One Sentence Summary: Deri dreams of squirreling away enough wealth to buy his freedom from a Goblin Market merchant, but that’s complicated when he comes into the possession of a royal destiny and meets the love of his life.

Historical fiction has always been hit or miss for me, but I’ve found myself enjoying historical fantasy more often, or at least more willing to give it a try. A Market of Dreams and Destiny is set in 19th century London, where a queen rules and children work in factories, where children are sold and indentured, and some even end up working for one of the merchants of the underground and very magical Goblin Market. Deri is one such young man. Indentured to one of the Market’s Master Merchants for most of his life, he’s learned most of the ins and outs and has his heart set on buying his freedom and setting up shop as one of the extremely few human merchants in the Market. But all that changes thanks to two events: 1) he meets a princess who wants to sell her destiny, and Deri foolishly thinks he can take possession of such a prize and sell it and 2) he meets Owain, a young man indentured above in a workhouse with deplorable work conditions and even worse mistress. Unwittingly, Deri ends up tangled in keeping his master from discovering it is he who holds the princess’s destiny, outrunning the princess’s protector who is searching for both princess and destiny, and losing his heart to the love of his life even as Owain’s mistress would use him and the other children for nefarious purposes.

A Market of Dreams and Destiny starts out so strongly. I adored wandering around the Goblin Market with Deri, and absolutely loved how all the bargaining and purchasing went, even if I thought it meandered around a little too long. I was often a little lost when it came to what was being bought and sold, but I still loved the way it operated. The Market felt like a character in itself, and I really enjoyed meeting all the merchants and the cat. Deri was so much fun to follow around. A human who was raised around the merchants and goblins, I imagine his childhood must have been fascinatingly strange, but he has a bit of a carefree attitude and a joyfulness about him as he does his work in the Market. Sometimes he felt a little too eager and carefree for such a setting, but he definitely showed himself to be very smart despite being fallible now and then. It was really this time in the Market that I loved the most. It was magical and different. I wasn’t as much a fan as London itself. There was nothing wrong with it, really, and I liked the bits of magic placed here and there, but, as a mother, reading about indentured children who endured terrible things just wasn’t easy. I also got the feeling things should have been a lot more restrictive, and yet Owain slipped away so often and got away with more than I felt he should have, so the stakes never really felt as high as they should have.

Deri and Owain were absolutely lovely characters, though, and their romance was very sweet, if a bit swift moving. I liked Deri, and I appreciated his ambition. He was always looking towards his future and what he wanted, even when it became a bit complicated. He’s sharp, but could definitely make mistakes. But I think my favorite part of him was how he spoke the Language of Bells. At first, I wasn’t quite sure what it meant, but I can’t help but giggle a little at thinking of how Deri speaks to the bells. Anyways, I really love how all in Deri is about everything he does. He’s truly committed and very much a master planner. Even if I felt the end was a bit too long, I really had to hand it to him for being so thorough and such a quick thinker. Owain, in contrast, didn’t actually feel as fleshed out as Deri. He was sweet and thoughtful and certainly cared about the people around him, but I actually found it a little difficult to get to know him apart from Deri. I did like him, but he definitely felt more secondary to Deri. Their romance was sweet, and I really enjoyed it in the second half. In the beginning, though, I felt it moved a little too swiftly and they were far too intimate too early after limited meetings. Outside of that, though, I loved the lengths they went to for each other and definitely felt all the love and care they felt for each other by the end.

What I wasn’t so much a fan of was actually the princess’s destiny part. Deri definitely didn’t think that through all the way, so ended up in a bit of a tangled web. I didn’t quite mind how he dealt with it and the bargain he made in order to get rid of it and get what he wanted, but it was the part with the princess’s protector hunting down the princess that felt a little too thrown in for me. Aurelia made for an interesting protector, and I was intrigued by her sister, but she just felt too stiff for me. There was no give to her so the story felt a little too straightforward despite how crazy the Goblin Market sounded. I liked how Deri and his master were able to outwit her, but I also felt she walked into it a little too easily. It would have been fun if she’d taken some time to learn about the Market and played her own games with them. That probably would have been a it of madness, but I think it would have been fun chaos.

Then there’s the part about the indentured children and Owain’s mistress and her son wanting to use the children for experiments. There’s a good bit of economics and workers’ rights mixed in, which were interesting and perhaps had some historical accuracy in there, but I just didn’t feel invested in that part. It was terrible what was happening to the children, but, since we don’t really get to know a lot of them, it also felt a little bit removed, like these terrible things are happening, but it’s not necessarily happening to the main characters, so everything’s okay. Along with everything else going on in the novel, sometimes it felt a little unnecessary and sometimes I thought it was going on for a bit too long. It was a little disappointing to shift from this fantastic Goblin Market into things that, well, still occur, just in different ways. There was definitely some strong messaging going on in the second half that I could have done without, and that felt a little too different from the first half of the book.

The ending, too, wasn’t exactly something I loved. It was a bit of a letdown because the story with Jack Trades and Deri wasn’t resolved to my satisfaction and it made the romance really come to the forefront. I didn’t mind the romance, but I also felt like this book was more than just the romance, so I didn’t feel like I got the ending I really wanted for everything that had happened and how it had started. It felt like this book was just a vehicle for the romance and some workers’ rights messaging, and I was really invested in more than just that.

A Market of Dreams and Destiny was a fun read full of bargaining and magic. I won’t pretend to fully understand everything that happened in the market or how it all even worked, but it was really a ton of fun to visit and I’d happily try to visit on my own if it existed. The characters’ time in the market was definitely my favorite part, and, while I was lost, I loved being lost. The romance was sweet, but sometimes I felt the pace was a little all over the place, racing forward at times before halting to what kind of felt like a holding pattern. Otherwise this was a really fun book that had me wishing such a magical place was real.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a review copy. All opinions expressed are my own.

Thought the whole Undermarkt aspect was really interesting, but the magic and all the trickery got confusing at times.

Trip Galey creates a fantastical and Victorian steampunk-esque alternate world in A Market of Dreams and Destiny. The story follows the tale of Deri and his friends. Deri is an indentured servant and assistant to a cold, calculating, and ruthless master merchant and must navigate his way to freedom for himself and those that he loves. A Market of Dreams and Destiny is a truly thrilling, wondrous, and captivating story that has a very well-developed alternate reality, magical and political system, intrigue, and character development. I spent my entire time routing for Deri, Owain, and Vimukti and I loved the story from beginning to end. The story has a wonderful and beautiful romance element and I truly wish there was more because I loved this world and story. I wholeheartedly recommend this book with 5 stars!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC!

A MARKET OF DREAMS AND DESTINY is such a fun read! It has fairy lore, an alternate Victorian London, and the most charming character in Deri. An indentured servant who wants to buy his way out and become a merchant in the Untermarket, Bargains, love, and a HEA made this for an enjoyable trip to a fantastical land.

Thank you Titan and Netgalley for this advanced copy.

A Market of Dreams and Destiny was one of the best reads this year. It was romantic and cute without being too much. Also the concept about the markt was really good and unique.

Thanks to netgalley for the copy.

I really enjoyed the goblin market setting within magical London and the relationship between Deri and Owain. Overall it was a good group of characters, and interesting plot but sometimes I did feel it maybe tried to do to too much.

Here is my review of A Market of Dreams of Destiny by Trip Galey- a romantic fantasy.
I received a copy of the book for a free and unbiased opinion.
A Market of Dreams and Fantasy explores a London with an alternate history- King Henry the Eighth allies with Druids resulting in a acceptance of the Fae and the creation of a magical market below London. A concept I found fascinating and would have loved to read more off,but the book focussed more on the romance between Deri and Owain.
There isn’t much description of the world beyond the Untermarkt and the lives of the exploited children indentured to cruel employers. There are interesting concepts in the way magic is bottled up eg destiny, true love etc but I would have loved more detail.
Deri is one of the point of view characters, who reminds me little of Del boy from Only Fools and Horses, a young man wheeling and dealing to earn enough money to buy out his contract from his master. Is was fun watching him try to exploit loopholes in contracts to improve his and others contracts as well outwit his master. Aurora as the Princess’s knight, trying to find the Princess who has sold her destiny is a nice counterfoil to all romance with single-minded drive to get want she wants.
I wasn’t expecting quite as much romance, for some reason, but I imagine fans of sweet romances will love the blossoming romance between Owain and Deri in a world determined to keep them apart.
The last chapter was one of the best I’ve read for a long time, and I was hooked by each reveal and twist leading to a satisfying end

Under the London we know there hides a Goblin Market, the Untermarkt, where everything and nothing has a price apart from what is it worth in a particular negotiation.

We join Deri, who is held under a contract of indenture, like many in the market. However, Deris lifetime of service has taught him some tricks and he intends to use these to his advantage. And one day, Deri comes across a prize like no other, the destiny of a Royal. With this, he sees this as an opportunity of a lifetime and starts to form a plan to win his freedom.

Deri also has recently crossed paths with Owain someone who is bound by their own indenture contract..... will the bond between the two help or hinder the plan

So many deals and schemes, twists and turns, this book will intrigue you and keep you guessing!

Really enjoyed this journey and the players we meet along the way.

Thank you to NetGalley and Titan Books for the chance to read and review this book.... which also happens to release today!

I'm so glad I stumbled upon A Market of Dreams and Destiny. It wasn't quite what I expected, but I enjoyed it a lot. From the cover, I thought I'd be getting a cute MM romance mixed with the wonders of a magical market. What I got was a pretty dark story about the horrors of indentured servitude and a boy's desperate grasp at freedom.

The world-building in A Market of Dreams and Destiny was a bit hit or miss. The author did a wonderful job of bringing the oddities of the market and the terror of the workhouse to life. The market was full of strange beings, and I was fascinated by how the merchants used so many different things as currency, from one's destiny to someone's laughter. The rest of the world, however, was largely unexplored. The premise of this alternate Britain sounded really interesting, and I'd have loved to get to see more of London and explore more of the history and culture. Unfortunately, that just didn't happen.

I really liked the characters in A Market of Dreams and Destiny. Deri was whip smart, and I loved getting to see him use his intelligence to make deals that would help him secure his freedom. He knew the ins and outs of the market and used everything at his disposal to meet his goals. Owain had the horrible luck to be indentured to the most heinous of workhouse owners. He and the other kids were run ragged with little hope of ever escaping their toil. After meeting Deri, Owain dreams of a better life and finally begins planning to get it. There's also a great cast of interesting supporting characters, and I enjoyed getting to know them all.

There was less romance in A Market of Dreams and Destiny than I expected. The love that grew between Deri and Owain does play a pivotal role in the story, but it really took a backseat to all of their scheming for freedom. I also felt that their relationship jumped to 'true love' a little quick, but they were cute together and had a great dynamic. Just don't go into this expecting the romance to take center stage because you will likely be disappointed.

The plot of A Market of Dreams and Destiny was fun to follow and provided good commentary on the ethics, or lack thereof, of labor exploitation. The pacing was steady throughout, but the writing took some getting used to. It fit the story well, though, and felt quite whimsical. There were some weird shifts in POV, sometimes seemingly mid scene, and pretty much every character, no matter how important, got a turn in the driver's seat, which was a bit excessive. The ending felt somewhat rushed, and I wished we'd have gotten a little more time to see how Deri built up the final plan. However, I loved how it ended and couldn't ask for more from the final resolution.

All in all, I had fun with A Market of Dreams and Destiny. It wasn't what I expected, but it worked well despite a few flaws. I'd definitely come back for more adventures in this world. Therefore, I rate it 4 out of 5 stars.

Hidden below the streets of Covent Garden you'll find the Untermarket, a bizarre bazaar home to the fey and fairy, where anything you wish is possible; for a price.

A Market of Dreams and Destiny takes readers to an alternate Victorian age, one where magic and the supernatural lives alongside ordinary humans. The London above is much like that which we are familiar with, but in the Untermarket you find fey creatures, goblins, and taking animals all plying their trade, all eager to make their deals. It's here that readers are introduced to Deri, a human boy delivered into the world by a goblin midwife, who's grown up as the indentured servant of one of the Untermarket's greatest merchants, the twisted Maurlocke.

Deri is under a mystical contract, one that leaves him as little more than a slave, but with the possibility that he might one day be able to work out his time (as long as Maurlocke doesn't add more), or that he can buy out his contract early. To this end, Deri has been working side deals within the Untermarket, slowly building his own wealth, making connections, and readying himself to buy his freedom. However, when a runaway princess from London comes to the Untermarket, Deri is able to help her bu getting rid of her destiny for her. Now Deri has the most valuable and dangerous piece of merchandise in the Untermarket, something that he has to find a way to unload for enough profit to buy his freedom before Maurlocke learns what he has.

His plans, however, hit a number of snags. The first is that no one wants the item, despite it's vast wealth; forcing Deri to have to get creative and form an even more complex scheme. The other is that he meets Owain, a young indentured servant from a London workhouse. The two of them grow close, and a romance starts to bloom between them, something forbidden in their contracts. Now Deri not only wants to free himself, but Owain and all of his fellow workhouse children too.

It doesn't take long into A Market of Dreams and Destiny for Trip Galey to grab your attention. The Untermarket is a strange and unusual world, one that feels like it sticks to a strict set of rule, yet is ready to trick you and twist things at a moments notice. It's a place where you have to be constantly on your guard, a place you should probably never go to, yet one that demands your attention. Every time that Deri delves into the Untermarket, every merchant and patron that he meets is a delight, as it continues to build this fascinating world, this place both beautiful and horrifying in equal measures.

But there's also a hugely entertaining human story at the heart of the book, one where love and freedom, things that most of us would take for granted, are not only rare, but the goal for our heroes. The relationship between Deri and Owain is incredibly sweet, and it's a delight to watch the two of them go from nervously waiting to see if the other has feelings for them to, to being so deeply in love that they're both willing to give everything for the other. There are several moments throughout the book where the romance between these two young men feels so genuine and so real that you can't help but get swept along with them, and when that love is put i jeopardy it feels horrible.

The book is over four hundred pages long, but thanks to the amount that Galey packs into the pages, and the way in which he unfolds the narrative it feels both wonderfully full of things, and impossibly short at the same time. There are much shorter books that feel like long slogs to read, but A Market of Dreams and Destiny felt like reading a book barely half its length. Part of this is down to the fact that it's hard to put down, and that you'll be reading it wanting desperately to know what happens next, constantly telling yourself 'just one more chapter'. This was a book that almost felt like a fey deal in itself, one that's a wonderful read, but so cursed that it means you will stay up way too late trying to finish it.

With a wonderfully creative world filled with characters that you'll come to care for, mystery and secrets that you'll want to know more about, and a narrative that showcases the beauty of queer love stories, A Market of Dreams and Destiny is very much in contention for my best book of 2023. This is not something you're going to want to miss out on.

A captivatingly joyous historical fantasy debut that deserves to be a complete and utter smash hit for this amazing author.

This book brings a unique take on historical fantasy, where we explore a secret market, underneath Covent Garden, from the start this book is poetic and engaging that leaves you wanting more, it beautifully blends the fantasy elements of the the market and the alternate 19th century London
With great world building and interesting characters.
A fun and unique fantasy read.

Welcome to the world of the Untermarkt beneath London, a Goblin market where everything is for sale and anything can be bartered away for a price. Full of the wit and whimsey of Faerie, we follow Deri, an indentured servant to one of the merchants, as he tries to free himself from his contract, make a name for himself as one of the few mortal merchants, and find time to be with his newfound lover Owain in a world where love is forbidden among the contracted.

Deri is the perfect protagonist for a world filled with dark and mischevious Faery and other beings from Underhill. He’s clever, witty, and bold. It was so much fun to see him flit about London and the world below outsmarting beings centuries older than him and manipulating the market (it was really neat how the market itself almost became its own character) to his advantage. But then as his feelings for Owain grew he put the well being of others above his own freedom and schemed to make life better for all those contracted, sacrificing everything he had scrimped and schemed and saved to buy everyone their freedom!

The romance takes a back drop to the overall plot but it ends up being one of Deri’s biggest motivators driving him forward in every decision. Their little dates were so cute and sweet while they took each other all around London to places special to each other.

I adored the creativity in this book, from Deri being able to perform magic because of his goblin midwife, to his ability to speak to the bells, learning the language of gold, and even figuring out how to use the thief candle to send messages to Owain when they couldn’t meet up. The world building was phenomenal and has a lot of potential for a series, especially with that twist of an ending! The characters were diverse but relatable and fun! You couldn’t help but find yourself on the edge of your seat, waiting to see how they would pull through even though it seemed they got out-maneuvered at every turn!

The only thing I disliked was the rotating povs. Some were necessary (Deri and Owain), some were fun (Vimukti and even Maurlocke), but others didn’t help advance the story that much and could’ve remained secondary characters without an insight (Aurelia, Pierrick, and Silvestra).

Overall a fun and winding Faery tale about love, wit, and labor unions (ha!), perfect for anyone looking for a real story about Fae and not the watered down Disney or romance options. Would highly reccomend for lovers of fantasy, and I hope the author has plans to continue in this world!

This was such an interesting, fun book. It took a second for me to get the feel of the writing but once I did it was a fun ride. I loved the relationships between Deri, Owain and Vimukti. I loved their resilience and commitment to each other and their cause. The market was intriguing and magic. Any fan of magic, bargains, trades and a good fantasy will enjoy this.

There were a lot of things I enjoyed about this book. I liked Deri and Owain and their romance, though I wish we could of had more sweet moments between the two. They were dealing with a lot of difficult things, however, such as indenture contracts, work houses, and organizing a union that took up a lot of their time. I liked the authors take on Fae and Fae deals, and the trading system was quite fascinating, even if I didn't always understand what was being bargained and I thought the language of gold was cool. I also enjoyed how the story jumped POVs, though there were maybe a few too many people to follow then I would typically prefer. Lastly, I think the book wrapped up nicely and I was mostly satisfied with how each characters story ended (I just wish they had been able to do more for Pierrick).

All-in-all, A Market of Dreams and Destiny was an enjoyable, queer, fantasy read. My main complaint is that I felt it was a little longer than strictly necessary, otherwise I really enjoyed it! I look forward to what the author writes next.

A MARKET OF DREAMS AND DESTINY is a tale of tricksy contracts and even tricksier character determined to escape indenture - and rescue as many others as they can.

This is a story all about cleverly worded details and exploiting every loophole in an agreement possible. I love tales like this, where it's all about being clever and out-thinking opponents (rather than punching them harder) which meant this felt like a delightful little recipe made up just for me.

The book is set in an alternate London, something else I very much enjoy. The book is set in about the Victorian era, but a treaty with the faeries back in Tudor times means the history - and the city - looks very different. I enjoyed trying to unpick how things had changed from the London I knew.

There are three main narrators in this novel, Deri, Owain, and Adele. There are also several secondary narrators with a scene or two each, allowing for a glimpse into other eyes and lives. This adds other perspectives onto the situation to see it from more angles.

This is a standalone novel, wrapping up the story of Owain and Deri's courting, but there is certainly space for other books in this world - maybe even following what they do next as it promises to be pretty chaotic.

We picked this up for two main reasons:⁠
⁠
1. Gaslamp fantasy is our JAM (as you probably know). Victorian AU with a Goblin Market a la Christina Rosetti? Yes, please!⁠
⁠
2. We read a ton of romance, which is generally written by women, for women. This includes queer romance, even if the couple in the book is MM. This book features an MM romance written by an own voices male author, which really appealed to us.⁠
⁠
So what did we think? We enjoyed this one a lot! Deri and Owain are both indentured servants. They've been indentured since they were children: Deri to a goblin merchant, and Owain to a more mundane factory. They're both waiting out the terms of their contracts to start their "real lives," with varying degrees of success.⁠
⁠
The "rules" of the Untermarkt are whimsically logical (readers of Seanan McGuire's Wayward Children books will recognize similar inspiration here), and Deri has been raised to navigate this world like a fish in water. He makes a deal that's too hot to handle, and it will end up either making his fortune or leading him to ruin.⁠
⁠
Owain, on the other hand, is a more typical Dickensian waif. He's exploited by the factory owners where he works, and might not even have the chance of surviving to see the end of his contract. ⁠
⁠
The love story is very sweet, as Deri and Owain they try to suss out how interested the other is in a romantic relationship (should they visit a known hookup spot on the first date? How about the magical equivalent of a sexy video chat?). And of course, when a Goblin Market is involved, can anyone put a price on True Love?⁠
⁠
And best of all, there's an HEA, meaning that all of the trials and tribulations Deri and Owain suffer are worth it in the end. Pick this one up if you like faerie bargains, true love, and Victorian AU.⁠
⁠
This objective review is based on a complimentary copy of the novel.

This was a really fun read! I loved the developing relationship between Deri/Owain - they are so sweet! The love story was maybe a bit rushed? But that could just be my personal preference for slow-burn romance. The setting of The UnterMarkt was really whimsical and magical - loved it! There are some really sinister characters in this novel that keep the stakes high and the plot moving forward. I'd recommend to fans of fantasy romance!

Thanks so much to Netgalley and Titan Books for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

I’m not the best with high fantasy books, so this one was a little tough for me. The background of the Market was so interesting I really wanted to know more. A realm where humans walk among Goblins, fairies, and other magical beings and sell/trade wares for profit. Money means nothing here. You can buy love with your memories or trade away your youth for a new destiny. I really loved Deri and Owain. Their relationship was pretty much instalove, but they were both so cute! The children in the workhouse were also very spunky and tough. I also liked Jack and Bess. Cool background characters who were trying to help as best they could along the way.

Deri was sold as a child to be an indentured servant. Now a teenager, he longs to be free. He has learned from his environment and has become calculated and ready to do what he needs to do for the right price. One night, he runs into Owain, another boy who was unfortunately sold as a child to work in a workhouse. After negotiating 3 dates with the boy, Deri’s luck begins to pick up when a run away princess wants to sell her destiny in order to be free from the Crown. Deri becomes closer and closer to his freedom, but he plans to take the rest of the Market and the abusers there down with him.

The way that Owain and the other children at the workhouse were treated made my blood boil. I loved how strong they all seemed even in the face of their abuse. Deri at least only had to worry about himself where Owain had to worry about leaving all the other children behind. Deri was a true ride or die for Owain and his love & loyalty were unmatched. I was so impressed with how fast and willing he was to protect Owain even if he got hurt in the process.

This was a slow burn story that I feel could have been shortened just a little. Some parts I didn’t understand as well, but it was probably because my brain goes fuzzy reading fantasy books sometimes. Even with all that, I enjoyed where this story went. Some parts had me gasping and others had me cheering. The ending was very satisfying even with the extra drama sprinkled in. I’m looking forward to more books from this author.