Reviewed by Nikyta

TITLE: Goblins: Book 1
SERIES: Goblins, #1
AUTHOR: Melanie Tushmore
PUBLISHER: Less Than Three Press
LENGTH: 50k words
BLURB: In the 17th Century, the ancient sprawl of Epping forest is bursting with magic and those who go unseen by human eyes: the elves who rule the summer court, and the goblins who rule the winter court. It is said that if a human catches the eye of one of the fey, they are either doomed or blessed.

Wulfren & the Warlock
When Wulfren wakes from a strange dream of a human captor with long silver hair, and grey eyes, his brothers tell him they rescued him from a warlock, and take Wulfren back home to the goblin king’s palace. But Wulfren isn’t so sure the matter is that simple. Why was he missing so long? What are the strange dreams of the beautiful man with the silver hair? Dalliances with humans are severely frowned upon, especially by Wulfren’s father, but Wulfren is willing to risk the scorn of his family to find the human who haunts his dreams.

Quiller & the Runaway Prince
After a hard winter, Quiller is sent deep into the forest on a family errand, and is surprised when a human stumbles into his path. Quiller swoops in to pester him, perhaps even eat him, but there is something special about the human: his scent is royal, though he protests that he is not, and soon Quiller finds himself agreeing to help the human with his troubles—in exchange for a kiss.

REVIEW:

When I first started reading this book, I had no idea what it was going to be about. I didn’t even know it was two stories in one because all I literally knew was that it contained goblins. Imagine my surprise when it became a book that I just could not put down.

Wulfren & the Warlock is about the seventh son of the Goblin King who becomes enamored with a self-assured, blond warlock who goes by the name of Ash. While Wulfren’s original intentions with Ash are to annoy him, Ash never takes the bait. Soon enough, Wulfren becomes more than just curious when it comes to the quiet warlock to the point that being captured isn’t as bad as he first thought. Being with Ash means getting sucked into a human life-style and it doesn’t take long for Wulfren’s family to come ‘rescue’ him but Wulfren doesn’t want to be rescued. All Wulfren wants is to live his life with his warlock but with his meddling family, is there anyway to make their strange pairing work?

Quiller & the Runaway Prince is about Quiller, the third son of the Goblin King, and a human named Cashel, he finds injured on the road. Like Wulfren, Quiller becomes captivated by Cashel from the first scent of his ‘royal’ blood to the point of escorting him home and even trying to save his family from a power-hungry noble and his son willing to kill anyone to get what they want. But will Quiller be able to save Cashel and those he loves before things get worse?

As soon as I started, Ms. Tushmore’s writing drew me in. Never having read about goblins before, I wasn’t sure if I’d even like the little creatures. With these, however, I fell in love with them all. They’re mischievous little things that like to cause trouble and with curious natures. I found the world they inhabited was equally amazing. I just could not get enough of it; from the detail of the goblins’ powers to the Goblin King himself, even going as far as the homes Cashel and Ash lived, I was just in love with both stories and everything the characters go through.

The characters are a real treat, as well. Wulfren is young in goblin years but older than Ash. However, Ash is an old spirit and has much more confidence and maturity than Wulfren does. He grounds Wulfren and gives Wulfren a purpose in life he didn’t have before. Quiller and Cashel are just about the same but Quiller is the confident (or should I say, cocky) one while Cashel is the innocent one. The two pairs are cute together but the relationships and connections they create are what really made the story for me.

In the end, this was a book that I’m extremely glad I took a chance on. The world, the characters and the plots were something I very much enjoyed reading about but the writing is what brought it all together and made it something that I stayed up all night reading. I can’t wait to read the next book in this series because I’m really looking forward to reading about the other goblin princes! Until then, I’ll content myself with reading more from Ms. Tushmore. Definitely recommended for those looking for something engaging with a fascinating world and great characters.

Nikyta rates it –

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