Not Good for Maidens
Ratings6
Average rating3.5
They’ll lure you in with fruit and gems and liquor and dancing, merriment to remember for the rest of your life. But that’s an illusion. The market is death itself
Beneath the streets of York, the goblin market calls to the Wickett women―the family of witches that tends to its victims. For generations, they have defended the old cobblestone streets with their magic. Knowing the dangers, they never entered the market―until May Wickett fell for a goblin girl, accepted her invitation, and became inextricably tied to the world her family tried to protect her from. The market learned her name, and even when she and her sister left York for Boston to escape it, the goblins remembered.
Seventeen years later, Lou, May’s niece, knows nothing of her magical lineage or the twisted streets, sweet fruits, and incredible jewels of the goblin market. But just like her aunt, the market calls to her, an echo of a curse that won’t release its hold on her family. And when her youngest aunt, Neela, is kidnapped by goblins, Lou discovers just how real and dangerous the market is.
To save her, both May and Lou will have to confront their family’s past and what happened all those years ago. But everything―from the food and wares, to the goblins themselves―is a haunting temptation for any human who manages to find their way in. And if Lou isn’t careful, she could end up losing herself to the market, too.
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An enchanting tale spun from the mythology of the fae inspired by Christina Rossetti's poem Goblin Market (though one of their names are changed and roles are swapped from the poem) where the title of the novel also appears and references to Scarborough Fair.
“I didn’t say it was pleasant.” She swallowed hard, looking down at the mug in her hands. May wondered if it was still warm. “Our love stories rarely are.”
Lou never believed in superstitions or magic–until her teenage aunt Neela is kidnapped to the goblin market. The market is a place Lou has only read about–twisted streets, offerings of sweet fruits and incredible jewels. Everything–from the food and wares, to the goblins themselves–is a haunting temptation for any human who manages to find their way in. Determined to save Neela, Lou learns songs and spells and tricks that will help her navigate this dangerous world and slip past a goblin’s defenses–but she only has three days to find Neela before the market disappears and her aunt becomes one of them forever. If she isn’t careful, the market might just end up claiming her too.
I loved this novel of two generations of Wickett women and their strong relationships. The story alternates between the contemporary setting and 18 years earlier which reveals what drew May to the market and what Laura did to see them banished. Lou is every bit the resourceful protagonist learning about herself that I love in these stories and the resolution is consistent and satisfying for such a rule bound place at the market.
Ilana at Unbridged Adventures observed "There is representation for many different aspects of the queer community. May is a bisexual woman coming to terms with her sexuality in late ’90s, early 2000s York, England. Lou is ace and Neela is pan, both girls are comfortable in their identities and supportive of each other. It 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".
I also appreciated Chekhov's gun but in this case Chekhov's Goblin Ice introduced until chapter 26.
I expected more from this book. I loved the devil makes three but this fell a bit flat in places.
The narration had a big part in why I didn't love this book. If you are going to set a book in England at least get a narrator who can do an English accent
Overall this book was whelming. Just fine. Okay. There were parts I loved like the goblin market and how dark it is but the characters and their relationships between each other needed more depth. The flashbacks of May's past again needed more feeling and strength in the fear and conflict but it did work. I predicted a lot of what happened but it didn't take away much of the enjoyment.
I did want more of a horror aspect to this book than we got.
If I had physically read this book I would have liked it a lot more.
3.5 stars.
