The Goblins of Bellwater

I am iffy on this book. For one, the cover is beautiful. And boy, do I have a thing for beautiful covers. The idea is also strong. And yet, when it comes to the actual content - the actual writing, character crafting, world-building, romance, and plot progression...the book falls short, and I was left a bit disappointed. I'm not even shelving this under “romance” because I felt the romance was so...sparse. Not interesting??? Not sure how to categorize it. Either way, what could've been a very interesting and immersive book left me massively wanting. Too bad, because my, I am still obsessed with that cover.

DNF at 40%



A bit bummed about this one, but it just isn't holding my attention.

Reason I chose the book:

Goblins, need I say more? I love fantasy and the darker the better. I started this book and it looked really good. Until it didn't.

Reason why I'm not finishing it:

The way the depression was written is the main reason why I'm not finishing the book. Livy, Skye's sister keeps on mentioning how Skye was such a happy person, like happy people can't become depressed? Depression comes in all shapes and sizes and happy people can just as easily have depression as sad people – even if they ‘don't show it' in the way that ‘sad' people do.

The title is Goblins, right? Except the goblins don't really feature much in the story (I stopped reading around the 50% mark, so I don't know if they appear more heavily in the second half of the book). But I would expect there to be a lot more scenes involving the goblins rather than the people. It's called Goblins of Bellwater not People of Bellwater.

Any thoughts I had while reading the book:

The goblins lure people in by planting the scent of coffee and baked goods. And let me just tell you that that will MOST DEFINITELY get me there. Like I would dive head in if I smell coffee and scones. Especially if the scones have whipped cream on it.

The Goblins of Bellwater is a magical (literally) romance set in a small town near Puget Sound. The Sylvain cousins and the Darwen sisters are all drawn to the forest, and they end up getting more than they bargained for in the process. One way or another, a goblin curse will change the course of their lives forever - will they prevail or will the course destroy them?
It is refreshing to read books featuring twenty-somethings amidst a seeming dichotomy of either teens or thirty-to-forty-somethings in existing literature. Fans of the new adult genre will enjoy the relatable relationships in Ringle's book. It's also a great read for the fantasy crowd, with a well-developed magical creature plotline. A fun story that kept me turning the pages to the end!

DNF. As many other reviewers said, it focuses almost entirely on the human's and their drama with very little about the goblins themselves. It starts out promising but but 1/4 of the book in, I just can't stand any of these characters and what the author is building between the pairs.

I got this book from NetGalley in return for my honest opinion!

I loved this book. It was well written with a really good story line and the right amount of magic. The characters were really funny and their storylines were well written as well. The only thing I didn't like was the multiple pov's. I personally just don't like them.

I loved the storyline. Redring and her clan felt real and I just could imagine her whistling and throwing a path for me to come into the woods. Their village felt like something it could really be, and their behavior as well. The slow turn to one that two characters had to get through was well written in my opinion. The slightly got deeper and deeper into the spell and their lives slowly fade from them. I loved it. It was not a ‘boom now you are a goblin' thing.

I would suggest you'll read this book, because it's amazing!

* Insert Melissa McCartney throwing a book in somebody's face GIF*