Can Goblin’s be romantic? I didn’t think so, that is until I read Shona Husk’s new release The Goblin King. This book is very different from the vampire/shape shifter/fantasy romances that are so much a part of today’s landscape. Instead The Goblin King is an interesting and exciting paranormal world that has a distinct feeling of legends and fairy tales combined with a contemporary flair making this one stand out from the rest.
With a curse that is thousands of years old, an evil Druid, and a man who was once a King on earth but now dwells in the Shadowlands, the mythology is rich and inventive. The world building is evocative and the characters are seductively intense and distinct.
Many millennia ago Roan was an earthly King, but after being cursed he now lives in the Shadowlands holding on to his humanity by a thin thread. As each year passes Roan becomes less and less human and it’s only a matter of time before he loses his soul and becomes a Horde Goblin. Along with his men and his brother Dai, he has searched for many years to break the curse. It is only when Eliza summons him with a wish, that his world, and hers, change. Can they find a way to break the curse and be together?
It seems like a simple premise, but Ms. Husk has layered the world and each character with intense feelings, decisions and outcomes. The Shadowlands is a savage place but Roan still has an ounce of humanity left, so when Eliza enters his world the contrast between hope and despair, beauty and evil, taking and giving, is both magnified and questioned. It is a tale that is both heart wrenching and heartwarming. The question of doing what is necessary and doing what is right are in play throughout. It many ways it read like a morality tale – but Ms. Husk has wrapped it in a beautifully written story about love and loss and never giving up.
The Goblin King is a blend of paranormal, fantasy and romance where the secondary characters are as important and vital as the hero and heroine. Where grief goes hand in hand with joy and where the answers to questions are not easily obtained. I was taken in by the richly developed and fantastical world but I was sustained by the all too human emotions of the characters.
The Goblin King is the first book I’ve read by Shona Husk but I’m looking forward to the next two books in the Shadowlands series, Kiss of the Goblin Prince and For the Love of a Goblin Warrior.
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