Quite honestly, I think I hyped this book up a wee bit too much in my mind and was left somewhat disappointed. The premise and the cover had me so excited, but the feeling went away after the first few chapters.
For me to enjoy a book, I need to be able to find the characters believable, and sadly none of the four main characters did it for me. I wasn't even able to enjoy the romance (and I love a good love story) because of the insta-love. Plus, the curse made it feel...wrong (which may have been intentional, due to the stipulations of the curse). Kit and Livy's romance was a bit more realistic, but I still didn't find myself rooting, or even caring, for them.
I felt as if I was constantly being told what was happening instead of being shown, which was quite irksome and made me want to put the book down a few times. I was expecting a weird, dark fantasy book with a hint of romance, but it definitely read more like a contemporary romance with a fantasy background.
However, I did appreciate the familial bonds in the book. Livy saving Skye was my favorite part in the whole novel. The world-building was also quite good and I wanted to keep knowing more, so it wasn't a total loss for me. With all the positive reviews, I'm sure this book is right for someone, so I'll definitely recommend it be purchased for our library. But the somewhat slow plot and characters made it a miss for me, personally.

The Goblins of Bellwater initially intrigued me because of the concept of goblins living in a modern setting, completely unknown by the humans that live nearby.. except for Kit, the liaison to the local goblin tribe who is cursed to find gold every full moon.

Going in I knew it was going to be a contemporary romance with a fantastical twist, unfortunately for me I found the fantasy aspect of the goblins and Kit's family curse was lacking. The romance took too much of the spotlight instead of more of a focus on the family aspect of the story or even a deeper look into the goblin society. I didn't quite feel Livy's worry and stress towards Skye's condition, it just wasn't believable for me, she was more concerned about her love life than her sister's well being in my opinion.

The character development could use a bit more work, I didn't feel any concern or worry about Skye or Grady's outcome, the connection to the characters just wasn't present enough for me to worry that they would permanently be turned into goblins.

One thing I quite liked was the inclusion of the elements early on, it made later events not seem so out of the blue. However, overall my biggest issue with The Goblins of Bellwater was the happy ending everyone received. All of that happened and every single character returns to a happier, if not better life than they had before.. where was the sacrifice, the consequences of dealing with the goblins?

If you like to read stories where regardless of a character's actions everything gets wrapped up with a neat little bow at the end then you probably wouldn't find the ending too bad. But for me the end was too wrapped up nice and neat, with little to no repercussions for everything that went down.

The first 30% was so good. SO. GOOD.

Bellwater's atmosphere was fantastic and I really liked how slowly the lives of the four protagonist were entwining.

But it all got so gross and superficial so fast when the two main couples (especially Skye and Grady) "got together".

Skye and Grady's interactions were kinda gross for me and the perfect case of insta-lust. I get that the book had to be that way to work but I simply didn't like it, it's not my thing.
I liked Livy and Kit a bit more. I certainly didn't love them but at least their development was a bit more realistic.

The plot was interesting but very slow for me, I skim read the second part because I was bored out of my mind.

Rosetti's Goblin Market is one of my favourite Victorian poems, and so I absolutely loved the way that Molly Ringle drew on this poem in writing her novel. The magic, the fantasy, and the danger were all brilliant, and it was a really gripping read all the way through.

Rosetti's "Goblin Market" is my all time favorite poem, so of course I requested this one. What a great story. Such a unique take on the story behind the poem. The characters were great and their dialogue was fun and realistic.

Hi, my name is Alana and I am TRASH for goblins. Seriously though, can goblins become a trend in books because I am SO with it. Ever since Wintersong came out I have been mildly obsessed with trying to find another book that would fill this goblin-loving void in me, and ladies and gentlemen this was it.

This story revolves around four characters, three of whom get cursed by goblins, and the other remains uncursed but must try and save them all. No pressure. These four characters are a combination of sisters and cousins whose lives intertwine quite a lot throughout the story. Skye, one of our sister MC’s finds herself out in the woods one day and (much like me) finds herself very intrigued by goblins. So intrigued that she ends up waking their path and getting tricked into eating their fruit which causes Skye to fall into a “depression”. During this time Skye cannot smile, laugh, or talk about what she saw and what happened to her in the woods. She feels a pull towards the woods that will continue to get stronger until she finally leaves her human life behind to join the goblins in the forest.

The only person who seems to have the potential of uncovering Skye’s depression is Kit, a local of Bellwater, whose family has been cursed by the goblins for multiple generations. However, it’s not a subject that Kit is too keen on talking about since everyone he has ever told thought he was crazy. I mean who wouldn’t think stealing a milk steamer and an espresso machine for goblins is a little crazy, right?

Pretty straightforward for the most part, until Livy (Skye’s sister) and cousins, Kit and Grady come along and everyone’s lives start to really, REALLY tangle (if ya know what I mean). One of the reasons why I rated this four stars and not five was because I felt that the romance between the characters was a little bit much in this story. It’s not bad, don’t get me wrong but I just felt like we could have had more time in the goblin world! I NEED MORE GOBLINS!

The goblins in this book are a riot and I loved every second of them. They’re sarcastic, rude, witty, and it was everything I could have hoped for. (I especially loved how they got their names). My little boo Flowerwatch was my fav. This story also has a goblin vs. fae aspect to it and it totally worked, especially during the “rescue” portion of the story. It really made it so much more interesting.

Overall, if you’re looking for a eerie, fast-paced, goblin-filled, story then this right here is definitely for you! This book also reads as a stand-a-lone which was super nice but I would pick up anything goblin-related Molly Ringle writes about in the future, just sayin’ 🙂

Beautiful pugit sound. What could possibly be scary here?
Kit is a slave to the creatures here. Can he protect his cousin, Grady, from them?
Skye is enthralled by them. How far will she go before her sister, Livy, notices.
Is anyone safe?
Amazing world building. What could YOU find in the woods?

Entertaining spin on goblins involving four humans in a race against time before two of them become goblins forever.

Thrilling and imaginative! Can't wait to read it again!

“Everyone knew you shouldn’t go biting into fruit offered to you by magical creatures in the woods, even if you’d thought until just five minutes ago that such stories were, you know, only stories.”

This is a wonderful and magical tale about fae creatures that resided in the local Washington forests one wintry season. From page one, this story was so atmospheric and I was completely swept away in this tale of goblins and the horrible things they are capable of in their treetop village. Yet, the goblins only do terrible things if their need for gold is not met by their goblin liaison, Kit.

Every full moon he goes into the forest, notices all the hidden fae signs of life, and meets with the goblins and their leader, Redring, named after the first thing she has ever stolen, which she also wears proudly around her neck. At the monthly encounters, Kit gives them the gold he has collected, or stolen, to appease them from causing havoc on his local townsfolk.

At this wintry visit, Kit does not provide enough gold, and even though he promises to return quickly, the goblins are not satisfied and they decide to have a little fun at the expensive of a local barista and artist who has been drawn to the forests her whole life.

“This magic brought all sorts of cruelty,”

This story surrounds four people, from two different families, and their lives that quickly intertwine. The victim and the liaison’s paths inevitably cross, and we are lead on a magical story trying to figure out how to stop the goblins once and for all, while everyone also chooses to start relationships.

➽ Kit Sylvain – 24 – Mechanic and auto shop owner who also enjoys chainsaw carving. Oh, and goblin liaison.
➽ Livy Darwen – 26 – Environmental scientist, who is passionate about cleaning up her forest, and even more passionate about trying to save her little sister.
➽ Skye Darwen – 23 – Barista and artist, sister of Livy, who accidentally wanders upon the Goblins and finds herself under a powerful curse.
➽ Grady Sylvain – 21 – Chef, who is trying to save money by living with his cousin, Kit, and ends up tangled in the goblin’s web, too.

I enjoyed these characters and their budding relationships, don’t get me wrong, but it still felt a little off. Especially Kit and Livy, because they felt so much older than mid twenties. Hell, they even kept making comparisons how they felt old to their family members, you know, the 21 and 23 year old. I honestly feel like this story was first written with them as the parents, and I actually feel like it would have felt more authentic and more true.

Like, Kit kept talking about how he has always been a bachelor, because of his predicament with the goblins, and I’m like “YOU’RE ONLY 24, WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?” Seriously, this story would have worked so much better if they were in their 30’s. Like, please, just add ten years to Kit and Livy both and I’d be a happy camper.

Then Skye and Grady’s relationship felt a little off just because of the circumstance that forced them together. As the reader, I was left constantly wondering if they were acting this way because of their predicament or because of their genuine feelings for one another. I totally understand that this is intended, but it made the sex scenes not as enjoyable as they could have been.

Also, for the record, the sex in this book is not good. Like, this for sure has erotic moments, but I didn’t believe or buy them whatsoever. I have read a lot of erotica and a lot of new adult sexy time stories in my day, so maybe the bar is just set high for me, but I personally didn’t enjoy the sex in this book and sort of wish it wasn’t in it.

I did love that both relationships had an older woman with a younger man. We never get to see this relationship dynamic in books, even though it is super common in the real world. So I give huge kudos to Molly Ringle for incorporating that into her story.

And to separate the pairs into other pairs, I freaking loved the familial bonds from each of these characters, especially Livy and Skye. I love sibling relationship stories, and this one truly warmed my heart to see Livy do whatever it takes to save her sister. Kit and Grady, even though they are cousins and not brothers, were still super enjoyable too, and I loved how self sacrificing Kit was willing to be for his family.

I didn’t like how Livy chose not to get her and Skye’s mother involved with Skye’s sickness, especially when she was taking Skye to see professional help and even talked about suicide prevention. In this story, their mother lives in Oregon, and Livy feels like she doesn’t want to involve her mom because she has worked and done so much for them growing up, but, like, that’s her daughter who is hurting, she would want to know. It just rubbed me the wrong way and further justifies my point that Livy and Kit felt so much older and were truly the parental figures in this story, not random twenty-year-olds.

My favorite character in the whole story was a goblin named Flowerwatch, and I would instantly buy a spin-off book just involving that little cinnamon roll. Seriously, she was so precious and the values and morals she brought to the story were so tedious. Flowerwatch truly is a literary gift to this world, and I’d recommend this book to my friends because of this little goblin alone.

I haven’t read that many books on goblins, but I really enjoyed Molly Ringle’s debut take on them, and loved the eerie, creepy, spooky vibe she constantly created involving them. This story was actually inspired by a poem, Goblin Market, by Christina Rossetti, that I have never personally read, but now I am so very interested, and I think that speaks volumes about how enthralled this world left me. I’m also really craving to read Wintersong by S. Jae-Jones now, too!

Overall, this was a really enjoyable read. It is fast paced, relatively short, and I’m super happy I gave it a try. My favorite part, besides all the fae life, was how amazingly atmospheric it was. I constantly felt like I was teleported into a snowy forest, or a small town café, or even in a boat floating down a river stream. I really think Molly Ringle is a beautiful writer, who has so much talent with words. I am very excited to see what she does next.

Overall this is 3.5* rounded up.

I really enjoyed this book. It was a fun, fast read with just enough hints of creepiness to keep me invested. The prose was clean and engaging and Ringle has a real knack for making her narrative atmospheric, whether it's a glimpse of the cold grey water of the Sound or the faint dripping of rain from pine needles in the muffled and isolated forest. I loved that aspect of the book.

The four main characters - forester and environmental scientist, Livy, her artist sister, Skye, part time mechanic, part time chain saw sculptor and full time goblin liaison, Kit and his rather innocent chef cousin, Grady, were all good characters. Very likeable even when they weren't perfect. I loved how Livy's science back ground and love of the forest gave her a connection wit nature. Skye, despite being a victim for 90% of the book, still had agency. You felt that she was still active and you rooted for her - this was skilfully done as she easily could have slid into being a damsel in distress. Kit was likeable enough although I got frustrated with his reluctance to talk about his goblin liaison issues. Also considering his relationship with the goblins, he's really blase about whether anyone is under a curse or not, assuming they aren't and then not investigating. Grady suffers a bit for being enspelled pretty much from the get go and therefore doesn't have a lot of personality, especially when held up next to Skye.

The goblins were everything you could wish for - greedy, pugnacious, tricksy, cunning, avaricious and physically strong. Do not expect any handsome goblin kings here though because it just doesn't happen. It's not that kind of goblin story. Redring is deliciouly nasty - so nice to see a female goblin as antagonist! - and Flowerwatch was wonderful in a different way. I feel like there could be an entire story just about those two and I'd love to read it.

There were a couple of minor blips in this book for me. The ages of the protagonists just didn't seem to fit. (And also why stress so much that the girls are a coupe of years older than the boys? Weird.) Mostly it feels like Kit and Livy could be much older than mid twenties. Another blip was the sex. I enjoy a good sex scene as much as the next mildly perverted person but these felt a bit out of place. As in I'm not sure they advanced the plot, it was more that they were there just to show that the two couples had sex. So it read a bit oddly and you were left with about three chapters early on where the MCs were all just getting it on.

The curse that Skye is caught in is especially nasty because it robs her completely of the power to communicate. Even to smile. There's something subtly awful about that and I really felt for her and Grady when she accidentally pulled him into it. The final battle was pretty satisfying but I would have liked Livy to win at the very last by using her wits since the goblins were so much more powerful.

Overall though this was a strong urban fantasy and one which will stay with me a long time just from the sheer feel and atmosphere. Highly recommend for all those who like Holly Black, Neil Gaiman or fairy tales in which the fae are bot the good guys.

Love love love!! Haven't read a book where goblins are described like this. Fascinating history surrounding them in this book. Actually I wish the book was all about the goblins, like going more into the characters of all the goblins, there history, lifestyles.
I liked the characters a lot as well. I cared about them.
The location was a great choice. Puget Sound, Washington state, Gorgeous trees and forests. Great place for goblins to live!

I didn’t end up loving this as much as I was hoping, but Ringle weaves an interesting story and her writing was good. The atmosphere of the books is gloomy and dark, matching the mood of the original poem. It feels haunting, like I would expect a book about goblins to feel. A large portion of the book is focused on romance, which did not bother me, but if others are looking for a more fantasy heavy book they may be disappointed. My only problem was that the ending dragged. I think the last few chapters could have definitely been condensed into less, or even one epilogue.

There was no reason for Livy and Kit to sleep together at all in the book. I wish the elements part lasted longer - that part was cool. Over all i liked it.

Molly Ringle knows how to present a page so it’s more than ink on paper; it comes alive in your hands and tugs you into the story. Ringle creates a riveting and vivacious world full of relatable characters.

Her storylines are compelling with a pace that beg you to read another page even when you know you should be getting back to those pesky real life demands.

The mix of modern with the pagan and mystic was surprisingly realistic to the point you come away believing goblins could exist in the world.

Ringle has a way of creating the kind of experience you don’t want to leave and will find coming back to take over your thoughts at odd moments. It has this way of creating a magical spell over you drawing you further into this beautifully written world where reality bends to magic’s will.

The characters pull at your heart and the only negative I found was a love story angle that didn’t feel like it was realistic to the overall story. At some point it felt like the fantasy elements got lost in the quest to turn this into a romance story which was disappointing because the fantasy elements were the best part.

DNF at 30%.

This book just wasn’t for me.

I want to start off by saying that I rarely read contemporary, and although I love fantasy on the whole, the subgenre of urban fantasy can be kind of hit-or-miss for me. The Goblins of Bellwater had a basic concept that interested me—creepy goblins that lure people into the forest. Unfortunately, the story itself was a bit too heavily focused on ordinary life in the town for my taste, and I struggled to connect to the characters. I think this book will be a great read for some, but I couldn’t really get into it.

Kit works for the Goblins. Well, not exactly like he has a choice. They ask for gold and trinkets and he provides them with it, because the alternative is that they wreak havoc with humans. When we find him he fails to deliver and tbe goblins get a young woman in their hands: she will be bound to them and will return to the woods and claim a mate. Obviously, the goblins want her but she choses Kit's cousin, Gabin, who is left dumbfounded and interested on the girl he mets and gets kissed by on the forest.
Meanwhile, Kit suspects sth, specially when Livvy tells him how weird her sister is acting. Yep. You got it right. Skye is Livvy's sister. So it all will remain in the family if the four of them hook up, right?
The writting style of the author is good, and so is the idea, but I can't feel the characters or their feelings. The ones that somehow scape are the "tragic" ones, Kit and Skye, but not enough as to be invested in the book and want to know more... :/

Didn't know quite what to expect from this book, boy was I in for a treat! Tricksy & creepy goblins, a romantic plot & an eerie atmosphere throughout. Well written with a beautifully crafted realm of the fae & great characters. Very pleased Flowerwatch got a pleasant new life!

I'd like to begin saying that this is a very different story from everything I've read, I loved the myths and how it was part of the every day normal life, how it made it seem like something possible, that it could be happening and we're just unaware. I loved the goblins and how TERRIBLE they are. I like how helpless it felt to read from Skye's point of view, it made it so real. However, for me I'd have liked the opportunity to delve deeper into the characters, I just lacked the connection with them-- I cared more about the story than if any of them lived or died. Same with the relationships, it lacked, for me, tension or chemistry. But overall it was a really interesting story and I'm glad I read it.

This novel is based on Christina Rossetti's infamous poem, Goblin Market. The original is nebulous, haunting, and Gothic in nature, and has remained my favourite poem for many years. I was both excited and hesitant to see how a modern-day retelling would measure up.

I felt that Ringle brilliantly recreated the mingling of whimsy and dark, haunting beauty that made the original poem as renowned and continually loved as it is. I also felt that the cover expertly recreated this feeling into a visual format.

The tale initially featured goblins, like the original, and as such, much of the whimsy I was expecting. This quickly, however, transgressed into a love story that I wasn't as keen to focus on and didn't find wholly believable.

The goblins that have made their home in the woods, surrounding the small town of Bellwater, Washington, have also overtaken the life of local mechanic, Kit. As the human liaison for the secret goblin tribe, he provides them with treasures and gold to keep the occupied and out of mischief. This strain on both his finances and his guilt threatens to overwhelm him and one fateful week he is late with his expected payment. In retribution, the devious goblins decide to curse the next human to traverse their woods after sundown.

Skye, always at home in the dappled sunlight of the woods becomes, overnight it seems, silent and depressed. Livy can't fathom the sudden alteration in her normally sunny sister. Skye falls deeper into herself and her inability to speak of her woodland encounters threatens to drive her to madness. Will Kit make the connection in time? Or will his visiting cousin, Grady, be the knight in shining armour that will free her from her demons?

Whilst the goblins' presence and the curse they put on poor Skye were intriguing, the rest of the plot became less so, after these events. What was initially a fantastical and fairytale-esque story, turned into a typical love story for much of the narrative.

The dual relationships that transpired didn't stand out for me, in any way, and I didn't really care about their feelings for each other, because of this. They also, curse or no curse, fell into recreating the dreaded insta-love trope! Reasons were given for their immediate attraction but it still didn't allow me, as the reader, to care for emotions that were only created days ago!

I also struggled with reading of Skye's curse-created depression. The topic was handled sensitively but something also jarred with me, when reading it. I don't mean to call the author out for misrepresentation and am just, perhaps, overly sensitive when reading of characters who suffer from mental illness. It seemed the term 'depression' was continually used for her ailment long after I still needed to keep seeing the word. I can't quite place exactly why it bothered me, but it did.

If not for the middle, romance-heavy section, I would have loved this book as the ending provided the same dark atmospheric quality I so loved from the beginning. I was expecting a larger focus on the fantastical elements of the plot, throughout, and instead this was just used to frame a contemporary romance. Not bad, just not for me.