Kara Barbieri does an excellent job reflecting the tale of Ragnarök as well as the nuances of Norse Mythology, bringing into play certain aspects such as Yggdrasil, the world tree, which is one of the reasons why I liked this book so much. The first book, White Stag, had more subtle hints at Norse culture, as Barbieri included a few key mythological creatures. But Goblin King dives right in while still remaining unique to its own world.

Even though Janneke has absorbed the power of the Stag, she still struggles with this power, and in many cases, it causes huge problems for the group. Barbieri did an excellent job incorporating this element into the story and using it to dramatically change plot points and add an extra level of tension to the overall story. Her character arc remains subtle, unlike the stark world around her, but it is still there enough to be noticeable.

I really didn’t think that Soren would go through a character arc in this book. After all, he had everything he wanted and seemed confident enough to rule the Permafrost. But Barbieri wasn’t satisfied with Soren’s first character arc and put him through a second, testing his strength of will and his strength of character. I would say more on this subject but I’m afraid I’d give away spoilers!

The overall plot of Goblin King was very good and held a good amount of tension and suspense. After all, Janneke and Soren, as well as some old and new characters, are trying to stop the end of the world! The beginning felt a tad slow, but things really picked up later on and I couldn’t really tell where exactly Barbieri would take the plot next, which was great. The only thing that I would like to say about it is trigger warnings. While White Stag dealt heavily with the subject of sexual assault, Goblin King illustrates more the grisly violence of Norse Mythology in general. There is a large amount of violence involved within the plot, and some very gruesome descriptions. If this is considered a trigger for you, I would suggest not picking up the book. Everyone has their own tastes and triggers, so it’s totally okay to not read a book if you think it could potentially be triggering.

With that being said, I’ll move on to some things that I liked. Deaval, for one. She is an amazing character with a great deal of unique magic and a spitfire attitude. More than once Seppo and Rose tell her that she is absolutely terrifying and for good reason. Deaval seems to not be tied down by rules of the Permafrost and is, frankly, my favourite character. Another thing I loved was the climax. Barbieri did an amazing job at writing a climax that ended on a cliffhanger, leaving me wanting to know more!

I can’t really think of anything I didn’t like, besides the excessive and vivid descriptions of violence. Also, the return of a certain character I was glad had died in White Stag.

Goblin King earns an 8/10 for me, for its explosive plot and amazing cliffhanger ending, as well as interesting characters and the inclusion of Norse Mythology without sacrificing the plot or trying to squeeze the world into a set frame of mind. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves mythology, unique worlds, diverse characters, and, of course, anyone who has read the first book!

Talk about some existential thought. This book is definitely a different bag than the White Stag was. The White Stag was about world building and action whereas this one is about what drives all these races and why the Permafrost exists. And of course why the White Stag and the Goblin King must keep it together.

When Janneke and Soren have to go into the nether realm to rescue a dead Lydian because he seems to have the answers to why Janneke can’t wield the power of the Stag yet and what is happening to their realm and finally just to get him out of her head. Soren loves Janneke beyond measure but has gone through no trial like she has under Lydian’s thumb and can’t understand the connection she has with Lydian. But he is willing to go to the depths of his soul to release her from Lydian.

Along the way they learn some truths about their rag tag gang that are both wonderful and heartbreaking. Everyone is keeping secrets but the in between will divest them of them. If any of them thought they were safe from the Queen of the Dead’s wrath they were all wrong. Sacrifices must be made and games plaid to get Lydian out with his mind intact. Lydian’s secret most of all brings peace to both Soren and Janneke as it explains why he was so intolerable to both of them as youth.

When they emerge from the in between, they are no more in the light than when they went in. We must wait for book three before we can really see the tale end and peace be brought to not only the Permafrost, but the Human world as well and the balance of good and bad, light and dark, human and other be put as ease. What gets me the most about Kara’s story thus far is how much it is similar to Dan Pullman’s Dark Materials in the pacing of the story between the two books and also how much the second book is really about what’s inside of each of the characters and the travails they much got through either because of what’s there or what they need to be in the future. Both books make you analyze yourself just a little bit differently than the other and maybe their is hope for the reader to have discovered something about themselves or discovered where they wish to be with their soul.

The new cover is soo cool!!! A pretty good follow-up to White Stag. To be honest I didn't even know there was going to be a sequel and I did forget some of what happened in White Stag, but it was a good quick catch up and this story give you a good recap of the events as well. My favorite thing about this is that it truly is a dark YA fantasy. Exactly what I want from something called Goblin King. There are some trigger warnings, but I still thought it was a good dark story. If there is to be another book, I will of course be picking it up.

My thanks to NetGalley and publishers of Goblin King for granting my request of a eARC, this review in exchange comes with my now regular apology for the delay.

Goblin King begins where White Stag left off, Soren is Erlking, Jeanneke is the Stag and Lydian is dead. Or is he? Jeanneke now hears his voice, recalling his visions of the ending of the world he tried to prevent by hurting Jeanneke.

And, worse, those visions prove true. With the help of Diaval's goblin magic, and with Seppo and Rosamund (or Rose, who's secrets entwined with Soren and Lydian) the two set out for Hel's realm to stop the end of the worlds and they'll need Lydian's help to do that.

I enjoyed the tour of Hel's realm, the many lives Jeanneke could have lived as shown to her by the roots of Yggdrasil, Hel herself, the dead, the serpent Nidhogg, the eagle Hraesvelg and the rooster Fjalar who they try to stop from making the three cries that begin Ragnarok.

The reign of Soren and Jeanneke is just beginning and it may be a war that ends the worlds and ends them, or, maybe - hopefully, not.

I hate that I didn’t like this one. But I feel better since I seem to be in the minority.

Goblin King follows the events of the first book as the main characters deal with the consequences: Janneke as the stag, Soren as the Erlking, and Lydian somehow still bothering everyone not quite passed over.

And there in lies are quest.

The first third of the book is basically quest-free and action free. We get a lot of inner monologues from our main character as she deals with who she is and the decisions she has made. And then as the book progresses, her inner monologue still continues to stay at the forefront of the story, but this time with more action and interesting “monsters”.

I think the author does an AMAZING job writing these quests/action scenes, and I’m always impressed with how imaginative the creatures are and how the main characters end up defeating the characters.

But one thing that I didn’t like - and maybe it’s obvious - was Janneke’s personality. She is made out to be almost too perfect, always talking about how forgiving she is or how much she cares about her friends. Lydian TORTURED her, and she didn’t once think about leaving him to suffer? I wished that she had been more conflicted about that. I personally, an more on the forgiving side myself, but Lydian mutilated her body and raped her and I felt like it would have been more natural and powerful to have her conflicted about whether she should save him. And to have these conflicting thoughts continue to be at the forefront alongside the action.

Overall, the story is not bad, but I just wasn’t a fan of Janneke’s character and her long monologues. I would DEFINITELY pick up the author’s later works since I think some of her action scenes are reminiscent of SJM’s writing (for example: the trial scenes from ACOTAR).

This one was... alright. It felt like a chore to finish, which is never a fun thing. However, I still really enjoy the world and from the ending, it seems like the author is continuing on with it, which is super exciting. My favorite thing about this book is our two main characters, Janneke and Soren, and their relationship. I like how they interact with each other and that they are willing to do anything for the other. I loved Seppo as well and found his commentary to be the best. I also love the atmosphere. It is set in the frigid north, and I could definitely feel it whilst reading.

What I didn't enjoy as much was the writing. It was average and just... I don't know, I don't want to be mean, but came across as slightly juvenile. I also did not like the fact that it was hard to tell what time period we are meant to be in. Is it historical? Or a <i>completely</i> different world? The characters dialogue just seemed far too modern for the kind of world the author is trying to build.

However, I still really enjoyed this and would recommend it to others!

Goblin King was one of my most antticipated books of 2020... Unfortunately, it did not make my favorites list. I absolutely adored the adventure, brutality and ending of White Stag and couldn't wait to get to this second book. I really hate to say that I was dissapointed. It was still a good book, it had a lot of insight as to why Lydian was the way he was and how the Permafrost was affected by the changes that took place at the end of the first book.

Honestly, my biggest problem with this book was that it focused so much on the romance between Janneke and Soren. I realize that the premise of this specific book was that the romance between them was also the problem... I just didn't love it. Both Janneke and Soren were too "smoochy" which was the complete opposite of why I loved the original book. It was more annoying than anything and I almost didn't want to finish the book. I found myself liking Lydian more than the majority of characters this time around, as he had the most interesting story line in this book.

The journey itself wasn't bad, there was still a lot of creativity, interesting creatures and tasks along the way. That along with the writing style that I've come to love so much from Barbieri were the only things that saved this book for me. I'm not sure if there is going to be a third book or not, if there is, I don't know how I feel about wanting to read it. I mean, I probably will just to see what will come next, but it won't be on my most anticipated list this time. Fingers crossed that it's less about the romance and more about the Permafrost, creatures and world.

Thank you to St Martin's Press and Netgalley for a copy of this title in exchange for an honest review. 3.5 ⭐

Against all odds, Janneke has survived the Hunt for the Stag--but all good things come with a cost. Lydian might be dead, but he took the Stag with him. Janneke now holds the mantle, while Soren, now her equal in every way, has become the new Erlking. Janneke's powers as the new Stag has brought along haunting visions of a world thrown into chaos and the ghost of Lydian taunts her with the riddles he spoke of when he was alive.

This book takes place shortly after the events of White Stag. The characters have mostly recovered from the events of the prequel and have moved on with their lives. Because of this, the book starts fairly slow. While White Stag immediately threw the reader into Janneke’s inner turmoil and external conflicts, this book has a slower build with less obvious, immediate action. Given how action-packed the first book was, having the sequel be so slow and quiet was a bit of a let down.

All of the major characters who survived the previous book appear in the sequel. Additionally, the author introduces some new characters that were either mentioned in the previous book or didn’t appear at all. The existing characters were still well developed and intriguing, but I felt the new characters fell flat. They definitely added to the plot, but were missing the extra layer from the first book.

While the previous book touched on Norse mythology, this book really dives into it in depth. I enjoyed the way the author wove real-world myths in with her fantastical world. I also appreciated that the reader was able to see more of the world in this book than the previous, as the previous book was more plot focused. The sequel paints the world in a new light, however, that at times doesn’t seem continuous with the White Stag. 

While I absolutely loved White Stag and devoured the story, Goblin King didn’t grab me in the same way. It was still a fun read and I was able to read through it fairly quickly, for being a larger book, but my expectations were high based on the first book in the series. However, if you enjoy Norse mythology, I definitely would recommend this book as it does a great job touching on real-world stories.

As with White Stag, I enjoyed Goblin King and read it in one sitting. Janneke and Soren’s story continues on with additional characters and close friendships having been built. Lydian is not truly gone and continues to haunt Janneke and as the newly crowned Stag and Erlking, both Janneke and Soren come to realize the disaster their union will bring to the world. Embarking on a quest to save the world, their group once again needs to battle monsters, inner turmoil, disabilities, and trust, to overcome and succeed. I can’t go into details, since I try to avoid spoilers; I still prefer White Stag over Goblin King,

Compared to the first book I enjoyed this one quite a bit more. The story little kept a great pace and explained it wonderfully so you didn't get lost. There was a great combo of fae and Norse Mythology convince throughout the book.  The relationship between Janneke and Soren was stronger than ever.

*Thank you to Netgalley and Wednesday Books for providing me with a free arc in exchange for an honest review."

Goblin King picks up with Janneke as the mythical Stag that balances the Permafrost and Soren as the new Erlking. Working together shouldn't be an issue since they're a coupe but that's part of what actually makes it a giant problem. The Permafrost is basically collapsing forcing Janneke to try to revive her enemy and former torturer Lydian. 

This might just be a personal preference since I read a lot of Fae and goblin books but I find the world to be confusing. The main character has barely been out in the world which is typical was a ya heroine but maybe a few more POV's wouldn't be a bad thing since it seems to be a very complicated world. The book seemed to drag along without any clear reason why. 

The best comparison I can think of for this book is a goblin version of The Odyssey. I have no clue what's going on and if anyone is going to make it but there's a large amount of tasks and trials being done.

Now that Janneke is the physical incarnation of the Stag, and Soren is the Erlking, they find themselves part of a prophecy that means they cannot touch each other without destroying each other and the world. Plus there's the pesky problem of Lydian being stuck inside Janneke's head. Despite Lydian's torment, he tells the truth, and Janneke knows she must go on a quest to stop the end, which means fighting lots of different monsters, all of whom make Lydian look like a cakewalk...

This story is highly readable and full of adventure. I'd forgotten about the sarcastic humor from the first book, which made this a lot of fun. There were a lot of battles, so many that I almost forgot about why and what the prophecy said. My favorite part was when Janneke was trapped in the roots and living alternate lives, it helped me connect to her character and reminded me of her beginnings in book one. The ending left me thinking there will be a third book, but most of the plotlines were wrapped up nicely.

I was expecting better, but it was a good read. I wanted more from book two, but the story fell a little dead to me and lost some of its magic.

I loved Kara Barbieri’s earlier novel, The White Stag. It introduced me to the world of Permafrost and the character, Janneke, and her moving and ultimately triumphant struggle from near-destruction from unbelievable trauma to healing and, ultimately, understanding and love. Goblin King is a sequel, with the same characters and world. If that’s what a reader is after – spending more time with Janneke, Soren, and the others – they’ll love this. 

Much of what made The White Stag so satisfying to me was how complete a journey it made. In an era of series, it shone as a stand-alone. I suspect that its success was what led to this sequel. 

Goblin King suffers from the contortions of creating a sequel to a story that was whole in itself, and the result is that it – unlike The White Stag -- descends to the level of the ordinary. The villain we thought dead really isn’t. An existential threat that didn’t exist in the first book suddenly appears. Janneke and her friends wander through one landscape after another, all of which are consistent with the semi-Norse mythological underpinnings of the Permafrost, but none of which were significant before. And in the end, there’s a cliff-hanger promise of a third volume. Added to this were numerous anachronisms – modern idioms and references that seemed jarring in this heavily myth-based world.

I found all of this profoundly unsatisfying. I’m pretty much done with this story line, although I would eagerly pick up a new one by the same author. At the same time, Barbieri is a skillful enough writer to be entertaining no matter what she undertakes. I would have liked to see her use her considerable talents in the creation of a new, complete story. I suspect that is where she will truly excel.

I personally really like this series! It's a slow burn but oh does is burn so good! I love my slow moody fantasy and that exactly what the author gives us. There is an increase in diversity (LGBTQ+) that was slightly hinted at in the first book and the story starts off where the last book ends. Would definitely recommend to everyone!

A dark and disturbing fantasy set in the Permafrost and with ties to Norse Mythology , Goblin King takes up from where Barbeiri's previous book leaves off, plunging the reader back into an icy world of goblins and monsters. The characters we know from The White Stag are forced to take up an epic quest that will see them face off against Hel. Once again the writing is descriptive and atmospheric and I enjoyed the further development of the characters. 
I read a review copy courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

Goblin King is the follow up to The White Stag, a book I very much enjoyed for its atmosphere and the budding romance between Janneke and Soren. This was quite an action packed book and it took a vastly different turn than I would have expected. I must admit, I was not entirely a fan of it, though it was interesting enough to keep me reading until the end. 

Janneke is struggling with the powers she inherited as the new Stag and Soren is trying to settle into his role as the new Erlking. Both are failing admirably. Soren has a hot temper for one so cold and Janneke is almost entirely unable to make use of the Stag’s powers she should have inherited. She’s also (literally) haunted by Lydian, Soren’s bastard of an uncle that she killed in the previous book. This installment reveals that Lydian was in fact cursed to be all knowing and it drove him a bit mad. They need him back from the land of the dead so that they can stop Ragnarok from beginning and this leads our merry band of goblins on a chase through several realms from Norse mythology. 

This book can really bring on the atmosphere of a dank, frigid underworld. I swear, winter was the perfect time to read this because the characters spend at least half the book cold and wet. I had no trouble picturing their surroundings, but what this book had in that regard it lacked in others. The dialogue was cheesy and the romance overly dramatic. I suppose my tastes have changed somewhat since my excitement for the first book seems to have dulled in regard to the sequel. 

Overall, this was entertaining and a fairly quick read. I don’t regret picking it up, but I can say that I won’t be continuing with any future books in the series. From what I’ve heard, these were originally published on Wattpad and I believe the first three may still be available to read on that site if you’re interested. Not a bad book, just definitely not for me at this age - teenage me would have probably loved it!

Goblin King was a dark and fascinating sequel to White Stag. Jannekke has taken the mantle of the stag and Soren is now the Erlking. Together, they are determined to bring change to the Permafrost, but Jannekke finds herself struggling to learn how to use her new powers as a ghost from her past continues to haunt her. When Jannekke and Soren learn that their union could be the catalyst for Ragnorak, Jannekke, Soren and a few new friends must travel into Hel to partner with a former enemy to save both the human and Goblin world, but as loyalties are tested and new alliances are forged, Jannekke must face capricious gods and creatures more fearsome than ever before in a struggle that will not leave her or the people she loves unscathed. 
I enjoyed Goblin King. I loved seeing all of the character development Jannekke undergoes in the first novel on full display in this second novel. This young woman is someone who acknowledges the trauma she has endured and chooses to keep on going with confidence, and you can see the change in her in this next installment of this series. I loved seeing Jannekke and Soren's relationship in this one and how they work through problems and the difficulties they endure, as well as the way this bond was tested as they journey through the liminal world. I also loved how the author took us deeper into the mystical world of the Permafrost and how Norse mythology is vividly brought to life in a darker way than I've seen before. My main issue with this book had to do with the inclusion of these new characters. Goblin King takes place 6 months to a year after the events of White Stag, and during that time Jannekke has met new characters such as Diaval and Rose. Don't get me wrong, I liked these characters a lot (Especially Diaval), but they came out of nowhere. I would have liked to see these relationships between Jannekke and these new characters develop on the page, especially because Jannekke refers to Diaval as her best friend, and considering her character development in the first book it would have been important to see that for my reading.

READ BOOK 1 FIRST! I did not realize this was the sequel and I had to stop, read book 1 and then continue. It was a decent sequel but i felt like it was very rushed

I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Okay, so I read White Stag about two-ish years ago. So I'm going to admit that I didn't dive back into that book before diving into Goblin King. Definitely took a risk and I think it worked out for me in the end.

Due to this being the sequel, I assumed that this picked up right where the first book left me (which was a cliffhanger no doubt). So you will still be following Janneke and Soren but they are on a new journey. She is one with the stag and he's the goblin king. There was also some kind of harry potter prophecy that she was going to bring doom to the world.. yada yada nonsense.

I'm not going to lie, a lot happened throughout this entire book. Like so much. Not all good either because some things that happened were just a bit weird to me. Then there's Janneke and I'm not sure what happened to her between the books because she was rubbing me the wrong way in this one.

Not sure if there's going to be another book or not, but if there is - then I would like to see a bit more character growth and maturity. Maybe even some tension and twists/turns. I just want more.