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itsheyfay's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Confinement, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Abandonment
Minor: Pregnancy
blackthornfaery's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Pregnancy
mattyb's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Blood, Kidnapping, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Confinement, Drug use, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, Trafficking, Stalking, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Cannibalism
wrensreadingroom's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Cursing, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Murder, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
ramunepocky's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
5.0
This book was far from perfect, but I enjoyed the vibes immensely and it was dark and gothic without rlly being scary. I felt like the conclusion to Lou’s story and her getting her Aunt out of the Goblin Market felt too easy, but I still enjoyed it nonetheless.
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Confinement, Torture, and Kidnapping
Minor: Cannibalism
tigger89's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Y'all. Let's talk about goblin markets. So, their origin(the poem Goblin Market, by Christina Rossetti) is commonly agreed upon to have contained antisemitic depictions. You can find details on google, and I encourage you to read up if you're unfamiliar. So it's one of those things that you should tread carefully with. Maybe be extra careful not to Jewish-code your predatory goblins, right?
Unfortunately, I didn't find this book to be very careful about it. Not only did this version of goblins draw from several elements associated with negative portrayals of or conspiracies about Jews(green skin, monstrous appearance, untrustworthy, habitually disguising themselves in plain sight among the non-goblin population to seek prey, etc), but also the plot veered far too close to blood libel for my liking. Namely, the fact that the goblins are portrayed as tricking young people so that they would get trapped in the market, where the goblins would consume their flesh and, as described often and in great detail, their blood.
So that's my thoughts on that. The horror plot would have been fine without the elements that read as Jewish-coding, but with that being how it was it made me very uncomfortable to read. And it's a shame because there were other parts of this book that were so good, especially the way the relationships between each pair was written and the alternating present-past chapters. Even the environment of the market and the way the horror and suspense elements were written was great, but because of the elephant in the room I couldn't fully immerse myself in rooting for either pair of girls.
Readers who enjoy LGBTQ stories will find a number of characters here: Lou is asexual, May is explicitly bisexual, and Neela is assumed to be pansexual. I'd been concerned at first that the book might be saying something weird about bi/pan people and vulnerability to sexual temptation, but by the end of the story my concerns were assuaged. The queer rep in this book is fine. Love a good ace lead. I just wish the rest of it had avoided the antisemitic baggage.
Graphic: Blood and Cannibalism
Moderate: Confinement and Violence
Minor: Alcohol
As detailed in my review, I found the depiction of goblins in this story to draw on many antisemitic tropes, including blood libel.madamenovelist's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Gore, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
ash_ton's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child death, Confinement, Physical abuse, Torture, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, and Murder
Minor: Vomit, Kidnapping, and Cannibalism
cameronreads's review
2.0
My opinions on the plot and characters of this book are rather average. I think the basic idea was there, but something about the pacing and what this book emphasised was off. I wasn't all that attached to the characters, especially because the character we're meant to be saving all through this book is never seen on page until the end. It meant the stakes didn't feel very high. To be honest, I would have read a whole book about one of the point of views (May's) if it had been expanded on and we had got to spend a bit more time with it (and there wasn't such antisemitic themes).
I do however like the casual queer representation. The main characters are ace and bi respectively, and there's a pan side character, and all of these words are said on page. There's no prejudice against them because of their sexualities, and the main romance is a sapphic one. That was all really nice to see.
I'm really mad about this one - I loved Bovalino's other book and the other goblin market retelling I've read (In An Absent Dream, Seanan McGuire) so I really wanted to love this too. Unfortunate.
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Antisemitism, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child death, Torture, and Grief
Minor: Death of parent
ishouldreadthat's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This review is spoiler-free.
I'm not much of a poetry person, but Goblin Market has always been a favourite of mine. As soon as I heard that Not Good for Maidens was a reimagining of Christina Rossetti's poem, I had to have it in my hands!
Bovalino does a great job of incorporating the dark sensuality and temptation of Goblin Market into her own writing. I loved her imagining of the market below the streets of York and the supernatural draw that the women of the city feel, whether they want to or not. Her description of the market and its various levels and wares was fantastic and the goblins themselves were so incredibly cool. She does a great job setting up the fantasy elements in this book!
I think my mixed feelings about Not Good for Maidens mostly surround the dual timeline. I often find that when books have a dual POV or timeline, one is far more interesting than the other -- that is definitely the case with here. I absolutely loved May's point of view chapters, which tell the story of why the sisters fled York 18 years prior. May is a great character with a fascinating story, and I couldn't get enough. However, I found the present day timeline much more dull by comparison. Lou just didn't have the same strong sense of character (although it could be argued that this is intentional) and I just didn't click with her story at all. Maybe it would have been stronger if May's storyline was one book and Lou's was the sequel? I'm not sure.
I also wish that there was a stronger sense of place in this book. When a fantasy/horror story is set in a place like York, I would expect it to have a lot of atmosphere. I personally love stories that have a strong setting, especially when that setting is so central to the book, and this one didn't quite hit the mark.
Overall, Not Good for Maidens is a good read but I feel like there was potential for it to be a much stronger book.
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, and Blood