The Goblin Market by AJ Hackwith

Book Review

Melody Bowles

Goblin Market is a cosy take on the famous Rosetti poem. Goblin protagonist Toast grew up in the human world as a changeling, but was eventually ripped from her family and taken to the market to live her goblin life. There she guides tourists through the stalls and helps them find what they are looking for. The plot starts when the human she is tasked to guide is none other than her sister from her former home. 

Firstly, I have to praise the setting. A goblin market is usually a side story in other novels, a short challenge to be navigated by the protagonists. But in this book, the market is a twisting, changing thing with its own agenda. I love when settings are a character in themselves, and this is the standout part of the book. The Churn, the Undermarket and the Backrooms are all fascinating. The market works on the idea of ‘fair trade’, everyone trades for what they need. Because it’s a goblin market, things up for grabs include memories, freckles and song lyrics. I thought this was explored really well. The world-building was great. 

Unfortunately, I found the characters didn’t live up to the setting. On the surface, the cast is quite interesting – we have Toast, a goblin who yearns for a human life. Then Valora, a mysterious high fey knight. These two are joined by Henry, a goblinfruit addict and Finnegan, a redcap looking for a good fight. But the problem is none of the characters apart from Toast are explored in any detail or given any deep on-page conflict to explore. The characters will every now and then info dump their backstory, which is fine, but kills the pacing. I’m not sure if I’d have preferred more action or whether some things would have been better left to the reader’s imagination. 

In addition, the romance did not click with me. The opening gambit – the characters being magically tied together – struck me as inconvenient rather than romantic. I am told that the characters care about each other, and I think Valora even explains, but I don’t feel it. I’m just not sure what their bond is built on. The scenes centred on the romance feel out of place with the rest of the book.

Ultimately, I love a lot of the ideas in the book, but the execution feels stilted. Usually, characters don’t say enough, here, I feel like everything is over-explained. Still, others may not be as bothered by this. It’s such a shame, the ingredients included here should have produced a book I absolutely loved. 

Read this book if you’d like a light-hearted adventure into the goblin market.