While trying to save her brother from a witch’s fire four years ago, Greta was thrown in herself, falling through a portal to Mylena, a dangerous world where humans are the enemy and every ogre, ghoul, and goblin has a dark side that comes out with the eclipse.
To survive, Greta has hidden her humanity and taken the job of bounty hunter—and she’s good at what she does. So good, she’s caught the attention of Mylena’s young goblin king, the darkly enticing Isaac, who invades her dreams and undermines her will to escape.
But Greta’s not the only one looking to get out of Mylena. An ancient evil knows she’s the key to opening the portal, and with the next eclipse mere days away, every bloodthirsty creature in the realm is after her—including Isaac. If Greta fails, she and the lost boys of Mylena will die. If she succeeds, no world will be safe from what follows her back… (Goodreads summary)
.
.
Reading the blurb, reading the blurb… ok, ok… wait. Wha–? The goblin king is the love interest? Oh! “Darkly enticing?” Are you sure we’re talking about a goblin? Hmm… I think I must read this…
.
Maybe it’s just me. Maybe it’s because I’m a dork and played WoW 24/7 years ago like the gamer junkie I used to be (Level 80 Night Elf Huntard, thank you very much), but when I think of goblins they are nowhere even approaching the realm of “sexy”… or “easy on the eyes”… or even “great personality.”
.
Nope.
.
Not. Even. Close.
.
But hey, I was convinced about zombie boyfriends… so maybe I can be talked into goblins.
.
Here. You want to see what I visualize when the word “goblin” comes to mind?
These pictures are not mine. Goblin dude belongs to Blizzard Entertainment. And I don’t know who Colin O’Donoghue belongs to, but it’s not me.
.
Hubba, hubba, right? (Totally talking about the green skin & pointy ears. <wink>) Now you might be wondering… how is this dude-on-the-right possibly a goblin? Come on now, you say. Well… Isaac (a.k.a. The Goblin King) doesn’t always look like he walked out of a J. Crew catalogue; his goblin-ness is pretty well explained and believable within the world of Mylena. And he definitely is a goblin.
.
And as it turns out, Isaac is indeed the definition of “darkly enticing,” and his interactions with Greta are of the extremely intense, heart-pounding variety. He’s the epitome of alpha male with his raw animal (ha!) magnetism, aggressiveness, and his determination to woo (or possess) Greta. He did make me a little uncomfortable, for several little reasons, mainly because while he’s definitely knee-tremblingly swoon-worthy, trustworthy is another matter entirely.
.
Greta, the human teenager who found herself sucked into this strange, magical world four long years ago, has been trained as a bounty hunter. She knows how to protect herself, and with good cause, since the general consensus among the residents of Mylena is that the only good human is a dead human. She’s tough, smart, a skilled fighter, she’s been trained to quell her emotions and make quick, logical decisions in the midst of dangerous situations. But with everything that happens to her in this book, it’s interesting to see her struggle with emotions and issues she’s repressed and buried, and realize that perhaps emotion isn’t quite the weakness she’s been led to believe it is.
.
While this story is definitely enjoyable there were several things that kept me from giving it a higher rating. I really enjoy Chloe Jacobs’ writing style; she’s got a finesse about her style that I like. However, I feel like the plot could’ve been tighter? Deeper? It’s not that I didn’t care about what was going on in the story, but I wasn’t as invested as I wish I could’ve been. Instead of participating in the story, I felt like I was being told a story. If that makes any sense. (Yes, I know that sounds weird.) I think that, in large part, it also had to do with the relationship development. While Isaac is all kinds of swoony and interesting, I didn’t see enough of him, and of him & Greta together, to really understand why he matters to her so much. Sure. Dude is hot, and a king, and kind of irresistible… but there just doesn’t seem to be any kind of real foundation for the depth of feeling that’s going on there beyond a strong physical attraction. There’s also another guy, and a bit of insta-love that goes on there as well. However, Guy #2’s level of interest in Greta (and vice versa) is a bit more understandable given their circumstances and their interactions.
.
Don’t get me wrong. This book is a fun read, and I just had to know what was going to happen with both the story and the romance, but I just didn’t have that emotional connectivity needed to have in order to really love it.
.
Overall. Despite my issues with the depth of the story and relationship development, Greta and the Goblin King is a fun, action-packed adventure romance… and written proof that indeed goblins can be believable love interests.
.
.
.
Author: Chloe Jacobs Title: Greta and the Goblin King Series: Mylena Chronicles (Book #1) Published: November 13, 2012 by Entangled Teen Format: Paperback, 290 pages; Kindle, Nook Website: www.chloejacobs.com Source: Purchased My rating: 
Happy Reading!
Nice review! I recently got a copy of the book for review..annd, maybe i’ll check it out still.
Thanks Jenna! I would definitely still check it out
It’s not a bad read. Plus, my opinion seems to be in the minority thus far. Many people have loved this book.
I honestly don’t think I could get past him being a goblin. It would be so hard for me not to imagine him as something similar to the picture on the left!
Chloe does a good job making him believable
You might at least try the book sample on Amazon… see if it’s something you could get past. lol 
Gamer friend!!
Well, not WoW, but Neverwinter Nights on Persistent World servers, which is nearly the same thing but with a D&D background.
So, yes, I can totally see where you’re coming from. There’s also this movie, the Laberyth though, where they get a Goblin King linving in its heart and the dude’s an actual rockstar, so… I’m super curious about this one.
Even if the plot or relationships do have some issues, they don’t sound like completely story-destroying… and the gamer in me must read.
Thanks for sharing, Dani! Loved to see your thoughts on this.
Yes! Game friend!
And yes, Labyrinth. I’m familiar with it, but have never actually seen it. I know, I know. lol Someday. And though Bowie (and his hair) are a high standard to live up to, Isaac is a pretty hunky love interest.
And yeah, the issues that I had weren’t “story-destroying.” It was still a really fun way to spend an afternoon
Ohhh I actually really loved this one. I don’t know what it was but the story just really grabbed me and I was sucked into Mylena without any problems. Plus I adored Isaac.
Glad you enjoyed it! I’m planning on reading the next one, because I’m interested in seeing where the story goes. And yes, Isaac is intriguing. 😉
I’ve participated in a book blast for this.. didn’t know this is a great book.. thanks for the review!
Yeah, it is an interesting one
okay, the picture of the Goblin guy did it for me:) And Isaac is a kinda sexy name – for a goblin or otherwise.
It’s an interesting world with a great guy and main character.
Lovely review:)
LOL… yes. I love the name Isaac too. Thanks, Christina!
Ooooh… this sounds fantastic! Thanks for the review!
Thanks Erin! Hope you get the chance to check it out for yourself!
My copy of the book just arrived. Today. And I sure am with you about goblins being green… and stinky! I have to start on the book and see if Chloe can convince me that goblins can look way different from the norm. 😀
I’d be interested in hearing what you think!
I’ve had goblins in the last few books that I’ve read and none of them could even remotely be considered hot. Still you make it sound interesting enough to checkout a sample of the book. It at least sounds unique
Yeah, typically not my idea of a love interest, but Isaac makes it work. lol
Hot goblins? Hm. I am going to have to add this to my Goodreads. Thanks for the review!
lol… kind of an oxymoron, right? Hope you enjoy it.
This book has such an interesting concept, but I’ve heard such a wide range of reviews for it, ranging from utter hatred to total adoration (but mostly falling into the “just okay” range). Still not sure if I’ll like it, but I might give it a read. Thanks for the review!
Yeah. It was “just okay” for me, but who knows…. you may fall into the total adoration category. 😀 You could always try the Kindle sample?