I’ve read a few books with a goblin market or some other mysterious, magical market, so I went into this expecting it to be much the same. I thought it would be a light romance with the market as just a kicking off point or a colorful backdrop. I was so wrong! There was so much detail and world-building (for the market at least, not so much the outside world), the whole story was entrenched in this goblin market and its dealings, and it was so interesting and fun and tricksy.

How clever does an author have to be to write characters who are this clever? With all of their tricky little deals and trades and contracts. At one point, someone offered a deal, and I was like, “Oh that sounds good,” and then the character immediately pointed out how it was worded like this and left this loophole and then I was like, “Ok I would not last five minutes at this place.”

And there were so many neat little things. Like the main character could speak to bells, and the way they talked was rhyming and melodic. One character could speak the language of gold, which was, like, gleams and shines. And characters were trading destinies and laughter and honesty. I just loved all of that.

I’m not sure we needed every point of view we got. I felt a few of them didn’t add anything. And occasionally I lost track of whose POV I was in since there was no clear delineation when it shifted. But I liked Deri and Owain, and I found the merchants interesting.

The romance seemed to get pretty deep pretty fast, I don’t feel like we saw it build that much, but it was sweet.

The story, with all its aforementioned deals and whatnot, kept the tension well. It was rather serious, what with indentured children and teens at workhouses or sold to goblins. The main focus was on the main characters trying to get by and get out of their contracts, with the romance just giving them even more incentive. But it had some lighthearted moments as well.

I listened to the audiobook, and the narrator, Will Watt, was fantastic. He sounded natural and did different accents and slightly different voices so that I always knew who was talking. But he also brought just the right touch of whimsy without ever overdoing it. Because you need that little bit extra when there are talking bells and talking cats and goblin merchants with hair made of metal, but at the same time, it wasn’t a silly book, so you don’t want it to get cartoony, and he really found the perfect sweet spot.

Overall, the characters were sweet, and I especially loved how clever and magical this was!

*Rating: 4 Stars // Read Date: 2024 // Format: Audiobook*