Having loved Not Good For Maidens and My Throat An Open Grave by Bovalino, I decided that it was finally time to play catch-up on this long overdue read. I enjoyed the novel, but wasn't as hooked on it as I'd been with the other two. The settings of York and the goblin market worked well - I could easily visualise the setting and felt that York, with its narrow streets and old town, was a perfect backdrop for a story of witches and goblin markets. I always enjoy the elements of trickery that go into a goblin bargain. Again, Bovalino doesn't shy away from a bit of body horror, and the story overall has a satisfyingly dark and eerie feel to it. I enjoyed the dual timeline, particularly seeing the contrast in May, who switched from rebellious teenager to cautious adult. I'm already looking forward to discovering what Bovalino writes next!

Tori is such an incredible author. I really loved The Devils Makes Three so I knew I would love this! I was right! I did read this way back in 2022, so I can't recall many details but I remember being in awe of the writing and couldn't put it down. Will definitely be rereading this autumn!

I loved the following on from the Goblin Market poem. Tori Bovalino is fast becoming a favourite author for the gothy vibes I'm living right now. This has it all, body horror, witchy, goblins, forest witch themes.
Lou has to rescue her aunt from the goblin market when she's kidnapped, but Lou doesn't know that Neela and her mother have been here once before and the goblins would love nothing more than to add another family never to their prize

Haunting and powerful. One of my favourite reads of 2022. Thank you for this early copy to read and review.

Firstly, what a stunning cover, it draws the reader in and promises magic and deception.

Not Good For Maidens is easy to read, Gothic, romantic and elaborate. The mixture of Gothic setting and language transports the reader immediately.

Easy to read. Fast paced.

Loved everything about this book, the story and characters were flawless, it was fast paced and I devoured it in a matter of hours!

I loved the author's previous book 'The Devil Makes Three' and I was excited to read this one! The premise was super interesting and I haven't read anything like it before. However, my attention for this book kind of dwindled while reading this, and I didn't enjoy it as much as The Devil Makes Three. It's still something I would recommend to read though!

I loved the devil makes three so was super excited to be approved for not good for maidens. This had all the magic that the first book Tori wrote has and I loved it possibly even more than her debut.

A horror novel by a fresh, new author! i read her other book the devil makes three, and that was so creepy and enjoyable. This was no less.

It was eerie, and the writing was gorgeous. I liked the characters and the concept, Some important themes were discussed, but I like this author's exploration of the 'unknown'. There is also a w/w romance, which was great!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an e-arc!

Thank you to net galley and the publishers for sending me a copy in exchange for a review.

The plot sounded like it would have been my thing, but sadly I just didn't get along with the writing style, or the characters. I found it too slow at points - especially in the modern day setting out of the two POVs.

I think it just didn't know what it wanted to be and the marketing for it (Salem's Lot meets The Darkest Part of the Forest) gave me expectations that were wildly unmet.

I did like the queer representation however.

No pressure or anything, The Goblin Market is just my favourite poem, ever. I've wanted a retelling for so long and although I don't think this lived up to that, it was a good story in it's own right, with memorable characters and a creepy, gothic setting in York.

I do want something that's more of an expanded retelling of The Goblin Market, and this instead takes the basic formula of the Goblins, Market and strict rules to make a new story, about a market based in York and local witches.

I loved many of the characters, especially May, however I did find the main character Lou a little annoying, in the way she would repeat her frustrations with her family's past being kept secret. While May and Laura felt like fully fleshed out characters, Lou felt a little more like a vessel to tell the story.

That being said, York is one of my favourite cities that I've been to many times, so I loved the setting and was easily able to picture the winding streets, blood strewn market and vicious Goblins. This has a very similar vibe and pace to Holly Black's Tithe, so I enjoyed the feeling of familiarity.

The actual concept of the Witches, I felt, was not fully explored and I would be open to a second book to explore that further, and to develop Lou as a character after May and Laura's story has closed. And it would be nice to have a cameo from May and her family again, set a year or so later.

I absolutely adored this book! It's the perfect dark academia/gothic book and I just couldn't put it down. I can't wait to see what Bovalino brings out next!

This was quite a spooky and creepy read which was gory in places, an intriguing plot that kept me interested throughout

Content Warnings:
-On-page gore
-On-page body horror (cannibalism, dismembering)
-Violence
-Trauma

Based on Christina Rossetti's poem "Goblin Market", Tori Bovalino breathes life into the poem and weaves a story of wily goblins luring young girls into their lair with the promise of adventure and forbidden fruits. Lou Wickett spent her life unaware that she was the descendant of witches. Yet she never questioned the iron chains they insisted on wearing or the salt sprayed at the window ledges. But when Lou's aunt, the one who's almost as old as Lou, is taken by the goblins, the flimsy charade that was Lou's life falls apart.

In all earnestness, this was a tough book to review. Lou's sense of isolation at the beginning of the book got to me first and it made want to keep on reading. While her unquestioning naivete was a bit over the top, given how curious and nosy teenagers can be, I still felt for her. The writing itself is so atmospheric that it sets the ambiance for an ensuing horror story.

But mainly, this is a book about representation. And while I appreciate Bovalino's attempt here, and believe in the need for more subversive and diverse characterisations, the plot still needed to be lent some credence. For instance, the family dynamics was a bit unrealistic. While it was refreshing to see the aunt-niece dynamics for a change, it lacked credibility in a way. Both mother an aunt spent a lifetime shielding Lou from the horrors of the market, yet when push came to shove she was easily sent down the rabbit hole. The supposed romance was another question mark for me. How, why and when did May and Eitra fall in love? It was all so instantaneous. Another thing that always bugs me was the attempt at Englishness that is rarely well executed by American authors.

It was a very bumpy ride that wasn't exactly without merits. It's just that the premise was so interesting that I would have loved to like this book more.

Many thanks to Titan books and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this book.

I loved this book! It was straight into the action with lots of witchy and spooky vibes. It was interesting hearing about the back story of the aunt before being kidnapped. Really enjoyed the writing style as well

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 Rosetti'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.

This book is a retelling of The Goblin Market a classic narrative poem by Christina Rosetti, in the book traditional English folks songs are sung such as "Scarborough Fair" and the main setting is in York, North Yorkshire. So as a Scarborough born Yorkshire book nerd who's favourite poem is The Goblin Market by Christina Rosetti, I immediately felt like this book was written for me. I had high expectations and the second this book was on my radar I knew I had to get a hold of it.

I enjoyed the way this was written in dual perspective with both a present and past plot line following two very different characters. I loved the bond between Lou and May and the way that despite Lou being her niece May relies on her. The pace of the book was the only thing that let the book down in the slightest, as it felt like not much was happening for a big chunk of the book and then further in the end there was a rush of lots of things which felt a little anticlimactic for me. Alas I still really enjoyed the book and would recommend.

I would like to also mention that the UK cover for this book is phenomenal, I genuinely believe this is the most gorgeous book cover on the market right now.

trigger warning
<spoiler> kidnapping, torture, gore, trauma </spoiler>

Lou has always known that her family is keeping secrets from her, but she never even guessed what those may be. When her cousin is kidnapped, that has to change.

Though this is marketed as a retelling, I can tell you nothing about that, not having read the novel they're quoting in the beginning. Might have to rectify that, as I really love every single instance of the goblinmarket I encountered so far.

There are three rules to be followed, that boil down to eat nothing, harm nothing, don't spend there more than three nights. If you break them, you're lost.
While the focus is on the York coven as they are the ones that have to deal with the market and what it does to the humans there, we get hints to a wider world full of magic and I'd like very much to read more from this world, that might not be set in York.

We have two timelines: The present where Lou is figuring out what her family is hiding and how to get Neela back, and what happened roughly 20 years before when her aunt May dared to enter the market.

Lou happens to be ace, and she has to figure out her issues with lonelyness that are not unfamiliar to me, another ace person. How much do you define yourself by the people you're with? How much do you depend on them? How much dependance is healthy?

I liked this and will check out other works by the author. And maybe the original goblinmarket tale once my tbr is not that huge of a monster it is rn.
Would recommend if you're done with the fair folk being so... fair. Be prepared for bloodshed.

The arc was provided by the publisher.

Louisa always felt left out from her family but when her teenage-aunt Neela got abducted, her mother and her aunt May have to tell her the truth about their familiy’s dark business. They are witches and they have to take care of the victims of the Goblin Market, and now the goblins have Neela. Although her mother and May try to keep Lou far away of everything, Lou soon finds herself trapped in the Goblin Market, trying to save not only Neela but also her mother.
The story starts very slow-paced but that changes as soon as Lou learns about the Goblin Market. The story is still a little slow-paced in a few scenes, but that didn’t matter to me. The reader gets introduced into the hidden magic world of York together with Lou and they get to know the stories about the Goblin Market which are terrible and cruel but still there are lots of tourists which are visiting the market and never leaving it, at least not in one peace.
Not Good for Maidens is listed as an horror young adult book but the horror aspects are quite small. The Goblin Market is terrible, bloody and you shouldn’t be afraid of cut-off body parts but there wasn’t any need to keep the lights on after reading or being afraid of every sound you hear in the house. You can imagine the Goblin Market very clearly because of the pictorial and detailed writing style of the author. I did not understand everything because of the language (English isn’t my first language, I’m from Switzerland) but I understood the most.
What I liked the most about the story were the flashbacks about Mays teenager years in which we accompany May into the Goblin Market where she gets in trouble when she falls in love with a goblin girl.
I would recommend the book for everyone who likes to get a little bit scared but wants to sleep normally afterwards. There’s a love story in the flashbacks but it’s kept at the minimum. If you are looking for a Romantasy story, this book will disappoint you and although I’m a big Romantasy fan myself, it wasn’t missing in this story. Not Good for Maidens is exciting, dark and abducts the reader into the abyss of the Goblin Market.


German:
Louisa hat sich in ihrer Familie schon immer ausgeschlossen gefühlt, doch als ihre Tante Neela, die kaum älter ist als sie, entführt wird, bleibt ihrer Mutter und deren Schwester May nichts anderes übrig, als sie in das dunkle Familiengeschäft einzuweihen. Sie sind Hexen, die sich um die Opfer des Goblin Marktes kümmern, und Neela wurde von den Goblins entführt. Obwohl ihre Mutter und May sie aus allem rauszuhalten versuchen, findet sich Lou schon bald selbst im Goblin Markt wieder, in Versuch nicht nur Neela, sondern auch ihre Mutter zu retten.
Die Geschichte startete recht langsam und war zuerst etwas langatmig, doch das änderte sich, sobald Lou vom Goblin Markt erfährt und die Geschichte an Fahrt aufnimmt, auch wenn es zwischendurch immer ein paar Stellen gibt, an denen die Geschichte wieder etwas langatmig wird. Man wird mit Lou in die verborgene magische Welt von York eingeführt und lernt so die Geschichten über den Goblin Markt kennen, der schrecklich und grausam ist und trotzdem immer mehr Touristen anzieht, die den Markt meist nie wieder verlassen, oder wenn, dann nicht an einem Stück.

Not Good for Maidens wird als Horror Young Adult Roman gelistet, wobei sich die Horror Aspekte recht in Grenzen halten. Der Goblin Markt ist zwar fürchterlich, blutig und man darf keine Scheu vor abgetrennten Körperteilen haben, doch für mich gab es keinen Grund, nach dem Lesen die Nachttischlampe anzubehalten oder bei jedem Geräusch im Haus erschrocken zusammenzufahren. Man kann sich den Goblin Markt durch die sehr bildliche und ausführliche Beschreibung der Autorin jedoch sehr gut vorstellen, was mich mehr dazu gebracht hat, mich zu ekeln, als mich zu fürchten, wobei ich zugeben muss, dass ich nicht alles aufgrund der Sprache verstanden habe, aber doch das meiste.

Was mir an der Geschichte am besten gefallen hat, waren die Rückblenden, die 18 Jahre vor den eigentlichen Ereignissen rund um Lou spielen. In den Rückblenden begleiten wir Lous Tante May, die damals als Teenager dem Sog des Goblin Markts nicht widerstehen konnte und sich so in immer grössere Schwierigkeiten manövriert hat, vor allem, als sie sich in ein Goblin-Mädchen verliebte.

Not good for Maidens ist ein empfehlenswertes Buch für alle, die es mögen, sich etwas zu gruseln, aber danach immer noch gut schlafen möchten. Es gibt eine Liebesgeschichte in den Rückblenden, die jedoch sehr minim gehalten ist. Wer also nach einer Romantasy Geschichte sucht, ist hier eher falsch am Platz, und obwohl dies bei mir meist auch eine grosse Rolle spielt, hat es der Geschichte keineswegs gefehlt. Not Good for maidens ist spannend und düster und entführt die Lesenden in die Abgründe des Goblin Markts.

Thank you to Netgalley and Page Street Kids for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Not Good for Maidens follows the narratives of Louisa ("Lou"), her mother, Laura, and her aunt, May, with the mysterious Goblin Market where girls go to get lost.

I gave this book three stars because even though there was a crafty, eerie narrative woven here, and I loved how the narratives of the generational protagonists weaved through each other, and at the heart of it was love between women, both familial and romantic, I struggled a bit with the inclusion of goblins as an antagonistic force, considering the history around them and antisemitism. I'm not someone to make a judgment on that as an issue, but it did bother me enough that I'd be remiss in not mentioning it. Other than that, though, I did enjoy the story. The pacing was a little off, but otherwise I found the characters interesting and the worldbuilding creepy and palpable.