How to Lose a Goblin in Ten Days by Jessie Sylva

TL;DR: A truly cozy and sweet book.
Source: NetGalley, thank you so much to the publisher!

Plot: A Goblin and a Halfling have to learn to live together in a run down cottage.
Characters: They were very cute! I enjoyed them.
Setting: Also a lovely setting. It felt very green and lush in it’s descriptions.
Cozy/Romance: The cozy feeling is there but the romance feels a bit rushed overall.

Summary:

When a halfling, Pansy, and a goblin, Ren, each think they’ve inherited the same cottage, they make a bargain: they’ll live in the house together and whoever is driven out first forfeits their ownership. Amidst forced proximity and cultural misunderstandings, the two begin to fall in love.

But when the cottage – and their communities – are threatened by a common enemy, the duo must learn to trust each other, and convince goblins and halflings to band together to oust the tall intruder.

Thoughts:

If you want cozy, cute, and low stakes this is going to be a great read for you. It’s lush and feels so green and fantastical. But we also get some cute and honestly lovely interactions between two characters raised to fear or dislike each other. Pansy is a halfling who moves into her abandoned grandmother’s cabin to find it already inhabited by Ren. Ren is a goblin who is doing their best to feed and care for their family in a nearby cave system that’s failing.

The two of them have a lot of preestablished stereotypes and prejudice they need to get over. We see that in the way the see each other, especially initially. That was a fascinating thing to watch. Yet half way through it seems to evaporate almost instantly and instead we have the two of them beginning to have feelings for one another.

While I enjoyed the bulk of this I do have to say I felt a little lukewarm momentum of the relationship as it did eventually uproot and neglect the story. The two become enamored and honestly a bit foolish in their actions. And while it had a fun ending I can’t say I was engrossed by that point. It’s worth a shot if you enjoy cozy, you might love it. But it did lack just a little bit for me.