BOOK REVIEW | The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison (AKA Sarah Monette)

The youngest, half-goblin son of the Emperor has lived his entire life in exile, distant from the Imperial Court and the deadly intrigue that suffuses it. But when his father and three sons in line for the throne are killed in an "accident," he has no choice but to take his place as the only surviving rightful heir.

Entirely unschooled in the art of court politics, he has no friends, no advisors, and the sure knowledge that whoever assassinated his father and brothers could make an attempt on his life at any moment.Surrounded by sycophants eager to curry favor with the naïve new emperor, and overwhelmed by the burdens of his new life, he can trust nobody. Amid the swirl of plots to depose him, offers of arranged marriages, and the specter of the unknown conspirators who lurk in the shadows, he must quickly adjust to life as the Goblin Emperor. All the while, he is alone, and trying to find even a single friend... and hoping for the possibility of romance, yet also vigilant against the unseen enemies that threaten him, lest he lose his throne – or his life.

MY THOUGHTS

This is one of those few books I coincidentally picked on my own while scrolling through Goodreads. 

And DAMN..... Did I Love This Book?

No..... I completely ADORED it!! 

Story follows our main character, Maia, who at the mere age of eighteen, unexpectedly finds himself taking over his father's throne under some unfortunate circumstances. As he has lived his whole life completely isolated from everyone, so when he finds himself becoming the emperor of elflands, he is not only alone and in danger, but also completely unprepared to deal with his new life among his skeptical courtiers and advisers. The rest of the book deals with his life at the court and how he tackles every obstacle along the way.

The Goblin Emperor is a complete character driven book but however little it is, the whole world building by Katherine Addison AKA Sarah Monette feels so whimsical and unique. I loved her writing, it was great but I did find it difficult to remember the names, places and different fictional words (Thank God we had Glossary for this in the book)

 I simply loved Maia as our MC, we initially see him from being a lonely innocent boy abused by the hand of his cousin to becoming the Emperor worthy of bearing the weight of whole empire on his shoulder. He is half goblin and half elf so he faces a lot of criticism due to his dark colour and different behaviour. You can feel for him and completely empathize with him as he struggles to learn about his court structure and the people in it. He is naive and innocent but mind you, not stupid. He is a great learner, determined and most importantly a kind hearted man, which makes him different from his predecessor. Watching him making his own path and choosing not to follow his father's example was my favourite thing in this whole book. This book was one fine example of character development done perfectly.

The other thing I loved about this book was Maia's  thinking and take on Women empowerment. I loved how he tries to understand his half sister's dream and ambition, which has never done by anyone else before. His insistence on building the bridges and understanding other's pain and thoughts before passing judgement is what made him a true leader. His dynamics with his personal staff (Csevet and his nohecharei) was awesome to read.

“Better to build new bridges, he thought, than to pine after what’s been washed away.” 

Overall, this is one book which gave me a new character to love. Great Protagonist,intricate political system and good characters (both good and bad), it has everything I Completely Loved!

We completely adored it! ;-))

Full ☆☆☆☆☆ Stars!

Get it on AMAZON!

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