Kiss of the Goblin Prince (Shadowlands, #2)

Mar 24, 2013 Heidi Tieman mclennan rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: shona-husk

Lions and tigers and Goblins OH MY....ok, no lions and tigers but who would have thought Goblins could be HOT! Dai is Roan's brother from book 1 who helped break their curse along with Eliza holding them in the Shadowlands. Although the Goblin curse is broken, Dai is far from safe. They are the sole survivors of the lifted curse, or so they think. Amanda, Roan's new sister-in-law, catches Dai's attention and proves to be too much to ignore. Her husband, Eliza's brother, died in a tragic accident...more

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Jun 14, 2012 Marlene rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: reading-romances-challenge

Review originally published at Reading Reality

Kiss of the Goblin Prince by Shona Husk is a story about second chances. And third chances. And twentieth chances. On the one hand, it's about realizing that we only have a short time at this life, and that we have to make the most of it. And at the very same time, it's a story about that classic conundrum that those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it. Literally, life after life, whether the person remembers those other lives or not. The sou...more

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Jun 09, 2012 Dark Faerie Tales rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: reviewed-by-kristie

Review Courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales

Quick & Dirty: The Goblin world expands with excellent world-building and a hot but reticent relationship.

Opening Sentence: There were no decorations in the church, no family or friends filling the pews.

The Review:

Dai has been released from the goblin curse but he isn’t truly free. Another force has a grip on him and as long as those talons are embedded deep within he can’t live as his brother now does. Dai brought with him strong magical powers that allow...more

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Apr 03, 2012 Judy & Marianne from Long and Short Reviews rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: action-adventure, contemporary, non-erotic, paranormal, suspense-mystery, science-fiction-fantasy

Originally posted at: http://longandshortreviews.blogspot.c...

I'm betting you've never experienced Goblins quite like this before. Goblins traditionally are small little creatures sent to create havoc for us humans. Dai undoubtedly creates some chaos in the story. With his dashing looks and intriguing personality he wreaks havoc over Amanda’s libido and makes her want something she hasn’t had in years: a warm body laying next to her in bed.

Amanda is a truly inspirational women. She's been caring...more Originally posted at: http://longandshortreviews.blogspot.c...

I'm betting you've never experienced Goblins quite like this before. Goblins traditionally are small little creatures sent to create havoc for us humans. Dai undoubtedly creates some chaos in the story. With his dashing looks and intriguing personality he wreaks havoc over Amanda’s libido and makes her want something she hasn’t had in years: a warm body laying next to her in bed.

Amanda is a truly inspirational women. She's been caring for her sickly daughter by herself for years without asking anything for herself. While some women may want to give up, or begin to resent their situation, Amanda uses her inner strength to do what's necessary to care for her child. I have to say this aspect of Amanda’s personality certainly left me in awe. Amanda’s situation had me wishing she and Dai could be together to help care for one another in a way no else has for as long as they can remember.

Dai is another person who has spent most of his life caring for others in his own way. As the second child of the king, he too often took risks with his life to ensure the safety of his older brothe, friends and family. I could tell he was used to taking care of everyone else but himself. It made him even more lost in a foreign world. After spending so much time in the Goblin realm he had to learn how to function in a world that had developed without him.

This story is a sequel to The Goblin King and I haven't read the first book. While many aspects of the story were easy to follow I was a bit confused by the goblin background of Dai. I did eventually begin to understand the previous events, but my ignorance of the back story took away some of my appreciation of certain parts of the story. I will say that now that I've experienced one of the Shadowland Stories I would surely enjoy and look for any future stories.

This story would be enjoyable for anyone who loves a delightfully sweet romance story with two deserving characters. The romance development, subplots and excellent characters were truly entertaining.
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May 04, 2012 Blodeuedd Finland rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: paranormal-romance

I liked book 1 because it was a bit different, a goblin hero..and they ain't pretty, I'll tell you that. But in this book the curse is broken and we have a new hero, Dai. He may be human again but life is not easy.

Oh Dai, I wanted his story already in book 1 and here I got it. He is all things I want my hero to be, that's right, tortured and hurting. He feels that he can't let go of his horrid past and all the things done to him. He is suffering and he is just the kind of man you want to hug and...more

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Apr 12, 2012 Jaime rated it 3 of 5 stars

The story picks up right where Goblin King left off, at Roan and Eliza’s wedding with sparks flying between Roan’s brother Dai and Eliza’s sister-in-law Amanda. Roan and Dai are now permanent and very rich citizens of the fixed realm. Roan is adjusting beautifully and loving life and his new wife. Dai is having major issues with the modern world, coming to terms with his past, and dealing with his budding feelings for Amanda.

The book is not fast paced or loaded with sex scene’s. However, in tell...more The story picks up right where Goblin King left off, at Roan and Eliza’s wedding with sparks flying between Roan’s brother Dai and Eliza’s sister-in-law Amanda. Roan and Dai are now permanent and very rich citizens of the fixed realm. Roan is adjusting beautifully and loving life and his new wife. Dai is having major issues with the modern world, coming to terms with his past, and dealing with his budding feelings for Amanda.

The book is not fast paced or loaded with sex scene’s. However, in telling the story of a psychologically damaged former Goblin and a widowed single mother who has not dated or even thought of a man sexually in almost eight years, it makes perfect sense. I loved that the journey of healing for Dai took the entire book, and its clear he still has mending to do. It is annoying when you’re reading and the tortured hero is instantly cured of his ills by falling in love (usually over the course of a few days). I also loved Amanda’s caution. She is a single mother with a young daughter, she should be suspicious of the moody dude no matter how hot he is.

Birch Bank is pivotal in the book. I wondered what kind of bank would take gold from Goblin’s over the course of centuries never asking questions or affected by the oddness of it clients. I was not disappointed in beginning to find out why. We also discovered a lot about the other mentioned Goblin’s, which means there can be many more books to come.

Adventure wise the pace of the book could have moved had faster. There wasn’t much physical conflict, and I also wish the magic had been more prominent. Also, these character’s live in Perth, Australia yet there is nothing in the lingo of the character’s or the description of the environment that would distinguish Perth from any other city. To be honest when reading Goblin King for most of the book I thought they were in America.

Overall I really enjoyed the read and I look forward to reading the next book which I guess will be Meryn’s story.(less)

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Feb 08, 2013 Kazoobooks rated it 4 of 5 stars

Kiss of the Goblin Prince is Shona Husk’s second book about a group of Celtic warriors who are cursed by a Druid priest to slowly become gold-loving goblins while they live out their long existence is the bleak Shadowlands. They spend two thousand years trying to find a way to break the curse before they completely turn into goblins. This story follows the king’s brother, Dai, as he struggles to regain his humanity after the curse is broken. These books are character-driven romances with fairy t...more

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May 23, 2012 Lucy rated it 4 of 5 stars

In Book #1, Goblin King, due to the love of Eliza, Roan, the Goblin King, was finally able to break the spell which doomed Roan and his brother, Dai, to live in the shadowlands. The curse was put on the brothers by a druid priest almost 2,000 years ago. They were cursed to live in the shadowlands, slowly losing their soul to the greed for gold which would turn them into goblins.

Kiss of the Goblin Prince tells the story of Dai, the Celtic prince of the Decangli. This story is a bit dark since th...more In Book #1, Goblin King, due to the love of Eliza, Roan, the Goblin King, was finally able to break the spell which doomed Roan and his brother, Dai, to live in the shadowlands. The curse was put on the brothers by a druid priest almost 2,000 years ago. They were cursed to live in the shadowlands, slowly losing their soul to the greed for gold which would turn them into goblins.

Kiss of the Goblin Prince tells the story of Dai, the Celtic prince of the Decangli. This story is a bit dark since the lives of both Dai and Amanda are both filled with trauma and they stumble a bit trying to overcome their pasts and their fears.

Amanda is the sister in law of Eliza, and Eliza’s brother Matt was killed shortly after he and Amanda were married, and which was shortly after she found out she was pregnant. Although her daughter is now seven, she has never worked past the trauma of watching her newlywed husband drown trying to save another surfer. Amanda is too focused on her daughter Brigit, who is slowly suffocating from chronic asthma, to realize that her life is passing her by. Once she meets Dai, he starts to re-awaken desires, both physically and a desire to move on with her life. Unlike several other stories that featured widows who mourned their husbands until the hero shows up in town and suddenly they toss off their grief and try to jump the hero, Amanda’s realization that she has stopped living her life was a gradual reawakening and she had to work hard to move past her fears and guilt of moving on without the husband she barely knew. The daughter Brigit was cute but underused as a character.

The story mainly focuses on Dai and trying to adjust to returning to being a man in the “fixed realm.” Dai was taken as a teenager from his father’s lands by the Romans to ensure that his people would not rebel against Rome. Dai was kept as a slave in the house of a cruel General. He only escaped the life of a slave when he was cursed to the shadowlands. Dai had spent most of his almost 2,000 years in the shadowlands learning magic in an attempt to break the druid’s spell. Dai spends most of the story trying to work past his hatred for the Roman General and trying to get used to being a man again. He also is being blocked by The Birch who were holding his books of magic in the fixed realm, so he is trying to relearn magic in this world by trial and error.

This story also deals with the premise of reincarnation and how our lives are continually connected to the same person, as well as the fact that unless you deal with whatever issues you have, you will constantly try to work past the same issue in your future lives.

This is not a quick, light read, nor it is sexy thriller. This is a very interesting and dark story, and it is truly compelling to watch these two interesting characters work through their fears and try to connect with each other.

Received an ARC from the netgalley.com, courtesy of the publisher. Thank you.

See more at http://ebookobsesed.com.(less)

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May 14, 2012 Cocktails and Books rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012-reading-challenges, publisher-provided, paranormal, blog-tour

Wow, wow, wow. Just when I thought I couldn't fit one more tortured hero onto my boyfriend list, Shona Husk gives us Dai.

Dai has some issues. If you were used by a Roman General to control your brother and spent hundreds of years being tortured by the same man in the Shadowlands, you'd probably have some issues too. Add on top of that the death of your sister on your hands and you'd have to wonder how the man is sane at all. Now in the Fixed Realm, he only hopes to gain his books back from the B...more

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Dec 13, 2012 Deborah Ideiosepius rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: definitely-adult, fantasy, l-l-love-and-lust

It can be a bit of a trap, reading a #2 straight after a #1 but I did not think of it until too late. I liked 'The goblin king' enough that perhaps no #2 could have lived up to it, maybe.

For the first third to half of this book I was definitely thinking "two stars at best, if the ending is really good. One star if it does not pick up". It more that picked up in the end but the first part cast a pall. The lead man in the book is the brother of the goblin king, pulled into this world by the curse...more It can be a bit of a trap, reading a #2 straight after a #1 but I did not think of it until too late. I liked 'The goblin king' enough that perhaps no #2 could have lived up to it, maybe.

For the first third to half of this book I was definitely thinking "two stars at best, if the ending is really good. One star if it does not pick up". It more that picked up in the end but the first part cast a pall. The lead man in the book is the brother of the goblin king, pulled into this world by the curse breaking in the last book, the lead woman is the best friend of the goblin kings wife, but has been told nothing of the shadowlands.

The ending was really good however, good enough to redeem an extra star and to make me enthusiastic for the next one.

[spoilers]Early on I got pissed off at the lead man, I felt he was vacillating, uncertain, whiny and mopey all characteristics that I dislike in people, so much so that I could not slide into the admiration for the sexy bod I kept reading about. Am I superficial? I don't care, I need to find the lead man in a L&L book sexy. Not whiny.

I was somewhat pissed off with the lead woman for a similar reason. The whole 'I will never have another lover, must put my child first' has never appealed to me. I disliked her slightly less because her angst was at least slightly more sensible that goblin princes was.

I found 'the bank has confiscated my books' plot annoying because he didn't seem to want to do anything about it but whinge... and that just did not fit the character of the man, or his background in any way at all. However, then I realised it must be a plot builder. As result, the ending was no surprise. The ending though was very good and in general the last part of the book after the lead characters stopped wavering was good enough to be worth three stars. I am afraid prince is not nearly as sexy as king was before he cut his hair though. (That was a good metaphor by the way - wild King, joins the world, gets married cuts hair).

And I really, really liked the way Shona Husk led us into the next book. Normally I hate being reminded in a novel that is is one of a series and we should go ahead and get the next one. I take my hat off to Shona's method however; this book is a good stand alone, the last one was too. The lead up to the next book was deft, sensible and actually intriguing. One can clearly go for it or not without losing any of the enjoyment derived from the book one is finishing.

The overall story arc is a good one; (each man who was drawn in by the curse must find there way separately) and it leaves room of cameos of the characters we have already bonded with. And personally I have bonded with them.

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Jan 17, 2013 Kelly rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: ebooks, paranormal-romance, read-in-2013

I really enjoyed book 1 in this series and I had wasn't sure what to expect with Dai's book. I mean, the curse had been broken, Dai and Roan had escaped to the Fixed Realm, what was Dai going to have to overcome now? Turns out he had plenty of obstacles... the biggest one being his own guilt and the way he feels out of sync with the world around him.

Here's the thing... it took a looooooong time to get to the point where things were moving along. The first half (or longer) of the book was a lot o...more

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Jan 24, 2013 pauliree rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: aww2013, books-i-own, fantasy, goblins, mythology, paranormal-romance, read-in-2013, set-in-australia, urban-fantasy

I enjoyed this one much better than the first installment. Dai is a far more interesting character and his heroine is not your average ingenue as well. Both have to struggle with their broken psyches before they can commit to each other and I really enjoyed the slow slow romance of them getting to know one another and trusting each other.

Dai was your classic tragic hero, abused as a child slave of a Roman general he has kept that information from his older brother for over 2000 years. When the c...more

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Jan 14, 2013 Katie Cody rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: paranormal

A darkly enticing read!
Ok I will admit the first thing I thought of (or rather the first person) was Jareth the goblin king. While he is no David Bowie, Dai has a charm all his own. The story is a bit slow at first, but picks up the pace rather quickly. The story is sure to pull at your heart strings. It’s about coming to terms with who and what you are. Both characters have undergone many changes some good and some bad. Throughout the story we get to see how each of them come to accept and embr...more

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Aug 14, 2012 ReadingDiva rated it 4 of 5 stars

** Originally posted @ ReadingDiva's Blog - Rating 4 of 5

Review: I enjoyed this book. I like how the story flowed though it did in a slow pace. I enjoyed the characters and I also enjoyed their way their story developed.

Kiss of the Goblin Price tells us the story of Dai King, who after being in the Shadowlands for centuries is finally making it into the Fixed Real. Dai and his brother were cursed and forced to live in the Shadowlands as goblins. After their cursed was lifted with the help and lo...more

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Apr 25, 2012 My Book Addiction and More MBA rated it 4 of 5 stars

KISS OF THE GOBLIN PRINCE is an enjoyable tale with a tender love story. Unlike most recent novels, the romance in this book was not rushed. The story allows time to develop a deep, caring relationship between Dai and Amanda. Dai’s struggle with resuming a human life after centuries as a goblin were a large part of the story and were interesting. The characters were all likeable and well written. KISS lacked a sitting-on-the-edge-of-my-seat tension despite the severity of several situations. Whi...more

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Apr 21, 2012 Lynelle rated it 3 of 5 stars

After spending the last 2000 years in the Shadowlands as a goblin, and all that entails, Dai finds it difficult to be thrust back into the human world after the curse was broken when his brother found true love. Dai never really believed it was his fate to become human again and now that he is, he’s not quite sure what to do with himself, so he focuses on his magic, as much as it is forbidden. Dai is a very tortured man and struggles to deal with the guilt of some of his actions in the past that...more

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May 06, 2012 Melindeeloo rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: paranormal-romance

4.5 stars From the first moment they see each other Dai and Amanda experience an attraction to each other, but each will have to decide to let go of the pasts that hold them back if they going to discover whether the golden threads of attraction that are forming between them hold any promise of a future together.

Coming into the story - considering that Dai and his brother Roan are no longer hideous goblins trapped in the gray shadowlands and the curse that nearly stole their last shreds of human...more

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May 01, 2012 Jen (Red Hot Books) rated it 4 of 5 stars

I am always on the lookout for a story with a great tortured hero. Shona Husk delivers in spades with Dai. He lived most of his nearly 2000 years in the goblin realm. He was cursed along with his family during Roman times to live in the Shadowlands, part-goblin and part-man. The curse was broken only recently, as his brother found true love. Now Dai is struggling to live among humans again and to let go of his hate and need for revenge.

Amanda is a widowed mother who has given up on finding love...more I am always on the lookout for a story with a great tortured hero. Shona Husk delivers in spades with Dai. He lived most of his nearly 2000 years in the goblin realm. He was cursed along with his family during Roman times to live in the Shadowlands, part-goblin and part-man. The curse was broken only recently, as his brother found true love. Now Dai is struggling to live among humans again and to let go of his hate and need for revenge.

Amanda is a widowed mother who has given up on finding love again. But when her sister-in-law marries Roan, Dai is thrust into her world. The attraction is instant, but both are wary. Amanda hasn't been with a man since her husband died seven years ago and her first priority has to be her severely asthmatic daughter. Dai isn't sure he even knows how to love or be loved. He's never been with a woman. Even before he was thrust into the Shadowland, he was a Roman slave --tortured not only physically, but also sexually and emotionally.

I really enjoyed watching the love story unfold between these two. While the attraction was immediate, the feelings and relationship developed more slowly and believably. Dai is the more dominant character in the story --and by that I mean, more of it is devoted to him. He's got a lot to work out. Not only with his past and his intimacy issues, but with his magic. He studied magic for centuries, as he tried to break the goblin curse and now he must figure out how this, too, will fit into his life. He is very damaged, but underneath, he is really a good man.

I liked this book a lot. It is the second in the Shadowlands series. Unfortunately, I did not read The Goblin King and I felt it in a big way. There were huge, huge gaps in Dai and Roan's backstory that must have been explained in the first installment. I was lost in the particulars of their curse --specifically, who cursed them? How does the goblin summoning thing work? In what circumstances could they come and go from the Shadowlands in the past? Stuff like that. The nagging questions distracted me from the good stuff on several occasions, which is a shame, because the romance part was right up my alley.

My only other beef was that the ending felt a little rushed. I waited the entire book for the payoff on the sexual tension between Dai and Amanda. I think another two or three pages would have gone a long way to leaving me satisfied.

Overall, I did like it. But I bet I would have liked it even more if I had read the first book. 4 stars.

*ARC Provided by NetGalley(less)

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Mar 15, 2013 Jax Garren rated it 4 of 5 stars

I ended up really liking this book. I think I would've liked it more from the very beginning if I hadn't gone in thinking of it as a romance. Although there is a romance in it, I don't consider this to be a romance novel. It's a story about Dai's journey to harness his magical powers, forgive himself for past transgressions and accept his new life as a human. The vast majority of the book is told from his point of view, and the H/H spend very little time in the same room. Love interest Amanda, w...more

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May 03, 2012 Crystal (Redheads Review It Better) Cuffley rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: paranormal-romance

This is the first book I have read of Shona's and might I say, it was great! She brought two tortured souls together to make for some great chemistry. Let's take Amanda for example. She found the love of her life young but he was ripped away from her very soon after. She was left alone at the beginning of her pregnancy with her daughter. Fast forward to seven years later, she is dedicating all her time and energy into taking care of her severely asthmatic daughter. Amanda has never allowed herse...more This is the first book I have read of Shona's and might I say, it was great! She brought two tortured souls together to make for some great chemistry. Let's take Amanda for example. She found the love of her life young but he was ripped away from her very soon after. She was left alone at the beginning of her pregnancy with her daughter. Fast forward to seven years later, she is dedicating all her time and energy into taking care of her severely asthmatic daughter. Amanda has never allowed herself to have any sort of love life because she knows at any second she could lose her little piece of her husband. Being a mother myself and married to a police officer, I know how hard it can be when they are not around to help out. I can't imagine how Amanda has pulled off being a single mother for seven years especially having to deal with her daughter's illness. The good part about this all? Amanda is much stronger than most women will be. Which she proves time and time again throughout the book. I don't normally get emotionally attached much to the female leads in books but I was right there with Amanda. What she felt, I felt. I don't think Shona could have written Amanda's character any better.

Now the bread and butter of this story...Dai. What can I say about this utterly tortured man. I am not familiar with his backstory since I didn't read The Goblin King, but I still wanted to reach in there and give Dai a big bear hug. Dai breaks a curse that has held him and his brother, Roan, in the Shadowlands for 2,000 years. Dai is nonetheless forced to live his life as a human but he doesn't think he deserves to live that way. He still feels unbelievable guilt for something he was forced to do during his time as a prisoner. Of course I would have a lot of guilt if I had to do what he did. Heck, I don't think I could even go through with it. Then on top of that, Dai had to watch his family succumb to the goblin side of life. I'm surprised he even has a heart left for as many times as it has shattered for his loved ones. We generally spend most of the story with Dai which was just fine with me. We already knew the score with Amanda, (Her issues are pretty simple compared to Dai's.) so it was nice to spend the time with Dai. I think that if he was never forced to interact with Amanda, I don't think he would have started to get better. Of course there were times when I was really concerned for his safety but we will chalk that up to being a typical male that is headstrong and likes to wallow in self pity. Work for you? Great.

There was one part of the book when Dai and Amanda are dancing that I just loved. You can tell that even though Dai has a dark and stormy past that haunts him every second of every day and night, he has a such a tender heart towards people he cares about. This itself is a blessing after spending 2,000 years fighting the urge to fully give himself over to the goblins. Now I do have a small complaint. After all we went through with these two, the ending could have been drawn out between our love interests. Come on! I want more of Dai's hottness! Lol! In all seriousness though, it was a great book. I do suggest reading The Goblin King though because there were some things that were mentioned or came up that I wasn't to sure about.(less)

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May 17, 2012 Kelly % Books-n-Kisses rated it 4 of 5 stars

I do have to start by saying that I should have read Kiss of the Goblin King first, just so that I had a better understanding of the Shadowland world that Dai & Roan have lived in for so long.

That being said. I really enjoyed this book. Dai is a man that may be freed of a long held curse, but he is not free. Dai has to learn to function in the Fixed Realm and deal with the magic that is calling to him. On top of all of that Dai finds that he is drawn to Amanda in a way he doesn’t totally un...more

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Jun 19, 2012 Darcy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012, pnr, magic

I think that I liked it better than the first. It was melancholy and sad, but with the end there was hope. Not really what I expected.

I felt sorry for Dai, he was holding so much in and felt like everything that happened was on his shoulders. Plus he was so lost in the human world and not having his books.

Amanda seemed to be lost too, startled to find herself attracted to someone she starts to question her life and her past with Matt.

One aspect that I really enjoyed was how Dai and Roan's dead l...more

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Jun 07, 2012 Sharon rated it 5 of 5 stars

Kiss of the Goblin Prince is the second book in Husk’s Shadowland series. I reviewed the first book The Goblin King and loved it because the author veered away from the same old PNR formula and gave me something different. I was hoping she would continue this in Kiss of the Goblin Prince. I won’t keep you in suspense though…Husk does it again with Kiss of the Goblin Prince.

In book one we met Roan, the Goblin King, and Eliza, the woman who rescues Roan and his brother Dai from the Goblin curse th...more Kiss of the Goblin Prince is the second book in Husk’s Shadowland series. I reviewed the first book The Goblin King and loved it because the author veered away from the same old PNR formula and gave me something different. I was hoping she would continue this in Kiss of the Goblin Prince. I won’t keep you in suspense though…Husk does it again with Kiss of the Goblin Prince.

In book one we met Roan, the Goblin King, and Eliza, the woman who rescues Roan and his brother Dai from the Goblin curse that imprisoned them in the Shadowlands for 2000 years. This book is about Dai and his struggle to find his place in the fixed realm now that he is truly free to make his own choices for the first time. Dai is scared figuratively and literally. His body is covered in scars from the 4 years he was a slave to the Roman General Claudius. He went from that to being cursed with his fellow soldiers who tried to rescue him. He spent the next 2000 years trying to find a way to break the curse while fighting to keep his humanity and not turn completely goblin. He learned just about everything there is to know, but magic wouldn’t work in the Shadowlands so he didn’t know how to apply all his knowledge. He has lived with so much guilt and vengeance and rage that it actually manifested itself as a claw that grips his heart.

Once in the fixed realm again, he realizes he can use his magic, but it is no longer used or believed making him possibly the last magic user. I loved how Husk explained Dai’s use of magic and the romantic way she used it in the connection between Dai and Amanda. Amanda found the man of her dreams 7 years ago. He died 4 months later and she was left to raise their unborn child. Amanda still wears her wedding band, not willing to let go of what she lost. Her daughter Brigit has chronic asthma that eventually will kill her. Amanda hasn’t felt a longing for another man since her husband and feels guilty when she finds herself attracted to Dai. Their love story is all about forgiving yourself for the past, letting go and moving on. These two don’t go...
read the rest of the review: http://www.loveromancepassion.com/rev...(less)

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May 18, 2012 Seriously Reviewed rated it 4 of 5 stars

This story was great. I loved the way Ms Husk portrayed Dai, brother to Roan, the Goblin King. You can feel his pain and loneliness as he struggles to adjust to the fixed realm again. Nightmares of the Shadowlands as well as his captivity as a Roman slave haunt him still. He also finds himself drawn towards Amanda, but thinks that due to his past, he’s not worthy of her. Amanda has trouble letting go of her late husband, and the feelings she’s having towards Dai confuse her. She also has a seven...more

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Jun 29, 2012 Amanda P rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: paranormal-urban-fantasy, own-as-an-ebook, review-copy-provided, did-not-finish

I am so incredibly sad to have to write this review. Let’s just start by saying how much I adored the Goblin King and how much I was looking forward to reading Kiss of the Goblin Price. Goblin King is one of the most memorable books I’ve read so far this year in a good way; it was refreshing, fun and exciting. Regrettably, I cannot say the same for Kiss. I am about 45% of the way through this book, I put the book down about a month ago and I haven’t picked it back up since. I think it’s time to...more I am so incredibly sad to have to write this review. Let’s just start by saying how much I adored the Goblin King and how much I was looking forward to reading Kiss of the Goblin Price. Goblin King is one of the most memorable books I’ve read so far this year in a good way; it was refreshing, fun and exciting. Regrettably, I cannot say the same for Kiss. I am about 45% of the way through this book, I put the book down about a month ago and I haven’t picked it back up since. I think it’s time to admit defeat. I really wanted to love this book, but I just don’t and here is why.

1. So we are about half way through and the only time the hero and heroine have spent together is 1 couple minute dance, an extremely awkward car ride where Dai spend the entire ride trying not to puke all over the place, and a conversation about a possible goblin kid. In fact Amanda hasn’t been in the book all that much so far, a bit here and there.

2. We are dropped kicked into the world of magic with no back up information. So I have read the first book in the series. I purposely read the first book because I wanted to read this book and I didn’t want to enter a world in the middle of a series not knowing what in the world was going on. What I got was entering a world not knowing what in the world was going on. So all of the sudden Dai is a magic user with thousands of years of knowledge, ok, cool. Got it. But apparently there are rules to magic use and only this “Bank” that has all of Dai’s books knows the rules to magic use?? Yet, Dai has been studying magic for 2000 years under masters of magic use shouldn’t he know at least some of these “rules”? And this Bank is not so subtly threatening him about magic use, but not telling him why, and he doesn’t seem to know why, so we don’t know why, so now I am half way through a book with no clue what in the heck is going and it was getting more and more vague and I just stopped caring to find out. You know how you get the burn to get to the end to find out everything, I just never got there and now I’m over it.

3. The magic use itself just isn’t that interesting. I am a big fan of the magic aspect of the paranormal world. Actually, that’s what brought me to paranormal romance. It wasn’t vampires like a lot of people, it was witches. I was reading all I could get my hands on with witches as the main characters and then there was cross over and now here I am. So I’m kind of picky with my magic use and Dai’s was boring. So, sure he was fledgling, ok, maybe my expectations are high and I’m sure it got better later in the book, but Huck didn’t keep my attention long enough to get me there. So the magic we have seen was, Dai, looking through the magic eye to see the magic weave everything is made up of, he tried to heal a tree, he transported himself and some beer and put together some furniture and that’s about it.

4. Whining: Dai is kind of whinny. I never thought he would be so whinny, but damn if he is. Yes, he had a hard life, he had the potential to be a strong tortured warrior type, but he just turned out to be sad and whinny. He had such great potential for so much, it was such a let down, it makes me so sad. His brother had it pretty crappy, but he came out strong tortured warrior type, so how did Dai go so wrong? I don’t understand! =(

Ok, so I hate to only have the negative in a review and the book isn’t all bad, I did enjoy Amanda. We didn’t see that much of her, but what we did see I liked. She was strong and determined and a good mother to her child. She is a character that I could have really liked and wished we had seen more of her through the first half of the book. She kept herself together and raised her daughter in the face of great loss, when others may have fallen apart. We also get glimpses of Eliza and Roan post Goblin King and I am glad to see them again. You also see glimpses of a third ex-goblin, I’m not going to spoil it, but this is a trilogy! I will probably pick this book up again someday, just for these glimpses because I do want to read the third book, but that day is not today, or tomorrow or the foreseeable future. I have not given up on Shona Husk, I loved Goblin King and the Summons and I am still looking forward to reading the third book in this series. If I do finish this book and my opinion does change I will update this review accordingly.
Rating:
2
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Jul 14, 2012 Mina De Caro rated it 5 of 5 stars

From now on Shona Husk will always hold a pole position in my gargantuan TBR list: I fell in love with the fertile imagination, fluid prose, and introspective sensitivity of this Australian paranormal, fantasy novels author. My only regret, if any, is that I should have read this captivating Shadowlands series starting from the novella ”The Summons: A Goblin King Prequel” and the first full length installment “The Goblin King”, in order to fully appreciate the fairy-tale world structure that hol...more From now on Shona Husk will always hold a pole position in my gargantuan TBR list: I fell in love with the fertile imagination, fluid prose, and introspective sensitivity of this Australian paranormal, fantasy novels author. My only regret, if any, is that I should have read this captivating Shadowlands series starting from the novella ”The Summons: A Goblin King Prequel” and the first full length installment “The Goblin King”, in order to fully appreciate the fairy-tale world structure that holds together The Shadowlands (a desolate land populated by the heartless Goblins), The Fixed Realm (our world), and The Birch Foundation (a mysterious organization that facilitates the transition between these two worlds). Reading the series in order would have certainly helped me from the start to understand the main characters’s backstories, the role played by the secondary characters, and the connections existing between them, adding to the enjoyment of a book that can be read as a stand-alone without loosing any of its alluring qualities.
Amanda Coulter is a young widow who has given up on happiness after the sudden death of her husband. She works as a youth counselor at the local high-school and her daughter, Brigit, is affected by severe asthma. At the wedding of her sister-in-law, Eliza, Amanda meets the enigmatic and fascinating Dai King. Sparks of attraction fly immediately between them. Dai is Eliza’s husband’s brother, apparently a normal young man, Welsh scholar, ancient civilization and dead languages expert, and world traveler. In reality, Dai is a Celtic Prince, as old as our civilization, a man who has been spending the past 2,000 years fighting against Romans, Druids, and Goblins, before breaking a curse and being reintegrated in the XXI century Fixed Realm (our world) as a free human, just like his brother Roan.
Dai is physically and emotionally scarred: in order to protect his younger sister Mave from the perverse attentions of the Roman General Claudius, he had to endure Claudius’ vicious tortures and abuses. Dai was eventually cursed by the Goblin King and held captive for centuries in the Shadowlands, only to endure more unspeakable acts of violence from the Goblins and to be turned into a Goblin himself. He used to be a mage, a man endowed with magical healing powers, but now that his curse is broken and he is back in The Fixed Realm, he is straggling with his new identity provided by The Birch Foundation and a deep sense of dislocation. In the transition between worlds he had to leave behind most of his treasures, but what bothers him the most is that he cannot get a hold of that wealth of knowledge he has accumulated over the centuries: all his books about magic are being retained by The Birch Foundation and without them he feels like he cannot recall his magical powers.
The Shadowlands series fictional worlds are built on the assumption that our universe is ruled by magic and held together by invisible strings: Dai and his brother Roan are able to control them in order to manipulate the fabric that makes the world. I like the way Shona Husk opens her slow-paced narration describing the chemistry and the bond existing from the start between Dai and Amanda. They are both initially unaware of the magical golden threads connecting their souls; although drawn to each other, they’re both very tentative at the beginning of the story and they will keep being hesitant for a good part of it. The emotional baggage made of sorrow, secrets, family tragedies, and responsabilities they both carry is too heavy for them to be rid of it and yield to emotions and desire, let alone love, no matter how bad they both need it. Dai has been “out of touch with the world for too long…to obsessed with the dead and obsolete.” Amanda can perfectly relate to his emotions, because she has been holding on her deceased husband’s memory for years, without being able to move on and look forward to another love relationship.
They are both very likable characters: the tortured and troubled soul Dai, the calm and caring counselor Amanda. It seems to be like a very good characters combination, perfect material for a sweeping and soulful romance. Dai’s numerous scars make him insecure: he’s afraid Amanda will loath him and reject him because of them. The darks secrets of his real identity and his past hold him from revealing his feelings for her, although the attraction is slowly consuming him. The biggest obstacle standing in the way is in his chest in the form of talons clutched around his heart, a magical grip placed there by the evil Goblin King as a reminder of the evil Dai has been a victim of and a perpetrator. Forgiveness is the only remedy that could set him free, but he is still prisoner of his resentment: the hideous tortures he has suffered for centuries fuel his hate and give strength to the King Goblin’s grip. Dai’s decision to remain celibate and avoid any kind of physical touch with other creatures poses an interesting challenge to his attraction for Amanda, but it also helps to build up an intoxicating and heart-melting sexual tension between them. They seek physical contact every time they meet, they haunt each other’s dreams, they leave each other breathless with stolen kisses and caresses, they hold hands interlacing their fingers in a promise of scorching sensuality, without abandoning themselves to a complete enjoyment. Every time they seem to be ready to get closer and open their hearts, their past stands in the way and breaks the momentum, prolonging that sweet torture up to the last chapters of the novel, when the barriers will be finally broken down and they will find an extremely gratifying release. As a whole, action and major developments are pushed at the end and my feeling is that the author aims to set up the scene for the sequel rather than advance this installment’s plot. The Kiss of The Goblin Prince mainly focuses on Dai’s and Amanda’s quest towards emotional freedom and self-forgiveness and I really appreciate this introspective tone and character development versus an action-driven storyline.
I personally loved the way Shona Husk uses the idea of the invisible threads to describe the different kinds of connection existing between characters and their world: gold strings binding Dai and Amanda, gray and thin strings connecting Dai and The Shadowlands, colorful and numerous strings connecting Amanda and her ill daughter Brigit, loose and pale strings connecting Dai to his brother Roan, fine as spider silk the strings connecting Dai to Brigit. Shona Husk did a great job building Dai’s and Amanda’s characters, painting them with the brushes of her rich and sensuous prose and the great emotional impact of her narrative style. I simply loved Husk’s description of Dai as a man in pieces like an image reflected in a broken mirror, a dislocated man who needs to borrow furniture in the same way he needs to borrow a life in order to start all over again and live in a different world, a man who has been studying hundreds of dead languages for century, but who will remain speechless in front of the woman he loves. I loved the fact he is a book hoarder, spending a good part of the story in the search of his magic books, when the real magic is in his own body (written all over with tattoes and undecipherable spells just like a book) and in his love for Amanda.

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Oct 09, 2012 Crystal rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: keeper, huh

I wonder if Dai qualifies as the World's Oldest Virgin. So he's spent nearly 2 millennia studying magic in hopes of breaking the curse, and while he never practiced it as a goblin, he's finding it hard not to now as a human. I couldn't quite figure out if Birch was trying to get him to stop or testing his morals there. Not sure he could either.

Heroine - ok, I found it odd that it took her 7 years to notice someone of the opposite sex. After all, it's not all about sex itself; there's a good deal...more

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May 15, 2012 Heather Book Savvy Babe rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: netgalley, paranormal-romance, review-on-blog, witches-magic

The Shadowlands series by Shona Husk is a whole new brand of paranormal romance. Gone are the traditional paranormal characters of vampires and werewolves. Instead, Shona Husk brings in a seemingly obscure being, Goblins. I have only been familiar with goblins from fairy lore, so when I heard about books centered around these traditionally ugly beings, my interest was piqued. The Shadowlands series created by Shona Husk is detailed and intriguing and the heroes are spellbinding.

The first book in...more The Shadowlands series by Shona Husk is a whole new brand of paranormal romance. Gone are the traditional paranormal characters of vampires and werewolves. Instead, Shona Husk brings in a seemingly obscure being, Goblins. I have only been familiar with goblins from fairy lore, so when I heard about books centered around these traditionally ugly beings, my interest was piqued. The Shadowlands series created by Shona Husk is detailed and intriguing and the heroes are spellbinding.

The first book in the series sets the scene for Kiss of the Goblin Prince. A group of men (brothers and cosigns) had be spelled/cursed to live as half-Goblins for close to 2000 years. They were trapped to live in the Shadowlands, a dark land full of magic and greedy goblins who would do anything for gold. Everytime the brothers used magic, they were closer to succumbing to the Goblin call and loosing their humanity for good. In the first book, the Goblin King (the oldest brother) breaks the spell by falling in love. This is where the story picks up in Kiss of the Goblin Prince. The oldest brother is happily married and readjusting to life as a human, but Dai is adrift, he may no longer be a goblin, but the knowledge he has gained over his 2000 years has taught him new, magical ways to look at the world.

I really liked this installment in the series. Now that I understood the background of the brothers, I was interested to see how Dai would cope with his life changing so drastically. He was surprising as well, his magical abilities are intriguing and really keep the paranormal alive in the books. He is cured of the Goblin curse, but he has to let the past go, and right some wrongs of the past as well. His relationship with Amanda is really sweet. Both of them are lonely people who have to let the past go and start living for the future. I was also happy to see how well Dai adjusted to spending time with Amanda as well as her daughter. I liked Amanda more than I liked Eliza (from the first book). She had a difficult time accepting the truth of the paranormal, but she didn't wig out as much as Eliza did, and she came around pretty quick.

Paranormal fans, I recommend reading this series. I found book 1 a little slow, there was a lot of world building and the heroine was not my favorite, but with Kiss of the Goblin Prince the series has a whole new feel, and I am intrigued. I do recommend reading book 1, there is a lot of backstory and complexity to the world building and the curse placed on the brothers plays an integral role in the series. I will be reading the third book in the series once it is released. For those of you who love paranormal books, but are looking for something a little different, the Shadowlands series is a good one to try.

I received this book for review*(less)

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Apr 27, 2012 Alexia Chantel rated it 3 of 5 stars

No longer goblin, Dai is thrust back into human life. Though he is a far cry from the human he used to be. Amanda might be able to help him reclaim some of his humanity by showing him how to love.

Dai is a powerful character. And not only with his magical powers, which are very impressive. It is interesting to see how he learns to move about his new life and incorporate all of the magical abilities he suddenly has. After years upon years of study they finally come to the surface now that he is hu...more

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Aug 24, 2012 Lyuba rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: net-galley

3.5 stars

I've read The Goblin King some time ago and absolutely loved it, so I was eagerly awaiting the release of the second book in the series. After reading Kiss of the Goblin Prince I am left with somewhat mixed feelings about it.

On one side Dai was my favorite even in the first book (ok I have a thing for hot nerds, and he is the ULTIMATE nerd), but on the other his endless pity party was just annoying. There wasn't much story in the Goblin Prince, but more like characters coming in terms...more 3.5 stars

I've read The Goblin King some time ago and absolutely loved it, so I was eagerly awaiting the release of the second book in the series. After reading Kiss of the Goblin Prince I am left with somewhat mixed feelings about it.

On one side Dai was my favorite even in the first book (ok I have a thing for hot nerds, and he is the ULTIMATE nerd), but on the other his endless pity party was just annoying. There wasn't much story in the Goblin Prince, but more like characters coming in terms with their changed circumstances or realizing that it was time to change their lives or let go. It was different, refreshing almost, from the usual paranormal books I read, but at the same time I was almost wishing for something to happen. Something DID happen at the end of the book, but it wasn't enough to make up for the overall slowness and the lack of action.

I felt that Dai was the type of character that would really benefit from a series of books, (view spoiler) but I doubt that will happen. His story still has a lot left to tell, because he is still pretty much who he was in the Shadowlands (while Roan is happy to be "normal", and has no powers as far as I could see), he has powers, it was heavily implied that he WILL use them too. I hope Dai will appear in the third book and I can read even a little about his further adventures.

Amanda took a definite back step compared to Dai, and while I felt that her character was very realistic and true to life, she just wasn't as interesting. At least she was honest with herself about what she wanted, and I loved how, as book progressed, she slowly started to let go of her past and move on.

Overall I did enjoy this book very much, although I would have loved to see more action. Still, I recommend this book to anyone who would like to read a somewhat different paranormal romance, one with the emphasis on character development and not on a constant action.

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Disclaimer: A copy of this ebook was provided to me by Sourcebooks Casablanca via NetGalley. This rating, review, and all included thoughts and comments are my own.(less)

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Kiss of the Goblin Prince (Shadowlands #2)

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