Review: The Hollow Kingdom

The Hollow Kingdom by Clare B. Dunkle

“Oh I know what’s bothering you,” Marak teased before Kate could turn away in disgust. “The cloak and the hood. It’s been on your nerves all evening.
You’ve been imagining all sorts of horros, I’d guess.”

This is just another way to goad me, Kate thought grimly, but he was absolutely right.

Marak tugged back his hood and examined her stunned expression. He watched her cheeks grow pale, her lips bloodless. He grinned in delighted amusement. “You imagined all sorts of horrors. But maybe not this one.”

Kate and Emily Winslow are the newest residents to come to Hallow Hill. Uprooted after the sudden death of their father, they are shipped off to live with their Great-Aunts in this new and mysterious place. It isn’t long before Kate and her sister learn about the tragic history of the estate. For hundreds of years, young women have been disappearing from the estate and never heard from again. Kate laughs at the thought that goblins are the cause of the problem…. That is until she meets one.

Lost in the woods after dark on a stormy night, Kate and Emily are shown the way home by a mysterious stranger named Marak. Kate soon learns that Marak is King of the Goblins, a powerful and mysterious magician who rules the kingdom under the Hill. The catch? Marak is looking for a new bride, and he’s found one… Kate.

Kate refuses to be taken underground and held captive for the rest of her life. She manages to outwit the Goblin King several times, but time is running out. Appealing to her guardian, Hugh Roberts, she is promptly placed under house arrest for fear of insanity. Kate knows she isn’t crazy, and she is no longer safe at the estate. Can she outwit the King one last time? Or will she become the next King’s Wife?

Part fantasy, part suspense, part romance, part everything-but-the-kitchen-sink, The Hollow Kingdom is a book you don’t want to miss. When I first picked up the book, I was rather skeptical that it would turn out to be “another goblin story.” Nothing could be farther from the truth!

With a loveable and realistic characters, a wonderful writing style, and more plot turns than the Indianapolis 500, Clare B. Dunkle has created a masterpiece. Written with a lyrical and descriptive style, the book presents a whole new look at the goblin world. No longer are they simply monsters who live underground, but a whole society with technology, towns, and - of course - magic.

Recommended for readers ages 13 and up. Don’t read this one before bed, the suspense will keep you reading all night long! And don’t forget to read the other two books in the series, Close Kin and In the Coils of the Snake.

Shady Glade Rating 10/10!

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