Review: Kiss of the Goblin Prince (Shadowlands #2) by Shona Husk

Trapped for centuries in the bleak Shadowlands, Dai clings to his humanity with a thirst for knowledge. But now he's free of the goblin curse, and some would say he knows too much—he can make nature bend to his will, influence the minds of others, and command magic. Yet love eludes him. Then he meets Amanda, a single mother with a sick daughter whom he feels compelled to protect. But could she possibly place her trust in the kiss of a goblin prince?


Review:

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 he just can’t let go to forgive himself so he tries to find a way to get revenge and atone for his sins.

Amanda is a widowed mother who had found and lost love at such a young age. She keeps herself distanced from men and focuses all her attention on her daughter who suffers from a severe case of asthma. When Dai’s brother marries Amanda’s sister-in-law they are thrust into each other’s lives and they have an instant attraction for each other. They both lack the experience of relationships and struggle with what they feel towards each other and how to go about any type of relationship.

I felt this story was slow and that when things started to pick up, it was all rushed at the end. Although I liked Dai and Amanda and their struggles to open up their wounded hearts and embrace love, and help each other heal, I just wasn’t feeling this book which I found disappointing as I liked Dai in the first book and was looking forward to reading his story. I did like the twists that are revealed and how individuals from Dai’s past continue to play apart in the present and what fate Dai would encounter if he didn’t learn to forgive himself. I also enjoyed the side story about Dai and Ronan’s cousin who had embraced his goblin side and went off with the horde. He finds himself all of sudden returned to human and stuck in the Shadowlands, after the curse was broken, which sets up for book 3 For the Love of a Goblin Warrior.