Close Kin (The Hollow Kingdom Trilogy #2), Vol. 2 Book

I've really enjoyed Clare Dunkle's The Hollow Kingdom.
Dunkle has an unpretentious way of writing. Her characters are humorous, direct, and to the point. Her stories are fast-paced and fun. And the best part is there's no purpley prose cluttering up the sentences or overlong, blown-up descriptions. Yet the world building is still imaginative, different and succinct. I like the characters and I like how Dunkle never strays from her original source which is obviously old-fashioned fairytales.

Dunkle's world has a harshness that doesn't sugarcoat the ugly and cruel aspects of both goblins and the elves. Nobody is perfect here. Goblins are pretty good natured, but they have dangerous, badass tempers. Elves are beautifully magical, but they can be pretty ruthless. As always, Dunkle has a strong theme running through her books about how beauty is misleading. Goblins might be grotesque, but they are grievously misjudged. And elves might not be as beautiful as they look.

I must admit though, I didn't enjoy Close Kin as much as The Hollow Kingdom. In the first book, the give and take between Kate and Marak was great because they ended up being each other's equal, even with all the annoying goblin laws. But this book is less focused. There are more characters and it's heavier handed. Don't get me wrong, Emily is a hoot, but this book seems to have an underlining message that says all women will only find happiness if they get married and have children (or adopt like Ruby did.) And that message drives me bonkers!

Here I had thought Marak had changed from the first book (because of Kate) but he hasn't changed at all. He still has the same nauseating agenda that says women are a means to an end; their main purpose being to pump out a bunch of goblin babies. Yes, I realize Marak is just trying to save the goblins from extinction, and the goblins are a lot nicer than the elves (Dunkle even tried to add that the women go on to have exciting careers as well as a fruitful family). But I don't buy it. I seriously wanted to punch Marak in his overbearing, goblin nose.

Of course this doesn't stop me from wanting to read book 3. These books are entertaining, unpredictable and fun. I don't need to agree with every theme from every book I read.