Today’s review is about HOW TO LOSE A GOBLIN IN TEN DAYS by Jessie Sylva. This cozy, cottage core fantasy is a debut by the author. It features a halfling and a goblin fighting for the right to live in the same cottage. Each recognizes the prejudice they have toward the other and over time they work to break down those barriers.
Author: Jessie Sylva
Series: None
Age Category: Adult
Publisher: Orbit
Publish Date: January 20, 2026
Print Length: 352
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How To Lose A Goblin In Ten Days Synopsis
Synopsis
How to Lose a Goblin in Ten Days by debut author Jessie Sylva is the cozy tale of a halfling and a goblin who must learn to love each other despite their differences. Called “an adorable delight!” (Sarah Beth Durst), this novel is brimming with popular romance tropes and warmth and is perfect for fans of The Honey Witch and The Spellshop.
What if cottagecore and goblincore fell in love?
When a halfling, Pansy, and a goblin, Ren, each think they’ve inherited the same cottage, they make a bargain: they’ll live in the house together and whoever is driven out first forfeits their ownership.
Amidst forced proximity and cultural misunderstandings, the two begin to fall in love.
But when the cottage – and their communities – are threatened by a common enemy, the duo must learn to trust each other, and convince goblins and halflings to band together to oust the tall intruder.
How To Lose A Goblin In Ten Days Review
I received a free, digital, advanced reading copy of this book from the publisher. My review is my own and reflects my honest opinion about this book.
The premise of HOW TO LOSE A GOBLIN IN TEN DAYS is a unique entry into the cozy fantasy subgenre. One might even sort it into cottage core. Pansy, a halfling, is excited to leave the nest and live on her own because she never fit in with her halfling village. However, when she arrives at the cottage she inherited from her aunt, Pansy finds it occupied by a goblin. The goblin, Ren, refuses to leave, so they make a truce whereby if one removes the other’s things or leaves, then they forfeit the cottage.
I liked the beginning of this book where Pansy and Ren realize they both have prejudices against each other’s race. There is conflict and eventually the learn how to talk it out. It sets up a situation that ultimately causes Pansy’s village to recognize their prejudices. However, the basis of this prejudice basically lies in knowing what happens in Lord of the Rings. (Or having a friend or partner who tells you what happens in the books that’s not in the movies.) The author provides some vague backstory about war and wizards whisking off halflings for adventure. It’s pretty clear that the author leans on parts of Tolkien’s world to tell the story. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing, and it’s definitely a nod of appreciation toward LOTR. But it also makes the story not feel wholly the author’s own.
However, after the first third or half of the book, I unfortunately started to lose interest. The arguments between Pansy and Ren began to feel repetitive. There is a lack of communication on Ren’s part, which is understandable because they have the weight of the survival of their community on them. But at a certain point it becomes tedious to read the repeition of Ren’s worries and wait for a seemingly simple resolution. Ren’s duty adds some level of stakes to the story so that it’s not just Ren and Pansy sussing each other out. But by the time that part of the story began to develop I was well on my way to skimming the last third of the book.
The characterization of Pansy’s parents also gave me whiplash. It’s very clear they have a fear of goblins. They try to persuade Pansy to come back home and live with them. But the minute she brings them to her parents’ house, they are suddenly quite welcoming. It almost felt like there was no prejudice. It just made absolutely no sense. In fact, I think it would have been more interesting if there had been conflict between Pansy’s parents and Ren. It would have been a more well-defined chance to learn about a different culture and breakdown preconceived perceptions.
Also, at the beginning of the book Pansy discovers a strange stone with runes in her cottage. That stone has absolutely nothing to do with most of the story until the very end. It felt like the author wanted to raise the stakes a little, but it didn’t feel very cohesive. What happens with the stone is important, but the subplot felt shoehorned into an otherwise low stakes fantasy.
Overall, HOW TO LOSE A GOBLIN IN TEN DAYS felt very simple. There are other messages about prejudice and the powerful taking advantage of smaller, vulnerable races. But I think it’s a better choice for someone who loves low stakes fantasy. In the end it wasn’t for me for the reasons above.
Rating: 3
Content warnings: racism
Reading format: Kindle e-book
I am sorry this didn’t work out for you! I can see why and now I will have to lower my expectations a bit because I was very excited about this one (and I still am) but I think that knowing what to expect will help me enjoy this one! Thanks for sharing!!
Well, definitely still give it a shot if you’re interested! Who knows, you might enjoy it more than me. 🙂
Great review! I’m kinda bummed to hear about the repetitiveness, lack of communication, and the shoehorned in subplot. I also find it frustrating when something that should’ve been more important to the story yet is largely ignored throughout suddenly becomes important again at the end. The stakes just aren’t there!
Yes, the random suddenly high-stakes ending just didn’t fit with the rest of the book. I do wonder if part of the repetitiveness was due to Ren’s anxiety and mulling the same things over and over. I do have a track record of not enjoying reading things like that.
To me it felt very much like a debut, a little scattered and like you mentioned, some odd things that didn’t make sense. I did like Ren and Pansy together, though.
Yes, Ren & Pansy together was definitely cute. Glad I’m not the only one who found it a little scattered. Oh well!
Nice review although a shame that the book didn’t live up to its premise. The borrowing from LOTR and repetition do sound a bit as though the author was scrabbling around for ideas.
It’s fine if someone is inspired by a popular fandom, but that combined with the low stakes made the world feel less…plush. I guess I just need a lot of drama haha.
The title is pretty catchy, so it’s disappointing that this one doesn’t live up to expectations.
I agree. 🙁 Though it seems like I’m in the minority opinion here.
Im sorry to hear that this one didnt really work for you in the end. It does sound like certain elements of the plot could have been handled better and its a shame that one aspect was shoved in right at the end. I think the parents’ reaction sounds especially odd. Even if they hid their prejudices beneath politeness there’d be some kind of underlying tension 🤔 I feel like I’d probably be similarly disappointed but I’ll still keep it on my TBR for now. Who knows maybe once ive tried a few more of the popular ones maybe I’ll find myself craving more cosy, low stakes fantasy.
I was super irked by the parents’ reaction. I really think this book needed more editing to smooth out all of the things I mentioned in my review. BUT there are quite a lot of other reviews that loved it, so what do I know, lol.
Aww well we all love different books I guess. It sounds like an issue that would grate on me too if that helps 😅