In Goblin Emperor, Maia, the young half-Goblin son of the elven emperor is suddenly thrust into a whole new world when his father and half-brothers are killed in an accident. Shepherded to the capital, Maia must make sense of a world that he never expected to join and discern friend from foes in a court where no one wears their heart on their sleeve if they expect to survive.

As someone who has historically not loved slow-paced, political fantasy stories, I had heard a lot of hype for this book but always stayed away from it because I didn't think it would be my cup of tea. But after loving [b:A Taste of Gold and Iron|58724599|A Taste of Gold and Iron|Alexandra Rowland|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1635774115l/58724599._SY75_.jpg|87027106] and hearing a lot of comps between that and Goblin Emperor, I finally picked this up. And contrary to my expectations, I fell in love with this from the beginning.

I will say right off the bat that I think Goblin Emperor works for a very specific type of reader. It is definitely very slow paced. The events mentioned in the synopsis take their sweet time happening and honestly it's really a story that's following Maia as he attempts to figure out navigating the elven court and living with him day to day as he does so. If you are character-driven and love cinnamon roll Maia as much I did, it's so compelling and atmospheric to see him establish relationships with those around him and just generally do his best to be a good person and the best emperor that he can be.

The writing style also tends towards formal and the language and very similar names take a bit to get used to. Addison has an introductory "guide to the elflands" in the beginning that was super helpful because she plays around quite a bit with language and naming. Addison also really doesn't bother explaining things beyond that couple pages, she just drops you in with Maia so you figure it out with him as the story goes. As someone who really enjoys that kind of worldbuilding and loved being immersed in it, I didn't mind but again, your mileage may vary.

Much to my surprise, Goblin Emperor ended up being very close to my favorite book of 2022 and made me realize how much I can enjoy very character-driven political fantasy. It definitely won't work for every reader but if you enjoy cinnamon roll characters doing their best and a story that takes its time in its character arcs, definitely check this one out.