Greenteeth

Jenny Greenteeth doesn’t have green teeth, but she does have a lot of them, and they are very sharp. I didn’t think I’d ever encounter a super cozy morally grey character, but here we are.

The first 30% of Greenteeth felt like a nice, cozy fantasy. I found Jenny’s cluelessness about humans both funny and endearing and the addition of Brackus the goblin to the group provided some great banter. But once they set out on their quest, things went a little downhill for me.

Temperance, Brackus, and Jenny visited some amazing locations, but they had to walk to get to them and even with a bit of time skipping (for example “it took us a week to travel from A to Z”), it draggeed. I’m quick to DNF when I’m not enjoying a book. I kept reading Greenteeth because I truly was invested in the plot and enjoyed the action (there was more than I expected!) but those stretches of travel made me wonder if I was making the right choice. I look longer than usual to finish the book because I had trouble feeling motivated to read through those parts.

Ultimately, I’m glad I persevered because apart from the travel, I did enjoy the book. I love the folklore, the fairy court, and the evolution of the relationships between Brackus, Jenny, and Temperance. Witnessing Jenny’s growth was especially fun, though I’m not gonna lie: I was a little disappointed at how quickly she outgrew her eager cluelessness from the first chapter.

Overall a good read, even with the uneven pacing. Knowing what I know now, I’d go back in time to my past self reading a less gripping part and tell me it’s worth it.

I received an ARC of Greenteeth from Orbit Books via Netgalley.