3.5 Stars!
This was a really fun book! Phoebe was surprisingly nasty (by fairy standards), the goblin was actually intelligent and the girls resorted to a pretty life-threatening plan in this one.
So normally I get really annoyed when the girls are nervous about having to deal with the goblins… however, they wreak so much havoc in these earlier series that I think this nervousness is warranted. This one specifically had an actual brain and was unable to be tricked by the girls. So then Rachel was all like, ‘there’s only one option left and that would be to drown him.’ (Please note that this is not the first time Rachel Walker has attempted to drown a goblin, because as we saw in Sky the Blue Fairy, she didn’t give a single fuck about what would happen to the goblins if she melted the ice they were skating around on.)
Now, menace behaviour from Rachel is the norm. Kirsty and Phoebe joining in, however? Completely unexpected, but super funny! Yeah, I know they pretty much tried to drown a goblin, but like, he had it coming. Also, that image of him looking so disgruntled and defeated, covered in weeds and dripping wet, was the funniest thing I’ve ever seen. (Phoebe is so mean for saying she wanted to magic up an outfit for him… and then never following through on her statement.)
Do you guys think that’s why the goblins stopped being smart? Because every time they made an intelligent choice, these girls would immediately resort to violence.
Some other really funny moments (or at least funny to me):
-I really liked that one image of Phoebe frowning with her arms crossed because of how miffed she looks. (It reminded me of Isabella the Air Fairy with her hands on her hips, scolding a goblin.) Also, it’s just so funny when the fairies forget how small they are because why was Phoebe trying to turn that doorknob when it’s twice her size?
-That scene of Phoebe getting hit with icing hard enough to fall out of the air was crazy.
-She knocked loudly on the door. “Let me in!” she ordered. // “There’s nobody home!” called the goblin from inside. - This goblin is so lucky Phoebe’s not dangerous like Paige the Christmas Play Fairy. (She’s just mean.)
-“Are those what I think they are?” Kirsty asked, staring. // “Flying cupcakes!” Rachel gasped. - Do the Party Fairies simply not care if anyone sees them? Because what do you mean flying cupcakes, Phoebe?! You’re worse than Grace!
A few other things I wanted to mention because they’re relevant to me:
-I really don’t like Phoebe’s design. (Why does she look more like a Valentine fairy than Juliet did?)
-I haven’t read Cherry the Cake Fairy yet, but I’m assuming Rachel is referencing the events of that book when thinking about how she and Kirsty made icing. References to previous books in general were done really well in my opinion; like when Phoebe showed up and mentioned how she remembered seeing the girls when Honey showed them around their workshop and Kristy brought up Phoebe’s department in response.
-The girls searching Charlotte’s house the way that they did felt like such an invasion of privacy, I was kind of taken aback by it despite knowing that there’s not really any malicious intent behind their actions. It was just really weird to me personally.
-Why is this goblin small enough to fit inside a toy box? I thought Jack Frost made them human-sized. I mean, he was carrying a cupcake like a football.
-I love that one image of when they’ve just been turned into fairies and Kirsty’s looking down at Rachel while she looks up at her, because it is just so cute!
-I just knew she’d have new dresses for the girls and Charlotte! I love the added touch of the girls’ being magic since the insects on their dresses seem to be moving.