How to Lose a Goblin in Ten Days by Jessie Sylva

For Pansy, inheriting a house is the best change in her life; it means freedom, a chance to fully live, and a place of her own… that is, until she finds out there’s someone else living in it. 

Jessie Sylva’s debut novel, How to Lose a Goblin in Ten Days, introduces readers to a whimsical world full of coziness and queer joy. It is Jessie Sylva’s debut novel, and it leaves fans eagerly anticipating her next publication. 

Pansy is a halfling, and halflings notoriously do not get along with goblins. Goblins have been a threat to their very existence, seen throughout both species’ histories; in extreme situations, being around a goblin is considered a risk. But when Pansy discovers a goblin in her grandmother’s cottage, she discovers it won’t be so easy to get them to move out, especially as she finds they are not as intolerable as she once thought. 

Though Pansy initially inherited the cottage, it has been uninhabited for years, and the goblin, Ren, has been using it to find shelter and provide for their community; she quickly realizes that it won’t be as easy to kick the goblins out of her space as she had once thought. Thus, Ren and Pansy make a deal: whoever leaves first forfeits the house. Stuck together, the two of them attempt to annoy each other to no end. Ren covers the house in dirt, and Pansy gets a cat, which she is sure will annoy Ren. 

But as the two of them continue to attempt to agitate each other, they start to find each other’s company less and less annoying. Especially when other parties get involved. 

Pansy’s parents, fearful of goblin-kind, are determined for her to return home, despite the lack of freedom it will allow her. And Ren knows forfeiting the house will harm their people, as it is one of the last places that they can grow and harvest food. The fight for the cottage has become more than a personal matter, turning oddly into a political and cultural battle. 

When a common enemy comes and threatens Ren and Pansy, both the halfling and goblin communities must band together, despite their differences, to fight for justice. If they don’t, not only will the house be lost, but also many lives. 

How to Lose a Goblin and Ten Days is full of wonder and coziness. Though it is a cozy fantasy, it still has a strong plot and well-developed characters.

The forced proximity between the two characters adds a level of tension that makes the story fly by. It reads a bit like a rom-com within a fantasy novel, but with so much more whimsy than a contemporary romance.

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Content Warning: Contains themes of prejudice, bullying, violence, and brief mentions of death and grief

How to Lose a Goblin and Ten Days was originally published on January 20, 2026

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