I received this book in exchange for an honest review - for a full review check out my YouTube or Goodreads account

Loved this weird thrillery combination of folklore and feud. It really is an unusual story blending so many things inventively. I really enjoyed the mix of magic, secrets and mystery and would highly recommend it to other lovers of YA fantasy. It's set in Ireland, drawing on a rich seam of folklore and weaving it into a centuries-old tale of feuds and clear loyalties along bloodlines.

I really wanted The Wren Hunt to be more than it is. Mary Watson has given us a simple, yet complex enough society set-up that stems from types of magic. Except that there isn't much magic left in the world, but the social structure remains the same. The opening chapter was perhaps the type of dark, creepiness I was hoping for but unfortunately it did not remain throughout.

Pimped out
The best way I can think of to describe what happens to our main gal is that she is 'pimped out' and her family places a large chunk of responsibility on her. All the while not giving her all the details. This leads to a conflicting attitude our character (and myself as the reader) has towards a lot of characters. So if you are looking for a book with likable characters I recommend you look elsewhere. There are not too many of them in The Wren Hunt. This made it difficult to keep myself invested; as at times I didn't even like our lead gal either.

Romance
This is a classic Romeo and Juliet set-up. It is handled fairly well by Watson. At times it reminded me of the relationship between Four and Tris in Divergent. It has that same type of 'we shouldn't do this, but we are' feel. And the hierarchy of one having more power than the other exists as well. Overall I was quite pleased with how I felt about the ups and downs in the relationship and would say that it didn't have any major problems that bothered me. That is high praise from me for a teen novel romance.

Overall
I think there could have been a bit more foreshadowing to give away some tidbits of information to lead us to the ending. However the foreshadowing that did exist was a little too obvious. It sometimes felt like a minor character was screaming at me (as the reader) to make sure I picked up on a tidbit. I like my foreshadowing a little more subtle. Even if I miss one piece then maybe I pick up another and so it keeps the suspense on-going. There is really a talent to doing this and if Watson worked with a mystery writer/editor I think she could really enhance her mystery writing capabilities.
Overall I would try another Mary Watson book. I would definitely be aware that there are moments of extreme teen-ness (if you will). However I believe you can't knock a book for feeling teen when it's in the teen genre. If you hate fantasy teen tropes then I would stay away from this one as they are all there. But if you're okay with getting what you expected then The Wren Hunt is likely for you.

Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review.

Lyrical & lovely! This one felt like a dark fairytale and I could see fans of Holly Black adoring it. Why did it take me so long to read this gem of a book?

An atmospheric teen fantasy set in modern day Ireland. It had some great moments full of tension but was slightly forgettable in places. I enjoyed reading it and loved all the myth and magic.

(ARC provided by publisher via NetGalley)

I loved The Wren Hunt when I read it earlier this year. It’s full of magic and mystery, a sweet romance and family dynamics, and it’s beautifully written too, so it feels magical. Wren is an Augur, a group of people who used to have powerful magic. Their magic is fading because their enemies, the Judges, now control the sources of it in a bid to destroy the Augurs themselves, and it’s up to Wren to find the information her family needs to stop the Judges. The only way she can do this is to take on an internship with the important Judge Cassa Harkness. When she does so though, Wren finds that things are not always as they seem. The Wren Hunt is a great book which gripped me from the beginning and then didn’t really let go. There’s a real sense of the danger Wren is in duing her internship, and I really felt for her as she tried to reconcile the information she’d found with what she already knew. Highly recommended!

Every year on St Stephen’s Day, the boys of Killshamble don their masks to chase Wren through the village and surrounding areas. It is supposed to be a childish game, one that takes place in villages all over the country, but none of these hunts are quite like the one Wren has to endure. There is something different about Wren:

“It struck me as odd that I’d never seen a real wren hunt, except on TV, and there the masked wren boys parading the streets with the plastic bird made it look like such a merry, rousing thing. Not like this this secret hunt that none of the villagers seemed to notice.”

Wren is an Augur: one of a group of people in the village with a special talent. Wren’s is apophenia. She can perceive patterns in random things and sometimes she can see the future. David, one of the boys who chases her, is a Judge. Wren knows this is why David feels such intense hatred towards her, but he doesn’t: he doesn’t know that she is an Augur, a sworn enemy of the Judges. David and Wren are complete opposites:

“I was the Capulet to his Montague, the hot to his cold, the white queen to his black knight. I was the oil to his water, the bleach to his ammonia, the salt to his wound.”

Their animosity is one that is ingrained into the history of their people. Both the Judges and the Augur draw their power from Nameta. Whoever controls the Nameta has the power, and right now they are all in the hands of the Judges. One of the Augur leaders has hatched a plan, they want Wren to infiltrate the Judges, get close to Cassa Harkness (the leader) and steal a map from her that will show where the Nameta are being held. Wren isn’t given a lot of choice in this, and I felt awful for her that they put her in such a difficult position.

“I plastered a smile on my face, but inside I was angry and confused. Hurt. They had me do this big complicated thing and then brought out cake and sparkling wine like it was my birthday.”

Wren swears to do her best, but the more time she spends with the Judges, the less sure she is that the Augur’s actions are the right ones. She starts to fall for Tarc, but also starts to doubt his motives. She feels as though she cannot trust anyone any more. Despite her role there, she finds herself fascinated by Cassa and wanting to please her.

Then she finds out about a very important ritual that is going to change her life forever, but which side will Wren choose?

This book had so many mysteries and twists, and I loved not being able to guess what was coming next. The way it ended blew me away. The Wren Hunt is a beautifully dark and atmospheric read, and I’d highly recommend it to anyone with an interest in folk tales.

A tense, dark folklore-fantasy which occasionally jars with its own contemporary setting. Throws back to the heyday of paranormal YA with its emphasis on the rivalry between Augurs and Judges, and in its forbidden romance. A strong addition to Irish genre fiction for young adults.

A fab book! Really enjoyed this and the mystics behind it. It's very interesting and full of twists and turns and plots twists that you won't see coming! Excited to see if anything comes next but it ends well - we never know what to expect!

I received a free e-book copy of this book for an honest review.

This is the gem for me. The one that I have been hoping to find in various other books but it was never discovered until now. I will admit I was slightly confused when I first started reading, but once that scene ended and I was given the reaction of various characters around the main character, I was hooked. I was pulled along a crazy roller coaster of a story, and I didn't regret any of it. I was up until four in the morning, and even with the lack of sleep, having to go to work a few hours later, I would gladly have done it again.

There's very little I can actually divulge about this book, and if I attempted to, I doubt I would be able to do it justice. The characters are all well-rounded, and human. It's so difficult to find books that don't give the people in their novel quirks, but actual personality traits that are good, and some that would make them nasty; not someone you would want to be a friend of. None of the background characters just appear to move the story along, but have a point. While not all of their motives are ever explained, at the same time the reader is given enough to guess. The reader may be completely wrong, but even the supposed villains of this book are interesting.

This entire book blew way above my expectations, even the bits I was unsure were the imagination of the author, or else had foundations in Irish lore, for example. I will certainly be googling to find out, but no matter what I might discover, I applaud the author for the amount of work was put into this.

This is one that I will be buying within the next couple of days, and I highly recommend for any other reader who enjoys mysteries, who doesn't need romance to be the forefront of the story, and who enjoy complex threads weaved together to come to a crescendo at the end that rips apart the reader's heart. I can only hope there is a sequel, though at the same time all the possibilities that could be in the main character's future is just as good.

I found the first chapter quite frightening as Wren is chased in the woods by some bullying boys. It later emerges that they are the "Judges" whilst Wren herself is part of the Augurs. The Augurs are linked to ancient magic and energy like stone circles in Ireland . Wren then has to undertake a quest to "embed" herself within the Judges faction.

This book didn't do enough to sustain my interest although that could have been due to the time at which I read it rather than the skill in the writing. I am sure many readers will love its mixture of myth and legend.

Wren is being hunted by the people who hate her the most - the Judges. Bound every year to be chased, Wren faces the difficult decision to undertake an undercover assignment to change her families fate.

The opening scenes were very confusing. Nothing is really explained at first, meaning for a good 30% of the books opening I had no clue about what was going on and what kind of world I was in. Was it contemporary? Dystopian? Or a mixture of fantasy, urban fantasy and contemporary? There’s minimal world building, but I finally established this is set in modern day Ireland with a thriller/urban fantasy feel to it. I understand that this was perhaps intentional, as it mirrored the main characters current feelings - but for me, I hate being left ‘in the dark’.

I liked that this was set in Ireland. It’s a country rich with folklore, which meant it was easy to imagine the events that were happening could really occur here, but I just wish the other aspects of the story were better developed. The magical system leaves a lot to the imagination, and again left me with lots of unanswered questions with regards to the rituals and gifts.

The characters are ok. Wren, the main character, is likeable enough. She’s charismatic and charming but also isn’t a push over. I wasn’t keen on her relationship with Tarc however, which I found a little contrived and rushed. There’s no slow development of their relationship, chemistry or tension. It was just, a bit, boring unfortunately. The other characters are rather enigmatic, underused and under developed. I still couldn’t tell you what exactly the Judges and Augurs are, and why they dislike each other. And Cassa also doesn’t really feel like the antagonist they’re suppose to be. Disappointing.

There was potential here for a unique fantasy steeped in folklore but it just left me with too many unanswered questions.

I'm so glad that I kept chipping away at this book because it turned out to be really good. Granted the first 30-50 pages I was totally confused and had no idea what was going on but shortly after that, everything started to make a bit more sense.
Interesting concept in a modern day society, in the real world (not some fantasy land) where Augars and Judges are at war with each other fighting for power. This book has some beautiful prose, vivid descriptions and imagery, really interesting characters with so many layers to them (I don't think we've even scratched the surface), and a compelling story once you figure out what's going on.
I'm hoping there's a sequel planned since it ended on an interesting note. I'd definitely be interested in reading one if there was.
I'd recommend this read and many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC. My advice...stick with it.because you're in for a great read if you do.

This book took me a while to get into. It's a book for a reader familiar with fantasy conventions. However, once I'd reached the point of half understanding what quest Wren was involved in, I started to enjoy the magical writing. I'm not brave and would always take the coward's way out and not opt to volunteer for seemingly impossible tasks, but this story had me convinced that Wren was doing the honourable thing for her people by acting as a spy in the enemy's camp. The love interest did not turn the novel into a sickly romance, but added to the conflict Wren was feeling throughout. This divided loyalty was conveyed well, and with the final reveal was an important theme throughout.
I read an e-book proof which did not have a glossary. This would have been useful, as even at the end there were some words I still did not fully understand.

This novel was not what I was expecting - and I don't mean this in a good way. Unfortunately, this story just did not work for me.

From the very beginning, I struggled to understand what was going on in the story. I don't know much about Celtic mythology and know almost nothing about Irish folklore so it was hard for me to just jump right into this story and roll with the punches. I kept hoping that the worldbuilding/explanations would come along, but they weren't nearly sufficient enough for me to get into the plot. 

I also struggled with the writing style in that it felt like the story jumped all over the place. There were random insertions about memories from the past combined with some facts/background on the augurs and the judges, and then some other random event going on. It was hard to piece it all together because it wasn't conveyed in a very coherent manner.

Even the plot didn't work for me. I was expecting a story full of danger with creepy forests and hunts. Instead, this was a lot more modern with more of a focus on Wren's emotional turmoil and budding romantic feelings, neither of which were mentioned in the blurb. I struggled to get through most of the novel, and it was only in the last 100 pages that I actually felt interested in the story (but it was still confusing trying to figure out the significance of everything). 

In short, this book let me down. I feel like I would have enjoyed this story a whole lot more if things were better developed and explained, and if the plot had stayed true to the blurb rather than veer off-course into a romance. For those reasons, I'm going to be giving this a 1/5 stars.

This was a quiet gem of a book. I really wasn’t expecting what I got which was a tale of tested loyalties set against the back drop of celtic mythology told in dreamlike and intelligent prose. I loved Wren as a character and I found the story utterly compelling. I’ll be interested in whatever the author writes next.

The Wren Hunt started strong. It's set in Ireland which is wonderful and it contains honest to god actual Irish which made us so happy that we contacted the author on Twitter and turned into a screaming fangirl in 140 characters or less.

It was a good interaction.

But it went downhill from there. The writing style started to clash with us and we just grew bored as time went on. So, while we can't say this is a bad book, we can say that it's not the book for us and we would recommend it for fans of The Raven Cycle which also contains Celtic mythology, just with better writing.

If I had to pick five words to describe this book it would be these:

Gorgeous. Lyrical. Magical. Unique. Enchanting.

The Wren Hunt took me a little while to get into and I’ll happily admit that I read the first few chapters and really didn’t have a clue what on Earth was going on. (So if you do pick this up and feel the same, trust me when I say you should push on through because it will be worth it.) But it didn’t take long until I realised I was finding it hard to put this book down. The story itself is really enchanting and I absolutely adored how steeped in mythology and folklore this book is. It is one of my favourite things when reading a book like this and I couldn’t get enough of it.

The plot of this story is a fairly complex one and that is why it takes a little bit of time to figure out what is going on. The augurs and the judges are both fighting to secure their powers and with Wren being an augur, she is sent to work among the judges as a spy to earn their trust and gain valuable information to help restore her family’s power. Wren’s position in Harkwood House is a dangerous one, if she is discovered then it can only end badly and knowing this really had me on edge. The nature of the lyrical writing in this story definitely added to the ominous feel at times but I loved how it helped to build suspense as the plot moved forward.

I really love a book with magic and I definitely loved all the different powers that the augurs had but Wren’s in particular drew my attention because it is just so natural and the way nature played its role in this book was really beautiful to me. I was intrigued by all of the traditions and rituals that we read about in The Wren Hunt and they definitely added to this atmospheric tale.

There are some very wonderful characters in this book. Wren is our main character and the book is told from her POV so we get to know a lot about what she is feeling and thinking. I liked Wren a lot and actually felt quite sorry for her at times while she was being used like a pawn in this augurs vs judges game but she is level headed and I admired her courageousness. Two other honorary mentions from me are Tarc because hello! and Cassa because I just really found myself drawn to her and would like to know more about her.

There is romance in this book but it certainly doesn’t take anything away from the plot if that kind of thing worries you. I actually thought it was well developed and the writing style definitely added to the romantic feel of the book in general too.

It goes without saying that my absolute favourite thing about this book was the writing style. The prose is just dreamy and gorgeous in every way. It truly feels like this story was woven together rather than written and that every word feels like it has meaning. The writing itself is enchanting which definitely ups the ante when it comes to how magical this book is. I really found myself lost in Wren’s story.

The Wren Hunt is a unique, carefully woven story laced with mythology and folktales. Its magic will enchant you and its twists and turns will keep you reading on until the end.

You know those books that seem to sound like something you would be interested in, and then you start reading and just feel like something is completely missing? That is The Wren Hunt for me.
The start is really confusing and I couldn't actually work out what was happening. Even by 30% I still wasn't engaged with the story and found it really difficult to keep reading.

I've seen so many positive reviews and so I am really glad this book obviously resonates with people. For me I just didn't really engage with the story or the characters or care about what was happening next. And I can't really even explain to you why that is. My best advice is that if the synopsis sounds interesting and you like folklore/fantasy then perhaps you can give it a try and have a different experience to me.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Wren Hunt is exactly the type of urban fantasy that floats my boat. The magic is so, so real in this book, I feel like it should be a true story rather than a work of fiction. This is down to the lyrical, beautiful word-smithery of author Mary Watson. She weaves a world that I couldn't help but fall into, utterly and completely, devouring every word until I reached the end and dropped back into my reality, starving and gasping for more.