Realm of Lore and Lies is one of those books that you know you should be enjoying as you’re reading it, but you can’t quite bring yourself to that level. All the individual parts are remarkable, but something about their assembly feels off. Whether it’s the pacing, the interactions, the decisions, or the rampant instalove, there’s just something working against your desire to enjoy this read. After all, you can’t describe a magical gift as being unique and then by the end of the book, basically everyone can do it.

That said, I believe Realm of Lore and Lies is worth reading for Mae and Mae alone. Her very human desire to be accepted by her mother (and her clan) and her acting out to defend herself when she knows this will never happen was captivating. She is the most grounded character whose actions make sense and made me want to know so much more about her.

I think I would be interested to read the next book in this series. With some editing, I believe there are the bones of something special here. Maybe it will reveal itself moving forward.

Realm of Lore and Lies
Fair Ones Book 1
by Claire Wright
Earc: NetGalley
Publisher: Booksgosoical
Publication Date: 3rd October 2022
Genre:New Adult, Sci-Fi and Fantasy

I really enjoyed the concept of this book what initial attracted me. Throughout reading I have found the pace very slow and I feel going through four different POV is a bit much to keep the story flowing well. Unfortunately for me that characters i didn't connect at all they just felt extremely bland and didn't feel to me to have much of a personality. I feel this world could of been expanded so much with more time and editing.

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Thanks to Negalley for a eARC in exchange for an honest review!

I really hoped I would LOVE this book.. Irish folklore, mythology, archaeological sites... yes please! But I just ending up liking it -so not all bad, but there were certain aspects that I was disappointed with.

I was feeling pretty meh with the entire first half of the book, to a point where I was considering DNFing it but my love of Irish mythology kept me hanging in there. The pace was too slow for my liking and having 4 POV felt like a lot to really get the story moving. Once we hit the latter half of the book things did pick up and I became more invested in finding out where the story was going. I really enjoyed the world this book was set in and felt it was pretty well researched. Even though this had a pretty slow start for me I will more than likely read book 2 - purely for Maebh! haha!

Thanks for reading Life is Better with a Book Review! My thoughts are my own.
First let me give a round of applause to the author Claire Wright for her creation, Leannan Press & NetGalley for making this book possible to enjoy and the eARC copy.

Let me preface this review with a fact, I LOVE LOVE LOVE Ireland, old Irish lore, stories about the fairie, & a good strong female lead. This book seemed to tick every box from the description. I was enthusiastic to read and immediately dove in when the book was approved and in my inbox.

That said, this book took some time for me to read, and I hate leaving a good book to sit. I am no book quitter! So, when things just didn't seem to be making a forward movement despite the plot being intriguing, I found myself slowing down and reading other books in between bouts of pushing through, I liked the main character, the struggles of her life with the Fianna community, the long lost brother who keeps in touch, the mystery of loved ones disappearing, the other mystery of a murdered mother, the sudden weight of being thrown into a position of authority, the mix of Irish lore (Tír na nóg is wildly under explained) & the tangled/dangerous mix of the Fair Ones. ALL GOOD!!!! Yet the dialog was dry and Ash as a character doesn't seem to know herself at all. I constantly found myself with brows pulls tight when it came to her flip-flopping actions.

Also...what was with the power to read people? I thought it was a rarity.

Moving forward, which was exactly my motto even past the halfway point. I wanted some more movement with solving the mysteries and getting some answers. I will say that in a weird, round about way of getting there, I DID enjoy this book by the end. I found myself rallying behind the relationships formed by the characters and the brilliant backdrop of the Irish/fae world. I even thought the whole loving a man despite his beastly side was very "Beauty & the Beast" esk, and sweet.

I am giving this a 3 star rating, but its more like a 3.6 on the book-o-meter!!! If you like all the elements I listed above, then I recommend you give this book a try and see for yourself.

Ireland isn’t what it seems. The travelling Fianna clans know that it is a land of two realms. One of Fae and one of humans. They alone are granted passage between - knowing the deceit and deadliness of the Fae.

Aisling has left her clan in an attempt to leave a normal life, living with her foster parents and attending university. Everything changes when her true family makes a sudden reappearance in her life and she is led on a hunt to solve a series of gruesome murders and disappearances in her clan. She is forced to team up with an unlikely band of allies that may change everything.

I really enjoyed the ode to Irish lore and mythology in this book. I’ve always found mythology so fascinating and I love to see it in a fantasy novel. Bringing in the travelling clans was an interesting concept to see it made for a lot of character POVs and interactions. I liked the character POVs but in general I felt like there were a lot of unnecessary side characters, I thought the main characters were very well done and interesting to read about.
I loved the high-stakes of Aislin becoming Matriarch and having to compete in the Cath alongside the mysterious disappearances and the death of her mother. There was a lot of interesting plot points to follow.

I feel the writing could be a bit more polished and the dialogue could be more realistic but all in all, I loved the story. characters and world and am excited to see what comes next for this author.

Look I'll give anything with Celtic folklore at least 2 stars. And I do look forward to reading more in this series. Sometimes a first book has a hard time creating the hook I need to continue on, bc I know something is being saved for later. With that in mind, I'll say the world building needs some help and the plot a bit tighter. I put it down to pick it up several times so for some ppl this may be a DNF as it does take some work to engage with.

Only part I appreciated was the Celtic folklore. Pacing felt very dragged out and I was not invested in any of the characters.

Claire Wright’s “Realm of Lore and Lies” is an entertaining first installment of what is sure to be an intriguing series. Set in Ireland and the land of the fairies, the story follows Aisling as she tries to reintegrate into her clan after the tragic and suspicious death of her mother. Immediately she is called into Tir na nÓg in order to prove herself to the human king who dwells there. The Cath, a test to find the best warriors among the Fianna clans, proves to be not what the participants expected, and the clans struggle amid intrigue, murder, and infighting. In this story, all is not as it seems, and a resolution is not promised.

I was excited to read this book. It took me longer than I expected, but that was on me, not the story. I thoroughly enjoyed the world building, and Aisling is a very sympathetic heroine. Unfortunately, going in I expected to be mostly in her head throughout, so the various points of view sort of threw me. I felt there were a tad too many. The ending also didn’t work for me. I realize it is a set up for a sequel, but because of that, the wrapping up seemed to drag a bit. A lot of politics is discussed, and still no firm resolution, even for part one of the epic, is given.

Because I was entertained for the most part and the ending left me wanting more threads tied up, I’ll probably read the sequel. I want to know how this mystery finishes.

Unfortunately, this was a dnf for me.

I struggled to engage with the story, it didn’t have that hook of making me want to know more. In the end, I could only manage a few chapters before my interest tailed off.

I may come back to it another time.

Thank you Net Galley for the ARC read.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was instantly hooked from the premise of this and couldn't wait to start. Overall I am bummed I didn't love this more. This was very atmospheric and I loved the world created. I've never been to Ireland but I felt transported there while reading this. This was slower than I anticipated, which isn't a bad thing, I just wished the action and tension started to happen sooner.

Aisling was a decent enough heroine, but her relationship with Setanta felt a little insta-love to me, which was a bit of a downfall for me. I wanted to love this more and I am sad I didn't. I'm undecided on if I'll pick up the sequel.

dnf

I received this book as an arc from NetGalley.

Unfortunately could not get into the story. The writing style was just not for me. The world-building started off confusing.

Would love to come back to this at a later time but it wasn't a match for now.

First let me just say THANK YOU for this lovely book arc!!! Now into the review-

This book hands down was amazing. It started out a little slow, but once you get into it, you cant put the book down. I found myself sneaking away at work just to read the smallest snippets I could get my greedy eyes on. The magic system, world build up and characters are so multifaceted that it was such a breath of fresh air reading this book! I wont give any spoilers up but let me just say I CANNOT wait to see what more this author has to offer and what adventure lies in wait for our crew! If you're thinking of getting this book when it releases...RUN DONT WALK!

I want to thank Netgalley and the author Claire Wright for this ARC. This is my honest opinion

The first important point to know about this book is that we alternate between four different points of view.
I often have trouble with books from different points of view but I find that the author has managed very well the moments of transitions between the characters.

Concerning the story, this first volume is a large volume of introductions to the universe that the author created. I had a little trouble with the rhythm which often goes slow because there are a lot of details and stories to explain. The endearing characters make us want to continue to read despite this lack of action that there may be at certain moments, and fortunately towards the end of the book something finally happens, which precipitates the story (as well as the romance between the characters!)
I also appreciated very much that there is no notion of a love triangle at all, future couples are defined very quickly and I am happy about it.

I still recommend this book despite that I took some time to read it because I really think that volume 2 has a huge potential now that a big part of the story and the characters have been posed and that the action can really start.

I greatly appreciated the different characters of the characters who swing perfectly well, ash is very serious, and rather withdrawn while mae uses humor as a weapon of defense and is not afraid of anything. Set ( my dear Set I adore you) the tortured soul of history that breaks our hearts with its story but deserves so much better. As for our dear geek friend, aaaaaah that horrible end. I say no more, read the book, and suffer with me for that ending.

2.5 stars, this book definitely wasn’t for me.
I was intrigued by the premise, but overall I found it very slow in places and the alternating POVs didn’t help. Unfortunately I ended up DNFing.

I love books that have Irish lore and mythology as its theme. So, I was super excited when Claire Wright invited me to be part of her street team for her debut novel, Realm of Lore and Lies. And, let me tell you, it was so good. Thank you for having me on the team and for the gifted e-arc, Claire!

This story is steeped in clan lore and law. A life that Aisling Breen no longer wanted to be part of. Leaving her brother behind, she started a new life using her fae sight to help protect the humans from certain disaster at the hands of the fae. But when a mysterious murder takes place, Aisling is pulled back into the very world she thought she had escaped. She has to choose between turning her back on her clan and leaving her brother behind again or staying and and obeying what clan law dictates.

I loved Aisling’s sense of duty and loyalty toward her brother. Once pieces started coming together, that sense only grew stronger. All she ever really wanted was a family to belong to and people who loved her as much as she loved them. Family dynamics are never easy and sometimes you just have to forge your own way. Aisling can be a badass but her fear of letting others down or not being good enough holds her back sometimes. I hope we see her really come into her own and be the strong leader she was born to be over the rest of the series.

Maebh is my favorite character, which is saying something because I love all the characters. She is the one I resonated with the most. She wears her mask (she doesn’t really care, nothing bothers her, etc.) to protect who she really is. Just below the surface is a woman who wants to live fiercely and love deeply. This quest that the King demands these characters (Aisling, Maebh, Setanta, and Tiernan) undertake starts to break down some of those walls she’s built. I really want a happy ending for her!

Setanta is the “Thor/Hulk” character in this story. He is more than his muscles and brawn, though. He cares. He cares deeply for those around him. Then Tiernan is the “Tony Stark/Dr. Banner” figure. He’s smart. So smart. He doesn’t have the bulking body but don’t let that fool you. What he lacks in physical power he more than makes up for with his brain power. Tiernan may be the key to achieving this quest altogether. Both men have storied pasts and both want what everyone wants: to be loved. I want happy endings for both of them!

There were great twists and turns. I love the magic. Claire created a world that is so believable that I could see myself living there. There are some heart wrenching moments too. Why do all the best stories have to rip our hearts out? Nothing is as it seems but some of the questions to all the mystery are answered. The ending isn’t a cliffhanger that leaves you saying, “What the hell just happened?” But it leaves you wanting the next book. That epilogue, however, is an amazing way to end it! I was like, “No way!” I can’t wait for the next installment!

I highly recommend Realm of Lore and Lies to fans of fantasy, fantasy romance, found family, urban fantasy, paranormal fantasy, and Irish folklore.

This book was really good! I loved how it was based in Ireland where I am from, so it was cool to see it in a fantastical sense. The only problems I had with the book was that it was a bit Insta lovey and I would have loved to see more depth into the characters but other than that I thought this was a really fun read!

I enjoyed this book but I did feel like it dragged in places. But for a debut novel it was good.

It started off really well but it did lose its way.

This book started off so strong for me. I was so pumped. The MC interacting with a fae who appeared as a very demanding cat had me laughing, but just as I was sinking my teeth into getting to know the MC, the point of view changes began and the story lost some of its luster.

I must say that I loved the potential of the overall plot and still enjoyed reading it, but the switch between four different points of view really took something from the story and made the plot feel messy and disorienting at times. I never felt like I got to know any of the characters well enough to care about what was happening to them. I found myself thinking that I had too many questions by the 50% mark and not enough answers. The pacing was a struggle.

While I believe that the writer is extremely talented and I do intend to continue reading this series (because I think there is great potential here), I think this story would've been a lot better had it focused on the point of view of one or two characters instead of four. There was a lot of telling how the characters felt and not enough showing and better editing could've made this story a five-star read for me. Overall, despite my few grievances with it, it was an enjoyable read and I think the author did an excellent job building an interesting world, and the story was truly interesting.

Thank you Net Galley and BooksGoSocial for giving me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book as the characters were very much likeable, and the pace of the book was perfect for the plot. Each chapter is from different points of view from the characters. I thought that the writing style was very well done and quite clever in areas. However, in some places I felt that there could have been a bit more action.
Realm of Lore and Lies starts off with the death of Aisling’s mother, where Aisling views the death as a murder and very suspicious, but when she shares this with the High Court they pass it off. With the help of her friends, this exhilarating read follows how Aisling gets justice.

For a debut novel this book was great, a book that makes you feel all the emotions. Fae, magic, quests and brilliant descriptions that make you feel part of the story.
But the cliffhanger!!! And with no date for book 2 on the horizon