I really enjoyed this book!! I always enjoy a good story of the Fae and this was right up my alley. I very much enjoyed the characters, setting and pacing.

Thanks to BooksGoSocial and Netgalley for this E-arc.

Uhmmm Claire Wright, where have you been hiding and how dare you right a beautiful book to end of a cliffhanger so that I have to pine for the sequel? The audacity.

This book switches between four different points of view. Ash, Maebh, Set, and Tiernan are all part of the Finna Clans. While the Finna are disregarded in mainstream Irish society, they are really an ancient clan of warriors with the fair sight. Even though they can see the Fae they aren't supposed to intervene..

This story has everything al little mystery, a little spicy, and a lot of Irish folklore.

I can't wait for the next book.

I received this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This has a great hook! I liked the Irish roots and the pronunciation guide. A little slow at times but a good read overall.

Aisling is a Fianna, or a people that have The Sight and protect the human world from the Fair Ones, or fae. She is suddenly thrust into the position of matriarch of her clan after the shocking murder of her mother. It follows three other characters as well. Maebh, a young woman hell bent on finding her missing father and proving her worth to her over bearing mother. Maeve’s twin, Setanta, fighting against an affliction that turns him into a monster. And Tiernan, a Fianna skeptic who is searching for his missing mother.
The mystery and suspense was unreal. I had no idea what to expect from one moment to the next. This is not a book you can easily anticipate.
And oh my gosh. This book was so good. Realm of Lore and Lies is definitely a slow build, so if you’re hoping to jump straight into the action with a clear idea of what’s happening, you don’t. But, with the slowness you get INCREDIBLE world building. Honestly, few books have the depth and intricacies of a magic world while keeping the story interesting and moving forward. I was absolutely captivated. I already cannot wait until the second book comes out!

Side note: the pronunciation guide at the end is necessary and a lifesaver. You need it. Irish Gaelic is very confusing to my brain!!!

I think this one was good I just wasn’t into it as much as I’d liked. At times it had me roped in and other times I’d put it down for days on end. I think this would be a great fantasy read for mood readers!

Realm of Lore and Lies was a book I enjoyed but I have a few problems with it. first, I think that the pacing was odd nothing really happened in the first half, and then suddenly the book felt rushed, I think the book did have good world building but it just wasn’t explained very well. The characters weren’t introduced and it was unclear how knew each other. I am not sure if it is because I don’t know much about Irish mythology but I was quite confused. I would definitely read the sequel to this book to see how the plot continues!!!

4.5 stars

WOWIE WHAT A BOOK! the characters and the writing are just *chef kiss*

the story takes place in ireland, and is based off irish folklore. it follows the stories of aisling (ash) breen, tiernan cassidy, setana (set) and meabh mcquillian, and conor breen, and how their paths intertwine as they are dropped in Tír na nÓg to go on a scavenger hunt. think hunger games, but less barbaric (?)

without giving too much away, here are my fav moments from this book:
1. set's kinda like the hulk (he's ginormous in all parts iykyk)
2. meabh and ash become bffs and its so cute (they also kinds share the same power)
3. tiernan's cousin emer is a giant pile of flaming shit and i don't like her
4. tattoos :')
5. just women hyping each other up and men not giving them shit for being strong and being leaders

overall, a solid read, and i am definitely looking forward to book 2

While this book has some plot points I really liked I struggled throughout the read. There was so much going on that I found it a little hard to keep up. I ended up making it more than half way through this one before I DNF'ed it.

The story follows four characters and their pov's with a murder mystery plot. It did have some parts I really enjoyed and I would say that if multiple POV's don't bother you to give this one a try.

I agree with the reviewer that said the pacing was off with this one. It's really hard to review because in a lot of ways this story is brilliant and vivid and interesting, and even gives me sincere Harry Potter vibes in a way that isn't at all derivative but instead contains it's unique ability to world build and twist and turns in a way where you're not sure what to expect. I really think this author is talented and has such an original and cool story here. I think honestly that this book could have used more editing, like someone should have been telling her "flesh more out here" "explain how these feelings got to this point" "this is too abrupt, you need to work into this" "it's dragging too much here," and so I feel like maybe don't publish this yet? Go back and work on it because this story is brilliant! I love Ash and Conor's closeness, I am so interested in what's going on with Maebh and and Tiernan, and desperate to see how Set and Ash pan out. The actual story deserves five stars, it's a great plot, but it really, really needs more work to be what it is capable of being.

I honestly didn’t know what this book was for at least the first third of it. I was drawn in by the mythology but couldn’t tell of it was going to be thriller, fantasy, or some amalgamation of both. I like that the characters are flawed and so human, fae sight or no, and that we get to see how “fair” the fair folk really are. But for a series named after the fair ones, we see precious few of them. For all the series romanticizing the fae as of late, I love that Realm of Lore and Lies holds them apart as an other that is hard to be knowable. Despite the legends and lore, they aren’t to be understood. But even more so, I like the fact that despite their otherness, the Tuatha Dé are not the antagonists, at least as far as we know. This has rambled on, but I have to say that I’m hooked and will certainly be picking up the sequel as soon as may be. And as Maebh and Tiernan immortalized, “Níl sé ach ina thús.”

First, a sincere thank you to the publisher for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.

The story takes place in a modern world with a parallel faerie realm, which is reminiscent of Holly Black's work. Realm of Lore and Lies follows a band of outcasts as they compete in a competition against other clans to become immortal warriors for the king. Features a murder mystery plot trying to solve the murder of main character Aisling's mother. I found the world building to be very well written without coming across as too heavily involved that it hinders the plot and character development. A fantastic read for fans of fantasy and Irish mythology.

This is an incredibly magical story with lush prose and incredible characters, both main and supporting. The author is so incredibly transportive to this magical world..

This book was very interesting and refreshing. I loved the way Claire Wright told this story, as she set it up beautifully. I loved how although the book was written in third person, each chapter focused primarily on a different character and their thoughts. Books written like that are so refreshing and such a joy to read. I found Ash's story to be the most interesting and entertaining because she was the easiest one for me to relate to. The other characters, however, are still interesting. One thing to note about this book is that it is relatively on the lengthy side and does move a bit slow during some parts. It didn't bother me much because the plot was still overall interesting, but keep that in mind while reading this one. I would still recommend it!

Thank you NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for this free arc in exchange for my honest review.

To start, I love the map provided at the beginning. The detail is really nice.

I liked how it got right into the story and a lot of world building wasnt thrown at us right at the beginning. It was added as it was relevent.

I was not fully sure, I was going to like this book. I have been in a bit of a fantasy reading slump lately. But, this book helped me out of it. The story was very engaging and all of the characters were interesting in their own way.

I really like that this book has multiple POVs. Getting to see both characters POV always helps me get into the story and like the characters more. I was worried with the multiple POV's that it would be hard to distinguish the characters, but Claire made sure to give them all their own voices.

This was an interesting read for sure. The premise really drew me in, but I was a little disappointed because the pacing of this book was off and I found myself bored throughout several points. I did like the mythology aspect though.

A debut novel from Claire Wright, Realm of Lore and Lies brings Irish folklore into the modern world! From pucas disguised as cats to changelings to historic kings lost to time, this book draws readers into Ash's life. A young woman studying archaeology is dragged back into her clan's life by tragedy, and it is now on her shoulders to solve a murder, protect her brother, and bring her clan glory. This is not a story about faeries, no matter the central folklore. This is a story about generational conflicts, found family, and the difficulties we face in our lives. The Fair Ones are just a catalyst for the Ash and her clansmen.

My favorite things:
- this book offers a very believable sense of conflict between younger and older generations with all the simmering tensions and conflicts that come from that
- main characters that aren't teens, they use their brains, but also still make mistakes
- the four main characters are likeable; I'm not usually one for multiple POVs, but this book was well done!
- I cared about what happened to these characters and Realm managed to get my emotions up (the cave scenes!) throughout the book
- a mischievous puca pretending to be as a cat; honestly what else do you need

My issues with the book:
- at the very beginning of this book, Ash is working in a coffee shop that isn't set up to be accommodating to someone with a baby stroller, and it's kind of implied that this is done on purpose. My head immediately went to the struggles of people with mobility aids-- I don't think the author intended an ableist coffee shop, but I wanted to flag it just in case
- PACING; it takes so long for things to actually happen. I think the first truly major event is almost 50% into the book, but once you get to the second half, it picks up. This isn't to say the first half is boring, just slow paced.
- A little insta-lovey, but also a slow burn? It's a weird balance
- There are so many plotlines-- murder, being matriarch, the caillte, the Cath, the high king's quest, troublesome romance-- and only one of them gets anywhere near what I would call resolution.

That being said, I will be anxiously awaiting book two because there's just too much I have to know! This book felt mostly like set-up for the rest of the series, but I'm intrigued!

CW: child abuse, death of parent, drowning, minor violence, murder

Realm of Lore and Lies, a book weaving Irish folklore with a fantastic story. I enjoyed reading this and can not wait until the sequel is out. I need to know how the Author ends all of this.

This book is complex in the sense that you are given a lot of information on Irish stories and lore which relates to the Characters and the situations they are in. Once you get started you can not stop. However you do need to pay attention because even the smallest details can be revealed to be very significant as the story continues.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this book and give my opinion.

The story was unique and very interesting. But the pace was so slow that it took out a lot of the excitement for me. I know some people like the build of a slow pace but it just isn't my thing.
Also it was a bit weird that the FL kept looking you know who's eggplant randomly. For example like when he shifted, what was the reason for that being put in? It was a serious moment and it didn't do anything to add to the scene. I just kinda looked up from the book like "um... Okay?" Lol

I would like to start out by saying that I have been looking forward to this book for ages! When I first read the description, I knew that it would become a favourite read for me. What I didn't expect was to fall in love with everything about it. This is Claire Wright's debut but it definitely reads like it's not!

Irish mythology at its best.
Though the pace was quite slow this fantasy book was also part thriller / mystery which I enjoyed more than I expected to.
Thanks to netgalley for the book