I was drawn in by the premise but was sadly left disappointed in the end. I enjoyed the Irish mythology and the characters are likable. However, I did not enjoy the multiple perspectives as they did not aid in the story in any way. The world-building was not clearly defined and often thrown new information with little explanation. The pacing was slow and lacked momentum. Overall, great premise but did not meet my expectations.

The story is told from the POV of four characters and I liked all of them. I didn't rush in the POV chapter of one character so that I could read the chapter of another, which sometimes happens if I don't find the character interesting, but all the characters were built up really well and you can feel the differences in their personalities.

The theme of the book itself is already intruiging - a fantasy book with a murder mystery (and romance). The world itself is written meticulously and in detail making it a very immersive setting.

The beginning of the book itself is somewhat slow and the pace only picks up at about the 40% mark but I don't really find it that bothersome as this is still the first book of a series. I look forward to the next book to find out how the story continues.

I definitely recommend this book to fantasy lovers.

Thank you to BooksGoSocial, the author and Netgalley for the e-ARC of this book.

Realm of Lore and Lies by author Claire Wright. A debut novel that takes time to grow on you. Flirting with hight fantasy codes and romance, the voyage she takes us on is worth the readers’s effort.

Lots of characters, names and places. Different types of faerie, some good others bad. It’s easy to get lost.

Each character's live with their own burdens. At some point, I wanted them to just « get it over with ». Lots of internal dialogues about how guilty they felt, what they should have done… I would've loved more interactions between them.

The pace picks up half way. The world building well established, motivations of the many characters laid out, the reader will stay for the mystery and the blooming relationships.

The new found family trope is the main focus. The tribe of misfits they are creating, is plausible and the dynamics sometimes very funny. (The crop top and bath towel in the Fiesta! That made me LOL hard.) Every time Maebh and Tiernan are together. *chef kiss!

I went in that read with expectations for a romance novel. This is not already the case here. You can see hints of what’s to come in the series and I can't wait! The author shows she can do it. Well written exchanges through out the book between characters will give the reader good romance vibe.

Here’s what I’m talking about…

« Still standing right before her because something inside of him wanted her just as much as she wanted him. And she knew it. »

« This time, he didn’t hold back, kissing her soundly. Those breathy moans of hers moved the pounding in his chest lower. »

I was prepared for more, but I will have to be patient. Those are the steamiest moments I highlighted during my read.

I recommend that book for readers who likes to be transported in other worlds and different ways of living. Irish lore is so rich and thanks to Claire Wright story, I can’t wait to discover more about it.

I’m curious to learn what's next for Fair Ones Book 2

I throughly throughly loved this debut from Claire Wright. There were sprinkles of romance, fantasy, murder, and a whole load of mysterious circumstances to figure out. I fell in love with all four of the main protagonists, as we see all the action through their eyes and get to understand their backstory in this world. The characters I believe are all around 23 (I will have to double-check), so I enjoyed having their ages close to mine.

I sometimes find fantasy books a struggle when there are huge info dumps, but I found it easy to follow along with the plot, remember past characters, and get a sense of the general direction the story was heading. I would argue that the story in the first 30% is a little bit slow, but the pace picks up soon after. I read this book digitally, but I believe the chapters in a paperback would probably be quite short, which is something I really love too.

All in all, this was a great debut and after that finale, I will sell my soul for next year to come quickly so I can get my hands on it. >Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review<

Beautiful representation of Irish mythology with captivating characters, this is a unique and magical read that I thoroughly enjoyed reading. Highly recommend to anyone who loves fantasy!

I absolutely LOVED that this was set in Ireland! Lots of fun lore and world building in this story! I look forward to reading book 2!

Thank you to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for the eARC of this book!

Realm of Lore and Lies is an expertly written debut New Adult Fantasy novel! Mystery, well-written characters, and Irish Folklore? What's not to enjoy!? Add in a dash of emotional damage and an ending that will leave you wanting more and you have the makings of a perfect start to a series! I will be awaiting the next installment in this at the edge of seat!

Thank you to NetGalley & the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Summary: Aisling left her family behind 7 years ago, taken in by the only two people who might have a chance of understanding her, she starts her life anew with her two sweet foster parents. Her only connection to her past are the letters she receives from her brother, Conor, and the occasional Fair One trying to steal an infant from unsuspecting humans in the cafe she works in. Aisling has The Sight; she comes from a long line of warriors who balance the two sides of the veil in order to keep peace with the Fair Ones. It’s her senior year of college, everything seems to be going well, until she’s met by a heralding call and discovers something that will undoubtedly change everything.

This was such a refreshing read! This took me back to middle school reading YA Fantasy like The Iron Fey that took more of a traditional folklore approach to the world building and I loved it so much!! An incredible balance between deep roots and well utilized traditional Irish folklore based in the Tír na nÓg, the Tuatha Dé Danann, and history and historic sites such as The Hill of Tara and Newgrange, and the Fianna while also including the modern world in a realistic way!

The characters are well developed and relatable! I found myself cheering Maebh on and my heart hurting for her simultaneously! Aisling is so complex and I can’t wait for us to continue to get to know her character and dive deeper into her complex relationships with her heritage and commitments and her perspectives after spending 7 years among modern society. I need to know more of Conor’s story. My heart breaks for him and his journey and experiences.

There are romantic subplots in this story that I think are appropriate for the YA genre! I’m interested to see what directions things go in as the plot continues.

I just LOVED the lore! I feel like fantasy has been steering away from truly sticking with traditional lore in world building lately, but I think this is just so CLASSIC while still being original and I just adored it!

Ash, the main character, is an archeology student who is also a part of Fienna - humans with Fearie sight and occasionally other gifts. After the death of her mother she’s forced to come back to become the matriarch of the clan and help them during Cath, a tournament ordered by the high king.

I love fairytales and myths and folklore and I was delighted by all the Irish mythology and folklore references. The world building wasn’t fully fleshed out but what was there was really cool so I am really looking forward to getting to know more about the world.

It is an interesting premise and has a lot of potential, but in the book there isn’t that much action until the halfway point. The story is split between 4 characters which makes the story a bit slower. Instead the book focuses on the characters and the, very interesting, world.

The writing has a very distinct feel to it and it made me think of SJM’s writing in throne of glass specifically. I wasn’t the biggest fan of romance and how abruptly it happened.

The book has some flaws but for a writing debut it is great and I will definitely read the next instalment when it comes out.

I'm sorry to say I just couldn't get into it, nothing about the characters hooked me in and I was put off by a few things before I even got to 10% in, I just felt myself switching off.

I very much enjoyed this book!

The writing was great - it was easy to follow yet not overly simplified, even though there were a lot of names and terms that were new to me.

I thought the author struck the right balance between explaining the world and letting the reader get as in depth as desired. I found myself looking up places and people and terms. They were explained in the book, but I love knowing the details. And this book did such a great job of intertwining fiction and modern day Ireland with its rich history and folklore.

And I loved the storyline. With the Irish legends and lore, romance, and mystery, I was hooked from the first chapter.

I love that the story is told from multiple POVs. Early on I was interested in each of the characters, and by the end I was completely invested.

My only criticism is that the voices for the different character chapters weren’t overly distinct. There were a couple times I had to remind myself who’s POV I was reading. But I think I just needed a bit more depth from the characters. And by the end of the book I was starting to see it. So I hope we get even more character arcs in the next book. Which I will definitely be reading!

*Thank you NetGalley for the ARC*. I loved this book a lot! The characters where really amazing I was in love with Set from his first chapter. The plot and story were very interesting and kept you engaged the whole time. The setting of Ireland is beautiful. Overall very enjoyable read!

I was pleasantly surprised by how good this book was. I didn‘t really have any expectations going in, I just new that it‘s a fantasy book. I loved the story playing in Ireland, it‘s a story with some romance, family stories, murder and mystery. I wanted more depth into the characters but that might be something that will get explored in the second one of this series, we‘ll see. I‘m excited to see how this will continue.

*Thank you so much to Netgalley and the publisher for an Earc in exchange for an honest review.*

So, I'm not very impressed with Realm of Lore and Lies. Pretty boring, with a bare minimum of a plotline and irritating prose, there's only a few good points.


PLOT: 2
SETTING: 2
CHARACTERS: 3
WRITING: 2
OVERALL: 2

PLOT
Ash abandoned her Fianna community years ago, to live amongst the humans, pursue a degree and above all, forget her heritage as heir to an ancient legacy.
It's hard to ignore her past, though, and when the murder of someone she loves drags her back in to the land of Fae and Fianna.
The human High King is calling a Cath. A competition to decide his new high guard. When Ash is forced into leading her clan, she might as well do everything she can to lead them to victory. Joined along the way by human monsters, amongst others, will she win? Will she find the murderer? And ultimately, who is to blame?

If that sounded good, it was disappointing in person. It was absolutely nothing like the Cruel Prince or any of Sarah J Maas' books as it had constantly been billed as- and as for the 'slowburn' it was non existent.
The action was minimal, almost nothing happened until the final two chapters.


SETTING
Hopping between modern day Ireland and the Fae realm, Tír Na nÓg, although it wasn't explained very well. Apparently, the human warriors, Fianna, live in the human world and the high king in a special area of Tír Na nÓg. But it doesn't explain why, or give very much worldbuilding.


CHARACTERS
The best part of a mediocre book. I liked the casually queer rep (out of four POV characters one is explicitly bisexual and there are some high profile LGBTQ side characters too), however it did seem like each character had one personality trait they stuck to.
Ash, the unwilling matriarch. Tiernan, tech geek. Maeve, 'bad girl'. Set, brooding bad boy. They could have been even better if fleshed out a bit but on the whole were ok.

WRITING
I'll give you some quotes to get the gist of it:
'She stuck her tongue out'
'She didn't usually call breasts 'bosoms''
'women hated her for her looks'
'This is it. *****'s resting place!'.

Anyway. Good elements but definitely not a new favourite book.

Growing up on stories of Irish folklore and history, this fantasy book filled such a special place in my heart, and that's on top of it being an absolutely amazing story that kept me reading chapter after chapter. I loved each of the characters, how their histories were interwoven and their general badassary - ooh and that ending made my heart hurt. I can't wait to see if there will be more books!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the advance ARC. This is my honest review.

The world building is excellent and the setting of Ireland was a bonus. However, the pace was slow, never really gaining momentum..

I'm not a big fan of books told from several perspectives and this book didn't change my mind.

Still an enjoyable read filledwith Irish mythology.

The Realm of Lore and Lies is an excellent book that I had the chance to read as an advanced copy through Net Galley.

After parting ways with her family of travelers Ash is taking in by a family of “Gluttons” who support her while she pursues a degree in archaeology. The only connection she maintains with her family, members of the Fianna Clan who are gifted with Faerie Sight, are letters she receives from her brother. After an unfortunate event Ash must step up and claim her birthright and lead a group of warriors through the Cath, a dangerous and unknown set of challenges while also solving the mystery of her mother’s murder.

I love that we got a fae story sent in Ireland. Such a unique backdrop and she really stayed true to the lore and legends that I remember from my time in Ireland. I did feel like the beginning was a little slow with a lot of world building but when the action picked up I was invested. I feel like I wanted to get to know the characters even more as the story did focus more on plot as opposed too deep characterization. It’s the first in the series so do not expect everything to be all tied up with a bow in the end as there will be some cliff hangers.

The tone was really casual making it a super easy and enjoyable read. Definitely looking forward to the next in the series and would recommend for anyone who enjoys Celtic lore and mythology. A very impressive debut from Claire Wright. I also appreciated the pronunciation guide at the end because Celtic names are no joke.

“Níl sé ach ina thús
It’s only just begun”
“Fair Ones, gods, fae - whatever you wanted to call them. Those mythical bastards were real and very much alive”
“Offend a Fair One, welcome strife”
“I’m aware of magic, but legends and lore are another matter”
I am absolutely speechless. There are no words to describe the wonder and deep admiration I have for this author, whose debut novel comes with a beautiful fantasy adventure, based on the legends and lore of Irish folklore.
The story surrounding our main characters (whom I specifically studied, taking notes)
Ash, Tiernan, Set and Maebh is one I have never read about before !!!
The world building, the magic system and the characters’ dynamic were absolute wonderful and I’m in awe of the great job the author did at explaining what was happening and who was involved to a completely clueless reader !!!
I new nothing about these legends and knowing that what’s written in this book is a truthful and reliable source of information for that culture (albeit a very fantastic one) is amazing !!!
Apart from the knowledge it gave me about fae, high kings and the Fianna’s clans, I loved every moment of the action sequences that were taking place, as well as the romantic subplot that involved two main couples in particular (I’ll let you read the book to figure out who I am taking about) was the best ever !!!!
And the pronunciation guide at the end of the book was very much appreciated indeed !!!! THANK YOU AUTHOR !!!
The ending of the book left me with a bit of a cliffhanger but it’s completely understandable because … THIS BOOK IS NOT OUT YET AND I ALREADY CANNOT WAIT FOR BOOK TWO !!!
I’m so glad I had the chance to read it and be part of this adventure that, I hope, will only grow better in time !!!
“I know everyone’s emotions, but I don’t know how to deal with my own”
“If this is a gift , why am I the one paying ?”
“If she’d learnt anything, it was that fate often wielded a double-edged sword, and she would be ready to fight back with a fury born from destruction”

The realm of lore and lies is a slow burner that slowly hooks you and leaves you unable to turn away from the pages.

Perfect for young adults looking for a feel-good easy read. With Romance, fantasy, and murder mystery what more could you ask for?

Whilst I enjoyed this book I couldn’t give it 5 stars as I found all of the different narratives used at the start of the book to be a bit confusing. The further I got into the book and the more I got used to the characters the easier it got.
I also wish there had been more time to delve deeper into the characters and to see more character development and development of relationships between the characters. That’s what the next book in the series is for though!

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

Realm of Lore and Lies by Claire Wright provides readers with a glismpe into Irish mythology. This permise drew me into the book, but sadly I did not enjoy the book as much as I wanted. The book is told from multiple perspectives. Each of the characters are interesting, but their voice sounded the same. Additionally, I am unsure what the multiple perspectives added to the story. I felt the story could have thrived with one perspecitive. There was also pacing issues throughout the book. Readers are thrown into the world without very little introductions. Both the pacing issues and lack of world building caused clarity issues throughout the book. Overall, Realm of Lroe and Lies had a very intresting permise, but failed to deliver for me.