Lore of the Wildes very much gave that cozy warm book read but was fae. It is filled with fae, magic, a cursed magical library filled with magical books. It follows a human named Lore who is the FMC from a village of humans who are oppressed by the fae. And one day the fae come asking her for a favor. I really enjoyed this book and recommend it to anyone who enjoys reading about fae and with a little romance and lore about the stars.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this book for an honest review.

This book was a labour of love. Every word put to page demonstrates this. Its slow burn was pure magic. The characters were all thoroughly developed, as was the world that was woven. Lore starts off rather meek and naive. She learns that not is all as it seems and that the magic she has been seeking is within her grasp. She learns that trusting too easily comes at a great cost. The people she meets shape her character. Asher was with her from the beginning and supports her throughout - but in comes Finn and he begrudgingly begins to teach Lore the language she needs to further tap in to the magic available to her.
We’ve got a book brimming with magic, a potential love triangle, new friendships, betrayals and some twists - I suspected it for a while, but the reveal was still satisfying. I feel like the story was just beginning when it ended. I crave more and I look forward to the next book very much. I highly recommend this new series to en very reader of fantasy out there, especially if you, as a human, crave the existence of magic in the world.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Harper Voyager for an advanced e-copy of the book. The opinions expressed are honest and my own.

I am so mad at this book for leaving me on a cliffhanger like it did and then not having a release date for the follow up!

The twists were twisting and I’m gonna be salty about it until I can read the sequel to this cottagecore romantic fantasy with POC rep as far as the eye can see.

#LoreOfTheWilds:⁣
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Thank you @harpervoyagerus partner for my gifted copy.⁣
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“I can do something to change things for them. I want to help my people stop surviving and start living”. ⁣
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Honestly, 10/10 no notes. I loved this book. The magic system, the hierarchy of beings, the little romantasy, the cliffhanger?! Honestly, just so good. ⁣
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We follow Lore, who is a human. She gets tasked by this Fae Lord to catalog a whole library (dream, right?) and if she finds anything ✨enchanting✨, let him know. Ok, cool. Except, her whole village is basically prisoner to this jerk, and she starts to find the history that she was essentially denied. Knowing what she knows now, she’s ready to free her village and come into her own. Theres another Fae, a guard, she befriends and has feelings for. Theres another they meet along the way that drives the grumpy/sunshine and touch her and die trope. Love it. ⁣
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I cheered so hard for Lore. She’s been denied so much and just want her to come into her own power. She’s amazing, and I’m happy she was written into existence. It was such a twisty and turn plot that I ate it up.⁣
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Out now, probably my favorite read of February.⁣
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QOTD: How was your weekend? We finally had decent weather and I got to start some of our garden! 🪴

I enjoyed this one but it wasn't my favorite. Language is a little more YA and modern than I would've liked. I'm not a fan of love triangles, and there were parts that were very slow. I think execution could've definitely been better.

Other than that, I loved the cozy vibes and will continue to see where the story continues.

This book was so amazing and I’m devastated that there’s such a huge cliffhanger. I hope that we get a sequel to book one soon!

This book was everything I was looking for in a cozy fantasy read! In Lore of the Wilds, we follow Lore who is a human in a world of dark and light faes. Humans are locked away on some land the faes sent them to. Lore helps her aunt run an apothecary when all of a sudden the dark fae come looking around and introduce themselves to Lore. An earthquake happens and the whole town gets destroyed. Lore is then hired by the dark fae to organize and look for magic books in an enchanted library for the dark fae in exchange for help to restore her town. This is a romantasy. There is a love triangle but in all honesty I felt like the romance wasn’t too heavy in the first book. Which I’m not complaining about cause I love the book either way! The characters in this book were so cute and I loved them all! I loved how we saw her getting ingredients for the spells she’s working on and we saw her practice and her magic abilities grow. The descriptions of the food and drinks got me hungry! I was not expecting that at all. I’ve never read a book like that! The atmosphere in this book was literally everything to me! It gave Skyrim vibes which was amazing. The plot twist I kind of expected but it was still twisted enough in a way I didn’t see coming! Over all I loved this book very very much! I gave it 5 stars and I can not wait for the next book!!

This is marketed as a new adult fantasy however, I feel like it toes the line of YA and adult. There's one midly descriptive sex scene, but without that it reads very much like a YA fantasy.

I was liking it until the halfway point and it started to lose me because tha pacing got a bit slower as we were traveling with the characters for a while. Once we started meeting more characters the plot picked up a bit more and then the ending happened and it was just ok for me.

I would have liked more growth for the characters especially for the relationships we got. They felt really rushed and half detailed. More world building as well would have been great.

I really wanted this to go on my fantasy favorite shelf. Because that cover is STUNNING and the premise had me in its grips.. but sadly it did not land there. It just felt as a whole a little bit.. unpolished. The ideas were there, they just weren’t well executed, in my opinion. I really think you could take out the spicy scene (didn’t really add anything to the story anyway) and some of the f-bombs and it would market great as YA. The dialogue wasn’t my favorite, and it tended to lean more modern which took me out of the fantasy element. I found it extensively repetitive. Describing smells, his “bottom pouty lip”, and just inner monologues from our FMC. I didn’t get a sense of direction for any of the characters true motives in the story either. The pacing was inconsistent. The romance lacked chemistry, which killed me. I wasn’t a fan of the time skips. And everything seemed to convenient. I feel like I’m nit picking a lot, I did enjoy this read to an extent. It was just one of my most anticipated reads this year and I’m truly saddened I didn’t fall in love. The ending spooked me a bit holy shit. I’m going to continue the series cause I believe in the author. I feel like Sbrana is only going to get better. And damn. That ending. Major cliffhanger.

I really wish I had liked this. The writing was very young adult at first (which is fine! Great!) and then I got whiplash because out of nowhere we would have a complete tonal shift. We have not one but two cases of insta love. I loved the library setting but we didn’t do hardly anything with it. There isn’t really a cohesive plot.

*thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy in exchange for an honest review*

Oh my GOD?! I went in expecting to like this book, because I’m a fan of romantasy, but I LOVED this. I loved every second of it!!!

And the ending?! I had my suspicions about one character about halfway through, and oh my gOD??? THE CLIFFHANGER!! WE NEED MORE

- LORE OF THE WILDS immediately drew me in. I was an instant fan of Lore and her will to survive and fight. I found the world of this book intriguing. Books about fae are numerous now, but this one found that line between terrifying and alluring perfectly.
- I thought when picking this up that it was a YA novel, and the tone of it reads that way, especially in the beginning. Then, about 75% in, things turn very spicy and very dark, and oh wait Lore isn’t the teenager I thought she was? It was a bit jarring.
- I’m gonna try to do this bit without spoilers. There was a character whose motivations I absolutely could not figure out until it dawned on me that this was part of a plot twist. So that unfortunately wasn’t much of a twist for me, and I wish there had been a better effort at hiding it.
- All that said, I’m looking forward to book two and I think Sbrana is an author to watch.

I have to say, it was the romantasy I needed at the perfect moment in my life. From the very beginning, I was completely hooked and found myself reading 40% of the book in one sitting.

The main character, Lore (love this name btw), resonated with me in a way that few characters do. She had the perfect soul - strong and resilient, always putting her people before herself, even if it meant putting herself in danger. I couldn't help but admire her throughout the story.

Analeigh's writing was well done, with beautiful prose and a touch of humour that kept me entertained.

I am already waiting for the sequel!! I liked the final scene and the little twist, I felt like I was watching a movie !! I would highly recommend this book to all fantasy lovers, it is a diverse read and even has queer representation. The book ticked all the boxes for what I expect in a romantasy

Wow. I loved this! I was completely swept away by this beautiful debut. With an enchanted library, a unique magic system and a wonderful cast of characters, Lore of the Wilds makes for an incredibly cozy read. Until the ending of course because that cliffhanger was brutal!

Lore was a fantastic main character. She is so selfless and I admired her willingness to sacrifice for the people she loves.
There are some great side characters but Finn may be my favorite. I love the grumpy ones 💛

I enjoyed the romance, there is a bit of a love triangle but it was done so well that I didn’t mind it. I’m really looking forward to finding out how things will develop in the next book.

And that plot twist! I had my suspicions that something might be off with a certain character but that twist definitely took me by surprise 👏🏻👏🏻

Now please tell me we won’t have to wait too long for book 2. I have no idea where this is going to go but I need to know what happens next!

Lord of the Wilds by Analeigh Sbrana

Lore is a human, trapped in her village that is surrounded by an enchanted forest and ruled by the fae. After an earthquake destroys her town, she is forced to negotiate with the fae and takes on the role of cleaning and categorizing their library that has been spelled against their kind.

This in itself would have been an incredible story but Lore has a wild journey that takes her through several adventures in this book. Although I have to say the library scenes were my favourite. The last 2/3 of the book were scattered and either really busy or really slow. But it is a debut and although it frustrated me as I read it, looking back I don’t know what specifically I would change.

I loved the characters (#TeamFinn), the romance, the twists and the world the author created. And that ending was crazy. No way to avoid the second book with that cliff hanger.

Thank you to @harpercollinsca for my copy, the book is out now! I will be eagerly awaiting the next one.

I'm so disappointed by Lore of the Wilds. I felt it had the bones of something amazing, but ultimately it fell flat. The beginning of the book really sucked me in with the magical library and fae realm. But, I really struggled with how dry and boring the actual fae were; most of the time it felt like I was reading about humans. After Lore finds the magic book everything felt very formulaic including her relationship with Asher. I also couldn't get over how YA this book seemed, so the romance was very hard to read. DNF at 60%.

Thank you to Netgalley for the eARC

I really enjoyed reading this book it was a easy book to get pulled into. The romance part of the book seemed kind of fast paced, but I still enjoyed it. I can't wait to read more about these characters in book 2

3.5 -⭐⭐⭐💫

"Mouse, if you keep untucking my shirt, I'm going to do very bad things to you..."

Lore of the Wilds is the first novel in a new adult fantasy romance series by the same name. The series follows our titular character Lore, in a realm controlled by ruthless fae. In a small isolated town trapped, hidden, in the forest, Lore spends her days running her aunt's apothecary and book shop...until her village is threatened and the only chance to protect her people comes at making a deal with the fae lord. In return for protecting and helping her village, she must travel the the fae castle and examine their cursed library in search of magical tomes - for no fae can enter the room of the fickle library.

Yet Lore is not one to be controlled as she, too, is in search of magic to help her. In addition two fae, a guardian who offers her kindness and a gruff fae who challenges her every step, provide her with the chance to survive but at the risk of her heart. With chemistry rising, will Lore be able to not just survive these journey but also protect her heart?

Lore is a delightfully tenacious and bright character. I love how loyal she is to the people she loves and her willingness to do whatever it takes to save her village. She grows more confident as the story progresses and I loved the power she showed.

Asher is the guard who befriends Lore and he is a sweetie when we meet him. I felt his kindness gives Lore a chance to see fae in a different light that adds nuance to the story. When she meets Finn and Isla, two other fae, who challenge Lore in a way she needed to grow strong while also creating a powerful friendship.

This book does contain romance and spice - I would say about 1 spicy pepper out of 5 spicy pepper. The romance here is slow burn and there are two love interest vying for her attention; though one is more obvious than the other. I will say I felt the romance didn't really hit things off with me. It was very tame in the initial stages with the main love interest vanishing for chunks of time. I then started get to get vibes for the second one before the other returned and then the romance amped up past. There is kissing and some steamy fooling around but a home run is not completed, so to speak. I feel like the romance and book two will be what I want but in this one it didn't hit where I wanted just yet.

In terms of storm and plot, I felt overall the book is slow to start. Once Lore begins to explore the library I felt we got more world, characters, and movement but there are ebbs and flows. I enjoyed the tension that grew as Lore started to confront the truth and the slices of life that allowed us to connect and enjoy the side characters. There is also an amazing twist that I honestly didn't see coming that leads into a cliffhanger that rips you apart. It has me excited to see what happens next!

Overall, this debut novel has me very intrigued for the next book in the series with good characters and world I'd love to explore further.

Thank you Harper Voyager for the review copy!

Firstly, thank you Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC! This was a solid debut romantasy book, the pacing was a bit inconsistent, and I found myself often lost on where the story was going, and the overall pacing felt so off while reading. The chemistry between Lore and Asher lacked that speak that I look forward to in romantasy books. However, the premise of this book was interesting enough for me to keep reading. I recommend this book to anyone looking for a entry level romanasty! I really liked a lot of the side characters.

Thank you so much for an advanced copy of this book! I loved it so much.

I was completely swept away in the fantasy world and the characters this book created. It was fun but also totally absorbing. I loved the characters, the world was so creative, and it is one of my favorite fantasy books I've read in 2024. Two thumbs way up!