"Lore of the Wilds" holds the promise of whisking readers away to a cozy world brimming with potential. Right from the first page, I found myself entranced by its enchanting premise, especially drawn to the magical charm of the library scenes. The concept of the enchanted grimoire and the mysterious library added layers of depth to the story, hinting at a rich narrative waiting to unfold.

However, despite its promising start, I was left entirely disappointed. Two major issues soured my experience with this book. First, the writing. I couldn't shake the feeling that perhaps it was initially intended for a YA audience, but then, in response to the surge in popularity of more erotic romantasy, a few last-minute erotic scenes were shoehorned in. The pacing, in particular, felt lackluster and uneven, with the plot dragging in some sections and hurtling forward in others. It was clear that the book was in dire need of editing and a clearer sense of direction.

Next were the relationships, romance, and love triangle. None of the romantic elements resonated with me. The swift transition from acquaintanceship to physical intimacy felt forced and devoid of emotional depth. There was no gradual buildup, leaving me confused when a character who was once only reluctantly friendly with Lore suddenly sacrifices everything for her at the drop of a hat. The chemistry between the main characters fell flat for me, and the entire romantic subplot felt juvenile and superficial. Adding insult to injury was the last-minute introduction of a love triangle, seemingly included solely to maintain a semblance of "romance" on the page while our other love interest disappears for six chapters.

This is a book I should have abandoned, personally. However, I acknowledge that there will undoubtedly be readers who adore it. It pains me that I couldn't join their ranks; the description, cover art, and reputation of the author all hinted at something truly special. Unfortunately, "Lore of the Wilds" ended up feeling simultaneously dull and chaotic.

2.5 stars

A solid YA fantasy debut that brings diversity into a genre that often lacks it. Lore of the Wilds draws you in with a spunky and resourceful heroine whose love language is caring for others--her family, the orphan kids they look after, her struggling town. And when disaster strikes, Lore's quick thinking has her making not only a deal but demands as well from the fae overlords that rule the land.

Loved the touch of realness with the topics of being "othered" (I've been the token Latina (human Lore in elf city), the Latina who gets nasty looks for speaking Spanish in an English speaking country (human clothes/looks in elf city), etc.) and also with the heroine's curly hair struggles, needing creams and oils and not getting them from captors even though it's like a basic need.

The romance along with the second half of the story was a tad clunky and rushed, but it's something I expect from book 1 of any series, so that didn't stop me from finishing or enjoying some aspects of the finale. I will for sure be recommending this one and waiting for the next book.

[Netgalley ARC]

1.5 stars
I had faith in the first 15% of the book that this was going to be a worthy cover buy, but unfortunately it only went down from there.

Lore is a human who is picked to come organize a magical Fae library in exchange for sending resources to her town. She has to navigate not only the Fae world but this library that hasn't been touched in many years. She meets Asher, her guard in charge of making sure she is sticking to her task, and she starts to realize that maybe this world wasn't so bad. But everything flips on its head when she finds a magical book, and she has to decide for herself what she is to do next.

The premise of this book was very exciting to me-libraries, magic, fae, and of course I was drawn in by the cover. One thing I did love about this book was the POC rep, it was so rich and exciting. You can tell these characters were written with such care and authenticity. It made it all the more enjoyable to read. Unfortunately, thats where the applaudable character work ends. I found myself feeling disconnected from all of the characters because their actions didn't match up with their motivations, and a lot of the characters acted in a way that "told you" rather than "showed you". It made the romance(s) seem rushed and not believable. A lot of the plot felt very pointless, and the twist at the end was just for the sake of shock factor, it doesn't feel genuinely possible.
My biggest pet peeve however, was the repetitive descriptions. Every male character had long legs, and it was brought up on every page. Asher had a specific scent that was described with the same words every time Lore interacted with him. It got to a point where specific words would show up (like "long legs") and I would start searching the ebook to see how many times the word was said in the book. It kept taking me out of the book. There were also tropes for the sake of tropes, which is a pretty big pet peeve of mine.

These things all together almost made me DNF, but I pushed through to see where the story was going. In the end, I wasn't very satisfied. I so desperately wanted to love this but unfortunately it just fell short. I couldn't even enjoy the last 50% because I kept stopping to wonder, "Would the character actually say that?", "Why did that scene happen?", "Long legs was used again.". This had such potential but it could've used a good editor.

Thank you NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Overall Rating: 4.5 Stars

Lore Alemeyu is born and raised as a human in the Fae land of Alytheria. Trapped in a small town surrounded by a deadly forest, Lore dreams of a life with magic and freedom, and to one day get back to the humans' home. In a strange turn of events, she is whisked away to a Fae Lord's castle to search an enchanted library that no Fae may enter.

There are many characters you come to know and love within Lore of the Wilds, but at its core this book is about Lore herself. Lore goes on an exciting adventure in the Fae lands, away from her small human town. She has a distinct strong willed personality, but we as the reader never forget about the anxiety and fear she feels in all of these unknown and dangerous places. She is written "human" in a way that is incredibly relatable, I've felt like I've been in many similar situations as Lore was throughout this story; without the magic, of course. She learns and grows so much as a character, taking risks even when they're dangerous and even when she's terrified. Those risks grow with each arc, eventually doing something so dangerous yet cunning you can't help but feel proud and a sense that "if Lore can do that, I could too!"

I did have a few issues with the book.

First, Lore of the Wilds is very much written in a way that FEELS like a YA novel, but there is a spicy scene or two. I love some spice in books personally, but it didn't feel like it belonged here and I actually would have preferred it to just be a YA novel. There is a few curse words thrown here and there, but they are so few and far between it also felt out of place.

Second, I didn't really enjoy Asher as a character. This might be personal preference, but his involvement in the story felt a little forced. He is stationed as Lore's personal guard, and is weirdly nice to her sometimes which has her questioning why exactly he's nice to her since he is a Fae and she is a human. As the reader, I wasn't really wondering WHY he was being nice to her, I was wondering WHEN he would tell her why.

Last but not least, I truly wish this book was longer. No, really! Even with the issues I had with it, I genuinely enjoyed my time in this world. I think there were moments that could've been touched upon for longer that I don't think were bad because they were short, but it would've been enjoyable to read more about it. Overall, I loved Lore of the wilds and I am so excited for book #2.

This was cool story and world building in a world of books! Loved the characters and the story kept me intrigued!

My Rating: 3.25
My Thoughts: Thank you to Harper Voyager and Netgalley for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review. You have a girl named Lore you live in a small town and they are human in a world that has faes and other creatures she dreams that one day she can move from her town, and explore the world to see what is out there.
One day a royal guard comes looking for someone who can help with a library inside the castle and Lore agrees to come. While there she learns a lot and might find love on the way, So I enjoy the being of the book where we learn more about Lore and her town, and when we get to the library, but I thought we were going to be in there for a while and she left. After that I felt the rest of the book was kind of down from there the romance was not the best too much lust at the end of the book, and I wish Lore had had some confidence in herself and not just from magic. There were some parts of the book that were not needed felt they were just because they had to be, This was a good book for a debut author.

This was a pretty disappointing. The writing felt very juvenile, and the book overall - the plotting, the pacing, the worldbuilding - felt very clunky and awkward. The library scenes were great, and some of the characters were compelling, but by the end I was really disengaged from the whole thing. Would still recommend for those who can't get enough romantasy and aren't overly picky about the elements.

First, the pacing was wild. As an avid fantasy reader, I understand that the pacing can speed up and slow down. But this would go really fast then a I got in a crutch. I would put it down, finish another book and then have to pick it back up. Either the pacing should have been consistent or make the reader want to continue in order to finish the story. Second, there were nods to other popular fantasy books. Which I thought was funny but still, it left a bad taste in the reading for me.

Now to what I loved.... First of all diverse characters all around! Many colors and preferences were explained in the book and I loved it! Second, there was a plot twist that I didn't see coming and it made me want to read more. But with that being said, I still think this could be a standalone.

I was intrigued by the premise of Lore of the Wilds and, at first, was really enjoying the read. Lore is an engaging and relatable character, and the setup of her human village, family, and friends was executed well and easy to picture. However, where I expected the story to pick up was when Lore was taken by the fae, but found instead that the plot stagnated at that point. The fae characters, even though we're with them for more of the book, never seemed to be as fully realized as the human ones. I wasn't really feeling the chemistry in the romance, either; unfortunately this book fell a bit flat for me overall.

3/5 ⭐️
For me, this was another book I think had serious potential to be excellent, but sadly fell short. That I think could’ve achieved it if the story sat with the author and editor to simmer for a tad longer. I think there were a lot of great components like a sole town of humans mysteriously plucked from another world but now kept confined to their town by the surrounding fae. The idea of the FMC making a deal with the fae that she’ll help with their cursed library in exchange for their help with her community. However, there was no cohesion then between the idea of the fae being mean and scary and needing her, to what actually happened. All those stakes and tension, they all evaporated immediately. I did not feel like her life was ever truly threatened past her reaching the fae castle. Instead, the story was focused on hitting popular tropes and giving us something that was cozy sweet. It reminds me of something Holly Black likes to tell in interviews; she says her early stories were terrible because all she wanted to do was write about characters in a coffeeshop. But nothing happened. There were no stakes to her early stories. No true development. Just a group of unique characters sitting around with cups of coffee. This book felt like that. Like there were stakes, but then suddenly they were tossed out the window so the fmc & love interest can all cute go to the market with no real threat to her. (Also why did they give this human they supposedly think as equivalent to a wild dog, that much freedom that early on?).
In addition, I did not understand Asher. He was introduced as a scary fae, but way too soon did he drop that cold, serious act to do silly cutesy things. If the author wanted him to be scary and like enemies to lovers, we needed more time showing us his inherit prejudices and maybe the two of them working past them.
Overall, there is an audience for this. However, for me, it was a struggle to read for the above reasons.
Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Voyager for providing an advance reader copy of this book for my honest review.

2 Stars!

The tropes and description of this book are some of my favorites! I really wanted to love this one, but some things just didn't work for me. The instalove in this story didn't work for me. It was hard for me to see the connection or chemistry between the characters. I didn't think the love interests made sense for her character. Also, the fox was supposed to be an animal companion, but it was gone for a majority of the story and then reappeared for the ending. To me, it didn't need to be added into the story. The plot for this story was confusing for me. It seemed to be all over the place, and honestly when we find out the reveal, it didn't make much sense. Overall, I just felt as if the maturity of the writing is what made this book not work for me. I thought this book would be better for a younger audience, but there are multiple times it switches from young adult to adult.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for gifting me this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Lore of the Wilds was an enjoyable and magical story. The writing and storytelling lean to the younger end of YA, and I think that means it will likely appeal to a wider range of ages. I look forward to seeing what this author published in the future.

DNF’d at 20%

I was intrigued by the concept at the start and there was a lot of potential for great characterization. However, the writing was extremely bland. It followed a pattern of “I did this… then I did that… I went there…. I saw that person.” It was all tell and no show. If the writing was more atmospheric and engaging I would’ve stuck it out.

Thank you to NetGalley for sending a digital arc of this book. I actually had already ordered a physical copy before the approval came through, so I read it as soon as it arrived. Gorgeous cover art! I kept flipping back to look at the characters.

As for the story… I am sad to say after months of awaiting this one and telling friends about it, I am disappointed. The first half had me. I was very interested in the magical library, I found Lore like-able, and I was intrigued to find out what would happen with the love triangle that was promised. Based mostly on the cover art I was hoping to be biased towards the fae with long locs - so dreamy.

As the story progressed I did feel that it got sloppier. The magic system seemed strange to me, that she could only use magic at night and if she was actually holding the grimoire? Why? I also was enjoying the first love interest, surprising enough, but when he suddenly disappears and she barely cares it was odd. She’s so hot and cold. The emotional connection and conversations between her and Finn really didn’t do much for me. I had initially hoped he was endgame, so I felt the writing wasn’t compelling if I couldn’t find his personality appealing enough. I could feel the hints that the reader should prefer him, but it wasn’t working. They felt very surface level. At the same time whenever she was around Asher they were suddenly hot and heavy, which made zero sense to me once I got to the twist at the end. Why was he doing ALL that?

It felt like a lot of plot holes. The fox turns into a moth randomly. Lore can see source when no one else can. She’s able to sneak her friend out of a heavily guarded castle all by herself, and yet Finn thinks he has to be on the end-mission to keep her safe, but his sister can handle herself. Maybe some of these will be answered in book two, that’s fair, but I’m not sure I can bring myself to read it.

It’s not a terrible debut. I did not feel I had to DNF this piece. I certainly don’t think I can recommend it to a friend however.

Overall, this book is a quick and pleasant read and it gives you the feels. It is however, hard to ignore some things that are overdone. The writing was full of repetition that distracted from the story and wasn't at all helpful. The pacing is a bit off, and the development of the romance isn't fully believable- I was there for it but something about just didn't feel right.

For centuries, the humans of Lore's village have lived trapped in a dark forest. Any attempts to leave are met with a swift death at the hands of the fae sentries that surround the town. But shortly after a disaster befalls the town, a fae lord approaches Lore with a deal: if she will enter a library warded against fae and catalogue its contents, he will ensure the town gets the aid it needs to recover. Lore accepts out of necessity but also because she's hoping to discover something in the library that could change her town's fortune's forever: magic.

LORE OF THE WILDS is a tale that is absolutely charming when it tries to be a cozy fantasy, but tonal swerves prevent it from truly being one. The cozier aspects of the story are where it shines. From the moment Lore steps inside the warded library, the focus changes from survival to the soothing process of cataloguing books and cleaning shelves. As the story expands, we're treated with cooking, herb craft, and moonlit rituals, all of which make you want to snuggle under blankets as you read. This does mean the story begins to meander, especially in the back half of the book when it leans into the "low stakes" plotting, with urgency largely lost until the final 15% of the story.

But I have to stop short of calling this a true cozy fantasy because of the darker elements that intrude on the story. That includes not only some violence (mostly in the form of combat that results in some gruesome deaths) but some particularly horrifying reveals late in the story. In another book, I don't think I would have made a note of such things, but it was a jarring juxtaposition in a story that largely spent its time embracing cottagecore vibes.

(And if you're wondering about the fantasy romance aspect, there is one explicit spice scene).

LORE OF THE WILDS is also a bit rough around the edges in its writing style, particularly when it comes to dialogue. The dialogue at the beginning of the book felt a bit clunky, and while it seemed to smooth out as the story went on, that might also have been because the cozy elements were enchanting me so thoroughly that I forgave some of the odd phrasing.

LORE OF THE WILDS honestly makes me wish the book had whole-heartedly pursued its cozy aspirations. There were a lot of elements that charmed me, making me forgive the other elements that grated a bit. But the unevenness of tone makes it a bit hard to know exactly who to recommend this to (and also made me feel like the book didn't truly know what it wanted to be). It's cozy-ish, but one plot line in particular really makes this impossible to call a true cozy fantasy. But if cozy-adjacent is something you enjoy, there's enough here to make a pleasant read.

Lore of the Wilds by Analeigh Sbrana
★★★.75

Read this if you like:
💌3rd person POV
💌diverse characters
💌witchy vibes

🦋Things I liked:
The world building was great. I found the FMC to be likeable if not a bit boy obsessed.

☔️Things I didn't like:
This one took me a while to get into. It's a short book, but I struggled up until 70% to get into it. I didn't like that this was labeled as a love triangle when it was very much not one. I don't feel like the relationships were fleshed out well enough BUT this is a debut so I think that's okay.
I also felt like I got tricked into reading a witchy book. I don't mind a secondary character being a witch but I'm not super big into witchy books. I know the description said magic but then it got into spells and grimoires and I wasn't really into all that🥲

I ended up getting the audio for this one to help me push through it and I'm glad I made it through. The end of the book makes up for the slower parts. I enjoyed this one but I'm not sure if I'll pick up the sequel.

I really enjoyed this one! I thought the world building was super easy to follow + I LOVED Lore. The pacing was great + I found myself always wanting to pick up the book + see what happened. I am very excited to continue this series!

I first heard of this book from a reviewer on tiktok (@satrayreads omg she’s an icon) who raved about it and so this became one of my most anticipated reads of 2024.

For a debut novel, I thought it was very well done and I really really enjoyed it. The main character, Lore, is so dedicated and compassionate and such an amazing figure to have as an fmc in a book. I mean the author really took this book and said let’s put in the best fmc that makes your heart all warm and fuzzy and squishy, that’s Lore. Seeing how courageous and determined she is but also getting to see the flaws that she has with her self-sacrificing, risk-taking ways was so cool to see because usually in fantasy novels those attributes are placed on main characters that are portrayed as the ‘sassy badass assassin’ when in reality they’re just stupid and ignore any kind of warning signal. Seeing Lore’s character have those qualities and those flaws but it actually be done well was very refreshing and I loved it so much.

Another thing the author does very well is the writing. The writing alone was beautiful and could easily make someone get lost in the story. The characterization was incredible. I absolutely loved the characters and how they were described and how they acted. Even the evil characters were so so interesting to read about, and it made me hate them even more and wonder why they became evil to begin with. I think this author really succeeds when it comes to their characters and being able to write them well in a unique way while still including elements that are typically found in romantasy novels already.

However, there are some things that I did not like as much. First, I felt as though this book could’ve been run through the editing process one or two more times. There were some minor spelling mistakes and some sentences that, when paired together, didn’t really flow together in a way that made it seem like a story. Things like that tend to seem very clunky, and they in turn pull me out of the story because it’s irritating trying to escape into this world but then the same word is said twice in a sentence and the sentence isn’t even long or detailed enough to support it. (I did read an ARC however, so this may actually be something that is fixed in the published copy.) Secondly, I did not enjoy the pacing of this book. We would get occasional gaps in time and I feel like that didn’t really benefit the growth of these characters and it prevented from being able to clearly see the emotional changes that occur over a period of time. After finishing the book, I can see why we have some of those gaps, but I still wish that the pacing was left to be more of a slow burn. That way we, as readers, can get the full effect/emotion and it will leave readers guessing, theorizing, and wanting more by the time the ending comes along. I feel like this book would definitely benefit from being a longer novel because of the potential to be more of a high fantasy read than romantasy, so I’m hoping hoping hoping that the next book will be longer.

After reading the book, without giving away any spoilers obviously, I get the feeling that the author is trying to take us on this road with the main character where pieces of the story or the world-building aren’t given to us right away because of the fact that Lore’s people aren’t originally from this world, so we’re on this journey with Lore to figure out the secrets of the world alongside her. However, I feel like there was a lack of cohesion. I was disappointed with the lack of history given in regards to the world-building, and some characters or situations left me thinking things like “how is this possible?” or “where did this come from?” or “how did this system get put in place/come to be?” and I feel as though things like that could be fixed if there was maybe a clear scene where Lore finds out more on the history of the world she’s in or even just of her people. I think there were many scenes where something like that could’ve been included, but it wasn’t and that left me a little sad.

Honestly, if you are a person that tends to love characters that are very heart-warming, and especially if you are a fan of the found family trope, I think this would be an amazing book for you. If you’re a fan of romance/romantasy, this too would be a great read, but the pacing and time skips might make you wonder, like I did, why those skips were included and why there wasn’t as much detail put onto the introduction of some characters. If you are also a cottagecore girlie and love everything fantasy, witchy, mushroomy, maybe you hang those fake vines up in your room and wish to live as a little wicked witch in the woods, this would also be a nice book for you too.

Thank you NetGalley & HarperCollins for the gifted copy of this book. This is my honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher, Harper Collins for giving me a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
First things first, I loved the cover of the book and for the story, it was indeed fast paced but truly lacked some direction. Yhe author tried to fit so much into 32 chapters even putting a plot twist at the end to get us to wait on the next book which i think is foolish. Lore , the FMC has no motivation for most of her actions. Yes the book is about her wanting magic but so many random things happen that it doesn't make sense in the slightest why they're happening. The love triangle I thought would occur in the book took like 22 chapters before it happened.
So much time was wasted trying to describe Lore's daily activities.
This story deserved 50 chapters and with more emphasis on the characters actions.
It's an okay book but not so exciting