⭐ 1/5 stars
DNF at 33%

First, I want to thank the author, Christy Healy, the publisher (Pen & Paper LLC), and NetGalley for the opportunity to read Unseen as an ARC.

The premise of this book immediately caught my attention, and I was hopeful going in. I want to be clear: my low rating is not a reflection of the author’s talent. In fact, Healy’s prose is undeniably lyrical, and she demonstrates a strong command of atmosphere and an ability to craft complex narrative threads. That said, this book ultimately wasn’t for me.

From the start, I found the prose-heavy, poetic writing style difficult to engage with. While beautifully written, it simply isn’t my personal preference. I pushed myself to read a third of the book before deciding to put it down—something I rarely do, as I’m usually a completionist when it comes to reading. But I’m in a season of life where, if a book doesn’t resonate with me, I’m allowing myself to step away rather than push through for the sake of finishing.

I do want to acknowledge the story’s strengths. Healy sensitively explores the emotional weight of childhood illness, a topic that isn’t easy to tackle. Riona’s desperation to save her daughter, including her bargain with death, is powerful. I also appreciated the nonlinear storytelling and the shift between time and space (“Neither of the Earth Nor Under It, Not Then Nor Now”), which added a unique, haunting quality to the narrative and showcased Healy’s skill with layered storytelling.

Ultimately, Unseen just didn’t grab me. I admire the author’s ambition and voice, and I sincerely hope others find the emotional resonance and style they’re looking for in this book—even if I didn’t.

Firstly I would like to thank the publisher and Netgalley for allowing this book as a free read.

I thought the premise of the book sounded really interesting and that's what initially hooked me, I love re-telling's it's always interesting to see how and author takes an old story and gives it new life.

I liked how the book changed form past to present, giving us more information on the characters early life and relationships with family.

I look forward to picking up a physical copy and checking out the authors other works.

I am SOBBING. Just finished it and am SOBBING. The perfect blend of fantasy, mythology and romance, Riona is a wonderful heroine who is so flawed but so redeemable and I just love her and cabbage together. Would also read an entire book about Fiadhs adventures!!

Thanks to the author and to Netgalley for the early ARC. Looking forward to this one's pub date!!

The writing is a bit too prosey for my liking, and the ending didn’t hit as hard as I wanted it to. I did love how character driven the plot is, and the setting was quite unique. I can see what the author was trying to accomplish, it just fell a bit flat. 3.5 Stars.

I didnt realise this was part of a series but apparently you do not need to read the first one first and can be enjoyed as a standalone.

This book did drag at some points and i think 500 pages was just a bit too long and some parts could have been cut or just shortened.

In regards to the characters I felt like they were a bit underdeveloped, or at least their personalities needed more character development, especially Riona.

I did like the setting with the folktales and myths but felt like it needed more pacing as some parts were boring and sluggish.

Overall I think I would read the first book in the series.

A perfectly serviceable book. The ARC I received had quite a few errors, but the story was full. I enjoyed this enough until it became fully about Haisley. I didn’t realize going into this that it was about a mother, my bad. The writing was repetitive occasionally and the story lagged in some spots. Overall, it was worth reading.

I do love retellings of old stories and I’m glad I was able to get an e-ARC of this book. As with other reviewers, I was not aware that this was part of a series until after finishing the book. It absolutely can be read as a stand alone.

I did find it to be a bit slow and at times I really had to push myself through. It was also quite predictable (ex: it’s immediately obvious who Death really is). Though, it was mostly worth it for the side characters. Do be prepared to bawl your eyes out at the end as it is incredibly sad (like many classic fairy tales).

As I said, the side characters were so good. I adored Cabbage and Fiadh! (I’d love to hear about their adventures after Unseen’s story concluded.) However, I didn’t really love any of the other primary characters.

I just couldn’t understand why Riona would not just be honest with Conor. After 10 years, it felt like she hadn’t matured while he had. Maybe she didn’t have the proper time to mature due to the passage of time in the other realm, I’m not sure. Regardless of what Riona’s mother thinks, Conor was too good for Riona! That man deserved far better.

From the moment I read the first page, I knew that I’d soon be enveloped in this story rich with folklore, myths, legends, and heartache.

This is a story that is above all, about motherhood. About the fierce and unrelenting love we feel for our children. The love that would see the world burned before a hair on our child’s head comes to harm.

“A mother needs no other reason to love than existence.”

I loved the main character, Riona.
She was rough around the edges but at her core was a heart that beat for those around her. She goes through a perilous journey spanning months and years in a realm of darkness. Her experience felt genuine and raw. The pains and the heart wrenching grief she experiences.

The love story at the core, with her childhood friend Conor, was so honest and real. The love that he has for her, at every stage of her being. At every emotion and wrongdoing. His love is endless and unconditional.

I especially loved the type 1 diabetes representation as my sister was diagnosed at 14 and I’ve seen first hand her struggle. It is such a debilitating and horrible disease that I feel is so misunderstood by most people. To see it so well represented in a historical and fantastical way was really cool!

I loved this entire story. From beginning to end. Which speaking of the ending, was SO satisfying. It wrapped up perfectly!

Thank you to Netgalley & the author for this ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.

The premise of this book was extremely relatable for me as a parent…A parent would do anything, risk everything, to keep their child safe.

With that said, I struggled a bit with the books format. Each chapter was a portion of the characters’ stories in different points of time. The back and forth was interesting, as the current events were enhanced by the view into the characters’ pasts. But the constant switching at times discombobulated me for the first third of the book. It took some mental adjustment to get into the flow of the storyline

The characters themselves were well developed, and the relationship between Conor and Ria was both heartwarming and frustrating. The walls Ria built around her heart were tangible and understandable, but also frustrating to read.

The introduction of diabetes to their child, Haisley, highlighted the desperation any parent feels when their child is diagnosed with such a dangerous disease. It was twofold considering that this takes place in a time and world where it is only known as “the blood disease” and there is not treatment for it. This spurs on the motivations of both parents to give up everything for the sake of Haisley’s well being.

The villain, Jack was complex, his storyline making you vacillate between sympathy and contempt throughout the story, but in the end, firming up the antipathy toward him as his full nature is revealed.

Overall, I really enjoyed the storyline, although parts of it were predictable. The ending was bittersweet, yet satisfying.

This was a really unique fantasy read. I liked how the magic and the myths were the focus of the story and not the romance but the romance was still really sweet and heartwarming. I hadn't read a lot of Irish mythology so this was all new to me and I really found it fascinating, I think this is more of an epic fantasy than a fantasy romance but I thought they were both well balanced.

So I really loved this book! I was interested by the cover first and then read the description and it sounded really interesting but I wasn't expecting it to blow me away like this. The writing is so beautiful and haunting and I love that both the romance and the story itself was a slow build. I felt like each chapter was another layer that got peeled away and ended up revealing this big beautiful painting underneath it all. Riona was such a great heroine. I liked how stubborn and determined she was and that her flaws made her relatable. Her relationships with other character, especially Conor and her grandpa and her daughter, were so touching and sweet and made me understand why she acted the way she did. I also am obsessed with the cat character and would love to just read a bunch of stories about her history because the mythology behind her was so interesting and new to me. I haven't read the author's other book but I plan on doing that relaly soon. Unseen is an amazing and unique read and I'm so glad that I picked it up.

I had to take a step back for a bit and really think about how I felt about this book.

First thing first- I didn't realize this was part of a series until I went to check "reading now" on Goodreads. I instantly checked out the audio book for Unbound and listened to it while reading this one in tandem in case you needed to read the one before the other. You don't.

I enjoyed Unbound and it makes me wonder if I wouldn't have enjoyed Unseen more as an audio book. I struggled through Unseen. I kept putting it down and giving myself a break before picking it back up. Maybe the audiobook where someone is pulling me through the story would have been enough to change my feelings.

This is one of those books that there isn't anything particularly wrong with it. It's a bit boring to me but I'm sure for every one person who was bored there will be someone who loved it. I say if it's something that sounds interesting, give it a go. Just because it didn't strike a cord with me, doesn't mean it won't for you.

Unfortunately, this could not hold my interest. I wasn't able to feel a connection to the characters, so its sadly a dnf at 12% for me.

This book said “motherhood but make it traumatic.” Riona makes a deal with Death (literally) and spirals through fae purgatory collecting ancient magical junk while he lowkey flirts and trauma-punches her at every turn. The plot moves slow, but the vibes are elite—gothic, lyrical, and just sad enough to feel like a breakup in a foggy forest. This story probably hits harder if you’re a parent. 4 stars from me!

This was such a beautifully written dark retelling! Before reading Unseen I had not heard of the Irish fable ‘The Snow, The Crow, and The Blood’ but I love retellings so I was very interested in this story. I was enraptured from the first page. The writing style is perfect for the storytelling aspect and really immersed me into the story and world. The story centers around young Queen Riona, one of the last descendants of the Gods, and her lover Conor, a healer and friend since childhood. As the story progresses we see Riona slowly lose all of her family and loved ones. The shadowy Lord of Death has been stalking Riona all her life, waiting for her to join him in the in between. When he forces her hand one final time Riona leaves everything and everyone behind to protect her loved ones and becomes the servant of death. But her actions have consequences. As Riona begins to harness her powers and learn from death time is passing quickly for her loved ones. And when Riona learns the truth about The Lord of Death she begins a plan to defeat him once and for all.

I honestly loved so much about this book! The romance between Riona and Conor is tragic and so emotional but is never the main focus of the story. I love that their relationship adds a complexity to the narrative and often is a problem for Riona and Conor to deal with. The Irish myths and fables were amazing to read and learn about as I’m not familiar with very many. I think one of the best things was the use of multiple timelines and pov’s. We see Riona and Conor’s past as they grew up and fell and love, then we see Riona’s time in the in between where time has no meaning, and then we get the present time. I usually don’t like that in books but I thought it fit perfectly with this story. Plus I loved that we got Conor’s pov! Overall this was a beautifully written story that made me fall in love with the characters and this world. This may be one of my favorite retellings!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

Unseen is a retelling of the Irish fable of 'The Snow, The Crow, and the Blood'. We follow Riona, who has lost her loved ones and ultimately offers her servitude to the Lord of Death in exchange for her daughter's life.

This book captivated me from the very beginning. I'm not familiar with Irish fables but Christy Healy has created such a vivid world, improved by the rich characters. Riona is very flawed, often selfish and mean at times yet so full of strength and heart. Conor is so sweet and genuine, I enjoyed their scenes so much. As the book jumps between different time periods you really feel everything these characters experience.

Towards the end I was on the edge of my seat, I couldn't read the pages fast enough. The writing is so beautiful and the story so bittersweet, this has been one of my favourite reads this year.

Thank you Netgalley and the editor for access to the ARC.
I really enjoyed this book, especially the way the story connects irish mythology and folklore to the world in a way that feels natural and believeble.
The main character is the opposite of a regular fairytail princess, Riona is very much independent, flawed and selfish which makes her path and growth throughout the story compelling.
100% well worth a read for anyone who loves dark fantasy!

Unseen is a retelling of the Irish legend of The snow, The crow & The blood. I was unfamiliair with Irish mythologies, so all terms and events mentioned in this book were new. That did not pose a problem - everything you need to know is explained and in the end it only made me more interested in Irish mythology.

The narrative jumps between moments in Riona and Connor's lives - in present time you slowly learn with Riona about her magic, about the plans the lord of death has with her, and the true extent of magic in Eìre. In the past, a beautiful connection between two people is built and Riona's love for her daughter is established. At the start I was more invested in the past timeline, which gripped me right away, than in the present timeline, which takes some time to get going, but both timelines gripped me soon enough.

Although Riona's motivations where clear to me and they made sense, emotionally this book will probably hit hardest for people who are parents themselves.

Fans of fairytale retellings, beautiful prose, and bittersweet books will undoubtedly love this. The banter between the love interests is also surprisingly funny.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC, opinions are my own.

I'd like to thank the publisher and NetGalley for allowing this as a free read.

Well. I don't know what happened here. I enjoyed the tone of her first book. In this one, I felt really bored by it all.

The book was split into two timelines - the past and present. The past allows us to see how she ended up seeking 'Death' to save her love. The present shows her attempting to seek out the tools needed to save her love. I felt that the characters were pretty boring and just felt like they were written to just show the timeline of the story. I couldn't tell you anything her personality because it was just her reacting to everything people were doing around her in the present and the path.

The character of Death reminded me of if you took Der Tod from Elisabeth and blended him with Jareth from Labyrinth, with a dash of Hades. He lounged everywhere, was bored, was touchy feely, but he lacked any sort of depth and his 'love interest' (?) was not really giving me a reason why he was after her (just that she looked like the previous women he tried to get with).

I made it as far as him telling her what he was looking for and what he was training her to do.

Review posted on Goodreads.

I first saw the beautiful cover of Unseen by Christy Healy and was drawn in, needing to know more.

Little did I know that after starting this book I would be so completely drawn into it from start to finish, even shedding a few tears at the ending.

A retelling of an Irish Fable, Unseen will take you on a journey filled with light and it's shadow, lore, love, and heartache. The story itself answering questions you didn't know needed to be answered, doing so fluidly and beautifully. & It will have you wondering how far you would go for those you hold dearest to you.

If you love a retelling, fantasy with a balancing of light and dark and everything in between, I definitely recommend reading Unseen.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book, & Christy Healy for writing such a wonderful story.