First off, I want to say thank you to NetGalley, Atria books, and the author for the eARC of this book.

This book and its story is definitely an acquired taste, pun intended, as I feel like there was a lot of licking going on. It is incredibly too long and could have been 200 pages shorter, easily. There are sensitive topics dealt with in this book so make sure to check out the trigger warnings before reading. I feel like the author fell into the trope trap where they tried to squeeze too many into one book and it isn't working. The writing was very amateur as well and where I had been hoping for beautiful prose, I was left disappointed.

Also, I have to talk about the MFC. I couldn't stand her most of the time which is a struggle seeing as you're stuck with internal monologue most of the time. And the love interests? I just couldn't get on board with them. I wanted to like at least one of them, but the way they treated her like an object most of the time was just icky.

All in all, I really wanted to love it, but this was a tough book for me to get through. I will not be reading the sequel.

Thank you to Atria Books and Netgalley for ARC. All opinions are entirely my own.

Okay, so this book was a ride. A loooooong one, full of different timelines, povs, secrets and plenty of crazy moments. It’s a gothic fantasy with horror/paranormals themes than honestly, I kind of wish I’d saved for spooky season.

The story itself is super complex. We’re jumping across timelines, following different characters, and trying to piece together a ton of moving parts. I had a hard time keeping up at times. Normally I get a little annoyed when switching povs, but in this case, the side stories were super necessary. They gave Darcy (and us readers) important context to understand the whole fated-mates situation with Amon. So yeah, it’s a lot, but it works.

I did end up spoiling myself a little. I was already side eyeing the cat, Caleb, and those super weird dreams Darcy was having, so I looked at some reviews. And yeah… turns out I wasn’t that far off. So when the big family tree twist happened, I wasn’t that shocked. I also kind of expected Darcy to catch on sooner, but oh well.

As for the spice, this one is extra spicy. The smut is spaced out nicely, and even though it takes a while for the present-day characters to get it on, the tension and build-up are very much present.

I did feel like the writing was weirdly modern at times for a book set in the 1950s. Not a complaint per se, but it gave me a bit of whiplash now and then.

If you’re into dark, twisty gothic romances with horror aspects, morally grey love interests, and time spanning star-crossed lovers, then this one might just be your thing.

Final rating:
3.75 ⭐️ (rounded up)
4 🌶️ (frequent descriptive language and explicit scenes)

🚨 Before diving into this book, be sure to check the trigger warnings. This story explores heavy topics that can be really intense.

This book had me in a chokehold… until it didn’t.

I loved the setup. Creepy coastal town? Check. Orphaned English teacher suddenly dragged into a web of inheritance, secrets, and ghostly hot men? Double check. There’s forbidden love, ancient curses, small-town politics, and a big ol’ helping of “Is this a nightmare or foreplay?” It had all the ingredients for a new favorite read.

And honestly? The characters ate. Amon is that tragic, poetic spirit type who haunts your dreams (in a good way), while Caleb has that unhinged, morally gray edge that whispers, “I’ve probably killed someone, but I’d never hurt you.” I was fully here for the brooding, the sensual tension, the whole “villain who’d end the world just for you” energy. Iconic.

But my issue? The pacing. This book was thicc…. and not in the fun way. I’m talking dense, filler-heavy chapters that felt like narrative quicksand. There were whole stretches where I was dying for something to happen that wasn’t just Darcy angsting in circles or another scene where the vibe was strong but the plot… wasn’t. Like girl, I know you’re overwhelmed, but if you keep monologuing about it, I’m going to become the ghost here.

I can absolutely see why some people are giving this five stars. It’s got that dark, gothic atmosphere and slow unraveling mystery that some readers live for. But for me, the ratio of plot to padding just didn’t land.

Solid three stars. I liked it. I’m glad I read it. But I needed a machete to get through all that fluff, and by the end, I was ready to inherit my peace and move out of Fairydale.

Trust the process.

If you are looking for a light read, this isn't it. HOWEVER if you want mystery, trauma, and love topped off with some magic then let me introduce you to Fairydale

Not gonna lie, the first 45% is a little confusing, but in the best way. It's very much a "what is going on, I have to find out" and then you never put the book down again

Truly my only complaint is something that would be very spoiler-y so I'll just say "24 months" and.....IYKYK

Lastly, expect your heart to be torn out of your chest. Highly recommend 🫶

Tropes:
🖤 Dark Romantasy
🖤 Period Piece
🖤 Fated Mates
🖤 Slow Burn
🖤 Small Town
🖤 Multiple Timelines
🖤 Possessive MMC

This book. Wow. Go in blind. What an incredible love story. I dont think I've read anything like this before. I loved it from start to finish. It's long but I couldn't put it down. I'd love to listen to this on audio when it comes out.

I wanted to love this. But I didnt.

I did like the FMC and MMC. I loved the basis of their story, but several times I felt it was just too drawn out.

I wanted to DNF at about 50% because it was just lagging for me. But I felt so committed with how many pages I had ready invested my time for.

Some plot twists were easily guessable, and those that weren't just didnt feel very surprising. I started to stop caring about any of the characters or plot.

Veronica Lancet has a talent for writing. The style may not have grabbed me in this one, but I wouldn't exactly say its a bad book.

Thank you Netgalley and Atria for an advanced copy!

Buckle in yall, I have a LOT of thoughts about this one. I couldn’t write an honest review of this book without spoilers (believe me, I tried), so 🚨HUGE spoiler warning for the whole review!!!!🚨

Darcy travels to the town of Fairydale after finding out that her estranged father has died. Fairydale is a strange town with a reputation for crime and gruesome deaths, and shortly after arriving Darcy begins having hallucinations and weird dreams. Darcy is an unreliable narrator, and throughout we question what events actually occur. The mmc is a demon that terrorizes the town, and is known among Fairydale’s founding families for being evil incarnate. The town wants to kill him once and for all, but after brief encounters with the demon, Darcy decides that she is going to work against their plans.

I did not like Darcy. At all. She nonstop made excuses and apologies for the mmc’s behavior. And it’s justified because they’re soulmates, but she was so damn contradictory. In the same sentence she’d be like, yes he literally just killed at least 2,000 people and is the most dangerous being that’s ever lived, but he’s just my big, bad protector and could never do anything wrong. She makes statements like this multiple times throughout the book. Another example, the mmc kills Darcy’s sister so they can take her children to have as their own since they can’t conceive (not to even get into how fucked up that is). When her adopted child is grown up, he finds out and confronts Darcy about this, and she crashes the fuck out and says “I’m sick of [mmc] being called a demon when he is anything but.” Like, GIRL. By the end of the book, I lowkey thought they were both evil and was rooting against them. At one point towards the end, they have sex and it causes an earthquake that kills half the population in the town (literally 2000+ people) and this is completely brushed off like it’s nothing.

Also, HUGE trigger warnings for rape. There were multiple instances, with one being graphic and on page. I thought they were so unnecessary and it didn’t sit well with how the characters acted in the aftermath. The opening prologue is Darcy after being sexually assaulted as a child, but this had NO relevance to anything later in the story and was literally only there for shock value. A bit after Darcy arrived to Fairydale, she passes out and wakes up in pain and with blood on her thighs, and assumed that she was raped. She accuses the mmc, but as she is having delusions at this time, he gaslights her into thinking she is qmisremembering, and then she’s like oh well he’s just such an enigma and maybe it was my fault! It was also never clearly explained whether this actually happened or not. Lastly, someone shows Darcy a memory of her past life, in which the mmc brutally rapes and then murders her (on page). This ended up being a false memory, but there was a smut scene between the two characters shortly afterwards, which is crazy to write back to back and it really turned me off from the mmc for the remainder of the book.

At about 80%, the story takes a hard shift into a completely different genre, and it didn’t mesh well with the rest of the story. We go from a gothic, witches versus demon story, to scifi alien smut. The scifi timeline was the original world our main characters met in, and I definitely liked their relationship most in this world. However, it was a very long (~100 pages) diversion just to further their relationship and allow for an alien smut scene. Then, the actual plot of the book that was built up for the last 600 pages was anticlimactically wrapped up in the last chapter. I think the author attempted to throw in way too many aspects and ideas into this one book. It also created some plot holes. For example, when Darcy first gets to Fairydale, the mmc is inhabiting the body of a guy who recently committed suicide. Later on, his body is found, implying that he has been missing, but he was being seen with the fmc around town and interacting with his family while being missing.

And of course, the cherry on top for me, the HEA in the epilogue was pregnancy trope 🙄

This book was like a train wreck that I couldn’t look away from until it was done. If you enjoyed this book, I’m truly happy for you. It was a good reminder for me that reading is subjective. I wish this author the best in her future endeavors.

This was an ♾️/star god-tier series!!!! OMG this was such a dark atmospheric read. This story has dark themes, magic, fated mates, and one of the most beautifully timeless love stories I have ever read.

In this story, Darcy finds out that her estranged father has passed and left her an enormous inheritance, but in order to receive these funds she must visit Fairydale, and meet her estranged family. However, as soon as she gets there, strange things start occurring. People begin to start dying strange and mysterious deaths, but everyone around her tells her that this is normal in Fairydale. We follow Darcy as she starts to unravel secrets about Fairydale, her family, and her life. Darcy begins to fall for two different men, both who are forbidden for their own different reasons. Although the book is over 1,000 pages, I felt like I was so engrossed in this story, I blinked, and it was over. This was beautifully written. I am absolutely heartbroken this isn’t a series, and I wont be able to read about these characters again. I had multiple people recommend this book to me because they know my book taste, and wow they weren’t wrong. If you take any recommendation from me, it’ll be to read this masterpiece.

3.5 to 3.75 🌟

This is a romantasy gothic fantasy that started out really strong with the mystery. Realizing they were incarnated and the back stories was engaging. But about 65 percent in it dragged a little. Also adding in the 3rd identity wasn't as smooth as it could be. The end picked up again . Overall I enjoyed this different spin, and the epic love that spanned lifetimes.

In the beginning of this book I was HOOKED. It felt different and interesting and I was totally invested. Pretty early on, I figured out what was going on. The FMC however, stayed in the dark for a really long time. This made the book feel LONG because I felt like a lot of the scenes were unnecessary and the FMC should’ve figure it out sooner. There was also a lot of repetitive nicknames that started to get annoying. The ending also felt a bit rushed. Like the author realized the book was already sooooo long and needed to get to the ending quickly to keep it to one book. I feel like this could’ve been resolved by polishing up the earlier part of the book. I thought it was a 5⭐️ concept and with a bit of polishing and refining could’ve been a total 5⭐️ book.

Things I loved:
- The MMC (He’d burn it all down for her)
- The multiple time lines and really getting to know the characters.
- The tension and build up during multiple timelines
- The spice
- The love/ concept of mates/soul mates

What I didn’t love:
- It felt long
- Repetitive nicknames
- The ending was rushed
- It didn’t seem like there was a reason for it to be set in 1955 for the majority of the book. That felt random.

Overall, I had a REALLY great time reading the book. I’m just trying to be more thoughtful about my reviews. I’d still recommend the book. I think it was a fun read and I’m not sorry I read it. :)

I am so sorry, but I could not finish this book. I got about 20% in and the progression of the book was so all over the place. I was still hung up on all of the unanswered questions, meanwhile also trying to remember everything that had already happened. This book started off so good (loved the gothic, mysterious atmosphere) and then like from the moment the "dad" combusted I just...no character took that seriously enough for me in the book. And to make that worse, it just spiraled from there.
I also slowly started to realize that the romance here might have been a bit too dark for my taste and that is what also caused me to choose not to finish the book.

Thank you for the opportunity to read. While this book won't stop me from further reading of books by this author, I just don't know if this is her genre. I will not rate the book since I didn't finish but submission purposes, I have given it a 2-star rating for the wonderful start of this book.

Thank you Netgalley, Atria Books, and Veronica Lancet for the ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.

First off, confession, I could not finish “Fairydale” - I read all of part one and I honestly could not go any further..

I wish I had liked this book, it had an interesting premise and I was intrigued by its description. I’ve had it on my TBR for a while and was very excited when I was gifted an ARC ahead of Veronica Lancet’s August 2025 rerelease. However, its execution fell very short. I think the author could benefit from a strong editor. The dialog is cringe, and I think if I read “Lizzie, mine” or worse, “Darcy, darlin’” one more time I was going to scream! The FMC and MMC were not remotely interesting enough to finish reading this extremely long book.

A little less telling and a bit more showing would be helpful to move the story along and likely shorten the number of pages. Also, please work on shortening your chapters. A few fifteen - twenty page chapters in a book are fine, but when almost every chapter is this long, it makes reading a book feel more like a chore than something to enjoy.

The dialog at times felt juvenile. Then the author would intersperse more sophisticated vocabulary (aka SAT words) that felt completely out of place. While the words are used correctly, it felt like the author was trying to hard too make her work a piece literature and it just missed the mark. Sorry, not sorry - you asked for an honest opinion.

I received an advanced copy of Fairydale by Veronica Lancet and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions in this review are explicitly my own. Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book.

Fairydale is my first read from Veronica Lancet. I honestly don't know what to make of this book. I barely finished it. This book was overly long and could have been shortened greatily. I found myself skim reading and skipping almost all of the repetitive "spicy scenes". I feel this book will either be loved by the right reader audience or "DNF'ed" by many.
Lancet's writing style is not for me. Every little action was narrated and the reader told every unnecessary detail. I felt the writing of the narration from Darcy's point of view especially lacking. The quality of the writing went up and down throughout the story and varied greatily from various point of views.
I initially found the plot intriguing, but there were too many different concepts and timelines. This book was all over the place with its ideas and the direction it was going. Perhaps sticking to one or two of these concepts would have been better. Witches and "alien species with vampire like tendacies" did not necessarily work for me. It was never really explained what "Darcy is", only that she has these powers that everyone desires and will kill for. Initially, I was interested in the mystery surrounding Darcy and Fairydale. I generally enjoy fantasy books that involve reincarnation, time travel, etc. Lancet tried to combine all things that are good on their own and seperately and the turnout is messy.
The speech was not appropriate for any of the timelines used. Lancet attempted at the beginning to make this book seem like its from a historical period, but then its apparent the attempt stops midway through the book and the reader is in the modern present day while still attempting to believe we are in a time that is past.
A personal pet peeve was that at one point I was questioning whether Amon was supposed to be Scottish based off his constant use of the endearment "lass"? Then he used "darlin' "as if he was from the deep south. "Lizzie mine", "Darlin' ", and even "Sela mina" were used way too often and much. Amon originally was an intriguing character, but he lost his appeal when he became overly jealous, sadistically violent, and impulsive. I did not feel the chemistry between him and Darcy. Darcy didn't have an identity past being "his".
While "spice" is particular to everyone, the spice of this book gave me the ick and wasn't my cup of tea. No offense to anyone who loved this book and enjoyed this kind of spice.
I do have to say that Lancet did well with tying all of the loose ends of Darcy and Amon's story in a way that actually made sense. I think Fairydale had a lot of potiential. As Fairydale is written now, I wouldn't personally recommend it.

I unfortunately I dnf this book. In the beginning i had very high hopes. The start was so fast pased and full mystery and had me on the edge of my seat. But unfortunately where it went down hill was the insta love and dynamic between the fmc and mmc. His possessive nature had me cringe. If it was more of a true slow burn I would be all on board. And FMC was semi self aware but never actually acted in her best self interest, she was gaslight often. She knew something was off and never investigated to any degree. I definitely thier is an audience for this book it just doesn't include myself.

Wow, okay, going to attempt a spoiler free review as the author does state in the beginning to not spoil this for others. Read the Preface, it contains a few disclaimers along with your trigger warning list.

This was the type of gothic horror romance I’ve been searching for. Veronica Lancet really captured the essence of gothic horror, wandering dark halls in the middle of the night, not knowing if you see ghosts or not, and gruesome mysterious deaths. The overall mystery of the story was great, even if a few were predictable and I enjoyed the wild ride this was.

⚠️A disclaimer: There are several graphic rape scenes and graphic gore scenes. While this appears on a lower scale (dusk) on my dark rating, these scenes are graphic and would almost be put a tier higher (twilight) for that alone.

Thank you to NetGalley and Veronica Lancet for an ebook in exchange for an honest review!

Rating: 5 Stars

WOW! This was my first book by this author and let me just start out by saying.. I was BLOWN AWAY! I love her writing, it feels very lyrical to me. I also am a sucker for falling in love in multiple lifetimes. Definitely one of my favorite books this year. Can’t wait to read more by her!

I will forever and ever recommend this book to everyone. It was incredible. Amon is truly the perfect MMC. This is one of my top reads of 2024 and it deserves all of the recognition and praise.

It is truly one of the most remarkable love stories I’ve ever read. 10/10 ♾️🌟

What a ride! This book has plots, on top of plots. There is a lot of world building, however it’s sprinkled in through the entire book. So i found it wasn’t overwhelming. There are 4 stories happening at different times through the book. So if you enjoyed a more simple fantasy, you may find this book a little overwhelming. However for those who read a lot of fantasy, this book was a breath of fresh air and unpredictable for myself. There is spice, tension, and you have no idea who is good or who’s the villain. Would definitely recommend!

Thank you to Net Galley and Simon & Schuster/Atria books for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I ate this book up. Seriously it’s friggin huge and I read it in one day. I read it in the pool, at a restaurant, at stop lights and on the toilet. I could not put it down. I have read some polarizing reviews and it seems to be a love it or hate it situation. It did not take me long to get completely absorbed in the story, the mystery, the utter confusion that was going on.

3 separate stories taking place over 3 different time periods and I loved each one of them. They wove together effortlessly. Each time I thought I had anything figured out, turns out I didn’t. This is an epic love story but also a mystery with horror undertones featuring monsters, magic and mayhem.

Fairydale has an incredibly cool and unique premise but was UNGODLY long. At the very low end, 200 pages of exposition could have been cut easily. We would have benefited from an editor, and for the length alone I worry this isn't going to find the right audience, or worse- the right audience will have given up far before the payoff. This story has the intoxication of a drug, but it requires a lot of prework to reach that peak.