dnf at 36%

i hate dnf’ing books and VERY rarely dnf but this was genuinely just one of the most boring books i have ever picked up. this sounded like it would be right up my alley and ive heard all the rave reviews, but ive been trying to get through it for weeks and simply cannot keep reading this. its going absolutely no where it seems and is WAY too long. i don’t think ive actually read anything useful so far. there’s been a little bit of foreshadowing, but this is just too long and there’s too much filler that’s making waiting for the ball to drop very monotonous and boring.

thank you for the opportunity to read this book, but it was not for me.

(Previously read the indie version in February 2025)

*Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the eARC of this book!*

Oh man, this book was even better the second time around! It is DEFINITELY an acquired taste, and I mean that in a positive way. You need to be in the mindset to never, and I mean NEVER guess what is going to happen next (whiplash at its best). And to also be committed to read a monster of a book (pun intended) at almost 800 pages. It is one of the most unique books I think I have ever read.

I don't think I can explain much more than what is written in the description of the book without giving too much away. We follow Darcy in the first timeline, who travels to Fairydale after receiving a letter from her now deceased biological father. She has been included in his will and must attend his funeral in Fairydale to receive his sizeable inheritance. What happens next is a wild ride of multiple characters, timelines and paranormal/supernatural entities.

Although I haven't read anything else by Veronica Lancet (yet), her writing is so beautifully done that to me this book didn't really feel as long as it was!

I appreciate the opportunity to read this but unfortunately I will not be finishing it as I could not get into the story.

I did both reading the book & listen to the audiobook, and I have many thoughts just as the book had many thoughts.

The language in the book is beautiful, I often found myself re-reading or re-listening to how descriptive the characters were when describing their feelings for one another. It’s a very long read and I often found myself getting bored or confused.

Audiobook, I hated the male voice, he sounded like Nigel Thornberry and Chapter 17, he was SO LOUD.

Anyways, it was a fun read but I can’t honestly tell you what it was about. There was just too much to remember, for me, too much to read, and toooo many breaks in between.

I seriously loved this story. It teeters then line between gothic fantasy and gothic horror so well. The characters were interesting and dynamic. The book was incredibly well written. This book with THIRVE once it’s republished and out in the world.

Fairydale is like nothing ive read before. The seamless blend of magic, fantasy and romance had me on the edge of my seat the whole way thru. This book may be thick but she doesn't ever feel like it. Veronica Lancet has done something with this novel that another author may have fell apart trying to do. The way she seamlessly blends mutiple time and story lines all into one perfect novel needs to be studied. I loved this book so much and I will not stop talking about it to my friends and followers.

I'm not sure what I was expecting from this book, but I don't think I ever would have been able to guess the plot. I definitely spent most of the book confused and at the edge of my seat (or bed, however you wanna look at it) but in an excited and anticipated kind of way. I was really interested in finding out where the story was going to go and how all of the little pieces connected which is good because this book is CHUNKY!

The pacing was just right for the majority of the story and the author feeds you information at just the right time to keep the energy going. There wasn't a single spot in the book that didn't keep my attention, however I do feel like the ending was a bit rushed and the conflict was resolved fairly quickly considering how much time we just spent building it all up. I also feel like maybe there could have been a sequel to help with how quick the story was wrapped because I for one wanted more of the happy ending and I would've been really interested in learning more about their relationship in this new generation and the politics of the world they are in.

Such a unique and beautifully written story!

Gothic and mysterious – the suspense in this novel is so intense!

This is absolutely not your typical romantic fantasy story – Veronica Lancet really delivered with this one! A must read in my opinion!

I have seen this book all over social media and have only ever heard good things about it. I wish I would've checked the reviews on GoodReads before requesting an ARC, as I think I would've decided to stay away. I think Fairydale had several things that worked really well for it. I thoroughly enjoyed the different timelines every few chapters and the bread crumbs leading the reader to come up with what's going on by the time the reveals begin. Unfortunately, I found the book to be about 300 pages too long, the writing cringe at moments, and the MMC's mannerisms oddand he gave me the ick. Fairydale had it's moments where I did find myself liking the plot and movement, but once I got to the halfway mark, I started to check out as the things I didn't like seemed to overtake anything positive I found. Obviously, Fairydale has a cult following so there are absolutely people out there who will LOVE this, I'm just not one of them.

Thank you to Atria, NetGalley, and the author for sending me an early copy.

This book was one of my most anticipated reads for this year, and I'm so happy to say that it lived up to the hype! What's better than 1 beautiful, breathtaking, and heart-wrenching romance? 3 of them in one story! In the beginning, this story captivated me with the psychological thriller and gothic vibes. There were so many mysterious things happening (or were they?) that kept me absorbed in the story. My loyalties to the characters kept shifting as more information was revealed, and I ultimately felt no one could be trusted. But the love story was on another level. A love that transcends time with the emotion of: I will find you in any lifetime and burn down the world for you. The love these two shared was unparalleled for me. The tension, yearning, thoughtfulness, protectiveness, and spice were done very well. However, there are some trigger warnings that the author included at the beginning of the book. I also listened to the audiobook, which is a duet narration, and I really loved the narrators. Although the middle of the book dragged for me, I felt the information and character development were critical for the story. Overall, this was a unique and bewitching story, and I thoroughly enjoyed it!

This book is a RIDE!
Edging on a creepy small town, our FMC is kept in the dark about almost everything. Completely oblivious to the magical world around her, the 1950s setting takes a unexpected toll when life turns out to be not what Darcy imagined. Take a stroll through Fairydale, and see if you can tell what’s real and what’s evil. The horrific and sometimes tall tales that comes out of one small town will shock you.

Coming out the other side, I had such a fun time with this read. The way the story was so different and touched on so many elements of a great fantasy romance, but remained so original.
This book was slightly difficult to get into, and caused a lot of confusion in the first 30% of the book. If you can make it past that, don’t stop because the journey has just begun.

HELLO?!? Masterpiece would be the understatement of the century. The yearning, the characters, the twists, the insane world building… everything and I mean absolutely everything about this book is magnificent. I wish my mind was capable of forming such an exquisite story. The way the characters truly love each other is absolutely unmatched in my opinion. You don’t know what it is to yearn until you meet Amon. Veronica Lancet… once again you have accomplished the impossible.

Thank you to Netgalley and Atria for providing me with a copy for review purposes. All opinions are my own.

There are hits, and there are misses.

And then there are misses.

I struggled with this book for many reasons, chief among them I am truly not the target audience for the author, as it turns out. Had I read this under normal circumstances, I would have DNF’d it, but I had requested and committed to it and wanted to read it in full in order to give my review. While there were a lot of things that did not work for me, there are a few things the book did well, and I also think a specific set of readers will love this book to pieces.

The good:

The pacing was decent, which is important, as this book is nearly 800 pages. The author did a good job of keeping the narrative moving and it never stalled for long periods. Multiple timelines and POVs were juggled and timed successfully.

The not-so-good:

The dialog was excruciating. I found the FMC, in all timelines, to be an absolute dunce–not sheltered and naive–but dense to the point of frustration. Likewise, every time the MMC spoke, my skin crawled. I don’t mind “spice” in a book, but the sex scenes were ponderous and read as if they were written by someone who has never had it before. (There is no audible “popping” sound when you lose your virginity, come on).

Clearly, I didn’t enjoy this book. However, that is unique to me and my tastes, and the whole time I was reading I was thinking to myself that I knew exactly which friends to recommend it to that would feel differently. I say without judgement that if you loved Twilight, 50 Shades of Grey, or are a dark romance enthusiast, you will really have a great time reading this book. The book was perfectly fine brain junk food, I just wasn’t able to switch mine off sufficiently to enjoy it.

If you enjoy themes of fated mates/soulmates, dark romance, “touch her and die”, etc, this is going to tick every box and I highly recommend that you get it. If you like more cerebral and emotional depth, complex and interesting characters, and prefer emotion-forward rather than sex-forward spice, maybe give it a miss.

It definitely took me a little while to get into the story—so many layers, timelines, and mysterious vibes—but once the connections started clicking, I was fully immersed.

The gothic atmosphere, dark romance, and slow unraveling of the truth kept me hooked. I especially loved Lizzy and Amon’s storyline—it had that timeless, tragic soulmate energy I live for.

And that ending? Totally worth the ride. 👏

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

This book consumed me and was such an adventure! It was so well written and little hints were dropped from the very beginning that you don’t find out till the end. This book was plot twist after plot twist. Some I guessed but others had my jaw on the floor! Throughout the book you’re supposed to be confused on what’s reality and what’s not, what’s lies and what’s truth and that’s what made it so fun. It’s definitely a slow burn and main focus on the story and plot and I absolutely loved it. The amount of details to not only the world building but each and every character you meet was so in depth. The love story is just absolutely perfection. The “two” MMCs are both just absolutely perfection. And the spicy scenes left me breathless. Don’t worry it’s not exactly a love triangle (that’s all I can say without spoilers 🤭).

Definitely a favorite read this year and something I’ll reread in the future to find more hints I could’ve missed on my first read.

Riveting and haunting. This book is perfect for readers who crave a good love triangle. A perfect mix of fantasy, romance, and dark undertones. Even though Fairydale looks intimidating with its page count, you can't stop turning the page because you need more, more, more.

Sadly, this book just wasn't for me. I am giving it 2 stars, however, because I do appreciate the effort and time the author put into this work. The hard work is clear, the descriptions of settings were beautifully done and the characters were well defined. However, I should have read the trigger warnings, because it just wasn't the type of story I enjoy. But I can appreciate a well written plot. It was just too violent for my tastes.

Alright, buckle up.

I don't even know how to rate this. Reading Fairydale felt like watching an episode of supernatural crash into Bridgerton, with a side of monster smut and a time travel hangover. The writing veers into cliche and cringe more than once, the plot jumps around so hard i had whiplash. and i still don't know what was real half of the time and what wasn't. Was that the point? if so 5 stars, bravo.

It's historical fiction meets gothic paranormal romance, with an enemies to lovers? slow burn that turns full sci-fi fever dream. The pacing is wild, like, 59 pages of slow detail, and then a thousand years could pass by and be summed up in only 2 pages. And yet ??? i didn't hate it? This book belongs in a hear me out cake. It is bizarre, horrifically predictable, and sometimes so perfectly timed it feels lazy but i was oddly still invested to finish.

If you like chaotic plots that don't really make sense but somehow keep you hooked, this might be your kind of weird.

Anyways,

MANY thanks to Netgalley & Atria books for a chance to read and review this book!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - really liked it
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ explicit open door
At least two intimate scenes, explicit language with a variety of sexual acts.

I received a free eARC from the publisher through NetGalley. My review is my own honest opinion about the book.

Book Review: Fairydale
Release Date: 8/19/25

(These opinions are mine, if you don't agree, talk about that on your page)

*Spoilers Ahead*

What I loved:
When all the puzzle pieces started to come together, I loved it.
The EPIC love story between our main characters.

What I did not love:
The first half of the book is INCREDIBLY slow building the back story.

#FreyaVictoria #NetGalley #Fairydale #RomanticFantasyBooks
Will be posted to Facebook, Instagram and TikTok 7/27

Fairydale was a dark, magical escape I didn’t know I needed. The atmosphere was haunting yet beautiful, pulling me into a twisted fairytale that kept me turning the pages. The author does a great job blending fantasy with just the right touch of spice and suspense. If you love morally gray characters, eerie vibes, and stories that feel like a nightmare wrapped in poetry, this book delivers.