This book was just okay. I think there was way too much exposition , and even the first big event (Ash finding her mother) did not speed up the plot. The multiple points of view were flat and didn't feel needed, I think some characters could have introduced their POV later

4.25/5*

What a book!

A very slow beginning to this book though. I’m not sure if it’s because all the Irish names, pronunciations and lore was extremely hard to get straight for someone who hasn’t read this genre before or if it was just a lot of details thrown at me really quick. I had to look up references in the back of the book frequently, so reading was slow. I almost gave up around the 20% mark but I am SO happy that I didn’t. Starting a quarter way through, the characters become more established and the plot gets really good. It was a fantastic glimpse into Irish folklore and culture with wonderful world building.

I really liked Ash and Maebh. They are two awesome FMCs who aren’t flakey or afraid to take charge, which is exactly what I like to see in a novel. Set and Tiernan are also amazing supporting characters. The plot takes the reader on a thrilling ride through worlds, murders, plots, schemes, lies and lore, exactly as this book promises. There were a couple moments in which I was a little confused as to where the novel going because there seemed to be so many plots layered on top of each other, that was hard to focus. I would have liked to see a bit more direction and closure of some conflicts before this book ended with a huge cliffhanger.

Overall, a fantastic debut novel with no lack of details and exciting plot twists. I look forward to see how this world develops in the next book.


**I was lucky enough to read an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. **

I don’t know where to begin…
One: I don’t know if it’s my imagination but this book seemed to be longer than the other ARCs I got from NetGalley. And I loved this! Thick books are my favourite.
Two: Fairy tales for grown ups. Again, love it! While retellings of Grimms tales are a nice way of making those more mature, I really enjoyed that this story was aimed at an older group. I didn’t know much about Irish more (except for Tir Na Nog, thanks to the series mystic knights) but the author made it so easy to follow and dive into the world.
Three: The four main characters. Their reasonings were a bit cryptic at times which I’m not a fan of but I get that it’s part of the story Progression and therefore necessary. Nevertheless the characters were very different from each other and nicely fleshed out. No spoilers but I hope that one character returns and I’m rooting for a HEA for all four of them!

Can’t wait for the next book in this trilogy and wow, what a read this one was!

As an Irish Fantasy book lover I'm used to authors from other nationalities borrowing aspects of Irish lore for their fantasy books.
I'm was delighted to read a fantasy book by an irish author being inspired by the Irish lore and including pucas, banshees, the fianna etc- it really enhanced my experience.

I really loved reading every second of it! Aisling is a great character! I can't believe this is this is the authors debut, I look forward to reading more from her.

*Thank you NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for this ARC in exchange for an honest review*

4.5 ⭐️

I really loved the setup of this book, the Irish folklore and the world Claire Wright created 🪄

The third person perspective was refreshing, although I kind of wanted a little more depth to each of the characters. But throughout this book (that I read through in no time - because it’s really captivating!) I love the love stories, found families and the connections between them💖

The book has some slow spots, but I think the overall plot makes it worth it and would definitely recommend for the folklore /fantasy lovers out there!
Who can say no to Fair ones, Druids, Will O’Wisps, Púkas and portals to a magical realm ?? Not me that’s for suuure 🧙🏼‍♀️

Aisling is probably my favorite character in here, she’s totally badass but also has her doubts and cringy selfish thoughts throughout the book. Which I think is relatable to most people 🌸 And my heart really breaks for her several times throughout the book.


I reeeeally want to read the next one now, because that ending left me on my toes with teary eyes 👀

I loved this book so much! Definitely in my favorites of 2022 so far. I cannot believe this is the author's debut release! This book is character-driven with multiple POVs. It has been quite a while since I was interested in every character's storyline individually. In this book I was. Switching between perspectives didn't feel distracting. I was completely invested in what happened to each of ghte characters in this story.

This story also includes little known and rarely discussed mythological creatures/entitles from Celtic Mythology and Lore. .The modern clan systems being part of the main story line was really entertaining. I'm really happy I had the opportunity to read this book and I will continue with the series as future books come out. Fans of Sarah J. Maas will probably enjoy this book. Is it time for the second book to come out yet???!!!!

I really loved this book and already cannot wait for the second book to come out, it left me wanting more.

I loved the characters, the setting, the plot and the overall pace of this book.

My only issue was seeing the pronunciation guide at the end of the book and realizing I was pronouncing many of the Gaeilge words wrong.

I really enjoyed this book!! I always enjoy a good story of the Fae and this was right up my alley. I very much enjoyed the characters, setting and pacing.

Thanks to BooksGoSocial and Netgalley for this E-arc.

Uhmmm Claire Wright, where have you been hiding and how dare you right a beautiful book to end of a cliffhanger so that I have to pine for the sequel? The audacity.

This book switches between four different points of view. Ash, Maebh, Set, and Tiernan are all part of the Finna Clans. While the Finna are disregarded in mainstream Irish society, they are really an ancient clan of warriors with the fair sight. Even though they can see the Fae they aren't supposed to intervene..

This story has everything al little mystery, a little spicy, and a lot of Irish folklore.

I can't wait for the next book.

I received this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This has a great hook! I liked the Irish roots and the pronunciation guide. A little slow at times but a good read overall.

Aisling is a Fianna, or a people that have The Sight and protect the human world from the Fair Ones, or fae. She is suddenly thrust into the position of matriarch of her clan after the shocking murder of her mother. It follows three other characters as well. Maebh, a young woman hell bent on finding her missing father and proving her worth to her over bearing mother. Maeve’s twin, Setanta, fighting against an affliction that turns him into a monster. And Tiernan, a Fianna skeptic who is searching for his missing mother.
The mystery and suspense was unreal. I had no idea what to expect from one moment to the next. This is not a book you can easily anticipate.
And oh my gosh. This book was so good. Realm of Lore and Lies is definitely a slow build, so if you’re hoping to jump straight into the action with a clear idea of what’s happening, you don’t. But, with the slowness you get INCREDIBLE world building. Honestly, few books have the depth and intricacies of a magic world while keeping the story interesting and moving forward. I was absolutely captivated. I already cannot wait until the second book comes out!

Side note: the pronunciation guide at the end is necessary and a lifesaver. You need it. Irish Gaelic is very confusing to my brain!!!

I think this one was good I just wasn’t into it as much as I’d liked. At times it had me roped in and other times I’d put it down for days on end. I think this would be a great fantasy read for mood readers!

Realm of Lore and Lies was a book I enjoyed but I have a few problems with it. first, I think that the pacing was odd nothing really happened in the first half, and then suddenly the book felt rushed, I think the book did have good world building but it just wasn’t explained very well. The characters weren’t introduced and it was unclear how knew each other. I am not sure if it is because I don’t know much about Irish mythology but I was quite confused. I would definitely read the sequel to this book to see how the plot continues!!!

4.5 stars

WOWIE WHAT A BOOK! the characters and the writing are just *chef kiss*

the story takes place in ireland, and is based off irish folklore. it follows the stories of aisling (ash) breen, tiernan cassidy, setana (set) and meabh mcquillian, and conor breen, and how their paths intertwine as they are dropped in Tír na nÓg to go on a scavenger hunt. think hunger games, but less barbaric (?)

without giving too much away, here are my fav moments from this book:
1. set's kinda like the hulk (he's ginormous in all parts iykyk)
2. meabh and ash become bffs and its so cute (they also kinds share the same power)
3. tiernan's cousin emer is a giant pile of flaming shit and i don't like her
4. tattoos :')
5. just women hyping each other up and men not giving them shit for being strong and being leaders

overall, a solid read, and i am definitely looking forward to book 2

While this book has some plot points I really liked I struggled throughout the read. There was so much going on that I found it a little hard to keep up. I ended up making it more than half way through this one before I DNF'ed it.

The story follows four characters and their pov's with a murder mystery plot. It did have some parts I really enjoyed and I would say that if multiple POV's don't bother you to give this one a try.

I agree with the reviewer that said the pacing was off with this one. It's really hard to review because in a lot of ways this story is brilliant and vivid and interesting, and even gives me sincere Harry Potter vibes in a way that isn't at all derivative but instead contains it's unique ability to world build and twist and turns in a way where you're not sure what to expect. I really think this author is talented and has such an original and cool story here. I think honestly that this book could have used more editing, like someone should have been telling her "flesh more out here" "explain how these feelings got to this point" "this is too abrupt, you need to work into this" "it's dragging too much here," and so I feel like maybe don't publish this yet? Go back and work on it because this story is brilliant! I love Ash and Conor's closeness, I am so interested in what's going on with Maebh and and Tiernan, and desperate to see how Set and Ash pan out. The actual story deserves five stars, it's a great plot, but it really, really needs more work to be what it is capable of being.

I honestly didn’t know what this book was for at least the first third of it. I was drawn in by the mythology but couldn’t tell of it was going to be thriller, fantasy, or some amalgamation of both. I like that the characters are flawed and so human, fae sight or no, and that we get to see how “fair” the fair folk really are. But for a series named after the fair ones, we see precious few of them. For all the series romanticizing the fae as of late, I love that Realm of Lore and Lies holds them apart as an other that is hard to be knowable. Despite the legends and lore, they aren’t to be understood. But even more so, I like the fact that despite their otherness, the Tuatha Dé are not the antagonists, at least as far as we know. This has rambled on, but I have to say that I’m hooked and will certainly be picking up the sequel as soon as may be. And as Maebh and Tiernan immortalized, “Níl sé ach ina thús.”

First, a sincere thank you to the publisher for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.

The story takes place in a modern world with a parallel faerie realm, which is reminiscent of Holly Black's work. Realm of Lore and Lies follows a band of outcasts as they compete in a competition against other clans to become immortal warriors for the king. Features a murder mystery plot trying to solve the murder of main character Aisling's mother. I found the world building to be very well written without coming across as too heavily involved that it hinders the plot and character development. A fantastic read for fans of fantasy and Irish mythology.

This is an incredibly magical story with lush prose and incredible characters, both main and supporting. The author is so incredibly transportive to this magical world..

This book was very interesting and refreshing. I loved the way Claire Wright told this story, as she set it up beautifully. I loved how although the book was written in third person, each chapter focused primarily on a different character and their thoughts. Books written like that are so refreshing and such a joy to read. I found Ash's story to be the most interesting and entertaining because she was the easiest one for me to relate to. The other characters, however, are still interesting. One thing to note about this book is that it is relatively on the lengthy side and does move a bit slow during some parts. It didn't bother me much because the plot was still overall interesting, but keep that in mind while reading this one. I would still recommend it!

Thank you NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for this free arc in exchange for my honest review.