I tried, I really did try to get into this story but it somewhat just did not do it for me.
I wish the characters and world were more developed. Everything was in there to interest me but I could not get into it!

One word - potential.
This book has all the elements of a great book but it just didn’t get there for me. There was always so much going on that when big events occurred you didn’t even notice them or feel them as much.

The author seems to be able to write certain characters better than some as well which grips you in more but can easily loose you as there isn’t a big enough distinction between characters personalities.

I started this book quite a while ago and unfortunately I struggled to get through it. Some chapters were so good I was like finally we are getting into the plot but then the next few chapters would lead me confused and often a little tired. My star rating is a little generous as I did not read this book in one sitting I picked it up over several months which may have contributed to the disconnection I felt but I did read majority of the book in two days.

This was my first ARC provided by NetGalley for a honest review.

This books had such an interesting synopsis and the Irish lore was unique and drew me to the book. There was a lot going on in the book, and the multiple POVS contributed to this. With four POVS, I felt that was too many but saw the value in it. Personally, however, I think this took away from the story. The world itself was rich and built in a satisfying way and I enjoyed the characters. The mystery also added a nice, unique aspect to the story.

The main reason I chose to read this book was because of the cover, but it became so much more! It was a perfect book to cuddle up next to a fire.

A strong book that went south fast. I couldn't finish this one. Thank you to the author and publisher for my copy in exchange for a review.

This synopsis really got me and why I wanted to review it. However, it was so hard to get into. It just didn't hold my attention and the pace was not for me. I also wanted to like the multiple POV's more than I did but I feel like it just watered down the characters instead of making readers feel connected to them. I liked the basis of the story and the Irish setting and folklore, the execution and pacing just made it hard to really enjoy and love.

I was thoroughly surprised by this debut fantasy by Claire Wright. A fun read that I did not want to put down. I knew going into it that it was going to be a slow burn, but so much happened in each chapter that it did not feel that slow in the end. There was lots of character and world building to set up for the rest of the series, which I appreciated. Wright took the time to research, and ensure that the reader understands the Irish folklore behind the novel.

Told from the POV of four different characters, there are some overlapping of timelines, but it is necessary to the overall understanding of the novel. This was not a distractor at all.

I can not wait for the next installment!!

I want to thank Netgalley and BooksGoSocial for an ARC of this book.

Thank you NetGalley and Books Go Social for the eArc in exchange for an honest review.

I wanted to like this one. The synopsis is what made me want to read it but unfortunately I couldn't get into it. the pace was too slow and nothing seemed to be happening. I also wasn't a fan of the multiple POV's.

It's a possibility that it was me and I'll give it another shot another time.

Ash is part of the Fianna people, human yet able to see the Fair Ones. She was separated from her clan after an argument with her mother, Cara Breen, ruling matriarch of the Breen Clan. After 7 years, a banshee appears to Ash, signalling death, and Ash finds her mother murdered nearby. By Fianna customs, she is now clan matriarch. She accepts at the insistence of her brother and new friend Tiernan, despite the fact that most of her clan wishes her to relinquish her title. Tiernan wants Ash to continue looking into the caillte, a group of Fianna that went missing years ago, and Ash agrees to help look for them as she suspects her mother was also looking for them. So now she must prove her worthiness as matriarch, find out what happened to her mother, and try to find the caillte.

There were a lot of moving parts in this story. But things did eventually come together and I enjoyed it. The main characters are likeable and the mystery is good. The only real complaint I have is there was some repetition that occasionally took me out of the moment as well as some odd sentence structuring from time to time. But I was reading an ARC and those things could have been fixed by publication. And they didn't affect my enjoyment. Also, I like a bit more closure in a book before the cliffhanger but I'm still looking forward to the next one.

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for the advanced copy.

I enjoyed this book for the most part. I found that the storyline was fascinating and my original assumptions about love interests were not correct (which is always exciting). The world was slightly hard to follow, but it was an interesting world to learn. I appreciated the Irish folklore basis and the intriguing lives that the characters were living. I like when I can learn about other cultures (fictional included). I did find the story to be long and slow in some parts, but I did get attached to the characters that way. I am definitely looking forward to seeing what happens after that ending. I need there to be so remediation for the trauma I have been caused.

I was so excited for this title. The Irish lore aspect is what drew me in.

I struggled with this one. The pacing felt so off in the beginning and I felt like I was forcing myself to read it. The multi POV was the wrong choice here I believe. It felt so long for something to actually happen. I’m very sad that this did not work for me, but I would love to try Claire Wright again in the future.

I really enjoyed the mystery aspect of this book, I loved the Irish folklore and enjoyed how mystical it felt. Loved it so much I would love to re read again!!

Mystery meets Irish folklore.  I loved this debut novel.  The characters are well drawn and the use of Irish folklore was done with a deft hand.  You cared a lot about the character as they were introduced.  Aisling Breen steps into her birthright with all the self consciousness that comes with being thrust into a position too young but grows into her position with power and grace.  It's worth the wait when they finally get to the land of the fae and the mysterious and tragic deaths are revealed to be the work of someone you never suspected.  It leaves you with a cliffhanger that makes me want the next book to come out tomorrow!

2.5 🌟 I cannot express the relief I feel after FINALLY finishing this book. I started reading it in September on NetGalley, and at first I loved it. Then we got into another point of view, then another one, and so forth. This book had tremendous potential, but just missed the mark for me. To be frank, it was a mess.

Ash leaves her clan to live in the human world and is doing just fine until *no spoilers* something happens that causes her to return to her clan. She returns as matriarch of her clan and enrolls them in The Cath- a competition to decide the next High King's guard.

Here's where things start to decline. Did the Cath actually happen yet? As far as I could tell they weren't participating in it yet by the end of the book. They received a side quest from the current high king and they went off to do that and while they did that they found out who had been killing people along the way. Oh yeah, and some of them have powers. That's important for the next book.

It's obvious that there was a lot of research that went into this book, but we didn't get the world building that we could have. There are a lot of loose ends (which can be tied up in the next book!), so I would hope to see the next book flesh out characters more and really edit edit edit because it just dragged. There wasn't enough action, and when there was it just didn't end. Everything happens in the last 30 pages, and it was probably 25% longer than necessary. If you've read this book, what did you think? I have mixed feelings because I was SO excited in the beginning.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this digital ARC in exchange for my fair and honest review, this title is available now.

Unfortunately, I couldn't make it through 'Realm of Lore and Lies'. The story seems very intriguing and I might give it another shot in the future but I had to stop halfway through... Personally, I felt that there were too many POVs very early on in the story, and I didn't have time to ground myself. Especially considering that each POV had its own set of information. I just don't think I have the attention span for it. As a result, I ended up being confused and couldn't focus on the world itself.

Thank you for this ARC!

In a land that harbours two realms, magical creatures and dangerous games are a way of life and death for the travelling Fianna clans. It is an honour to visit Tír na nÓg, even if the price is pretending Fair Ones don’t hunt humans for sport.

Give me ALL the Fae fantasy books! Realm of Lore and Lies is a fun adventure. I enjoyed the uniqueness of the writing, characters, and storyline. Overall, Realm of Lore and Lies is atmospheric and it will take you on a RIDE!

I really wanted to love it, I really wanted to give more than 4 stars but it disappointed me so much. The book is well written, and all the story is nicely following and it gives good detail but the whole middle of the story is lacking of action. You could remove it that it won’t be too traumatic for the rest.. yes the story is well explained and you get to know the characters but it is boring in my opinion. I didn’t necessarily like the instant romance especially because it doesn’t bring much to the story itself. I will say read it to forge your own opinion on it as it is not a bad read at all, just not for me I guess. Overall the story had great potential and it is an interesting plot, but as I mentioned above the middle of the book don’t bring much to it and it could have been cut in some part to go to the interesting part.
I liked it and didn’t at the same time..

Thanks for this eARC. The idea and the setting were really unique and interesting. Although I have to admit that somehow something didn't click. And this is why I wasn't really able to get into the story.

3.75 stars

The ages in this book read really weird to me. I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that Ash is living with her foster parents and acting/being treated as if she is 16. There was never a point where she felt like an adult to me. Because of that, no one else really felt like an adult to me. Conor seemed like he was 12 one minute and 20 the next.

It felt to me like there was too much time spent establishing each character. When you have 4 character perspectives, it's a bit much right at the beginning. We have 4 chapters with Aisling and then start shifting perspectives, but after 4 chapters you're a teensy bit invested, and switching perspectives to 3 new characters at this point started to make my attention drift.

The characters were also quite flat. The only ones who stood out to me as memorable were Tiernan and Maebh. Ash is just bland porridge. Set was semi interesting but not enough. Conor was deeply traumatized but I could not with his fucking goth kid misery. He came across as petulant.

There were too many times that I wondered why the characters did not do something that they should have obviously done. Questions were not asked. Truths were not told. And it was nonsensical to me and frustrating to read.

The setting was lovely. It's obvious that Claire Wright loves her country. The lore was very interesting, and I actually think that the plot of the book is good in its bones, but it was long and meandering, and trudging through all those perspectives really slowed things down and made it drag.

Still, it was a relatively enjoyable read, and I would be interested in reading the next one. The author's skill seemed to improve a bit as I read, with the first quarter and last quarter feeling quite different to me, and I'm sure it will continue to improve with each book.

(Thank you to Netgalley and BooksGoSocial for an eARC in exchange for an honest review)

I really wanted to love this book. The summary and title drew me in but I was left disappointed and slightly bored.

The main reason being the pacing, it's all over the place. Nothing really happens for the first 50% and I did find myself having to push through chapter after chapter. But then when things actually did start happening, everything felt so rushed and underdeveloped.

The other big negative for me was the characters. They all had a lot of potential but with so many, they lacked development and all ended up feeling very surface-level. And as this is definitely a character-driven rather than plot-driven book, it just made everything feel kinda dull. Also, the main romances felt very forced. Don’t get me wrong, I love the books I read to have romance but there was just no chemistry between any of the characters and again, it all felt very rushed.

I do have to say though, the lore and world-building were fantastic and are definitely the strongest part of the book. All the Irish legends and lore that is built into this story are so interesting! You can tell the author has done so much research and had a real passion for her culture.

I feel like this book had so much potential with the plot and all the lore but was let down by the pacing and bland characters