Who can say no to Fair ones, Druids, Will O’Wisps, Púkas and portals to a magical realm ?? Not me that’s for suuure 🧙🏼‍♀️ I can’t wait to read book 2 coming out next year (Claire - you know I need Ash and Set to get together 😉😂😂)

Although this is very much in the "Coming into their own" trope, aside from that, the suspense is great. The plot twists are great and plentiful, and the family that is formed is going to be an unstoppable powerhouse cast. Going into this book, I already knew I'd be biased towards liking it just because of it's location and the fact that it was high fantasy. However, since it's a debut novel from this author, I was not expecting to love this book as much as I did. It had absolutely everything that I require from a fantasy novel! 10/10 recommend. An amazing start to a series and a great debut for the author. It ended with me feeling exactly as I should've: overwhelmed with many questions, predictions, and wanting to know what happens next. There's a lot of world building, different species of fae and other mythical creatures, a pronunciation guide at the end (which I really appreciated), and many familiar and unfamiliar legends. I simply cannot talk about the characters without wanting to get into spoilers so just know that at the end, the author made me laugh, cry, and root for each main one! Aisling, Tiernan, and Set were my absolute favorite characters! The levels of sympathy I have for them is off the charts, and that's all I'll say on that. Bonded by troubled pasts and deadly circumstances, the team of misfits must face damaging truths as they try to stop their worlds from colliding. The characters in this one were also really captivating. I loved Tiernan, Maebh and Set the most. One of my improvements would be that I did find the main character, Ash, a bit bland to start with. I enjoyed her POV’s in the second half of the book a lot more when she started standing her ground and finding her strength. Perhaps this was due to me finding my feet in the story at the beginning, but I always felt myself more drawn to the side characters. All the side characters were really unique and had compelling stories of their own, and great dynamics with the each other. Claire had AMAZING world building, I felt like I could truly picture the setting. Also first book in awhile that the fae weren’t “good”, which I haven’t read in awhile. The cast of characters were amazing and each so unique, I loved that we got to hear from all their POVs.If I were to put this review in a nutshell, it would go as follows: I simply loved this book and found it so exciting, I was practically bouncing in my seat. I cannot wait for the second one! This story takes place in a small town in Ireland where the faerie and human lands run parallel, but humans don’t know they exist. Insert the finnian warriors/clans who help to make sure that is how it stays. Throughout the story we get to follow two clans as they compete against one another for a spot in the kings immortal army. All while also trying to solve the FMC mothers murder, who she hasn’t spoken to in 7 years. I was prepared for more, but I will have to be patient. Those are the steamiest moments I highlighted during my read. Bonded by troubled pasts and deadly circumstances, the team of misfits must face damaging truths as they try to stop their worlds from colliding.’ A murder leaves Aisling motherless, thrusting her into the position of matriarch in a world she thought she'd never return to. Teaming up with unlikely allies for a competition steeped in peril, she can't resist the distraction warrior Setanta offers. Brooding, gorgeous, and impossibly strong, he give her a chance to be something she never could before—herself.

This book is incredibly enjoyable. I didn’t have any expectations going in. I only knew it was a fantasy set in Ireland.

Now, what I think is the strongest point of this book, the characters, this story follows multiple points of view, and every single one of them was really good, but my favorite was Ash’s POV. But the four of them were fascinating. I love that every one of the four main characters, Ash, Set, Maebh, and Tier; had their own adventure and space to grow through the story, to feel their fears and to make their own choices.

And I loved the storyline. With the Irish legends and lore, romance, and mystery, I was hooked from the first chapter.A realm of Lore and Lies breathes life into Irish Folklore. We follow the points of view of four different characters whose lives are tangled together in mystery and loss. The first 40% of this book introduces us to each of the four protagonists and we are shown the world of the travelling Fianna and what it means to live as one. Tiernan is the type of guy you want to have in your life in whatever way he will let you. Friend, boyfriend, husband, anything. He is the guy you want in your corner. He has a heart of gold and is the most incredible character in this book. I love him and will protect him at all costs. There were great twists and turns. I love the magic. Claire created a world that is so believable that I could see myself living there. There are some heart wrenching moments too. Why do all the best stories have to rip our hearts out? Nothing is as it seems but some of the questions to all the mystery are answered. The ending isn’t a cliffhanger that leaves you saying, “What the hell just happened?” But it leaves you wanting the next book. That epilogue, however, is an amazing way to end it! I was like, “No way!” I can’t wait for the next installment! Claire Wright wrote a delightful cast of characters, each with their own different vibrant personalities that I loved. We get the 4 POVs of the main characters and I liked all of POVs. I didn’t find myself wanting one characters over the others which sometimes happens when I read books with more than two POVs. Aisling discovers so many secrets and this book really kept me on my toes while reading! I have to know what happens next to these characters! There was still plenty of mystery and dark plots and sectrets to unfold and much more of the world I want to explore. I am hoping to see a lot more lore and mythology come about and hopefully see more of the fair ones.

Each character's live with their own burdens. At some point, I wanted them to just « get it over with ». Lots of internal dialogues about how guilty they felt, what they should have done… I would've loved more interactions between them.

Advance Praise

The world the author created is incredible! WHAT A DEBUT BOOK! 💛 This book is more focused on Fantasy, with a romance sub genre. However, the focus is not on the romance and trust me, you don't even mind that. The relationships between the characters are still developed beautifully and the friendships formed!! I feel like I love the friendship and found family aspects more or equally to the romantic relationships between the characters. Same Ash, same. And talking about Aisling, welcome to this honest review of Realm of Lore and Lies, a book I had the opportunity to read as an advance copy. With the help of Maebh, Setanta and Tiernan, Ash has to claim her birthright, find a murderer and win some quest I've read a lot of fae-related books this year, but I found this story to be incredibly refreshing because it wasn't the romantasy story I expected. Instead, the book delivers a mystery-filled adventure story, steeped in Irish lore.