Had to wait for the audio for this one as I got lost at times (still new to the fantasy genre) but it was such an interesting read and did enjoy it!

ARC gifted by NetGalley for review

I genuinely don’t understand this book having such a low rating. It was very entertaining, I loved the characters, and I was very interested in the plot. I feel like the people that complain nothing happens haven’t read far enough into the book. This is the first book in a series setting up an entire world. There was a lot of important groundwork that had to be laid out. I thought the casual representation in this book was so well done. I enjoyed getting to see things that I as a white person have never even considered when thinking of a fantasy such as haircare!! We need more representation like this and we need it in a casual way. It wasn’t a perfect book but I think it really successfully set up the series

Lore of the Wilds is a fantasy romance following Lore, a human who must save her village by entering Fae territory and work in their enchanted library. I enjoyed many parts of this story, but overall I just found it a bit underwhelming. I was interested in this book because of the magical library aspect, and once we moved on from this area I found myself losing interest in the novel. I did get pulled back in by the end but I do not think that I will continue on with this series.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy to review. All opinions are my own.

Overall I enjoyed Lore of the Wilds, but I would not classify it as a romantasy but as fantasy with a side of romance. Lore makes a deal with a fae lord when her family and village life are threatened by a devastating earthquake. While she does not trust the fae as they have kept the humans oppressed, she will do anything to protect her family. A fae lord wants an enchanted book from the library, but no fae is able to enter the library an survive, and Lore is a human who is able to read the fae language. As she searches the library, she finds a book that allows her to access its magic - with this book she discovers the fae lord did not follow through on his promise and her village and family are in danger. Along with her fae guard, Asher, she escapes to rescue her family. I liked the world and I adore Lore, however pacing was a bit off, and there is zero development in the relationship between Asher and Lore. Then a second man, Finn is introduced and Lore finds herself attracted to him, but completely forgets about Finn when Asher returns, again the whole situation didn't have much development on page. The twist threw me and I was there for it - but a cliffhanger - NOOOOOO! I will be picking up book 2 and look forward to spending more time with Lore.

3.5 rounded to 4

I can't speak highly enough about Lore of the Wilds. In fact this is probably my favorite fantasy book of 2024!

The story is about a human girl named Lore who is trapped in forested prison by a Fae Lord. When her village is destroyed by an earthquake and then threatened she strikes a deal to leave her home and catalog an enchanted library that hasn't been touched in over 1,000 years.

Little does the Fae Lord know, she has her eyes set on attaining magic of her very own.

As Lore's story unfolds she ends up getting the help of two amazing, extremely attractive, and dangerous Fae males. I honestly can't tell you which one I'm rooting for because they are both so well written.

Every single page of Lore of the Wilds kept me captivated and left me with my jaw on the floor at the very end. To say the least I can't wait for book 2 to come out. Do yourself a favor and read book 1, so you're ready when the next comes out. You won't regret it!

I really loved the world building and atmosphere of this book. The character changes and discoveries kept me gripped on every page. I can't wait to embark on the next part of the adventure in the books to come!!

3.5 rounded up. I was really enjoying this until the last chapter and then that kind of ruined everything for me. It felt like a cheap plot twist that just didn’t have the foundation to back it up. The love triangle stuff wasn’t well developed and annoyed me especially with how late in the game the second love interest is introduced. I’m really just laying here seething over the ending because it just felt like shock to be shock rather than something that actually makes sense within the rest of the context of the book.

I'm so disappointed to say that this didn't hit the way I needed. It felt a little young for being an adult book and I think part of that was how chaotic everything was with plot and pacing and character
Building and intentions. It just didn't pull together great but it had all the right components I'd say.

Lore lives in a land that is ruled by the ruthless Fae. Her people live under their thumb and are constantly struggling to make ends meet.

Fae guards come looking for Lore’s aunt and need to bring her back to the palace and Lore takes her place.

Theres a library with a deadly enchantment and the Fae Lord wants something hidden within. Lore must risk herself and enter the library and find what the Fae Lord wants, little does she know, what she does find, will change her life forever.

R E V I E W:
For the most part, I really liked this book. The characters were lovable, the story was interesting and the ending was just crazy.

The pacing was bit off for me. I also thought some things that happened in the book could have been flushed out a bit better and it slightly bothered me.

I’m hoping book two is put together a little bit better but that ending had me. How dare they do that to us.

Overall, it’s a solid read and I will be reading book two when it comes out.
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I had heard that this book struggled with what it wanted to be and I can see that. It felt like it wanted to be cozy fantasy but it dealt with some much darker material than I would expect from cozy fantasy in general. I didn't mind it because I typically read darker material but it did leave the book feeling...confused. I also felt that the voices of the MC's were a lot more juvenile and modern day than what fit the story. And that threw me off a bit.

Honestly this book is nothing like the fantasies I've read before. The characters and magic system are super unique and the characters were easily lovable. The only critique I have is that the romance wasn't developed enough. I felt like it was 0-100 and I wanted much more pining and slow burn. Especially knowing this is part of a series the romance could really develop over multiple books but they kissed at like 50% which is just too fast for me. Overall I'll definitely read the next one and I'm excited to see how the story develops from here!

Lore of the Wilds initially hooked me with a magical library and two dangerous Fae. But, just so you know, we don't spend that much time in the library and instead are thrown headfirst into action. What I was intrigued by next was the relationship between the Fae and the humans. The Fae have this derision for the humans and Lore makes this bargain just to survive. Quickly without allies, how will Lore figure out who she can trust? Lore of the Wilds then becomes a story about alliances, betrayal, and trust.

Actual rating 2.5

I really REALLY wanted to like this book, but in the end it was underwhelming with forgettable characters and writing that needs more development on a craft level.

This one was disappointing, especially with THAT cover and synopsis? I was really rooting for this one!

This did not grab my attention. It is very amateur and is obviously jumping on the band wagon. Also, No more love triangles. I am so tired of love triangles.

This was one of my most anticipated reads this year and I was left unsatisfied for the most part, which is unfortunate.

This book definitely screams debut. I wasn’t a huge fan of the writing style and I felt like there were long periods of time where the character was just thinking or there was description and there are some readers who love that but me personally I find it to be dull and dry. It drags the book and it personally made me feel like I had to wait for interesting things to happen and then when there was some inkling of interest we would go right back to the prolonged thoughts and long descriptions.

I really enjoyed the characters and I found them unique and interesting. The magic system was different, but I felt like I didn’t quite understand the rules of it which extends to the world in this book. For a book with such long descriptions, I feel like I didn’t fully grasp the world.

Now, this book is classified as a romantasy, and that is absolute true. But considering this is a love triangle (which I personally still love) weirdly didn’t feel like a love triangle for some reason. Both love interests were developed separately which dull the excitement of a love triangle and I didn’t particularly love either of the male lead. I just didn’t get the excitement that I normally get with romantasy with these love interests.

I will say the most interesting part of this book besides the magical library in the beginning was the ending. There were some shocking factors and it was really exciting but shocking with how dull I felt the book was in the middle. It definitely peaked my interest to pick up the next book, but we will see how I feel once it’s released.

I really enjoyed this book, its not the best I've ever read but it was just what I needed at the time, a fun book to get me out of a reading slump.

DNF.

I felt like the storyline was an interesting premise, but it was executed so poorly. The characters had no chemistry with each other and the plot line felt half completed.

Unfortunately this one was not for me.

Such an incredibly fun read and I thoroughly enjoyed how the Black fmc took care of her hair while on the road.

super fun at first but got slow in some parts. loved the so so much!! i felt like the idea was super solid but the execution could’ve used some work. that being said, i would still recommend this book if your looking for some cozy romantasy because it definitely delivers there.

From the moment I saw the cover I knew I absolutely HAD to read this book and it did not disappoint I very much enjoyed it can’t wait till the next one comes out