A haunting novella from Shauna Lawless set in the Gael Song world and serving as a prequel to the main series, Dreams of Sorrow is a treat to fans that provides crucial insight into the characters of Tomas and Senna. An excellent lead up to the highly anticipated conclusion to the trilogy, due out in September!

#gaelsong #dreamsofsorrow

I have been provided access to Dreams of Sorrow by Head of Zeus via Netgalley, in return for an honest review.

Absolutely loved the first novella and the first instalment of Gael Song, so of course I was excited to see if Shauna Lawless was going to make this 3/3 for me.

In short, she did!

Senna is a great, compelling younger character who is suddenly thrown into a whole new world, as she discovers she has unique abilities, and must instantly leave behind all that she knows, including the man she loves.

We have a great mix of new and familiar characters, so you can read this to enhance your Gael Song experience, or to dive into after reading just the first novella of the series. In just a short page count, we are provided a compelling, engaging read that had an incredible finale.

4.25/5 STARS

THANK YOU to the publisher, Head of Zeus, and the author, Shauna Lawless, for graciously providing a NetGalley link to this book for me to read and review! All opinions discussed are my own and are subjective to myself as a reader.

Shauna Lawless has delivered another impeccably written installment for her Irish-inspired historical fantasy series, Gael Song.

It is incredibly satisfying to get the full story behind some of the most mysterious characters from the Gael Song series. In the case of this novella, DREAMS OF SORROW, it has inspired a few predictions of what may (or may not) occur in the next book of the main trilogy.

The ability to do magic is not always a gift one would want, especially for young Senna, whose is on the verge of having the life she's been dreaming of. Those who are meant to help her, train her to use her magic safely - none of than the fabled Descendants of the Tuatha De Danann, the former rulers of Ireland.

This is Senna's story, where she is torn between the mortal world and the magical one she never knew existed.

Shauna Lawless captured the inner turmoil of Senna so poignantly. It also stoked within me a rage - a thirst for vengeance which I do so hope to see come to bear in the next full length novel in this series later this year.

I've been recommending this series since I read the first book, but if there were ever a time to jump on board, it is now.

4.5⭐️ Dropped everything when I received an arc of this novella!!

Absolutely heartbreaking. To see the start of a certain character brought so much added depth to the overall narrative and will make me reconsider everything as I get ready to reread book 2. Also loved the window into the evil of a CERTAIN SOMEONE.

The only reason this is rated slightly lower than the first novella is because I didn’t feel quite as connected to the main pov but I would say this is faster paced and everyone that enjoys the Gael song will love this.

4.25 stars! Another excellent novella in the Gael Song series! This is a quick read that provides some heartbreaking backstory and reinforces my hatred of a certain character. Oh, I hate him so much. I love how Lawless uses her novellas to enhance the ongoing story rather than just giving readers a random side story set in the same world. Both ‘Dreams of Sorrow’ and ‘Dreams of Fire’ add a layer of background and detail that will give the final book a bigger impact, and I am SO READY to see how everything wraps up in ‘The Land of the Living and the Dead.’

Dreams of Sorrow is a new novella in the historical fantasy series Gael Song, written by Shauna Lawless, and which will be published by Head of Zeus. As a note, the recommendation of the author is to read Dreams of Sorrow after finishing The Words of Kings and Prophets, so consider this book as the 2.5 in the Gael Song series; and let me tell you, Lawless packs a big punch in this novella, an intense story of love, ambition and treason.

In Dreams of Sorrow, Lawless tells the story of an innocent teenager in love, Senna, who unexpectedly discovers her powers after she's angered during a festival; shortly after, her mother reveals the truth about her lineage, discovering that Senna is a Descendant of the Tuatha Dé Danann. As a way to protect her, she's sent with other Descendants, where she can learn to control her gift and use her magic.

However, for a girl growing between the mortal and magical existence, things are not really easy and the appearances prove to be deceiving. The reader will soon recognise other characters from the Gael Song series, and especially, they will get a taste of the ambition and thirst of power of Tomas; together with Gobnat, he will try to gain the control over the druids.

In a short length, Lawless manages to pack a meaningful story, which can be enjoyed as a standalone, but that will reward those loyal readers that have accompanied her during the series. With her characteristic mix between history and fantasy, we are transported to that Viking Ireland and get a new taste of what this series can offer.

Another wonderful novella from Lawless that further enhances the larger series. I don't know how she keeps churning out these amazing stories, there must be a ton of great ideas pouring from her brain every minute of the day! If you enjoy Celtic mythology and a more classic fantasy feel, this is the series you should be reading. Such a nice change of pace from the usual tropey stuff that is saturating the market these days.

I was privileged enough to receive an ARC copy of this novella in the Gael Song series, and needless to say, I enjoyed my chance to spend a little more time in this historical world immensely! This book is set before the main trilogy takes place and is noted as best read between books 2 and 3. It sets up some of what happens in the 3rd book very well. I actually didn't mind at all reading this after I'd read book 3 as it just went back and filled in some background very nicely. I can definitely say that if you've enjoyed reading any of the other books in this series or are looking for a great historical fantasy, you will enjoy reading this as well. It fits in perfectly and has the same distinct style and feel to it as the others, a style and feel that I really find easy to read and enjoy. I cannot recommend reading all of the books and novellas in this series enough. The characters, storyline, setting are all magical, and so well written and I have had nothing but fun reading them all. 5/5 stars for me.

I received this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. Thank you NetGalley, Shauna and Head of Zeus Publishing!

Dreams of Sorrow is the second novella from Shauna Lawless set in the same world and time period as her Gael Song trilogy, Viking era Ireland. It tells the back story of one of the Descendants of the Tuatha de Dannan, Senna, a sweet, innocent young teenager on the brink of falling in love, who shockingly discovers she has magical powers when angered sufficiently after the Beltane feast.

Anyone who has read Lawless’s novels will be surprised by the unexpected nature of Senna, a character who readers already know from the first two full-length novels of the trilogy, but in a very different guise.

Tomas the Druid shows his true colours as a dastardly villain in this character-driven story. We had begun to see this side of his personality in The Words of Kings and Prophets, but Dreams of Sorrow shows the horrific extent of his cruelty.

Dreams of Sorrow is an enjoyable short read which adds nicely to the layers of information surrounding the mysterious Descendants, and which fans of the series will thoroughly enjoy!

First of all I must recommend you all read this novella after reading “The Words of Kings and Prophets” for a better experience of the journey. Get to know Senna’s “present” before going back to its past.

Because this is such a short book there is so much I can tell you about it. I cannot give away anything of the plot for it would spoil your experience reading it and you should be surprised by the revelations in this book. I can only say that some of the characters in the main “Gael Song” story show their real nature here, there’s a lot of anger, pain, and violence in a way. Shauna controls that masterfully so it doesn’t sound too much, just the right amount for us to feel what the characters are feeling, even those we don’t like. She calls our empathy and she succeeds in that. And it explains some aspects of the trilogy that at least so far are a mystery. So the real question is, is this book worth it? And my answer is, yes, definitely yes.

If you’ve read anything from Shauna Lawless you already know how compelling, exciting and lyrical her writings are. This novella is written in the same line, but of course the story is less subtle, since there’s not much space to include more twists and turns than what it already has and there are no subplots. It goes straight to the point, more so compared to the novels. But the writing is the same dreamy and legendary as it always is with the author, and that’s what I love the most about her books. Each book she releases confirms that she is a favourite of mine.