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A review by aksmith92
Lore of the Wilds by Analeigh Sbrana
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
I am being generous with my three stars. It read less than three stars, but we need more diversity in our fantasies, and the concept was great. I implore Analeigh Sbrana to get a new editing team.
The Setup: Lore of the Wilds by Analeigh Sbrana is a fantasy romance debut that combines the allure of magical libraries and the tension of human-Fae relationships. The story centers around Lore Alemeyu, whose village is trapped in a forest under the oppressive rule of the Fae. In a desperate attempt to save her people, Lore makes a dangerous deal with a Fae lord to enter a cursed, ancient library untouched for centuries - one that no Fae can enter but might be navigable by a human. In exchange, Lore is told her homeland will be kept safe.
Lore's journey becomes a complex dance of trust, power, and attraction as she relies on two Fae males with vastly different yet equally dangerous "person"as. The book also touches on themes of power, autonomy, and the consequences of making deals with forces one doesn't fully understand.
What I Liked: A book about a magical library? Sign me up! A book about a magical book? Sign me up! A book that contains magical components from the earth, like vines and flowers? Sign.me.up. The premise was there, and I enjoyed it. I thoroughly enjoyed the novel's first half - getting to know Lore and her human family, seeing her in a magical library, and finding an enchanted book (no spoilers; it is literally on the cover). Magical stuff, especially from a book, makes me happy, and this did make me happy.
Additionally, seeing some diversity added to the genre was refreshing. I mean this in multiple ways - race/color of skin, sexuality (queerness was most certainly celebrated, and there was even one character who wasn't interested in it at all), different species in general in this fantasy, etc. While it was a little over the place and hard to follow, there were many different characters of different species, races, and thoughts. I enjoyed that aspect, and it should be celebrated much more.
I'm one of the few who doesn't mind love triangles or multiple romantic interests (this is not a spoiler; it is also on the cover and in the summary!). It was done fine here, although a deeper exploration or smoother romantic development would have likely made me more invested.
What I Didn't Like: Ugh, the majority of this book was a bummer because it was set up so well! For one, this book just needed another round of edits. It read very young-adult, if not more child-like, in my opinion. The sentence structure and prose, in general, were almost too simple for what this book was trying to offer. This book also had one or two spicier scenes, which seemed out of the blue when the prose felt younger.
Most people in the reviews will agree that the pacing was just off. The beginning started strong for me, but it splinted into too many directions once it reached the middle. Lore had one quest, then suddenly there was this other rescue mission that seemed out of the blue and unnecessary, and then ANOTHER rescue mission for something else entirely. I don't think having multiple rescue missions or plot turns is necessarily a bad thing, but this (1) read young, (2) felt more like a cozy fantasy (with some more violent actions than what is usually in cozy fantasies), and (3) was on the relatively shorter side for fantasy (but not for fantasy romance), making it just not work as well.
This book has a decent plot twist, which I will refrain from discussing here because it's a fun read when you don't know about it. I had an inkling about this plot twist but didn't see that big reveal coming, which I appreciated. As you read this, you're like, "Why isn't it in the liked section?!" Well, because as much as the twist was surprising, it still had plenty of plot holes, and I was left with many questions. It didn't make much sense, but it was a fun surprise nonetheless. I gave this plot twist some slack since this was the first book in a series. We might know more later.
It might be because of the prose and pacing, which were all over the place, but I couldn't root for the characters. I didn't feel like character development was strong enough here, and it made the characters blah, particularly Lore, who seemed to be able to do things quickly and easily in one turn and then couldn't do them at all in another. Like Harry Potter all those years ago, there was also a constant "I can't keep putting these people in harms way," or, "People are getting hurt because of me, so I must do everything quietly and on my own!" It was fine when I was younger, but I'm over those tropes now, and this novel bled it.
Overall, I couldn't get into it because of the writing, lack of character development, pacing, and chaotic plot points. Unfortunately, I will likely not be reading the rest of the series. However, if you like some lighter and fluffier fantasy with a strong diversity element, I would say go for it and lean into it! It most certainly wasn't the worst romantasy I've ever read, and some will enjoy this novel. It just wasn't for me!
The Setup: Lore of the Wilds by Analeigh Sbrana is a fantasy romance debut that combines the allure of magical libraries and the tension of human-Fae relationships. The story centers around Lore Alemeyu, whose village is trapped in a forest under the oppressive rule of the Fae. In a desperate attempt to save her people, Lore makes a dangerous deal with a Fae lord to enter a cursed, ancient library untouched for centuries - one that no Fae can enter but might be navigable by a human. In exchange, Lore is told her homeland will be kept safe.
Lore's journey becomes a complex dance of trust, power, and attraction as she relies on two Fae males with vastly different yet equally dangerous "person"as. The book also touches on themes of power, autonomy, and the consequences of making deals with forces one doesn't fully understand.
What I Liked: A book about a magical library? Sign me up! A book about a magical book? Sign me up! A book that contains magical components from the earth, like vines and flowers? Sign.me.up. The premise was there, and I enjoyed it. I thoroughly enjoyed the novel's first half - getting to know Lore and her human family, seeing her in a magical library, and finding an enchanted book (no spoilers; it is literally on the cover). Magical stuff, especially from a book, makes me happy, and this did make me happy.
Additionally, seeing some diversity added to the genre was refreshing. I mean this in multiple ways - race/color of skin, sexuality (queerness was most certainly celebrated, and there was even one character who wasn't interested in it at all), different species in general in this fantasy, etc. While it was a little over the place and hard to follow, there were many different characters of different species, races, and thoughts. I enjoyed that aspect, and it should be celebrated much more.
I'm one of the few who doesn't mind love triangles or multiple romantic interests (this is not a spoiler; it is also on the cover and in the summary!). It was done fine here, although a deeper exploration or smoother romantic development would have likely made me more invested.
What I Didn't Like: Ugh, the majority of this book was a bummer because it was set up so well! For one, this book just needed another round of edits. It read very young-adult, if not more child-like, in my opinion. The sentence structure and prose, in general, were almost too simple for what this book was trying to offer. This book also had one or two spicier scenes, which seemed out of the blue when the prose felt younger.
Most people in the reviews will agree that the pacing was just off. The beginning started strong for me, but it splinted into too many directions once it reached the middle. Lore had one quest, then suddenly there was this other rescue mission that seemed out of the blue and unnecessary, and then ANOTHER rescue mission for something else entirely. I don't think having multiple rescue missions or plot turns is necessarily a bad thing, but this (1) read young, (2) felt more like a cozy fantasy (with some more violent actions than what is usually in cozy fantasies), and (3) was on the relatively shorter side for fantasy (but not for fantasy romance), making it just not work as well.
This book has a decent plot twist, which I will refrain from discussing here because it's a fun read when you don't know about it. I had an inkling about this plot twist but didn't see that big reveal coming, which I appreciated. As you read this, you're like, "Why isn't it in the liked section?!" Well, because as much as the twist was surprising, it still had plenty of plot holes, and I was left with many questions. It didn't make much sense, but it was a fun surprise nonetheless. I gave this plot twist some slack since this was the first book in a series. We might know more later.
It might be because of the prose and pacing, which were all over the place, but I couldn't root for the characters. I didn't feel like character development was strong enough here, and it made the characters blah, particularly Lore, who seemed to be able to do things quickly and easily in one turn and then couldn't do them at all in another. Like Harry Potter all those years ago, there was also a constant "I can't keep putting these people in harms way," or, "People are getting hurt because of me, so I must do everything quietly and on my own!" It was fine when I was younger, but I'm over those tropes now, and this novel bled it.
Overall, I couldn't get into it because of the writing, lack of character development, pacing, and chaotic plot points. Unfortunately, I will likely not be reading the rest of the series. However, if you like some lighter and fluffier fantasy with a strong diversity element, I would say go for it and lean into it! It most certainly wasn't the worst romantasy I've ever read, and some will enjoy this novel. It just wasn't for me!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Confinement, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexual content, and Pregnancy
Minor: Body horror and Blood
Rape is implied but not detailed.