Lore of the Wilds is a fantasy romance with a bit of adventure mixed in. Our Protagonist is a young woman named Lore, whose village is a prison surround by faeries who really, really hate humans, and leaving it is a death sentence. A chance encounter with faerie nobles leads Our Protagonist to getting a job she cannot refuse: organizing a library that’s cursed so no member of the kingdom can enter.
This leads to an adventure that might be a game changer for Lore’s isolated village.
I have mixed feelings about this book. It is first, very well written, and I really liked Lore. The plot arcs tend to fit into the usual romance tropes, but manage to do this in ways that are non-standard and interesting. For instance, the romantic set up seems to be “choose between two possible suitors,” with a couple tablespoons of “and these two potential suitors hate each other and are rivals.” This is not quite the case. There also is some good neurodivergence representation, though very brief. The ending has one heck of a final reveal and a very, very steep cliffhanger.
On the other hand, except for a handful of exceptions, I kind of want to set many of the antagonists on fire. The book goes a little dark, and Lore has seen and experienced terrible things because her people are trapped in a tiny village surrounded by people who want to kill them and are looking for an excuse. The combination of light romance and dark setting was a little jarring, though I think romance fans would like it a great deal.
This review is based on a galley copy received from NetGalley.
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