Stunning photo by @fae.reading!
Hello fairy friends!
Happy Monday, I hope you all have a good day! Welcome to day 1 of the April Romantasy Book readalong of Lore of the Wilds by Analeigh Sbrana. I’m so excited to be reading this with you all!
Before we start, how are you all doing? I hope you all had a wonderful weekend and got some reading done!
Since today is day 1, we’ll read from the beginning to the end of chapter 7. It’s time to make sure you’re comfy and got everything you need!
When you’ve finished today’s section, catch up with me in the comments down below so we can discuss the beginning of the book. Happy reading!
Please be warned, that the following section will include spoilers for Lore of the Wilds by Analeigh Sbrana from the beginning to the end of Chapter 7. Please only read on if you have finished this section!
-!SPOILERS!-
We begin with Lore reminiscing about the stories her mother used to tell her of the trickster god who tricked the humans into their downfall. However, this story contradicts the elder’s story, in which the humans angered a god, then were forced to live in a land of suffering.
According to all of the elders, the answer to taking the humans home lies in the stars; maybe they’re from another planet? The humans in Duskmere are the only ones found in Alytheria and the Fae won’t let them leave their village.
When Lore is talking to her oldest friend Grey, we find out that she’s tried to escape before, but got caught and now carries a scar given by one of the Fae sentries. Grey still wants Lore to run away with him; I wonder if he’s got more than platonic feelings for her?
As Lore’s working in the apothecary, two rich Fae appear looking for her aunt and uncle, who’re on the other side of town. Instead of the Fae leaving, Lore convinces the Fae to purchase a book for over the normal price, somehow she gets away with lying!
Lore admits to the Fae that she helps to translate many of the books from the Fae language to the human tongue. Before leaving the Fae male states that he believes he ‘might have found what he was looking for.’ Do they mean Lore?
Just as Lore’s nearly done for the day, an earth shake hits Duskmere and the majority of the village is destroyed!
Luckily her uncle and aunt are both alright, along with all of the children they take care of in the orphanage! However, with everything destroyed by the earth shake, they’ll no longer be able to take care of the children.
The morning after, two Fae male guards appear asking for the owner of the apothecary, which is Lore’s aunt, but Lore lies and tells them it’s her; she’s letting her aunt stay to look after the children.
The Fae lead Lore into the forest, where she starts to become more panicky and fearful of what she’s chosen to do, but as she crosses a magical barrier, all of the feelings rush away. Her feelings were controlled by the spell, it’s how they keep the humans trapped! Why are the Fae going to such extent to keep them caged up?
Somehow the Fae city is still standing and there are no signs of the earth shake here, was the earth shake created by magic?
Lore learns from the high steward that she’s been tasked with entering the library, which has been locked for 1000 years. She then has to log and categorise all the books and scrolls. Even though Lore might be killed upon entering the library, she‘s willing to risk it for some potential information about how to get the humans home.
I love that Lore tries to negotiate a better deal with the Fae, she wants her village to be mended and the citizens healed. The Fae who appeared in the apothecary is a Lord and agrees to her demands! At least the Fae aren’t all bad… I think. 👀
Before Lore can begin, she’s got to agree to follow certain rules, such as not reading the books any more than necessary and bringing the steward any interesting ones! The library is massive and in complete chaos, it’ll take Lore a long time alone. She enters the library completely unharmed!
After Lore has spent the day organising the library, she’s got to sit and eat alone – so often none of the other servants talk to her… until she knocks over her cup and the Fae who appeared to clean up the mess seems frightened of her! The other Fae start saying ‘her kind is known to be violent and rash.’ I wonder what they’ve been previously told about humans?
Lore escapes the food hall as quick as possible and can’t find Elra, the servant who’s supposed to take Lore to her room, so she ends up lost in the castle. I’d be so scared if I was her!
One of the guards decides to show her to her room but doesn’t seem very friendly about it and refers to her as small and weak. He even calls her ‘mouse’, will this nickname turn into a term of endearment rather than an insult? 👀
The next morning, Lore learns that the guard’s name is Asher and he’ll be watching her from now on, I wonder why him instead of other guards? Lore’s introduced to two young Fae boys, Taurn and Libb, who’ll help her take the books to the steward!
Once in the library, Lore notices that even after 1000 years, none of the scrolls or texts seem to be ruined, how is that? She gets to work organising all of the books!
At the end of this first section, I’m a little worried for Lore as she doesn’t seem to have anyone she can trust!
How are you enjoying the story so far?
Would you leave your family like Lore did?
What do you think of Lore?
I’m excited to read more with you all tomorrow, fairies!
Love,
Emily
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Happy Monday everyone!
I like how the story has started, it’s definitely drawn me in and I’m ready to keep reading.
I’m torn regarding Lore. Did she lie and say she was the owner to be honourable? Put herself in danger to save those she loves – ie her aunt. But part of me wonders was there a selfishness to it – maybe she didn’t want to be left alone with the kids? She wanted to risk adventure over being stuck at home maybe. I’m not sure yet. I’m interested in how Lore is going to develop. I did like how she negotiated for a better deal, however I’m not sure if I trust the Fae to honour it.
The whole library situation has annoyed me a little bit – how is she supposed to establish if a book might be “interesting” if she isn’t allowed to read it???
Oh, that’s a good theory about Lore lying! 💜
How are you enjoying the story so far?
I like the story so far! I wish we can go a little more into world building- like…why are the humans not allowed to leave? Why are they separate? That kind of thing.
Would you leave your family like Lore did?
I can understand why she left. She believed that it would be easier for the family to lose than it would be to lose the older woman that is the glue of the family. However, part of me feels that she’s being selfish. She keeps saying that she wants an adventure and wants to find magic.
What do you think of Lore?
Lore seems very hardworking and family-oriented. Both are traits I can respect.
First I would like to say try is edition is stunning! I am absolutely in love with the customisations! The character art endpapers are beautiful and help with the visualisation throughout the story!
The setting for this book is really interesting. Instead of the regular human world where Fey or magical folk are a dying species, hunted down and forced to hide because of their magic, here we have the opposite. The condescending however is very typical xD
The spell on the forest was a really clever piece of magic, it served its purpose amazingly well, to keep the humans in Duskmere.
The Lord of the house seemed bothered by Lore’s fear and discomfort, so it feels he will be the more polite and approachable of the fey.
Asher on the other hand is the expected enemies to lovers we all crave for… the antlers were such a nice detail.
So far I am really enjoying this book, can’t wait for the rest.
I’m think Lore went with the fey to protect her family, since she already lost her parents, and she genuinely loves the orphan children, so to me it seems she had their best interests at heart. The fact that she renegotiated the terms of her service proves that.
I would honestly love to help her clean up that library : )
I’d love to help her clean the library too! 😍
Hello! I’m so excited for my first reading! I’m really enjoying the story so far and I can’t wait to continue it tomorrow!
I think if I were in Lore’s position i would do a fairly similar thing she did. She wanted to protect her family and the way to do that was to go with the fae guards.
I’m also really enjoying Lore’s character! I hope we get to see her be more sneaky and deceptive throughout the story. I’m ready for her to trick some fae!
So happy you’re enjoying it so far! 🥰
I missed out on the romantasy sub but had to buy it as it’s such a gorgeous edition 😍
How are you enjoying the story so far? – I’m really liking this one so far. Its drew me in and I love the setting of the library.
Would you leave your family like Lore did? – temporarily I think I would be tempted to if the fae lord holds up his end of the bargain.
What do you think of Lore? – I really like Lore so far – she seems strong despite her upbringing and past experiences with the fae but she still cares and seems kind.
I’m glad you’re liking it so far! 💜
The book is easy to read. A good intro to Lore and the humans situation. It seemed Lore felt the kids would be better off with her aunt and uncle. Lore being 21 definitely wanted to leave town also. I liked how Lore takes risks to help her family and town. I look forward to learning more about the Fae.
Happy Monday!
I am definitely enjoying this read so far. I feel Lore was very brave to leave her family to save her aunt, especially right after such a tragedy. I was so sad for her that she was never able to say goodbye to her good friend, Grey. I got the vibe that they had more than just a friendship. Perhaps he will attempt to leave Duskmere to save her, but can he pass the spelled land border?
I am looking forward to reading the next section tomorrow!
Really enjoying the book so far!
Normally it takes me awhile to warm up to the main characters in a story, but Lore actually had me the moment she oversold a book to the snotty fae that visited the apothecary. I think when push comes to shove, so far Lore has delivered as a character. I laughed when she managed to negotiate aid for her village. I’m actually looking forward to see where the story is going.
I love how quickly Lore stole your heart! 😂 She’s a great character! 💜
I want to preface all of my replies as I read this before I knew we were doing it as a readalong. I’m glad the Romantsy sub will have readalongs from the get go.
How are you enjoying the story so far?
The beginning of this story stole my attention quickly. I loved that Lore ran a store and tricked the fairies into buying a book far more expensive than it was meant to be.
Would you leave your family like Lore did?
I would if it meant that they would be saved and survive. These fairies aren’t kind and I think many people would have been hurt or killed if they did not get what they wanted.
What do you think of Lore?
I think Lore has a lot of tricks up her sleeve but she is going about this entire adventure by the seat of her pants.
Thank you for joining us! 💜
So far I’m super intrigued by the story. I wouldn’t want to leave my family like Lore, but if it’s to save them then of course! I can’t wait to learn more about Lore
I just read yesterday’s chapters and I’m so glad I’m a day behind so I can read on today.
I’m intrigued by Lord Syrelle and I need to know if he caused the earth shake to get her there.
Definitely enjoyed the first section of the read along, I find the story to be very cozy and intriguing so far. I am not sure it is something I would pick up myself but I am glad I did.
How are you enjoying the story so far?
It is very cozy, I am intrigued by the library and the fae, I want to know if they are actually helping the humans rebuild their town.
Would you leave your family like Lore did?
To protect them? Yes without a second thought.
What do you think of Lore?
I think Lore craves adventure, I think she craves knowledge and wants to know how to save her people, while experiencing bigger things.
This story has me hooked already. It seems as though the fae were told alot of lies about the humans, thinking they were only vicious, so hopefully Lore changes their mind about it.
I would definitely leave if it could help my family and I am really enjoying Lores character so far. I can’t wait to read more.
1. How are you enjoying the story so far?
So far, im really intrigued by what I’ve read and mostly I want to learn more! More about the lore, the lands and why this hate relationship exists between the fae and human, how the human came to this world etc.
2. Would you leave your family like Lore did?
I don’t know. If it was me or someone else in the family, I would go like Lore did. If I didn’t have to go I wouldn’t leave my family.
3. What do you think of Lore?
Not much at the moment, because I feel like we’ve only really seen the surface of Lore. She seems timid in company of the Fae and very loyal to her family and the shelter, but I wanna see more of her
I’m really enjoying this so far! The impact of the earthquake was so sad and i’m in love with Milo! He’s the cutest thing!
I think Lore is very brave for taking her aunt’s place and going off into the unknown.
The magic in the forest is very intriguing!
I am actually really enjoying the story so far… It has started pretty slowly but I am starting to enjoy the world that has been built with these brutal fae.
I feel like I would also leave my family to keep them safe if I was in Lore’s situation.
I haven’t really developed any strong feelings towards her as a character yet I cant wait to see how she develops as a character as we get further into the plot.
Chapter 1 is giving “The Village” vibes. Noble Fae appear in her shop looking for her aunt, think she might be what they’re looking for after all (after she sells them a hard-copy of a copy of a book for an outrageous sum). The apothecary is shaking apart – the whole town was affected. The Far guard’s came back for the owner of the apothecary (or her ward), & took Lore past the forest surrounding the town. A magic spell to create mind-numbing fear & panic around the town? A chance to spend all day – paid – in a library! Yes, please. Now, a Fae with (eagle) wings. I like where this is going. Lol. 1,000 years ago, an enchantment was put on the library to keep Alytherian kind from entering, but Lord Syrelle says the library is meaningful to his family. I’m curious what got him kicked out. Also, he seems to want her unafraid & honest with him (neither of which he inspires). Curiouser & curiouser. The royal family isn’t in the castle, so how high up the totem pole is this Lord Syrelle? The working-class fae are afraid of the “violent” humans? Antler Fae guard helped her to her room & nicknamed her Mouse.
Daily Q&A:
Q:
1.) How are you enjoying the story so far?
2.) Would you leave your family like Lore did?
3.) What do you think of Lore?
A:
1.) I’m liking it, so far. I have a lot of questions that need answering.
2.) If I was Lore, I would’ve done the same.
3.) She has hinted at some interesting history, she’s not annoying so far, & she’s had some funny moments where her brain-mouth filter slipped.
1) I’m liking it so far! It’s delivering on the cottagecore, though this castle business is definitely /not/ cottagecore. I’m not liking this deal thing, especially since she has no way of verifying if it’s being done. It’s easy for them to claim they’re doing it just to get her to comply but not actually do anything. I wouldn’t put it past them to actually send people there to further control her people and use /that/ motivation to control her rather than keeping their word.
2) Possibly. I’m family-oriented, and I’ve never hesitated to do an overnight camp where I’d be gone for a week, but going away indefinitely under duress is different than a voluntary, defined trip, so it’s possible I’d be far more reluctant and torn on it. I’d miss my family incredibly. I definitely admire Lore’s bravery to venture into this blind, hazardous, mysterious deal with next-to-nothing to fall back on or protect or save her.
3) I’m not quite sure. She’s family-oriented, but, like me, she’s not very afraid of an adventure or the unknown. But I think there’s more motivation in claiming to be her aunt for her own reasons than she seems to acknowledge, which doesn’t bode well for her recognizing deceit in others, which may play a part later in the story.