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The Wren Hunt Mary Watson Books

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The Wren Hunt Mary Watson Books

This is a difficult book to review. On the one hand, it's beautifully written, the prose is fantastic, and the backstory has clearly been meticulously planned out. On the other hand, not much happens and that backstory makes things a little confusing.

Wren is an Augur, one branch of the old Druids of Ireland. Augurs are at war with Judges, the other branch, over magical sites called nemeta. Without nemeta, each side loses their powers. A nemeta can only work for either augurs or judges, not both. The judges are 'winning' at the moment, with more and stronger nemeta than the augurs have. Wren's coven come up with a risky plan to have her work for the area's leading judge to look for a map that will help them find nemeta. At least, that's what Wren is told is the plan.

Of course there's a handsome boy judge, and of course there's double crossing and confusion and changes of information and Wren wavering from one group to the other. By the time the story ends I'm honestly not 100% sure which side she's on; I'm fairly sure I know, but not certain.

The story's unmoored in time, too. There's one mention of Coke and one of a Kardashian. If not fir those I would have guessed 100 years ago.

Apart from those things, though, it's a good, interesting story, and I'll be watching out for the sequel.

Receiving an ARC did not alter my opinion in any way.


Tags : Amazon.com: The Wren Hunt (9781681198590): Mary Watson: Books,Mary Watson,The Wren Hunt,Bloomsbury YA,1681198592,Fantasy - General,Romance - General,Social Themes - Self-Esteem & Self-Reliance,Adventure and adventurers,Adventure and adventurers;Fiction.,Adventure stories,Fantasy,Ireland,Magic,Magic;Fiction.,Spies,Spies;Fiction.,Spy stories,Vendetta,101701 Bloomsbury US Childrens HC,Children: Young Adult (Gr. 10-12),Fairy Tales & Folklore General,Fiction-Fantasy,JUVENILE,Juvenile Fiction,Juvenile Grades 10-12 Ages 15+,Romance General,TEEN'S FICTION FANTASY,TEEN'S FICTION ROMANCE,United States,YOUNG ADULT FICTION,YOUNG ADULT FICTION Fairy Tales & Folklore General,YOUNG ADULT FICTION Fantasy Contemporary,YOUNG ADULT FICTION Fantasy General,YOUNG ADULT FICTION Romance General,Young Adult FictionRomance - General,Young Adult FictionThrillers & Suspense,teen literature; YA fiction; young adult urban fantasy; young adult contemporary fantasy; young adult supernatural; young adult paranormal; literary writing; immersive writing; atmospheric; lush; lyrical; romantic; heart-wrenching; lore; ancient magic; Ireland; Irish countryside; Irish folklore; Irish tradition; Celtic lore; Celtic mythology; Kilshamble; Dublin; family rivalry; family feud; magical talent; teen psychics; psychic ability; teen star-crossed lovers; undercover; double identity,teen literature; YA fiction; young adult urban fantasy; young adult supernatural; young adult paranormal; atmospheric; lush; lyrical; romantic; heart-wrenching; ancient magic; Ireland; Irish countryside; Irish folklore; Irish tradition; Celtic mythology; Kilshamble; Dublin; family rivalry; family feud; magical talent; teen psychics; psychic ability; teen star-crossed lovers; undercover; double identity; young adult contemporary fantasy; literary writing; immersive writing; lore; Celtic lore,Fairy Tales & Folklore General,Romance General,YOUNG ADULT FICTION Fairy Tales & Folklore General,YOUNG ADULT FICTION Fantasy Contemporary,YOUNG ADULT FICTION Fantasy General,YOUNG ADULT FICTION Romance General,Young Adult FictionRomance - General,Young Adult FictionThrillers & Suspense,YOUNG ADULT FICTION,Children: Young Adult (Gr. 10-12)

The Wren Hunt Mary Watson Books Reviews

Raised by her grandfather, Wren Silke has grown up in Kilshamble, Ireland. She knows every inch of the town and the woods. And she knows that every year on Stephen's Day she will be chased through the woods as part of the annual Wren Hunt.

The Wren Hunt is meant to be figurative--not an actual hunt. But the Judges--a group with magical connections to nature--take the hunt all too seriously chasing Wren until they draw blood. As Augurs--people who can use patterns and connections to see the future--Wren and her community are in the minority in Kilshamble. With Judges controlling most of the nemeta--objects from which both groups draw power--it's only a matter of time before the Augurs are wiped out entirely.

Eager to help and imagining a future where she won't be hunted, Wren volunteers to help the Augurs reclaim their advantage (and hopefully some nemeta) by going undercover at Harkness House. But nothing is as it seems among the Judges or the Augurs and soon Wren will have to decide who she can truly trust as she tries to end this bloody feud in The Wren Hunt (2018) by Mary Watson.

The Wren Hunt is Watson's first foray into YA fantasy.

Wren's first-person narration is tense and often claustrophobic as Wren tries to stop the latest hunt and only manages to escalate it instead. Her frenzied, stream-of-consciousness style narration is fast-paced and immediate.

Atmospheric descriptions and the eerie opening go far to pull readers into the story and bring Kilshamble to life. Unfortunately the magic system is never explored (or explained) at length making it difficult for readers to keep up with Wren as she is drawn into internal politics and soon caught between both groups in her role as a spy.

The Wren Hunt is a strange and sometimes messy story with an intricate plot set in a complex world. Watson artfully explores themes of agency and loyalty though fails to deliver a truly satisfying fantasy. Recommended for readers who like their books to be part story to absorb and part puzzle to assemble.

Possible Pairings Damsel by Elana K. Arnold, The Warrior Heir by Cinda Williams Chima, Conjured by Sarah Beth Durst, Strange Grace by Tessa Gratton, Guardian of the Dead by Karen Healey, Mortal Fire by Elizabeth Knox, Magic or Madness by Justine Larbalestier, Mister Monday by Garth Nix
The Wren Hunt is a book about magical beings in our world, but I was totally unconvinced. It took me a long time to figure out where the setting was and even then I wasn't completely sure. I had a hard time juxtaposing T.V's and cans of Coke with the magical characters. They just didn't seem to mesh well together, despite the authors best efforts. I'm not expecting to everything about the magical world or how it operates but we weren't given enough throughout the beginning for me to really understand what was going on or how their world operated.

We open to a scene where Wren is chased through the woods by boys from the rival magic gang(family?). Apparently this happens every year and a trophy is taken. It's unclear as to why they chase her and don't celebrate the Wren Hunt like the rest of the world. It's never mentioned why they don't go to the police about the chase or why it even happens at all. I'm not sure what the Wren Hunt is even about.

I don't sympathize with Wren nor connect with her. I don't with any of the characters for that matter.

I'm not sure what I was hoping to get from this book, but I certainly didn't get it. There was nothing that really stood out for me about this book and I spent most of the time confused and not really enjoying what I was reading.

*Thank you to Netgalley for this review copy*
This is a difficult book to review. On the one hand, it's beautifully written, the prose is fantastic, and the backstory has clearly been meticulously planned out. On the other hand, not much happens and that backstory makes things a little confusing.

Wren is an Augur, one branch of the old Druids of Ireland. Augurs are at war with Judges, the other branch, over magical sites called nemeta. Without nemeta, each side loses their powers. A nemeta can only work for either augurs or judges, not both. The judges are 'winning' at the moment, with more and stronger nemeta than the augurs have. Wren's coven come up with a risky plan to have her work for the area's leading judge to look for a map that will help them find nemeta. At least, that's what Wren is told is the plan.

Of course there's a handsome boy judge, and of course there's double crossing and confusion and changes of information and Wren wavering from one group to the other. By the time the story ends I'm honestly not 100% sure which side she's on; I'm fairly sure I know, but not certain.

The story's unmoored in time, too. There's one mention of Coke and one of a Kardashian. If not fir those I would have guessed 100 years ago.

Apart from those things, though, it's a good, interesting story, and I'll be watching out for the sequel.

Receiving an ARC did not alter my opinion in any way.