Mary Watson

Thrilling, atmospheric, and filled with ancient magic, this lyrically written YA debut is perfect for readers of The Raven Cycle and Wink Poppy Midnight. Every Christmas, Wren is chased through the woods near her isolated Irish village by her family's enemies--the Judges--and there's nothing that she or her grandfather can do to stop it. Once Wren's people, the Augurs, controlled an ancient, powerful magic. But now that power lies with the Judges, who are set on destroying the Augurs for good. In a desperate bid to save her family, Wren takes a dangerous undercover assignment as an intern amidst those who want her dead. But as the web of lies, deceit, and betrayal thickens around her, she finds herself hurtling towards a truth that threatens to consume her and reveal who she really is. Not only has she come to the attention of powerful Judge Cassa Harkness, but she is also falling dangerously in love with the one person she shouldn't. . . This captivating fantasy from an award-winning author is equal parts thrilling and romantic, perfect for fans of Maggie Stiefvater.

The Wren Hunt

Saffia

There were parts of this book that were really good, but overall the world building was not great. It was hard to follow in some parts, important pieces of history and characters were suddenly introduced without any build up, but overall a decent attempt at fantasy.

Erin

madness. i didnr understand a thing that was going on but i still enjoyed it Wow

danielle bush

I really liked the uniqness of this story. I ended up listening to about 80% on audible, and loved the narration. I did think it was going to be a different story from the blurb I read. So I don't know if that affected how I felt about the book or not. I did like the ending quite a bit, and even though the sequel follows Davids perspective from what I can gather I do want to read it to see if that answers some of my left over questions. 
There were definitely some twist and turns that were unexpected, and betrayals from those who were least expected. All in all I did like to book and story, but its not one I can see myself reading again.

Paige Green

Disclaimer: I received this book from KidLitExchange and Bloomsbury. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Rating: 3/5

Genre: YA Fantasy?

Recommended Age: 15+ (violence, assault, murder, cult like behavior, creepy kids, and confusion)

Pages: 432

Author Website

Amazon Link

Synopsis: Every Christmas, Wren is chased through the woods near her isolated village by her family's enemies—the Judges—and there’s nothing that she can do to stop it. Once her people, the Augurs, controlled a powerful magic. But now that power lies with the Judges, who are set on destroying her kind for good. 

In a desperate bid to save her family, Wren takes a dangerous undercover assignment—as an intern to an influential Judge named Cassa Harkness. Cassa has spent her life researching a transformative spell, which could bring the war between the factions to its absolute end. Caught in a web of deceit, Wren must decide whether or not to gamble on the spell and seal the Augurs’ fate. 

Okay this book is strange and I’m not sure if it’s in a good way. For the sake of order I will say what I liked about it first. I liked that it’s strange and interesting. I feel this will be a big selling point of the book and that maybe there will be people who will understand this book and explain it to me.

However, I really didn’t like this book. Nothing was explained until about halfway through the book and even then not all of my questions were answered. The world building was nonexistent and I’m not even sure if this book is a fantasy, a contemporary, a dystopian, high fantasy, etc. The book tended to repeat itself… A LOT. The book was just confusing and frustrating to me. The characters weren’t developed at all and when I got to the end I still struggled to remember who was who. And the book was weirdly paced. While I felt that the book happened pretty fast, the book was also really slow?? I’m so confused by the book and I’m confused on how to even talk about it.

Verdict: If you’ve read this book please explain it to me!

Megan Leprich

NOMINATED FOR THE CILIP CARNEGIE MEDAL 2019 SHORTLISTED FOR THE IRISH BOOK AWARDS TEEN/YOUNG ADULT BOOK OF THE YEAR 2018 'Beautiful, eerie, dark and dreamy' MELINDA SALISBURY 'Watson's writing has the sort of poise rarely found in a debut' KIRAN MILLWOOD HARGRAVE 'Thrilling and otherworldly' SUNDAY TIMES Every winter, Wren Silke is chased through the forest in a warped version of a childhood game. The boys who haunt her are judges, powerful and frightening pursuers, who know nothing of her true identity. If they knew she was an augur, their sworn enemy, the game would turn deadly. But Wren is on the hunt, too. Sent undercover as an intern to the Harkness Foundation – enemy headquarters – her family's survival rests on finding a secret meant to stay hidden. As the enmity between two ancient magics reaches breaking point, Wren is torn between old loyalties and new lies. And trapped in the most dangerous game of her life. Part thriller, part love story, this captivating debut novel will leave readers spellbound.

I received this ARC for NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. A big thank you to Mary Watson and Bloomsbury Publishing!




  
    "My mother left when I was a baby. I was named Wren for the druid bird. My first memory is of trees. I am an auger with a spinny eye, which is a curse, not a blessing. I am here to steal from you. I love peanut butter and running in the woods, but never with the boys behind me"
  



Overall this book did capture me into a world of darkness, magic, and treachery. Unfortunately, something about the execution of this debut was mildly off-putting to me.

There is something about urban, modern fantasies that I find difficult. The ability to inject a true sense of magic and fantasy into a modern, coffee- and bus-filled setting is not the easiest task. And sometimes Watson found the key to this, and sometimes it just wasn't quite working for me. 

The Wren Hunt occurs between several different settings - the small village in which the magic is well and truly present, alive with rituals and old tales; the travel through the city, full of buses, cell phones, and typical modern coffee shops; and then Harkness House, where the magical and the modern converge in this old-fashioned art foundation setting.

I enjoyed and appreciated the contrast between the settings, however, at times it threw off the fluid story-telling and felt a little out-of-place and disjointed. In a modern world in which there was a secret magical conflict occurring, it seemed odd to suddenly be on a bus after finishing a magic ritual in the woods. The writing style was sometimes too jarring between these scenes to be comfortable. 



  
    "In the garden, I had the most extraordinary desire to put my tongue to the wet mulched leaves. I was surprised by their cool, refreshing tang"
  



Almost every character in this book has this big, dark cloud of mystery hanging just above their fictional heads. This is something that did draw me into the story. 

I adored Maeve and her motherly instincts and even Smith with his gruff grandfatherly protectiveness. The entire auger clan were very homey and exactly what you expect from people in a village that practice rituals. 

The judges are not all as sinister as you would expect them to be. There is a crispness and an authoritarian vibe across all the judge characters, even Tarc who quickly becomes a part of the very typical Romeo & Juliet trope. Which, by the way, I didn't mind. I appreciated the romance, but it wasn't something I was sobbing over.

But across all the characters there was always something not quite comfortable, which made it difficult to really appreciate the characters in an intimate way.



  
    "The wran, the wran, the king of all birds,
On St Stephen's Day was caught in the furze.
Her clothes were all torn, her shoes all worn,
We chased her all night, right through until dawn."
  



There is a gorgeous creepy, unsettling darkness across this entire book which I adored. If anything, this book has some seriously great atmosphere. But overall, it was just a little too slow and incohesive for me to truly love.



Full review | More reviews | Twitter | Pinterest | People who deny the existence of dragons are often eaten by dragons. From within. (U.K. Le Guin)

Manon van Heumen

madie anne 

Every year on St Stephen's Day, Wren Silke is chased through the forest in a warped version of a childhood game. Her pursuers are judges -- a group of powerful and frightening boys who know nothing of her true identity. If they knew she was an augur, their sworn enemy, the game would be up. This year, the tension between judges and augurs is at breaking point. Wren's survival, and that of her family, depends on her becoming a spy in the midst of these boys she fears most and using her talent, her magic, to steal from them the only thing that can restore her family's former power for good. But Wren's talent comes with a price. The more she uses it, the more she loses her grip on reality and soon she's questioning everything she's ever known about her family, about augurs and judges, and about the dangerous tattooed stranger who most definitely is not on her side.

Joanna Rosenwink 

At times unnerving, this YA fantasy weaves threads of magic and folklore into something that I was enthralled by. The closest thing I’ve read to this would be the Raven Cycle. I hope to read the sequel (I thought it was a stand-alone until I read another review!).

The Wren Hunt

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