No longer interested in reading this book but I do appreciate being approved for the arc. I want to be more selective with my arc requests

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book!

Take Pan's Labyrinth, make it Secret Garden, then add lesbians, and you get The Fae Tale. Childhood friends to lovers, international setting, interspecies relationship... pretty much everything one could possibly want from a story like this.

The relationships between each of the characters were nuanced and varied. I enjoyed the alternating perspectives and the look into Vana and Roze's lives - especially with their specific situation. This book occupied every thought I had between reading. My only complaint was the pacing felt a little weird at times, which could absolutely be chocked up to personal preference. Overall, absolutely would suggest this book to a friend.

So this book is definitely unlike any book I can remember reading before. At least as an adult.

This book is about Dovana and Roze. Roze is a Laume, which is a type of a type of Lithuanian fae, and as a child she saves Dovana from being lost in the forest and their fates are intertwined from there.

I liked this book a lot. I found it very cute, and McCluer seemed to really do her homework when it comes to the world of Eastern European folklore. Or it was all made up and I was just along for the ride, I honestly wouldn't know as I was born and raised in the US. But it was really entertaining and cool, and I enjoyed this book!

The folklore is the shining part of this book. It was really interesting seeing the two worlds- human and fae interacting with each other as they are totally different but existing side by side. The worlds seemed very intricate and entertaining, as well as mysterious.

This book was also very funny. The dichotomies between Fae and Human worlds lead to interesting interactions, but also just the writing was really witty at times and i found myself chuckling to myself several times as I was reading.

The romance was also cute once it started. It did go pretty quickly but after being friends for so long I bought into it. And it was cute. I just wish I had more backstory into Roze and Dovana's interactions. The book does a good job at showing how much they care for each other, but I wish I could have seen some more of how that relationship and friendship grew to exist. Even some flashbacks or references to past letters. I feel like that could have added a lot in terms of depth to their relationship and planted seeds into their love to come, as the way it happened seemed very sudden to me.

This book definitely was different that other books I've read, but in a good way. 3.5/5

5/10

I, honestly, don't know much about Lithuania but I loved reading about it. Well it was probably some pretty rural place outside of Vilnius here, as I gathered, therefore there's not much you can actually learn about the country or culture. But you can learn about the mythology and that's probably Genevive McCluer's dominant thought when writing this book.

The only thing I really don't like in this book is gira. Lol. How could anyone willingly drink gira/kvass is beyond me. Even the sight of it in stores disgusts me. Slavs really be wildin'.

I really liked Taya. Myself being a Slav as well, I thought it was cute having some good Slavic representation for once. I think this is the first time, in my 22 year old life, something like that happened. We are definitely more than just mafia and war criminals, than you very much. Though, kind of, that turned out to be a double-edged sword since (because of all the media) I caught myself reading almost everything in stereotypical broken English. Oh, well.

Vana and Roze are cute, I can't deny that. I like how they've been pen friends for so long and how they liked each other even with all the distance. I like Vana's friendship with Taya and Caroline. I like those two characters as well. The MCs met when I was about halfway through the book and since then had a tiny bit of very expected push-and-pull moment which later lead to a pretty sweet ending.

This is a very light and fast YA read and I would probably recommend it to some young teenager who's into fantasy. And lesbians, i guess.

Admittedly, I couldn't grasp the concept where e.g. // spoiler // Roze easily travelled from Lithuania to Toronto in just one step but the there seemed to be no time change. The night the trio was looking for Vana's bff, said bff, Roze, was with her mum while she was cleaning some house. It was 9pm Toronto time which means it was 4am back in Lithuania. Is someone really not at home at 4am or is peacefully sleeping while a stranger is taking out their trash and loudly singing?? Or are time zones just nonexistent? // end of spoiler // I was confused a couple of times because of that and this overlooked fact stopped me from fully getting into the story.

I love mythology and, when you know a lot about Greek, Roman, Egyptian, Slavic, Norse and Mesopotamian one, it's fun to see how everything is so similar and almost intertwining. So learining a small bit about Baltic mythology here was fun. Maybe that's my biggest problem with this book as well. There's only a tiny little piece of everything. A bit of mythology, a bit of Dovana and Roze's relationship (the one where you could actually see some connection between them because everything feels too flat and meh), a bit of Dovana's past relationship and her friendship with Caroline and Taya, a bit of her family, etc. But it didn't mix too well. Like when you mix too many colours and the colour you end up getting is some kind of brown. Brown is nice, it's calming but it's too plain. In my humble, visual artist's, opinion it's best to pick only one or two most important things you want to go with and make it stand out. You need indisputable accents. Otherwise you can see when artist's thoughts aren't clear enough for them, it starts to suffocate them, and you could see that they got lost while making the final product. Maybe it would've been better if the story was mostly about the mythology and adventure and then their relationship took much lesser portion of the story. Or the book was really about their relationship as the blurb states (I wasn't convinced) and then you really get in depth about that. Doesn't matter how much you want to, some good ideas, sadly, just won't make the final cut. But, then again - I'm not a writer. Maybe writing's different than other forms of art.

To be honest, I found myself shipping Taya and Caroline way more than the MCs. If McCleur, at some point, desides to write a book about those two (doesn't even have to be a romantic story - maybe it's more of an adventure where two bickering friends are managing through the very real world of Baltic mythology) I wouldn't hasitate to get my hands on it. At least those two had some chemistry. Dovana and Roze's relationship felt weird and not really believable from start to finish. It felt too forced and it makes me sad because I really wanted to like this book a lot.

ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

‘A Fae Tale’ is the story of Dovana, a human saved as a child in Lithuania by Roze, a fae. Every year the pair exchange letters and gifts, even though Dovana has moved with her family to Toronto. They have a bond, one that no-one else in Dovana’s life can match. But as time goes on Roze becomes increasingly worried about the future - one that she has never divulged to anyone. Dovana feels the pull to Roze and wants to see be in contact with her more than just once a year. As she begins to look into doing so, she finds out a lot more than she bargained for.

This is an unusual tale, but a very enjoyable one. It’s funny and a bit kooky, but very sweet and romantic too. I loved the settings of Lithuania and Toronto. It’s refreshing to read a story set somewhere different. I also enjoyed the folklore of Lithuania and mixing it with present day Canada. Genevieve McCluer writes great humorous prose and I found myself giggling out loud a few times in the course of reading this book. Her characters are well defined and fun, and she makes her secondary characters come to life as much as the main protagonists. An enjoyable read.

I was given this ARC to review.

The book "A Fae Tale" by Genevieve McCluer is about Dovana who, in her childhood, is led back home by Roze, a laume, after getting lost in the forest. Despite not having seen each other since that day, the two have built a friendship through a once-a-year exchange of letters. Now this is no longer enough for Dovana and she goes in search of Roze, and finds her.
The first half of the book deals with the relationship between the two and how they find each other. The two main characters, Dovana and Roze, don't start interacting with each other until the second half of the book. And again, these interactions are not dominant in my opinion. Here, I would have liked to see a little more time spent together between the two. Instead, the reader gets a glimpse of the friendship between Dovana and her two friends, who accompany and support her in her quest. As we have come to expect from McCluer, her paranormal stories don't star the usual creatures, but instead present us with beings from other cultures or lesser-known myths. This is very refreshing in my opinion and it's always exciting to learn what makes these beings unique.
The story unfortunately didn't grab me as much this time as I had hoped, but it will certainly find its lovers and readership. Fans of the paranormal genre should give this book a chance.

I received a copy from netgalley in exchange for a an honest review.

This is a Fantasy/ realism love story. I thought it was witty and I enjoyed it from the beginning to the end. It touches on friendship, love and family support.

Dovana and Roze met at the age of six when she got lost in the wood trying to find mushrooms. They have remained in contact with each other over the span of 15 years by letters once a year. Upon receiving Rozes last letter she discovers that she has visited other children that she has rescued. Wondering why she has not visited her, she embark on a search with the help of her friends to locate Roze for answers. On her quest however she run into trouble.
Roze is a fae who can see the future. She enjoys the woods and is quite happy with her life helping lost children. She has done everything in her powers to alter what she has seen in the future until she has to once again rescue Dovana and her friends.
I loved the main characters as well as the secondary ones throughout the entire book. I had quite a few laughs when it come to Roze discovering new things. 4.5 stars

I received an ARC copy from the publisher Bold Strokes Books via NetGalley for my honest opinion.

A Fae story.
This is a love story that takes place over a 15 year spam. Govana is rescued by a Fae when she was a child and saw this Fae every year until recently.. Roze has been avoiding Govana and her feelings about two different species who come to love each other. The characters were well written and believable. I recommend this book for fantasy lovers and romance overs..

This was a story of some very fantastical, whimsical characters. I loved this book from beginning to end. Dovana and Rozes relationship was so cute and sweet I loved that it started out a friendship before becoming romantic. The friends and family of these two were really supportive even though there was one or two that were not onboard at the beginning they definitely showed up at the end. There were a few hilarious moments as well as a little drama. All in all a very good read. Looking forward to what's next from this author. I would definitely recommend this to my friends and family.

At the age of 6, Dovana ventured into the woods to collect mushrooms and dreamt of encounters with mystical beings. When she lost her way, she was beckoned by laumes and befriended the awfully timid and adorable Roze. Although their friendship spanned over 15 years, Dovana never saw Roze again; their connection was kept through yearly letters.

A guardian of lost children coupled with powers to see futures, Roze embraced her role in the woods with great pride and joy. She never dreamt that anything could take her away from her responsibility until she is forced to confront her destiny.

The pair is adorable and the book is packed with colourful characters from both worlds. When fantasy and realism collide, expect funny moments when Roze tries to learn a world she has no knowledge of, taught by her childhood friend Dovana who is destined to be a big part of her life.

I just reviewed A Fae Tale by Genevieve McCluer. Thank you NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for the ARC.

Dovana and Roze met when they were little girls when she saves her and brought her back to her family. They develop a lifelong friendship through letters but never came face to face again.

Dovana is tire of not seeing Roze face after years since they were little girls so she decide enough is enough and goes to search of Roze and windup being attack and rescue again by Roze. Dovana learns why Roze has been hiding they are both destined for each other.

This was a fun read light hearted enjoy the characters.

I received an ARC copy of this book from the Publisher via Netgalley and voluntarily leaving my review.

This was a fun one, very fanciful. There was a little angst but for the most part it was light hearted. The ending was sweet and made me smile.

At the age of 6 Dovana runs off and gets lost in the Lithuanian woods by her house. There she encounters 3 laumes, including Roze, a laume of her own age. (Caveat - apparently a laume is a weird forest dwelling mythical entity. Who knew!) Roze and the other laumes return Dovana safely to her parents. Afterwards, the two develop a lifelong friendship where they communicate through letters on the anniversary of Dovana’s temporary disappearance, BUT they never actually meetup again in person. After 15 years of never talking face to face, Dovana grows tired of the status quo and goes in search of Roze, only to find herself in trouble at the hands of another fiend. Roze jumps in and saves the day, later to reveal the reason for her elusiveness is because she and Donanva are destined to get married. Because of this, Roze has been avoiding Dovana and this fate as she sees it as an affront against her own family and kind. Alas, they can’t avoid each other any longer and move forward gaining the acceptance of each other’s families and friends.

Ok, so this book was really bizarre, but that’s not to be negative. On the contrary, I really liked it. The references to Eastern European cultural folklore were crazy, and it made me jealous of my boring ass, white bread upbringing. Or maybe I’m just the only one that had to google every strange mythical reference? Some of the dialogue is convoluted and confusing, but also the book was just outright funny. I also really liked the cross over from normal life to the mystical. I’m new to this genre so forgive me if that is common.