The Way By by Holly Walters

Title: The Way By
Author: Holly Walters
Publication date: 19 January 2024
Publisher: Three little sisters
Genre: Fantasy
Disclaimer: I received an advanced copy from Three Little Sisters publishing and The Write Reads. All opinions are my own and in no way influenced by the fae.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/203592903-the-way-by-a-faire-tale 

Storygraph: https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/3dd342ef-326a-4820-af25-28c1065cb491 Amazon:https://a.co/d/eIRdOdf (Canada) https://a.co/d/e8i4i1G (USA) https://amzn.eu/d/a6Khecj (UK)

Synopsis

Fairies are real. Or they ought to be, at least, according to Madame Bel Carmen’s best hypotheses. Her problem, however, is that after searching the world over for the lore to prove it, she hasn’t uncovered anything that someone didn’t already know. Out of options, she knows her only chance to prove the existence of the Fae is to find someone who’s met them, and she’s just heard tell of a reclusive scholar who has reportedly done just that. This folklorist is more than just withdrawn; she’s nowhere, an academic ghost known only by a few obscure writings.

Review

I am going to hold my hands up here and say I haven’t read the book yet. Why?
Because my postman delivered it to the wrong address while I was on holiday and by the time I got back and realized, my neighbours were on holiday. When they got back, we were in a different part of the country dealing with a family members health issue and then suddenly it was December.

Life, right.

However, the reason I wanted to read and review it (other than my obvious adoration for The Write Reads) was primarily the cover and blurb.

Look at the cover. Seriously.

That is the type of unicorn that I’m after. Wild, armoured and slightly creepy. This is no fanciful sweet natured virgin-lover like the delicate fairy tales of your childhood. This is the gritty, realistic germanic Grimms Tales where fae are twisted and cruel and magical beings are not sweet, helpful minions.

This is an adult fairy tale.

The blurb, however was what drew me in. With the resurgence of interest in fairy tales and retellings, a decent story that doesn’t centre on the excessive spice, or romance aspect was really captivating.

The idea of those who had dealings with the fae being hard to find is one that ios repeated in literature but I am always interested in seeing how different authors approach this premise and the blurb for this book gave me darker “Emily Wilde” feels.

Many reviewers have remarked on the olde worlde style of folklorish telling and how eerie it becomes and that is what I am here for. I promise I will write a more comprehensive review when I have read it but for now thank you for the opportunity, as always.