The Wren Hunt

The most superb collection of character and fantasy and love and landscape I have read since Phillip Pullman's Northern Lights * Hilary McKay *
A modern day fairy tale … Throwing romance, magical visions and gruesome rituals into the pot, this is a thrilling and otherworldly depiction of Irish culture * Sunday Times Magazine *
Beautiful, eerie, dark and dreamy ... An absolutely stunning mix of myth and legend and family saga. I haven't stopped thinking about it * Melinda Salisbury *
The Wren Hunt occupies an eerie, in-between place, where fantasy and reality meet in contemporary Ireland infused with ancient magic … Variously described as folklore, fantasy and mystery, The Wren Hunt wears its labels lightly, shedding one genre for another with a sort of slippery grace ... Engaging contemporary storytelling thatrings with ancient resonances. While fans of Maggie Stiefvater, Pead ar Ó Guilín and Melinda Salisbury will find plenty to savour here, the book is its own thing entirely * Kiran Millwood Hargrave *
Beautiful ... This YA novel draws on folktale and myth to weave a story that melds reality and fantasy almost perfectly … Heartfelt, deeply spiritual; we look forward to seeing more books from Mary Watson in the years to come * SFX *
The tentacles of this story reach deep into Ireland’s mythological past, in a haunting tale … The story is riveting, set in a modern country town but at all times laced with reminders of more violent but intriguing times * Irish Examiner *
In this moody magical thriller, a girl with a secret identity and a talent that doubles as a curse has to outwit her enemies, survive her own damaging power, and follow her heart. For fans of The Call and The Shannara Chronicles * Buzzfeed *
Gripping and romantic, it shares the idea of violent adolescent initiation into adult life * New Statesman *
The Wren Hunt rings with ancient, subtle magic, masterfully transmuted into words. A tale that gets into your bones * Samantha Shannon *
The Wren Hunt has a dreamy folk-horror sense about it from the outset: the drubbing of an underlying war drum … A story that unfurls and peels apart like a flower-human hybrid, bleeding as it blooms * Times Literary Supplement *
[I have] fallen under the spell of The Wren Hunt, a beautifully written story and unlike anything I have read ... Magical and real * Jenny McLachlan *
A beautiful mix of myth and magic and discovering the path you want to tread * Karen Gregory *
Folklore, secrets, betrayal, magic, forbidden love and dark discoveries. Eerie, atmospheric, seductive and completely captivating * Katherine Webber *
The language is lyrical, the concept unique and, while comparisons are tricky to make, I’d recommend this highly to fans of Frances Hardinge’s thought-provoking fantasy * LoveReading *
Dreamy … Protagonist Wren is endearing, and her struggles with a power that threatens her own sanity are a compelling thread throughout the narrative * Irish Times *