Teen novel featuring the Tylwyth Teg named Waterstones Book of the Month

Stephen Price

An ‘irresistible dark fae romantasy debut’ inspired by Welsh mythology has been named Waterstones’ Welsh Book of the Month.

The Wicked Lies of Habraen Faire is described as perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas, Faebound, Leigh Bardugo and Holly Black’s The Cruel Prince.

The ‘romantasy’, inspired by Welsh mythology, follows the headstrong Sabrina into the magical world of the Tylwyth Teg, where the fae she encounters lands her in a dangerous deal to save her sister.

Its synopsis shares: “Ceridwen Parry has run away with the fairies.

“But this is not her story.

“For Sabrina Parry, the world is tough, cruel and practical. With her father in prison, her aims in life are: 1. hold onto her job, 2. hold her tongue and 3. set up her sister Ceridwen with a man rich enough to look after her.

“Ceridwen is lovely, romantic, timid – everything that Sabrina isn’t. But then Ceridwen vanishes into the eerie woods leaving only an iron ring behind and Sabrina is drawn into a beautiful but decaying world of fairies and monsters of old.

“And when an annoyingly handsome fairy prince offers her a dangerous deal, Sabrina is forced to put her own freedom at risk to save her sister.”

New mythologies

The book, which has received wide praise upon its publication, was written by Anna Fiteni, an author from Cardiff.

She studied English and Creative Writing at the University of Warwick, before going on to the University of Oxford to complete a PGCE.

Speaking to The Boar about her exposure to Welsh mythology as a child, Fiteni shared: “I think I realised that I actually don’t know as much as I thought I did. So it was looking back on what I knew and having to develop it from there, which was really fun.

“I was looking back to when I was first exposed to these stories as a kid. That meant I was thinking a lot about travelling with my sister, parents and grandparents, and looking back at old photographs and how these places like Fagans or The Devil’s Bridge relate to me as an adult, because obviously it now has the baggage of nostalgia with it.

“So how do I work through the nostalgia and get to what the actual story is? But generally, it was really fun. I also had to think about what these stories are to me now that I have to tell them to other people who may have never heard them before.

“It’s actually hard to find a lot of information because much of it has been lost. But I think that adds to what makes it fun – you take it and run with it, which I definitely did.”

“Hypnotic”

Waterstones say: “Lush, romantic and hypnotic, Fiteni’s whimsical fantasy finds sensible Sabrina Parry drawn into a world of disarmingly attractive faeries after her sister vanishes in the woods.”

Rachel Greenlaw, author of Compass and Blade, also gave the book a glowing review, saying: “Shimmering with fae magic, Fiteni’s debut is rich in lyrical prose and Welsh mythology. Readers will fall in love with this book, as I have.”

And J S Strange, author of Look Up, said: “‘Magic oozes through every page of this unapologetically Welsh fantasy.

“The heart of Wales beats throughout, expertly weaving Welsh heritage, history and mythology through the story of sisters Sabrina and Ceridwen …

“Special mention for the Mari Lwyd appearance – I adored it! This story will make you look at the forest differently. Think twice before waving back at that moving leaf. Maybe I don’t want to make friends with the fae after all! Unless he’s Neirin.”

Buy The Wicked Lies of Habren Faire from Waterstones and all other good bookshops.