The Wicked Lies of Habren Faire

By Anna Fiteni

Reviewed by Lucille Rose

The Wicked Lies of Habren Faire by Anna Fiteni is a contemporary fantasy book following eldest daughter Sabrina Parry who, after her father’s sentence to ten years in Australia, becomes the sole protector of her bitter grandmother and sickly twin. But Sabrina was never meant to be the main character. No, her sister, Ceridwen, has always been the real heroine of the two. Smart, beautiful and charming, Ceridwen has long outdone her sister, whose modest appearance and short temper always makes her the less likable sister. But Sabrina doesn’t care. That’s what she tells everyone, anyway. All that’s important to her is keeping her family warm and fed. And after years of promising, it seemed as if Ceridwen would finally make good on her promise to marry well and provide for them. But Sabrina should have known that a girl like her sister had no intention of keeping her promises. After an entire life of pretending not to believe in the Welsh folklore her twin was so devoted to, Ceridwen runs off into the woods to live with the Faires, leaving Sabrina to pick up the pieces. But no. Sabrina won’t let her sister leave that easily. Tossed into a world of challenges, lies and immortality, Sabrina is forced to decide whether a life with her sister is worth dying for, or if that’s what she’d competing for at all.

This is an enchanting, exciting read with highly relatable characters, an interesting plot and a sad, yet fulfilling, ending.

The ‘opposite sisters’ trope is popular in fiction. One vain and beautiful, the other smart but plain, is common because it allows the latter, usually the main character, to be perceived as more virtuous in comparison to their flighty, selfish counterparts. However, here the trope was used well, as it made Sabrina more relatable to the reader. Often protagonists have an unbelievable level of morality that casts all their actions, and subsequently themselves, in a golden halo of righteousness. In this book, Sabrina has many flaws. She’s prone to jealousy  and is quick to seek vengeance when Ceridwen doesn’t keep her promises. But this doesn’t lessen her likability, it enhances it. To see a main character make questionable decisions out of anger, instead of taking the path to sainthood, sets off a chord in readers who have no doubt, at some point, done the same.

This story gives the reader a deep dive into a contemporary take on Welsh folklore, a side of faire mythology not often seen in books. The references to certain historical events, like the convict transports to Australia, gives a broader perspective of the time and more strictly contrasts the differences between the magic and human worlds. Side characters, such as the devilish Neirin, enrich their world by displaying a product of its culture and traditions, which in itself feeds into the challenges Sabrina faces attempting to survive in this unfamiliar environment.

And finally, the ending. Happy endings are beautiful, joyous things, but they don’t always mean the guy gets the girl and they ride off into the sunset. The best endings have a note of tragedy, which makes the experience of goodness even greater by comparison. This novel finds Sabrina finally receiving everything she deserves but losing some of the people she met to get there. The repressed longing, the yearning for something more while acknowledging all the problems over which they have triumphed, made this ending the perfect amount of bittersweet.

Four out of five stars, I’d recommend this book to readers aged 15-17.

Warning: this book contains mention of violent crime and swearing.

Electric Monkey 2025

Anna Fiteni