Watson is skilled at creating a vivid atmosphere, and you can feel the tension that these characters are experiencing. This book grabs your attention and doesn’t let go. In order to protect her family, Wren infiltrates the headquarters of the rival family as a summer intern and must keep her true identity hidden despite her sometimes uncontrollable powers. The main focus of the story is the conflict between her family and a rival family’s desire to control the magic resources of their rural town outside of Dublin. The Wren Hunt takes place in contemporary Ireland but incorporates many aspects of old magic and lore because the main character, Wren, is part of a magical family.

While Watson is not a native Irish author, she has lived in Galway for over a decade and is greatly inspired by Irish folklore and mythology. Once you’ve made your purchase they have a café on the second floor where you can go read and enjoy their (really good) hot chocolate.Īmong the first books I bought was The Wren Hunt by Mary Watson. They have a great selection of fiction, non-fiction, and literary magazines. One of the first bookstores I found was Books Upstairs, which quickly became one of my favorites.

When I first got to Dublin, I wanted to find some bookish resources, either independent bookstores or local libraries.

One of my New Year’s resolutions for 2019 was to read more. By margot nelson ’20 // professional writing, champlain college