Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries: the Sunday Times Bestseller

Product Information

But once you make choices that encompass real world places and events, you have to at least get it a little bit right. It’s formatted as a series of daily journal entries, and while it’s a creative idea, it didn’t translate to a gripping read. But as Emily gets closer and closer to uncovering the secrets of the Hidden Ones--the most elusive of all faeries--lurking in the shadowy forest outside the town, she also finds herself on the trail of another mystery: Who is Wendell Bambleby, and what does he really want? Emily is writing the first encyclopaedia of faeries and she is in the a village in the far north finishing her book. Academic grumps they may be, but these two have a friendship that makes me wish for someone that would battle faerie assassins for me.

Unlike this one, most of her previous books involve dragons in one way or another – these titles include Even The Darkest Stars, Ember And The Ice Dragons, and The Grace Of Wild Things. But when she arrives in the remote hardscrabble village of Hrafnsvik on her latest assignment, Emily’s lack of people skills starts her off on the wrong foot with the gruff townsfolk. For all its lack of commitment to the framing device, the writing is very easy to get into, and it’s a very fast, pacy read that would be easy enough to get through in a single day.I didn’t realise until I finished this that it was the first in a series and there will be another book about Emily in the future – it ended in a really interesting place for her and Wendell so I will definitely be reading the next one to see what ends up developing. We’ll get to the more substantive critique in a minute, but I want to start off with something that will be entirely irrelevant to most readers, but intensely annoying for a few. Fawcett crafts several fine mysteries, mines plenty of faerie folklore, and blends equal parts girl detective, academic warrior, and Emma Thompson channeling-Austen into this smart and sparkling fantasy.

The story mainly features Emily and Wendell Bambleby, another professor from Cambridge who invites himself along on her expedition and who she is frustratedly annoyed at because she’s sure he’s trying to take credit for her work. As you’d expect from a fantasy story about faeries, every page of this novel is sprinkled with nature and whimsy.The character development was very good, I enjoyed learning about Emily and Wendell and seeing all sides of them. But as Emily gets closer to uncovering the secrets of the Hidden Ones - the most elusive of all faeries - she also finds herself on the trail of another mystery: who is Wendell Bambleby, and what does he really want? In something that may sound like a spoiler but absolutely isn't one - indeed, it is blindingly obvious even from the cover blurb of the book - they also fall in love. Brigid is a Queer fantasy and romance reader who believes fantasy and romance make the perfect book cocktail.

Yes, sometimes the annotations (made to feel just like an academic journal) felt a bit too lengthy at times. Beautifully written, with characters you’ll grow so fond of, this is the whimsical yet cosy fantasy I have been craving and couldn’t love it enough! They're friends (while Emily is frequently irked by his presence, she still considers Wendell to be her only friend). Source: ARC provided by the publisher (this in no way affects my review which is honest and unbiased) Finished copy special edition purchased by myself!I don’t know how much more gushing I can provide to tempt you to pick this up but if you enjoy scholarly style stories told in journal format by a slightly prickly professor with a love for anything fae set during the 1900s and with a mystery running through its core, not to mention a sprinkling of romance, delicious banter and chemistry and an adorable dog. The villagers- they were interesting and gave some comic relief to the story and a reprieve from Emily's constant vitriol. Everything seems to come so easily for him and if you're struggling, as Emily is with some of the villagers, that can definitely be frustrating. Even as his nature is to be Fae and therefore cruel, vain and selfish, he was surprisingly caring and thoughtful. Note: While reading this book with Rebecca, we had a couple of conversations about whether Emily is supposed to be written as neurodivergent.