Book Review | Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett

Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett

A curmudgeonly professor journeys to a small town in the far north to study faerie folklore and discovers dark fae magic, friendship, and love in the start of a heartwarming and enchanting new fantasy series.

Cambridge professor Emily Wilde is good at many things: She is the foremost expert on the study of faeries. She is a genius scholar and a meticulous researcher who is writing the world’s first encyclopaedia of faerie lore. But Emily Wilde is not good at people. She could never make small talk at a party–or even get invited to one. And she prefers the company of her books, her dog, and the Fair Folk.

So when she arrives in the hardscrabble village of Hrafnsvik, Emily has no intention of befriending the gruff townsfolk. Nor does she care to spend time with another new arrival: her dashing and insufferably handsome academic rival Wendell Bambleby, who manages to charm the townsfolk, get in the middle of Emily’s research, and utterly confound and frustrate her.

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? To find the answer, she’ll have to unlock the greatest mystery of all–her own heart.

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For the Reading Challenge(s):
2024 52 Book Club Reading Challenge (Prompt #45: Chapter headings have dates)
2024 Library Love Challenge

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The Reason

I love fairy tales. I love tales about faeries, and changelings, and magic, and folklore, and I love the whole idea of this book! I’ve been seeing this book everywhere, and of course, I couldn’t resist! It’s like I’ve been enchanted!

The Quotes

“Perhaps it is always restful to be around someone who does not expect anything from you beyond what is in your nature.”

“One doesn’t need magic if one knows enough stories.”

“There was something about the stories bound between those covers, and the myriad species of Folk weaving in and out of them, each one a mystery begging to be solved. I suppose most children fall in love with faeries at some point, but my fascination was never about magic or the granting of wishes. The Folk were of another world, with its own rules and customs—and to a child who always felt ill-suited to her own world, the lure was irresistible.”

The Characters

I love Emily Wilde! I love Wendell! I love Shadow! I love Poe! I love Thora! I love Aud! Omg, I love them all!

I relate so much to Emily. I found it painful and funny how awkward she was around people and yet, she was so amazing at her job, so resourceful and smart! To be clear, I relate to the awkward part, not the smart part, I’m not an intellectual and I probably couldn’t write a faerie encyclopaedia. I also relate to how practical she was, not really caring about her clothes looking good or her cottage feeling homey. It always seems to be the woman’s job to make the house homey and to look good, but I love that Wendell is the homebody in this book!

I love seeing Wendell through Emily’s eyes, I think I fell more in love with him because of her practical and objective descriptions. In fact, I loved seeing all the other characters from her eyes. There’s something about the way she writes that’s so matter-of-fact, and yet, you feel the feels she tries to downplay.

My Thoughts

What an adventure! I loved discovering this magical world of Emily Wilde’s, where faeries and faerie folklore are studied and discussed in academic circles. I loved learning about this world through Emily’s notebook. It was so interesting to be introduced to the different faerie folk, to see Emily’s interactions with each of them, to see her embroiled in certain situations in regards to them, and how she finds solutions to any issue she comes across. It is hard not to fall in love with her, even though she tries to be unlikable!

My Feels

Two words; found family. I am a sucker for it. I loved how she started out practically ostracized, and ended up with a whole community of people who loves her as family. I get choked up just thinking about it and how it all came about.

My Rating

5/5 stars. I’m a character driven reader, and this book has the best characters all around. I need to see more of them!

Have you read this book? Would you read this book? Did you like the book or do you think you would like it?