Emily Wilde’s Compendium of Lost Tales by Heather Fawcett
Emily Wilde has spent her life studying faeries. A renowned dryadologist, she has documented hundreds of species of Folk in her Encyclopaedia of Faeries. Now she is about to embark on her most dangerous academic project studying the inner workings of a faerie realm-as its queen.
Along with her former academic rival-now fiancé-the dashing and mercurial Wendell Bambleby, Emily is immediately thrust into the deadly intrigues of Faerie as the two of them seize the throne of Wendell’s long-lost kingdom, which Emily finds a beautiful nightmare, filled with scholarly treasures.
Emily has been obsessed with faerie stories her entire life, but at first she feels as ill-suited to Faerie as she did to the mortal world-how could an unassuming scholar like herself pass for a queen? Yet there is little time to settle in-Wendell’s murderous stepmother has placed a deadly curse upon the land before vanishing without a trace. It will take all of Wendell’s magic-and Emily’s knowledge of stories-to unravel the mystery before they lose everything they hold dear.
For the Reading Challenge(s):
2025 52 Book Club Reading Challenge (Prompt #38: An adventure story)
The Reason
I enjoyed the first two books and I love the characters.
The Quotes
“I have learned there is one thing a person never tires of, no matter how long they live. And that is being in love. All else is ash and ember.”
“Shadow’s world was one in which all and sundry either fawned over him or kept a respectful distance from his intimidating bulk. Each time Orga hissed at him, Shadow seemed to assume it a misunderstanding, which grew increasingly improbable as these incidents accumulated, but still less improbable, in his view, than being disliked.”
“Stories are the architecture of Faerie, more powerful than magic, more powerful than kings.”
“Such is the way with librarians, who are almost as unpredictable as the Folk, some minatory and persnickety, others overflowing with warmth towards humanity at large.”
My Thoughts
I loved the first book but I thought the second wasn’t as strong as the first. Many people have expressed that they thought this book might be the weakest of the three, and in terms of stories, I agree. The story felt weak and unnecessarily drawn out, especially towards the end, but I’m giving it the benefit of the doubt and assuming that it might be a possible set up for the next books. Still unnecessary though, and it could’ve been done better if so.
However, my expectations for this book was lower this time and I ended up enjoying it very much. I especially love the little bits of comedy and relationship scenes. I love the banter between Emily and Wendell, and I love the little things he did to show how much he loved and respected her. I also loved Orga and Shadow, and I loved how interesting the other characters are as well. I think the best thing about this book is the characters, and I always want to know more about them.
It’s funny because it feels like it’s the side stories and backstories of these characters that keep me coming back. I’m not sure I love the overarching stories at this point, but I would absolutely read the next book(s) just because I can’t get enough of the characters. To be fair, the main story of this book wasn’t bad, I just feel like it wasn’t enough. I hope the main stories in future books get better.
My Rating
⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 stars.
Have you read this book? Would you read this book? Did you like the book or do you think you would like it?
