Book Review: 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 this heartwarming and enchanting fantasy.

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, Shadow, and the Fair Folk to other people.

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.

GENRE: Romantic Fantasy Adventure

PURCHASE LINKS: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Indiebound | Indigo | Kobo | Google Play | Waterstones | BAM!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Heather Fawcett is a Canadian author of books for adults, kids, and teens, including the Even the Darkest Stars series, Ember and the Ice Dragons, The Language of Ghosts, Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries, and more. Her books have been translated into more than ten languages and somehow all include dragons in one form or another. She has a Master’s degree in English Literature and a Bachelor’s in Archaeology. She lives on Vancouver Island. www.heatherfawcettbooks.com

Review & Recommended Listening

To be honest I did not expect to love this book as much as I do now. The cover's really charming, but as I'm not the world's greatest romance fan, I actually thought, "Of course this is going to end in a romance," with a slight roll of my eyes. I also wasn't too sure if the journal format would hold, especially because it seemed to slow the pace at first.

BUT — yes, caps for emphasis — I was so very wrong. The journal format was great for a protagonist like Emily; her voice easily reflected her awkwardness and quirks, and made for an interesting read despite the initial series of mundane events. At some point we got a surprise POV and I absolutely cackled at how enjoyable and distinct that character's voice was. I could practically hear both their voices in my head.

The plot also took a sudden turn about a third of the way through, and it remained unapologetically unexpected and interesting until the end. Though maybe my lack of exposure to fae-related stories added to my awe. (I certainly did not expect Emily to do that thing with her hand and I gasped. 😉)

I was wrong about the romance too. It was actually really good! I enjoyed Emily and Wendell's back and forth, there were many fun but unexpected elements to their relationship, and some of their scenes were just plain delightful. I'm definitely looking forward to their next adventure!

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Recommended Listening: As I mentioned in my open call for books to review, I’ll now be adding a song to my reviews! It’ll be one that either sums up the book for me, what I’d imagine in a trailer were it a movie, something that I associate with the story or one of the characters for whatever reason… or maybe even an original inspired by it 😉