Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett (a review)
- Amy (@ayachan91)
- Apr 30
- 4 min read
Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett
Series: Emily Wilde #1
Published: January 9, 2023, Del Rey
Genre: Adult Fantasy
Formats: Paperback and Audiobook narrated by Ell Potter and Michael Dodds
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Kobo | Bookshop | Libro fm
Book Description
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.
Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries was the perfect cozy fantasy. It follows Professor Emily Wilde as she travels to Hrafnsvik to study the "Hidden Ones" for her encyclopaedia. There's low-stake adventures and a sub-plot of romance between her and her academic rival/friend Wendell Bambleby. Personally, I think the characters are what made the story wonderful and gave it its charm.
He leaned back, a smile playing on his mouth. "You know, Em, you could make life so much easier for yourself if you tried to be liked once in a while." "I do try," I said, overloud. His words stung more than he could have guessed. I tried and tried--or at least, I used to, and nothing had ever come of it.
From Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries, 30th October
I absolutely loved Emily. She reminded me a bit of the guys from the show, Big Bang Theory. Her life up to this point was completely dictated by her academic endavors. So much so, that the consideration of others rarely came to mind, aside from Shadow, her dog. That quickly hinders her ability to endear herself with the community in Hrafnsvik and also her research, but as the story progresses, she learns to let people in. By the end of it all, Wendell Bambleby, some of the villiagers of Hrafnsvik and a faerie, Poe, became her found family.
Herein I intend to provide an honest account of my day-to-day activites in the field as I document an enigmatic species of faerie called "Hidden Ones." [...] Verba volant, scripta manent.
From Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries, 20th October, 1909.
Having the story written from the perspective of Emily's journal entries was a good choice. It provided a lot of insight into Emily's character, while also giving the story somewhat of a scientific reserach notebook vibe, which perfectly fits Emily. Also getting a few journal entries from Wendell Bambleby was unexpected and fantastic addition. I did find the story a bit slow at the beginning, but once Bambleby showed up, things got interesting quickly.
In regards to the romance, the sub-plot of romance between Wendell Bambleby and Emily was very subtle. The romance doesn't have a significant role in this installment of the series. They kiss twice, and one is what Emily described as a "shadow of a kiss." However, their banter was absolutely amusing, and provided a lot of entertainment in the story. If I was to place a trope on their relationship, it'd be reversed grumpy/sunshine.
"I will never again believe you to be incapable of hard work." He shuddered. "Being capable is not the same as being inclined, Em."
From Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries, 30th January
I did switch between reading a physical copy and listening to the audiobook to read Emily Wilde and the Encyclopaedia of Faeries. Honestly, I'm glad I did because I'm unfamiliar with Norwegian. So there were quite a few words that I had absolutely no clue how to pronounce. The audiobook helped a lot. I also enjoyed the narration by Ell Potter and Michael Dodds. I think they did a great job brining the characters to life.
Overall, I really enjoyed Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries. I enjoyed it so much, that I did binge read the other two books in the trilogy: Emily Wilde's Map of the Otherlands and Emily Wilde's Compendium of Lost Tales. Both of which I loved and found very entertaining.
What did you think of Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries? Do you have any cozy fantasy novels you'd recommend?
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