Book Review : Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett




Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett
Genre : Historical Fantasy
Series : Emily Wilde #1
Publisher : Del Rey
Publication date : January 10th, 2023
 
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.

B&N
One of my recent reads - Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia Of Faeries by Heather Fawcett was my latest favorite as it had some cozy fantasy vibes(but darker at other times) with amazing characters! It was a historical fantasy read with lots of folklore, capricious beings and an FMC that I fell in love with! ⁣
Emily Wilde is a Cambridge professor and dryadologist who has a keen interest in studying the Fae folk. She's been researching & working on her book - an encyclopaedia of faerie lore, and this brings her to the tiny Scandinavian village - Hrafnsvik where she hopes to discover more details about the fae. However things become more complicated as the fae here seem to be quite different from the ones she has come across before. And Emily's focused and serious nature doesn't endear her to the townspeople either. The sudden arrival of her coworker Wendell Bambleby changes things as she uncovers more secrets and learns to view many other things in a new light!⁣
I've read a lot of fantasy books that feature fae with different variations, but I love seeing unique ones like these with an otherworldly feel! Also, I loved how the characters were complex and real here. Emily was intelligent and inquisitive, but also introverted and sometimes detached from everything. Her role as an observer takes precedence over kindness, and she doesn't do things without a motive. I loved the duality of her nature. And the same applies to Wendell - who seems carefree and lazy, but has multiple other sides too! I loved the camaraderie between them and how Emily was always the most comfortable with him around! I loved the folklore along with the undercurrent of mystery. I think almost all of the aspects were well-balanced with some elements of romance and more action in the latter half. I gobbled this one up in a single sitting as I couldn't wait to find out what would happen next and I'm so excited that I can immediately dive into my ARC of book 2 now😆
Heather Fawcett is the Sunday Times and internationally bestselling Canadian author of books for adults, kids, and teens, including Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries, Even the Darkest Stars, Ember and the Ice Dragons, The Grace of Wild Things, and more. Her books have been translated into more than a dozen 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. 

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