3.5/5. I was so excited to get an ARC of this one, and it didn't quite live up to my expectations. Going in, I wasn't sure if we were talking about Sarah J. Maas faeries or Holly Black faeries, but either one appeals. This was actually more in the Naomi Novik vein of fantasy, which was a surprise and a treat. Even though it's not technically high fantasy--the titular Emily is a professor at Cambridge--it may as well be, since most of the action takes place in a foreign city plagued by faerie activity and bordering a winter faerie realm.

The epistolary novel format was fine. Didn't add anything for me, but I didn't find it offputting, either. Cute how Wendall got to interject with his own entries every now and again. Overall though, I felt like this was heavily billed as a romance, and it's really just not. They barely kissed, and there wasn't really a spark between them (I'm sure Wendall's entries on it would have been saucier, but Emily's overall curt narration makes it hard to feel that chemistry at all). I wasn't even sure that it was the ship until about 50% of the way through the book, and that's never good. The pacing dragged a bit, and the main conflict of the book didn't really make itself clear until about 75% of the way, at which point I was ready to just have the whole thing be resolved and over with. As a final note, I'm not quite sure why this wasn't billed as YA. Maybe the sequel is going somewhere sexier.

I try to make the first and last books of a year special ones, and I was really happy to have this one be the last one I finished in 2022. Emily Wilde's Encyclopedia of Faeries is a wonderful lady-explorer adventure book (can we get that made an official genre?) which is one of my very favorite types of books. I love the journal format, the adventure, the mystery, the traveling to a faerie world, and we even get a little bit of packing details, which is another favorite thing of mine to have in a book. So I loved everything about this book... except for our main character, Emily. But I gave the book five stars so she doesn't detract much. For me, she's too out of touch socially and it makes her interactions with everyone she comes into contact with distracting and embarrassing. However, I still loved the book and can't wait to read the next one.

I was given a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really struggled to rate this one. On the one hand, I loved it, and on the other, I really struggled through some of it. It is somehow dark and yet still cozy, with an atmosphere and vibe that I love. In the end, I think this will become a "booktok" darling. Plus, that cover is so stunning (at least the UK version is).

Many people will compare this to A Natural History of Dragons by Marrie Brennan. I do think those comparisons are fair. Both books feature strong-willed, scholarly female leads who live and work in a world predominately controlled by men. Both books feature a similar narrative structure. Both books feature a whimsical world. While struggling to determine how I truly felt about Emily Wilde, I myself compared it to Natural History. What I determined is that what didn't work for me about Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faires was, in fact, Emily Wilde. I never connected with her, despite her character traits being completely relatable and 100% my jam. I am a character-driven reader, so I really need that connection.

I also wanted so much more of Wendell. I loved the dialogue between Emily and Wendell, and he made me laugh out loud so many times. You get a few chapters from his POV, and being in them really made me realize that Emily was not really working for me.

Despite my issues connecting with Emily, I found this to be charming, and the writing is quite lovely. I will definitely read the next book and look forward to Emily's next adventure.

Perfect for fans of:
A Natural History of Dragons
Cozy Fantasy
Strong-willed Main Characters
Slow-burn Burn Romances
Found Family
Adventure Stories

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Del Rey, for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Book Summary:

Emily Wilde is not your typical Cambridge Professor. Why? She studies faeries. She's also not great when it comes to talking (or doing anything with) people. She'd much prefer to be left alone for her studies, thank you very much.

Despite this, Emily is about to go on an adventure. Or rather, a field research trip. It's the best way to uncover new secrets and lost history about her preferred subject. Yet we all know what happens when somebody gets too close to the truth...

My Review:

Guys, Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries is such a fun read! If you love fae and their lore, you will love this book. It has a lot of fun tropes and elements, such as the cantankerous professor trope and Hidden Ones' mythology. In other words, it's pretty perfect. Oh! Did I mention there's even an academic rival?

The characters really make this book, if I may say so. I know the description probably doesn't make it sound like Emily's character is super personable, but she's a fantastic character on the pages. Maybe not the best person to take to a party, but a great character to follow!

This was such a fresh take on a world I love so much (fae and mythology). It's the sort of thing I didn't realize I needed – until it was in my hands. So, what are you waiting for? Go read it!

Highlights:
Faeries
Historical Fantasy
Field Research...of fae
Cantankerous Professor Trope
Academic Rivalry

Trigger Warnings:
Ableism
Kidnapping
Animal Abuse & Death (mentioned)

5/5 ⭐️
I fell in love with this book from chapter one. By chapter two, I knew this would be a five star read. It felt like this book was written just for me. It captured the cozy-fantasy like tone that makes it comforting. The tone felt similar to Howl’s Moving Castle. But then it mixed in characters with strong academic mentality that is researching faerie lore. And it was filled such great faerie lore and tales.
I loved that it was written in the style of being an academic journal, reminding me of when I had to keep one when I participated on an archeological dig site. It felt academic. But yet, it also reminded me a lot of the journal I kept when I studied abroad in Sweden in college. In part because this is set in a small community off Norway.
The main character was odd but she was aware of her faults. But her oddities were balanced out with the oddities of the love interest. And together, they weren’t perfect, but they were an impressive team. While, she at least won’t address or diminishes her feelings, you can tell by their actions and what they say, that they both know each other exceptionally well. And that’s why I adored their relationship. I got halfway through this book & restarted it, because I NEEDED to annotate it. I think this might become my newest comfort read.
Thank you to NetGalley & Random House Publishing for providing an advance reader copy for my honest review.

This is an entertaining light academia novel, but it took me a while to warm up to it. Written as journal entries and serving as field notes, it is a slow and steady read that gradually made me invested in the characters. It took a while, but finally at around the 60% mark, when the pace and plot both picked up, I was unable to put it down.

Although the blurb on GR describes Emily as a “curmudgeonly professor,” I did not see her as such. Emily is socially awkward. Her research tends to come first so she can be ignorant of the social environment while also extremely perceptive to nearly everything else. I mostly liked her.

Bambleby, her academic rival, is ridiculous. Sometimes I loved him and other times I also wanted to strangle him as much as Emily did. He despises getting his hands dirty, often abstaining from work and choosing to "supervise" instead. Unlike Emily, he is able to easily charm people. He inspired so many strong emotions in her. She was either chastising him or wanting to cause him physical harm. As such, their interactions are some of my favorite parts of the book. They make a good team, especially when Bambleby decides to put in the teensiest bit of effort.

This is a read that requires patience. I needed a fair amount of it to get started and then some more to get through the first half. Was it worth it? Yes. Individuals who enjoy faerie lore will enjoy the book and may appreciate the footnotes Emily includes.

I was given a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Emily Wilde's Encyclopedia of Faeries is a historical fantasy following the title character in search of new fae to discover in a little explored Nordic country. Emily is kind of a grump. She's an extremely introverted academic who wants to publish her Encyclopedia so she can gain tenure and never have to leave her Cambridge office again. Of course, it could never be that simple.

I loved this book. It was part Lady Trent, part Veronica Speedwell and a whole lot of cozy fantasy vibes. This is definitely a character driven book, if you don't like Emily you will not like this book. I loved her. This is the kind of book I always wanted to read when I was a kid. I think anyone who doesn't mind a slower paced character focused book will enjoy this. I can't wait to pick up the sequel when it comes out.

4.5

Emily Wilde has spent much of her young life learning as much as she can about the fairy folk, primarily the common fae, as they are easier to find. She is much more knowledgeable than people or fairies expect. She also is confident in her dealings with the fae — at times, overconfident, which causes trouble. Yet, there is one member of the fae with whom her confidence is not as great.

Emily is working on an encyclopedia of fairies, which will contain what she has learned from others and from her own studies. She is currently on a research trip on an island near Norway to study a group of fae about which little is known. However, her trip gets off to a rocky start when she unknowingly offends the woman who leads the town. While her job requires her to interact regularly with others, gathering stories about the local fairy folk and information on how best to find them, Emily is not very comfortable with or good at social interactions, especially large gatherings. The unexpected arrival of a colleague will aid her in issues involving social niceties but will lead to its own set of problems and challenges. Emily will also find herself more invested in the locals, both human and fae, than she intended or expected, and it will change her.

One thing I particularly liked is that the author treated the study of fairies as if it was a serious academic field, with Emily being a scholar in the Cambridge department of dryadology and arcanology. Emily keeps a journal of her research trip and discoveries, and she cites to various publications involving the fae, as well as discussing various theories about their behaviors, world, etc.

This was a fun book to read. It appears there may be a sequel in the works, which I look forward to reading when it is finished.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC to review!
Rating (on a scale of 1 to 5, 5 being excellent)
Quality of writing: 4
Pace: 3
Plot development: 3
Characters: 3
Enjoyability: 3
Ease of Reading: 3

Overall rating: 3 out of 5

Cambridge scholar Emily Wilde thought she had everything planned out when she went to a northern island to explore the Hidden Folk around the village of Hrafnsvik. But Emily has a problem. She is not a people person and gets on the wrong side of the locals and everything is going sideways when Wendell Bambleby and his entourage arrive. Emily has her suspicions about her colleague, but finds out much more than she expected as she unravels the secrets shrouding the local Fair Folks and their interactions with humans. By the end of this tale, Emily and Wendell have come to terms with each other and are planning more expeditions. It will be interesting to see what catastrophes they will stumble into next! An interesting adventure well worth the reading!

Thanks Netgalley for the opportunity to read this title.

Thank you Netgalley for providing an advance copy of this book. I LOVED it. Despite receiving a copy from Netgalley I did immediately buy myself a physical copy. I love how to romance slowly unfolded in the novel. It reminded me of Howl’s Moving Castle meets Earl and Fairy. It is sweet and the characters compliment each other in the best way. I loved meeting all of the other characters, especially the little brownie Poe. I cannot wait until the sequel comes out. Heather Fawcett has written an exquisite novel that is cozy, rich, and full of whimsy.

This book surprised me! I really didn’t know what to expect ahead of time— I hadn’t read the synopsis, but I heard it was a fantasy with some romance and academia and fae, and that was really all I needed to know to be interested! ⁣
⁣
We follow Emily Wilde, a professor at Cambridge who is working on the world’s first encyclopaedia to document all known varieties of folk, including common fae, courtly fae, and everything in between. In order to complete her Encylopaedia, Emily has one final group of fae to study, dubbed the “Hidden Ones,” in the remote Nordic village of Hrafnsvik, Ljoslansd.⁣
⁣
Emily has always felt more comfortable in the field studying the folk than trying to make small-talk with people. But the people of Hrafnsvik value warmth, friendliness, and community… so naturally Emily is off to a rocky start. When Professor Wendell Bambleby, her research rival and only real friend, shows up wanting to help her study the Hidden Ones, she’s thrown off even more.⁣
⁣
Told through journal entries, we watch day-by-day as Emily and Wendell settle into Hrafnsvik and begin to learn more about the local fae, the community, and each other. There may be more to Wendell than meets the eye, and it’s not just the village that starts to worm its way into Emily’s scholarly heart. ⁣
⁣
I really loved that this book didn’t shy away from the darker sides of faerie folklore. So often fae get romanticized in fiction, but there’s a lot more nuance in this novel. It was interesting seeing the truly monstrous juxtaposed alongside the sweet and kind. The fae courts and magic were beautiful and fascinating. I also appreciated all of the additional stories and footnotes; they really built this into a fully fleshed-out world.⁣
⁣
I will say that the romantic plot line is not perfect. Wendell is initially extremely unlikable, and even when he is finally likable, it felt like his romantic feelings towards Emily came out of nowhere. However, their romantic tension did grow on me by the end of the novel, and I’m really interested in seeing where the sequel takes them! Overall, I had a really good time with this book!

Unfortunately, I have decided to DNF this book. It is not because of poor writing or poor plot by any means, but rather, this is just not a book that interests me. I got to page 136 when I decided to DNF this as I found myself losing interest.

When I first read the synopsis of this book, I thought it was going to be an exciting adventurous tale with some fun faerie moments thrown in. But I found it to be less exciting and a lot more academic than expected. And while there are some exciting scenes, I think the diary format takes away from that excitement a little bit. It doesn’t feel as though we are experiencing these things with the characters but rather, we are reading someone’s account of these events. This made it hard for me to get fully invested in the story.

I did think the brownie who was described was very cute and because I was reading an ebook version of this, it was nice being able to click the * to get to the appendix. I also found Bambleby to be quite funny at times and really enjoyed the banter between him and Emily.

I also enjoyed some of the more “scary” moments like her visit to one of the villagers’ houses.

While this book was not for me, I do think many will find this book enjoyable and to be one of their favorite reads. This book is perfect for anyone who loves historic fiction, academia, diary formats, and lighthearted banter between two people.

*This review will be posted on my Goodreads page and my Instagram by 1/27, linked here.

Netgalley ARC

I enjoyed this book more than I thought I would, I finished it a week ago and I wish I was still reading it.

Emily is a very serious scholar who has trouble relating to people. This makes fieldwork difficult, especially in the far north rural village of Hrafnsvik. She is there to research the local Faerie population and almost immediately alienates the townsfolk. "Luckily" Her esteemed colleague Wendell Bambleby decides to join her.

The story has a slow start but quickly picks up after Bambleby's arrival. I really liked Bambleby and Emily's relationship. I would call Emily a reluctant friend and Bambleby clearly thinks very highly of Emily. He makes sure she eats breakfast and she sees him for who he is.

My favorite part of book are the townspeople, who eventually come to love and respect Emily. They are a great cast of supporting characters.

Cambridge professor Emily Wilde is the foremost scholar on dryadology, the study of fairies and their lore. To complete her Encyclopedia of Faeries, she travels to Ljosland, a fictional Scandinavian country with customs and landscape very reminiscent of Iceland. I could taste the rybrod as I read. The first of an Emily Wilde series, this debut adult fantasy from Heather Fawcett incorporates alt history, magic, fairy lore, intrigue, and romance in a charming, witty, and oddball narrative presented as journal entries documenting Emily's research. It's very fun. I don't always read about fairies but when I do, this series will be at the top of my list.
[Thanks Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Del Rey, and NetGalley for an opportunity to read an advanced reader copy and share my opinion of this book.]

Emily Wilde, a young researcher from Cambridge, is compiling an encyclopaedia of all of the faerie folk she knows about and has studied over the years. One of her last stops is in the frozen, isolated village of Hrafnsvik, where Emily will attempt to find the Hidden Ones, who are known for their cruel ways of stealing young people from their families. She ventures out alone, with only her dog Shadow at her side, but soon she has an unexpected visitor who gets under her skin every time she is around him. Emily knows there is something different about her colleague Wendell Bambleby, but she has yet to substantiate her theory. As Emily and Wendell study the northern faeries and record their findings, they come across something darker at work than they first thought. Soon they will have to rely on each other and the villagers as they battle an old curse of the faerie kingdom and try to save the village before it is too late.

How unique and utterly eccentric Emily is! I loved this book very much, especially the tension between Wendell and Emily and the hardy people of Hrafnsvik. Poe was also a favorite for me: I found myself laughing almost every time he appeared. The prose was lush and delightful, transporting the reader directly to the setting. I could almost feel the cold winter wind blow and smell the snow as I read. The author has an extraordinary talent of descriptive writing that brings the story to life as if you are living through everything yourself. Though I did not personally agree with some of the lifestyles and views presented and some of the dark stories were disturbing, I loved everything else. I absolutely cannot wait until the next book in the series and I will miss the characters until then. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys whimsical fantasy with a bit of a dark edge.

I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book through NetGalley. A positive review was not required, and all opinions expressed are entirely my own.

If I were to describe this book to a friend… I’d say it’s like I’d a slice of life book merged with Howl’s Moving Castle. Wendell’s character reminds me of Howl.

This book was full of endearing characters, and enchanting magic. With just a taste Studio Ghibli type horror; the village has missing children, a faerie king imprisoned in a tree, and a couple haunted by illusions in their own home.

I read this book during a turbulent flight, and I couldn’t help smiling in peace. This book has a building warmth to it.
I felt like every character had something more to offer as I read each of Emily’s (sometimes Wendell’s) journals.

Overall, a great magical fiction.

As an added bonus I’ve seen a few of these as popular pet peeves on Goodreads that I thought were handled quite well in this book.
- the miscommunication trope is not overdone.
- The main character is unique, but she never puts down, or makes mention that she’s “not like other girls”.

Thank you NetGalley for the copy!

I loved this book! I thought it was a fun and entertaining and fresh take on the faerie lore. I actually really wish there were similar stories out there, but have yet to find one the historical aspects were really interesting and the author did a great job of making me feel enthralled by the time and world.

I think we've all been looking for cozy novels after the success of legends and lattes. This was such a perfect snuggly read.

I loved the unique combination of fantasy, academia, and mystery. The quirky characters combined with the faeries made this one I'm absolutely going to recommend to others.

I

Such a cozy and warm read, which was surprising, considering it was placed in what was essentially a winter wasteland. The book was an easy enough read, perhaps a little overwritten at times. It took me longer than I'd like to admit to realize that I was reading a journal, which I think was due to it not FEELING like a journal until pretty late in the book.

The final act felt a bit rushed, but I felt it left in a perfect place to make room for a sequel, which I'm sure I'll pick up!