Thank you to Netgalley, Random House Publishing Group, and Heather Fawcett for allowing me to read and review this book before publication (Jan 10, 2023).

This book took me a few chapters to get in to, but once I did, I felt like I couldn’t stop reading and I ended up loving this book! The most intriguing thing, to me, about this book that sets it apart from other has to be the format of her diary entries. This is my first academia type read and certainly will not be my last now.

This book had an appropriate pace, great world building and it was honestly refreshing to read this different interpretation of faeries than I have previously read. Absolutely a great read. Would recommend this book!

Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries is a charming historical fantasy that edges into the narrow subgenre of fantasy of manners. It imagines a world much like ours, but where faeries have actually been proven to exist. There’s a Victorian charm to the tone and setting that were wonderfully cozy. While the story got off to a bit of a slow start and took a little while to win me over, I ended up finding it delightful.

Emily Wilde is determined to be the first scholar to publish an encyclopaedia of faeries, accounting for all of the disparate types that have been experienced by herself and others. She plans to finish it on a research excursion to the frozen north, which she will find inhospitable in more ways than one. Will her dogged perseverance be enough? And when her co-worker/rival/reluctant friend Wendell Bambleby shows up to her frigid, miserable cabin unannounced, will she accept his help or cling stubbornly to her solitude?

One of my favorite elements of this novel was the characters. Emily’s voice and the tone of the writing remind me of the Veronica Speedwell series. However, Emily is far more erudite and awkward and antisocial. To be frank, she is a bit of a curmudgeon, though an incredibly intelligent one. I found her absolutely, and unintentionally on her end, charming once I got to know her. Wendell Bambleby is remarkably similar to Howl Pendragon from Diana Wynne Jones’ Howl’s Moving Castle. He is flamboyant, entitled, charming, rude, easily depressed, and very high maintenance. I love him. I also really appreciate how he grew and deepened as the story progressed from something approaching a caricature into an engaging and sympathetic character in his own right. The rest of the secondary cast was also varied and engaging. A wonderful found family develops from them that I found utterly heartwarming. That’s one of my very favorite tropes, and it was done wonderfully in this book.

I also very much enjoyed Fawcett’s approach to the various types of faeries. These came across as very classic, in the sense that I was reminded much more of original fairy tales than I was of something like A Court of Thorns and Roses. The use of this more Brothers Grimm or Andrew Lang iteration of fey managed to be both nostalgic and refreshing. These were faeries in wild variety, but they all shared in common a complete lack of any commonality with humanity, as well as a lack of understanding and regard for any in the mortal world. These beings see humans as tools or toys, and nothing more. There was one obvious exception to this rule, but mentioning it specifically would most definitely spoil the story. Regardless, this chasm between human and fey explains how and why mankind has a desire to study and catalogue these immortals.

I’m very glad that I picked up Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries when I did, and that I stuck with it even though it took a little while to draw me in completely. This was a cozy fantasy story that still had some very high stakes. There was a touch of romance here, but nothing at all descriptive. The cast of characters was fun and varied and came together to form a lovely found family. And the world building around the faeries was fascinating. I very highly recommend this book, especially if you’re looking for a cozy winter read with humor and fantastical elements.

Thank you NetGalley for giving me an ARC of this absolutely astonishing book.

I loved this. So much. If you like fae in the classic folklore sense (think Holly Black’s depiction rather than Sarah J Maas’) then I think you will love this as well.

I was thrilled to read a book that shows the full width of faerie folklore, from brownies to boggarts to changelings to high-court fae, even including tips on how to counteract their enchantments such as turning your clothes inside out. As with most challenges including the Fair Folk, the ones they faced involved puzzles needing to be solved, riddles needing to be deciphered, and secrets needing to be uncovered. This variety ensured the plot was well-balanced and captivating.

This is not written in the classic novel style - we are instead following the story by reading a journal meticulously written by Emily Wilde, expert of the Folk. We journey with her as she travels to the frigid north in order to study an elusive group of fae known as the Hidden Ones, which she hopes to be the last chapter of her encyclopedia on different fae. I thought this method of storytelling was delightful and really helps you understand Emily’s way of thinking. Honestly if there was a possibility that I could live Emily’s life of traveling the world and studying different fae, I would do that in a heartbeat.

I absolutely adored Emily, Wendell, and their connection. Their personalities are wildly different and yet they work so perfectly together. It was precious and I love them!

This was a delightful and charming fantasy from one of my new favorite authors! Written as a Victorian-era field journal of a scholar studying faeries in Ljosland, I loved settling into this world with a mug of tea and a blanket.

This is a cozy fantasy, but perhaps "hygge fantasy" is more apt. It's set in a small Nordic village full of sweet and grumpy characters. This is a rare light academia novel that also has a great adventure. I loved the variety of faeries, or The Folk, in this world and how Emily navigated her interactions with them.

The writing felt musical, and the voice of the main character was strong and unique. This book includes footnotes throughout, which I was thrilled about. There is some romance but no spice, and it isn't a main aspect of the book.

This is a complete story with a sense of closure, but it does set up room for sequels. I could read ten more books about Emily and her fieldwork among the Folk!

I received a free advanced digital copy for review via NetGalley. These are my unbiased thoughts. Thank you @delreybooks for the opportunity!

So refreshingly delightful! I think I just found my next “favorite” book.

The format of the book is really a journal that is being kept by Emily as she researches fairy folk for her definitive work: a comprehensive encyclopaedia of fairies. Almost all of the entries are by Emily, with one interloper making some notes, and there are sprinkled in some of the tales that Emily is gathering about fairies and plentiful fairy facts. The pacing is spot-on and it is the first time in a long time that I have decided to sacrifice some sleep for a book.

Ah, the characters! Emily is so focused, so practical, so academic, and so so so lost when it comes to human relationships. In many ways, Emily was an idiosyncratic and unlikely heroine; it was hard not to empathize and appreciate her flaws–or perhaps more accurately the loss she felt in trying to understand and navigate social situations. And of course, there is Wendell, a colleague that comes swooping in to crash her field research. He provided the foil to Emily in almost every way and served up many humorous situations.

Fans of fairy lore, The Invisible Library Series, and fantasy world building will most likely enjoy this book.

This book was too literary for my liking. I didn’t get very far in before I realized this was neither the book nor the time. I may try to pick it back up at a later date or I may not.

This book was honestly much more intriguing lore and world-building wise than I expected. I'm a sucker for faerie worlds where the faeries are truly cruel and "other". In a way this reminded me of The Cruel Prince in terms of the cruelty of the faeries. However, the real star of the book was the main character, Emily. She is such a refreshing protagonist and being able to see things through her eyes was truly special. And though I'd hardly call this book a romance since it is such a minor part, the romance was charming and wholesome.

Her "academic rival", Wendell, is an absolute treasure and I came to really adore him, even in his more... choice moments. Overall, if you like darker faerie lore and don't mind a bit of romance sprinkled in, then you'll most likely really enjoy this book. I would highly recommend it if you're looking for something more wholesome and easy to read. And it doesn't end on a cliffhanger, so hoorah to that! Plus I loved the fact that it's written as a journal with footnotes and all.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries is an interesting story that goes from the focus on faeries to the development of our main character.

The story of Emily starts of slow. She shows herself as a professional in her diary entries that we get to read. She tries to keep her distance from the people in the town. But as she is in a very remote area, without a lot of extra help, she does need the towns people to survive. When her academic rival appears she has to step up her game. And once she does get more interaction with the towns people she finds it is not so easy to turn her back on the problems the faeries cause them.

Like I said, the story is slow and the diaries start with an air of professionalism. But around the midway mark you can see a change in her entries. They become much more personal, infused with her emotions and it adds so much more dimension to the story.

The faeries really are the backdrop to out introduction of Emily. She is not someone who is much used to other people and isn't nessecarily good at charming people. She prefers to have her nose in a book with her trusted sideick, the dog Shadow, next to her. Interacting with other people is hard and not something she can prepare herself for so she prefers to avoid it.

When Wendell comes into the story she tries to project a form of rivals onto their relationship while it is clear from the beginning that Wendell really doesn't feel the same way. Back in Cambridge they have breakfast and lunch together. But keeping an air of a rivalry between them from her side means that she can keep him at a distance. For those pesky feelings he seems to call up whenever he is near. Plus she thinks he is actally a court faerie who is banished. That probably doesn't help.

And yet Emily has so much to give to others. She's smart, blunt, honest and does have her heart in the right place. As much as the book tries to say she is only out saving the day because of academics I don't think that is true at all.

Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia might have started out on faeries but it became much more about Emily Wilde.

Perfect read for a cozy winter night.

Actual Rating: 3.5

This novel reminded me of Natural History of Dragons but in a snowy, isolated village setting, and of course, with Faeries instead of Dragons. It was another one of those quick, low stakes, cozy fantasies.

The strongest elements of this book were the writing and the atmosphere. It started off great but then it lost me a little bit in the 2nd half because I had some issues with the pacing and the plot of the story. I personally think this book should have been a standalone. Double in size, but nevertheless a standalone. I would've enjoyed it better if we skipped the climax of this book and instead, continued the overarching plot of this series in book one. In my opinion, our main characters needed more time to develop their relationship. I think if the author focused on the main series plot in this book, it would’ve caused the book to be longer and, therefore, would've given the characters more time to develop their feelings. To me, this was a one book and done type of story, but it's just my individual preference.

This was by no means a bad book and I enjoyed my time reading it. All my criticisms are individual preferences and I would still highly recommend this book to anybody seeking a cozy fantasy for winter nights.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group & Del Rey Books for providing an advance reader’s copy!

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC for an exchange for an honest review.

Wonderful book, I enjoyed reading it.

I'm not a huge fantasy reader, but I do enjoy this genre, and this academia fantasy caught my eye. The cover is beautiful and the story is equally engaging and enchanting.

This story is told through Emily Wilde's field notes. Emily is an expert in the field of faeries and is intent on finishing her encyclopeadia. She travels to the Nordic territory to study a lesser known species of fae. She is introverted, socially awkward and is literal in her thinking. She doesn't really have much interest in the townsfolk other than their knowledge of the local fae, until her fellow researcher, Wendell Bambelburg arrives to join her in her research. Wendell's personality is opposite of Emily's. He is outgoing, engaging, sarcastic and very likeable.

Once the two are together, the story really takes off. Emily has suspicions of Wendell, and wonders why he has joined her. There is great witty banter between the two along with quite a bit of lovely tension. Where Emily is too serious, Wendell seems too laid back. The two balance each other to make the perfect team. The story follows these two as they strive to learn more about the habitats, folklore and stories surrounding the common Fae and the "Hidden Ones" of the area. I loved the way the story was presented through Emily's research. A quick switch in the POV was a nice touch too.

I was pleasantly surprised at how much I liked this story and grew to love the main characters and the townspeople. With overarching themes of community, compassion and acceptance - this story was a lot deeper than I thought it would be. I think many readers will love the Fae research and stories and will devour the instances where magic and folklore collide. A well written exploration of the alternate world of Fae, with humor and self-discovery also included. I see this one being a favorite among fantasy readers - but also among those on the outskirts of fantasy - looking to learn more. I've heard this will be a series and I am already looking forward to the direction the next book will take! Definitely recommend

Thank you to NetGalley and RandomHouse Ballentine for the ARC to read and review. Pub date: 1.10.23

In this historical fantasy novel, professor Emily Wilde travels to a remote Scandinavian village to study the elusive local faerie population. She has always been too immersed in her study of fae to develop friendships with anyone except a single colleague, Wendell Bambleby. But something about the local faeries, and the villagers who must coexist with them, draws Emily in. She tells herself it is only her scientific curiosity that embroils her in a series of escapades, saving one villager after another from scrapes with the faeries, but as the winter deepens Emily finds her heart begin to thaw.

I loved pretty much everything about this novel, to the point that I almost don't know what to say about it. It was just so engaging, with a well-developed fantasy world that was revealed selectively enough to keep even casual fantasy readers from getting bored, a building episodic plot that felt both realistic to the diary format and satisfactorily exciting, a little bit of dry humor, and a dollop of romance, I read eagerly to the end, but I would have happily read a hundred pages more.

My long-time readers know that if there are faeries mentioned, I’m adding the book to my To Be Read pile. This is an academically inclined fantasy with a little romance dashed in, and plenty of the cruel and beautiful fair folk. This was practically guaranteed to be a favorite.

Emily Wilde, already an accomplished Cambridge professor, is set to sweep the academic world with her Encylopaedia of Faeries, but first she has one more entry to fill: that of the mysterious Scandinavian fae. She sets off with her research gear and her rather intimidating dog, Shadow, to a remote village where the mysterious fae have been spiriting away people in record numbers. When Emily’s fellow professor and friendly competitor, Wendell Bambleby, shows up she’s begrudgingly delighted to have the company, but Bambleby is known for making his graduate students do much of the leg work. Still, his research is renowned and he’s invited her to co-speak at a prominent lecture in Paris…

What follows is an interesting, academically inclined tale of human interaction with the fae – both the good and bad. There are changelings, lost kings, tree spirits who make bargains and bake bread, and the terrifying high fae who steal mortals into their snowy kingdom. Emily is a delightful protagonist who is more concerned with her research than anything else and is often frustrated at having to be sociable. Wendell Bambleby on the other hand is her foil – a natural charmer, fitting in amazingly even with the toughest crowd. The two are close friends, though it’s clear that Wendell has stronger feelings for Emily and she’s mostly oblivious. She is, however, not oblivious to his strange nature and is in fact closely studying him for other reasons.

I found Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries to be a charming read that kept the fae as otherworldly and menacing as they ought to be. This is a perfect wintry read and while the setting may be frigid, the extremely slow burn romance will be enough to warm your soul. This looks to be the first in a new series, and I’ll be eagerly awaiting the sequel.

Absolutely incredible! Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries is one of my favorite reads of 2022. I loved the format of journal entries. Emily Wilde and Wendell Bambleby were both such lovable characters, their relationship was so much fun. The descriptions of the faerie folk and faerie land were so intriguing - it wasn't what I expected at all. I expected lots of tiny faeries with wings flying around and this wasn't that at all. I would highly recommend!

Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries was okay. It wasn’t a terrible story at all and I understand it’s supposed to read like a journal/field notes or whatever but it felt like it was missing something. I think the style of strict “journal entry” writing can feel hollow and I just wanted more. I wanted it to be deeper than it was. The events and fae were very very cool though and I liked the characters, I just wanted more from them.

An absolutely delightful book! This one of of my favorite reads of the year - it was fresh and fearless, hysterical and heartwarming, and all around such a joy.

I loved Emily’s voice, how unapologetically herself she is (it was so refreshing to have a strong, introverted, studious character, who grows and yet stays true to herself), and her interactions with Wendell had me cracking up and swooning at once.

I am so excited that sequels are coming, because I absolutely want more from these two characters and this world!

This should be classified as cozy fantasy. It has magic, and the fae, but it's also very heartwarming.

Emily is an uptight, nerdy scholar with no interest in social conventions or niceties. She just wants to finish her encyclopedia of faeries. In order to do that, she must travel to a remote village and rough it in a cabin lacking all the creature comforts she's used to in the city. It will all be worth it for the last entry of her book.
She finds so much more.

This was fantastic! I loved all the characters, fae and non. The friendships were so heartwarming.
This is definitely a very unique fae story. I look forward to the next book.

I enjoyed this novel immensely. The format for the story - academic research field notes - allows for a slightly unusual slant to the narrative (the footnotes are a hoot, and it's always fun to poke fun at academia). The characters are three dimensional and mostly believable, the world is extremely well-defined and interesting, and the story zips along.

The broad outlines of the plot are familiar: our heroine, a repressed academic, goes to a remote location for her research, finds love and emotional depth among the simple villagers, and becomes involved in the subject (faeries) she is supposed to be dispassionately studying. But this is part of the author's point. Faeries, she tells us, are stories, bound to act out certain tropes, and the interest is in the variations and nuances. These "fairytale" themes echo throughout the book, as the characters find themselves in familiar situations trying to resist acting in familiar.

The result is a great deal of fun.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine, Del Rey for my arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

Heather Fawcett's "Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries" tells the tale of Cambridge dryadology professor, Emily Wilde. Emily is writing the world's first encyclopaedia of faerie lore and in completing her manuscript, she travels to the remote village of Hrafnsvik. As an awkward and introverted academic, Emily has no intention of befriending the village folk and unfortunately for Emily, her extraverted colleague, Wendell Bambleby, shows up to overturn her carefully planned research. As she deals with her feelings concerning Wendell, Emily must also deal with the Hidden Ones of Hrafnsvik.

I absolutely enjoyed this one. I love how Fawcett organized and wrote the book out like a series of journal entries. For Emily who is very much a Type A academic, I think her being a daily journal writer works really well. I loved how surly and single minded Emily was at first because when it came to her opening up to the villagers, it felt well-earned. I also really love her dynamic with Wendell. They both reminded me a lot of Howl and Sophie from the "Howl's Moving Castle" anime. Emily as a main character, for me, was fun to read because she was so focused on her field and research and at times, she reminded me a lot of myself. Her and Wendell also reminded me a lot of Evie and Rick from "The Mummy" movies especially with how often Emily would take things into her hands. Absolutely reminded me of Evie.

I will say that this is a slow read which may not work for a lot of readers, but if you read high fantasy, the slowness won't be that big of a deal. There were some parts where I felt myself getting bored because of Emily's reflections on events and there was a section towards the end where I felt that Emily's journal entry didn't have as much detail as previous entries. I won't spoil it, but it just kind of made the event fall flat and feel very harmless even though the book was building up to it.

Overall, I enjoyed "Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries" and I loved Emily. I also loved that Emily was a whole freaking adult, I mean she's in her 30s and as a fellow 30-something year old with dreams of faerie, it felt nice to read a character that wasn't a child. I definitely got sucked in and am already desperate for book 2.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.

Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries has a fun idea, but I found myself struggling to figure out what this book was meant to be while reading. Is this meant to be a pseudo-academic book with magic, a la Jonathan Strange? Is this meant to be a whimsical fantasy with romantic elements, a la TJ Klune or Olivia Atwater? These elements are there, but in trying to do both, but not fully committing to either, it loses the plot.

I was intrigued upon reading the first chapter to see it would have footnotes. But chapters would go by without having them, and then all of a sudden, there would be one again, to spout the most random side tangent about something that really wasn’t important to the book. If the book had committed to having them more frequently, I could understand the style choice, or just dispensed with them altogether. But this middle ground didn’t do it for me.

I did generally like the world building, especially as we’re following an academic as she compiled an encyclopedia on fae. And it’s a nice balance of different myths from different cultures. And I also like that, for the most part, the prose takes an academic tone, even if I didn’t care for the other attempts to make it appear “scholarly.”

I did like the dynamic between Emily and Wendell. Emily is incredibly relatable, being a bit socially awkward and preferring her research to people. Wendell is a charming, open sort of person, and I liked how he helped Emily let her guard down, as well as contributing to her work.

The pacing is definitely on the slower side, but some of that definitely comes from the way the book is structured and the approach to the subject matter. It ends on a cliffhanger, but I find myself feeling if that was earned, and remain unsure if I want to continue the series, given my mixed feelings about the approach to academia the book. And even then, there’s a novelty to reading that style in a stand-alone/first book that could wear thin over the course of a series, especially if the first book doesn’t fully win me over. I could change my mind once I see the direction the series goes, however.

It’s hard to say who will enjoy this, given how niche it is. If you’re into something that attempts to pastiche the academic style (with inconsistent footnote usage), but does so with the whimsy of faeries, I think you might enjoy this.