I loved this book so much, but it’s not without its flaws. It’s very dense, and as it’s a journal written by an academic, there are lots of complex sentences and large words I didn’t know. The lore is a little bit confusing (likely on purpose) and Emily is kind of hard to understand. She makes a lot of strange choices in the name of science, but they don’t make a lot of sense. Her character growth is nearly non-existent. I would have loved to see her more confident in her abilities by the end.

Particularly her decision which sets of the climax of the story had me very confused. I just don’t see why should make this choice. It seemed very stupid, yet no one gives her hell for it, either. It’s a huge f*ck up, but it’s breezed over completely.

Wendell, however, is the star of the show. He’s a great, complex, character that grows before our eyes. His character arc is absolutely perfect. He went from someone I couldn’t stand to someone I loved so much.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I just don’t understand Emily’s motivation toward the end. It felt very out of place. However, Wendell, Poe, and the villagers made up for this completely. On top of that, Fawcett does a great job painting a world of intrigue, mischief, and snowstorms. I would definitely read a second book in this series, if there were one.

Disclaimer: I was given an e-arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

This was an enchanting read, albeit quite slow to a point where I found myself reading this majority of the month of November and growing frustrated that I wasn’t as far along as I wanted to be. However, I really liked the writing, the characters, and the plot. I thought Emily’s voice was great and the work rivals to lovers with her and Wendell was excellent. I love classic faerie stuff like this, it reminded me of that pink fairy book Fairyopolis: A Flower Fairy’s Journal. It’s written very textbook-esque on purpose so be aware of that, it will sometimes read a lot like telling rather than showing but I think this is done purposefully. I enjoyed this a lot even though it took me what feels like a long time to get through.

Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries details the adventures of an adjunct professor in epistolary format through journal entries. Normally, I can’t suffer books in this format—Pamela was torture for me—but these entires were written in a very narrative style with dialogue and everything, so it wasn’t intrusive at all. Emily as narrator served very well for the story telling, as she was not insufferably self-righteous, didn’t whack readers over the head with political and moral lectures, and went through life owning her own awkwardness with only a mild case of caring what others think—to the extent that it affected her research, of course. Though the overall romance and main characters reminded me quite a bit of Olivia Atwater’s Ten Thousand Stitches (I read the indie, not Orbit’s reissue, so it may be a bit different), I was very excited to have made it through the book and have many of my whimsical, woodsy-setting faerie story expectations met with this fun, partly dark tale demonstrating the dangers letting one’s academic curiosity get the better of her when doing field research on faeries.

The characters really shine the most for me in this tale. Emily was delightfully awkward, and I related to her so much it was uncanny. She is happy to venture on her own with her giant hound, Shadow (I dare anyone to read the book and not fall absolutely in love with this dog), and leave the world of humans behind. She knows how to navigate the world of faery, but when it comes to her own species, forget it. Much like Temperance Brennan in Bones, she has a brilliance to her that overshadows her concern for her own safety and, while she wants to learn more and be a ground-breaking field researcher in her field, she also has a strong moral compass when it comes to making sure those around her, of either species, enjoy safety and security in their own lands and homes.

The antithesis to Emily, Bambleby, as many can take from the synopsis, is not quite what he seems to be. He charms the pants off of everyone except Emily, and she knows from the start something’s up with him. There’s very much a vibe here akin to The Hating Game, with a bit less snark, but I loved the chemistry between these two, and their interactions made the whole story, in addition to the wonderful setting and atmosphere, so enjoyable. Bambleby’s idiosyncrasies also add a comedic charm to the novel that breaks up the dark themes associated with the Folk the characters encounter and deal with during the story.

Refreshingly, as forest places are my favorite of all settings, this story lived up to the expectations I set for it in that respect. Readers always form an impression of a story in their minds before reading, and I’ll say for my experience, Fawcett sets the scene brilliantly on a snowy northern Norwegian island (though I can’t find it on the map— the closest city name to the one in the book is Hrafnsvíkur, which is in Iceland). Everything is whimsical, charming, foreboding, and frightening all at the same time. In a complementary fashion, Emily’s abode while living in the village of Hravnsvik happens to be a small cottage, which gives the book a hygge vibe that will make readers reluctant to leave the world.

I’d say the only drawback for me is the length of the book, as it is fantasy, which is generally longer to accommodate adequate world building. Though this book is set partially in our actual world, it also takes place in the world of faerie, which is explained in the book as having no real set rules of governance or patterns of order to its existence, which felt a bit lazy to me. Much of the last part of the book is full of action and the pace goes so quickly that the book ends quite abruptly, leaving much more to be desired. As it is, the book is barely over 300 pages, and as an adult book, the price is about $10 more than a YA fantasy, most of which are 400+ pages. I know the price of the book, $28.00 MSRP, sets an expectation of a heftier story with a longer span of entertainment to go with it.

Overall, 4/5. Though the story is great and the setting and characters charming, I wish it were a bit longer with some more effort behind the world building to complement the complexity implied in the machinations of the faerie world.

My thanks to NetGalley and DelRey books for the ARC, for which I willingly give my own, honest opinion.

Words cannot describe how much I adored this book. It is the perfect cozy winter fantasy, and it made me want to snuggle up by the fire with a mug of tea and watch snow fall from a window. I thought it was perfectly paced, and I couldn’t put it down once I started it. THANK GOODNESS there will be a sequel.

Some of my favorite tropes were featured (academic rivals, grumpy x sunshine, slow-burn romance, fae), yet I don’t think there’s a book I can compare this one to. More academia + fae books, please!

To set the scene: it’s the early 1900s in a world where fae/faeries exist in remote corners of the world, but mostly don’t interact with humankind. Emily Wilde is a young academic who much prefers science and books to people (relatable much?). Her work focuses on documenting everything there is to know about fae, which leads her on an expedition to northern Scandanavia to explore an unknown species called the “Hidden Ones”. Unfortunately, her academic rival (and only friend) Wendell Bambleby follows her to try to claim a part of this work for himself. As Emily learns more about the town and fae, she grows closer to Wendell, and it turns out that the Hidden Ones might not be the only mystery afoot.

I received my copy of Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
- Goodreads review (11/13): https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5098817296
- Tiktok review (11/14): https://www.tiktok.com/@beth_and_books/video/7165999808111545606?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=7143337437756966401
- Instagram review (11/27): https://www.instagram.com/p/ClfEw4kOdZc/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet

Emily Wilde is a disheveled and socially inept professor that has been compiling an extensive encyclopedia of all of the faeries that she has studied throughout her career. For her last addition prior to publishing, she heads to the far North in Ljosland in order to seek information on the little known "Hidden Ones". She and her dog initially embark alone, however, after a series of social interactions gone awry in the village, she is joined by another more charming professor - Wendall Bambleby. As the book proceeds, the two of them make an unlikely but efficient duo in discovering the secrets of the Hidden Ones.

This book was easily my favorite read of the year! It was beautifully written and complex, with a storyline that had me unable to put the book down. I loved the accounts of the different faeries, folklore tales that were included and the side romance that budded. All in all, great read with amazing imagery. Can't recommend it enough!

Thanks to netgalley for the eARC!

I have been provided with a review copy of Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries from NetGalley for an impartial review. Oh my gosh this story was just epic. I just couldn’t put this story down and I was just captivated by everything that was taking place. The author truly outdid herself with this story. This story just had my emotions all over the place and I am so sad to see this book end. I just can’t wait to see what’s next from this author.

I adored this book. I thoroughly enjoyed the world of faeries created by the author. The character of Emily was well written and I found her very amusing. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a mixture of fantasy and folklore.

This book is fantastic. The characters are amazing, especially Emily, who is absolutely brilliant and seems a bit less than neurotypical.
I’m upset that the book had to end. I would have happily lived in the pages forever.
I would and will recommend this to everyone and anyone I meet.
It’s not even out yet and I’m hoping for a sequel.

Thank you NetGalley for my copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
#EmilyWildesEncyclopaediaofFaeries

I LOVED THIS BOOK. Five wintry, witty, magical stars. Emily Wilde’s story read like if Deanna Raybourn’s Veronica Speedwell met Sarah J Maas and tumbled straight into a faerie world.

This story starts off like historical fiction with a touch of whimsy - a dryadologist (faerie researcher) travels to Nordic territory to investigate their fae for her scholarly encyclopedia. Add in the cozy, bleak, magical-but-kind-of-terrifying alternate world where faeries are real and their worlds are just in our periphery - this was absolutely perfect early December reading for me. Throw in a snarky-but-friendly academic male rival (ahem) who Em suspects may not be as human as he seems - I was so hooked.

This book truly spans quite a tale, and gets progressively more fantastical as you go. The writing reminded me of my beloved Diana Biller in this it’s not overtly fluffy or jokey, but doesn’t take itself all that seriously - I was totally hooked into this world simultaneously didn’t want it to end and also racing to find out what would happen next. I will say that the final climax of the story was maybe a little bit less high-stakes than it seemed it’d be, but not enough to change my opinion of this book. I’m already sad to be gone from this world and dying to see what happens next in book two!

My thanks to the publisher and netgalley for a chance to read an early copy.

I initially fell in love with the cover (both the US and UK editions are really cool) and was amused by the title and description, and I quickly discovered that the contents absolutely lived up to my hopes and expectations. It’s charming and delightful and clever and I really enjoyed everywhere the story went.

This book is the very definition of cottage core. It’s so cozy and rustic, it makes for a perfect winter read. There’s cozy fires, snowy forests and tea drinking. But it also has great characters, mysteries, secrets, danger, adventure, and a sweet romance. It’s presented as a journal of Emily’s experiences during her research trip. The journaling element worked really well for telling the story.

I love the dynamic between Emily and Bambleby. Their banter (or bickering) is delightful. The grumpy/sunshine enemies/rivals thing was really well done. Wendell is a charming young professor colleague of Emily’s who, by all accounts, is quite kind and very accommodating to Emily (and clearly more than a little into her), but Emily is rather annoyed by him. She views him as an academic rival and generally just a thorn in her side.

Emily is a professor and an expert in the field of “dryadology.” She goes abroad to research and catalogue faeries to add to her soon-to-be published encyclopedia in the hopes of furthering her career. I loved the Fairy/Folk elements of the book. I thought the lore was so clever and interesting. I haven’t read any other books about/with faeries before so I don’t know if this Fawcett’s take on them is fairly standard or if it creates a whole new world of them but I loved what Fawcett gave us about them. It was fascinating.

I found Emily to be very amusing. She has the driest sense of humor, befitting her austere personality. She is described as curmudgeonly but I read her as neurodivergent, probably autistic. She exhibits many traits including a complete lack of social understanding, extreme pragmatism, single mindedness, passion for a special interest, and rigidity in her routines and preferences. She checks a LOT of boxes for ASD so that’s the lens through which I viewed her. I really enjoyed Emily’s character because she was funny, dedicated to her work, and always capable of saving herself in dire situations. Well, almost always.

Overall this was a really fun fantasy that explores the faerie realm and throws in some academia and a little bit of romance and I enjoyed it completely. I can’t wait for more adventures for Emily and Wendell in book 2!

Thank you to Random House - Del Rey and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

First of all, what a gorgeous cover! Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett revolves around the titular Emily, a professor at Cambridge who is working on writing an encyclopaedia of faerie lore. One day, she journeys to the northern village of Hrafnsvik to continue her studies of faeries. But while she's there, she runs into her handsome academic rival Wendell Bambleby. Will Emily discover more than she's expecting and possibly find love?

Here is an excerpt from the opening chapter, which takes place in Hrafnsvik, Ljosland in 1909:

"Herein I intend to provide an honest account of my day-to-day activities in the field as I document an enigmatic species of faerie called “Hidden Ones.” This journal serves two purposes: to aid my recollection when it comes time to formally compile my field notes, and to provide a record for those scholars who come after me should I be captured by the Folk. Verba volant, scripta manent. As with previous journals, I will presume a basic understanding of dryadology in the reader, though I will gloss certain references that may be unfamiliar to those new to the field."

Overall, Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries is an amazing adult fantasy that will appeal to fans of A Thinking Woman's Guide to Magic or The Spiderwick Chronicles. One highlight of this book is how it is structured like an encyclopedia with footnotes. I felt like this structure was so creative and added to the charm of the book.

I did take off 1 star because after the initial novelty of the book wore off, the plot just didn't hold my attention. I'm sure many readers will enjoy this one though. If you're intrigued by the excerpt above, or if you're a fan of fantasy in general, I recommend that you check out this book when it comes out in January!

Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries was an absolute delight!! I went in without any expectations and was so wonderfully surprised by how funny, immersive and warm the story was. Heather Fawcett truly has a gift for writing characters that you just *feel*. Everything about the story was an absolute treat. It follows the story of Emily Wilde: 30 year old Cambridge professor, prefers books over people and likes to think herself rational and levelheaded always.

I loved Emily as a main character. Her voice and personality were incredibly well done, it almost was if she was talking to me in real life. The story takes the form of a mix between prose and diary entries, or diary entries that feel like prose, to be exact. It’s written somewhat retrospectively, so you’re getting both a timeline of events and Emily’s thoughts about it after the fact. I thought this worked very well for the style of story and for Emily’s character— as someone who likes to take her time working out how she feels, it wouldn’t be right to be in her head as the events are happening. I loved her introversion, how she worked through everything academically and seriously, and how she viewed Wendell. Her witty, dry humour was an unexpected treat and I loved how she saw the world.

Next to Emily’s studious, buttoned up personality, Wendell was a loose cannon and I loved him for it. He’s my absolute favourite type of male character. A bit prissy, overly chatty and extremely vain. Think a mix between Cardan Greenbriar and Howl. Ideal! I loved how much he cared for Emily and how much he loved to tease her while respecting her boundaries and genuinely trying to make life easier for her. While she viewed him somewhat as an academic rival, a thorn in her side, he delighted in her intelligence and saw her as a companion in academia and life. I loved Wendell so much and dearly want to read more of him!

EWEOF had the perfect mix between fast paced, immersive plot, gorgeous atmospheric writing and vivid characterisation. It was hilarious and heartfelt and I genuinely cannot find a single downside to this book. It will appeal to fans of Olivia Atwater’s Regency Faerie Tales, Margaret Rogerson’s Enchantment of Ravens and Freya Marske’s style of writing. I can’t wait to read more in this world and know this story will be met with great success!

If I had to compare this book to a type of vacation, I would say it is a quiet cottage in the woods.

The book is somewhat atmospheric. Told through a series of journal entries, with random footnotes and folklore tales interspersed, this book had more vibes than it had a plot. The first third or so I was really questioning whether or not a would end up liking it because it felt dull and mostly like info dumping. Our dear Emily is highly introverted, her thoughts and actions are entirely dedicated to her study. Thus, for the first third or so of the book I was bored. Because all we got were Emily's clinical observations.

Luckily, not too long after we are introduced to Emily's academic rival/only friend/clearly slated love interest. Wendell. I adore Wendell. I like to think he's a bit of a blend between Cardan, Thomas Creswell, and maybe a dash of Helion? The point is he's the perfect compliment to Emily. Through their interactions and banter, we see a more relatable/human side to Emily.

Toward the latter part of the book, the pacing got a bit rushed with a lot of things happening at once from a kidnapping to an engagement to a rescue. It was a lot. But somehow I didn't mind. What I did mind was the fact that the book did not end on an entry from either of our leads but instead on one of those rather random folklore tales. Then it just ends. Abruptly. I was confused, then I flipped the page and it said Emily and Wendell's adventures continue in Book 2. At which point, I was like Book 2!? For some reason, I thought this was a standalone book. Alas.

Now if you would’ve asked me early on in the book whether or not I was down for a sequel I would’ve said no. But as I said the second half of the book saved it for me, so I’m gonna say sure I'll tune in for more hijinks I suppose.

Until about 50% I was enjoying Emily Wilde's Encylopaedia of Faeries. It was one of those, "I am entertained and I see things I like about this book" but wasn't that heart stopping investment. A scholar will always charm my heart. So I felt like I should have been heads over heels for Emily for her commitment to research and feel that same disdain she has for Wendell and his laissez faire attitude about research. And, to be fair, I did, but it was one of those removed enjoyments. The journal style of the book felt nostalgic to me.

And I'll always be a sucker for footnotes. Additionally, while this was described to me as an academic rivals story, while they certainly aren't like collaborators, I feel like it's less so of a rivalry. When I think rivalry I see more than disdain, more than a difference of methods, and more similar to bitter cut throat competition. With that addendum, I did immediately enjoy their banter. But around 50% through Emily Wilde's Encylcopaedia of Faeries, I became entirely invested. It was like all of a sudden I could see not only Emily, but also Wendell more clearly.

Thanks netgalley
I love the diary format and it works for the plot of the story

I loved the story about fairies
I loved the timeline it was set in
This is fiction fantasy and folklore
Definitely read it

I didn’t want this to end!
It took me to about the 40% mark to really feel fully invested but once I did I was GLUED! I read this is one sitting.

The fae in this behave as I would actually expect them to behave and they feel more creature like here than they are often depicted. And learning about the world and the lore through Emily’s journal entries was so interesting.

I loved Em so much.
She’s socially awkward and much prefers her books to company (SAME). I liked that she did things out of selfishness vs for the benefit of others while still also doing what’s best? Does that make sense? She does what she wants and it was refreshing and kept me on my toes.

WENDELL 🥹
My heart hurts for this man. I didn’t know if I was going to like his character starting out but I LOVE HIM SO MUCH! I was squealing reading his journal entry.

More that I loved:
The academia vibes
It’s dark but also cozy?
The lore
The banter
Found family
+ Being told through Emily’s journal.
I didn’t expect to love it as much as I did. It did a great job at informing while still making you feel connected to the characters and the story. And the ending actually felt like closing her journal and I really enjoyed that.

I’m so glad this says #1 of a series! I can’t wait to see what comes next!

4.5 stars!

Thank you to NetGalley and Del Rey for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!!

Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries was such a wonderfully surprising read for me, and I loved it so much. I will be very honest when I say I didn't quite know what to expect from it, other than the fact that the titular character was in academia and there would be faeries, but the gist is that this follows Emily Wilde on a field work expedition on a Scandinavian inspired island so that she may complete her encyclopaedia of faeries for publication. This is told in journal entries, which I greatly enjoyed, and though Emily is prickly and a little socially awkward I also related to her deeply as a prickly person in academia, so that was an unexpected delight.

I enjoy Fawcett's take on fae (they were really creepy!!!!! I was into it!!!!!!) and I like that she blended vague atmospheric horror with humor (Brambleby is a funny dude, for example, but multiple genuinely horrific/creepy things happen here). I also really liked the romance, which was constructed in a way that made me go "THIS IS THE PEAK OF ROMANCE," though I do think it's important to note this is a historical fantasy with a romantic twinge/romance elements instead of a fantasy romance or anything like that, I am just personally a sucker for very light romance. I loved the characters and how they developed over the course of Emily's stay and found that the journal entries were really effective at showing how her relationships with the people of Hrafnsvik change over time. This just hit so many notes for me that I wasn't expecting it to that I do cherish the story and am thrilled there's a second one in the works.

I will say I knocked off half a star because I thought the end action felt a smidgen rushed—I don't think it was detrimental, and (vague spoilers) it made sense considering the narrative structure of the novel, but you know. It did feel a bit fast in that regard.

Overall I loved this and many things worked very well for me and my tastes! It was a pleasure to read and holds a special place in my little heart because man, I really saw significant bits of myself in Emily.

I was really hoping there would be illustrations to accompany this encyclopedia. I reading so far and quickly lost interest. Really did wish I could have enjoyed this one

The Memoirs of Lady Trent meet Howl's Moving castle in this utterly charming fantasy about academics studying faeries in a remote Scandinavian village. I loved every second of this book, from the tromping around in the wintry forests to the sweet (and snarky) moments between Emily Wilde and Wendell Bambleby.

The characters in this book are spectacular. You immediately get a sense of who they are as people and also quickly get attached. I enjoyed Emily's independence and slight stodginess, but I also liked seeing her melt a little as she realizes that people care about her and she cares about them in return. Wendell was a delight. Charming even at his most annoying or outrageous, he was just so much fun to read about and I loved the chapters (or rather, journal entries) we got from his perspective. Fans of Howl Pendragon or Nikolai Lantsov will find a lot to appreciate with Wendell. I also really liked the side characters, like Poe (Poe!!!), Shadow, Lilja, Thora, and Aud. Even the characters with less page time felt fully fleshed out relative to their roles in the story.

The faerie world and lore were definitely a big draw for me to this book and I think it was executed perfectly. The blend of actual faerie interactions, folklore stories (whether real or invented by Fawcett, I couldn't tell, and liked them either way), and visits to the faerie realm itself were perfect for me. This book made me both want another five books about Emily and Wendell (and a movie, while we're at it) and to go look up stories about faerie folklore myself. The research and care Heather Fawcett put into the faerie lore of this book really shone through and it was a delight to read.

In conclusion, all I can really say is that I'm obsessed with this book and come January I'll be recommending it to everyone on possibly the most flimsy of justifications. I've already begun telling my friends and family to read it when it comes out! This book is definitely a new favorite of mine and it has definitely inspired me to read more of Heather Fawcett's work (and to eagerly await future Emily WIlde books).

This book was definitely different - I wn't say unique, because I haven't read every book in the world, but it's definitely not an overdone plot! It's particularly interesting, because the study of faerie is an accepted academic discipline, so you don't have the heroine having to convince people that faeries exist and that she isn't mad.

Emily Wilde is an academic at Oxford, who dearly wishes to become a professor there. Faerie studies is a mainstream academic discipline, and she is striving to research and write original papers on faerie, to become recognized, so she heads to the frozen north for new research. She is also trying to finish up her long-term project, an Enclopaedia of Faeries. Unfortunately, she is a classic curmudgeonly academic, who manages to antagonize the local villagers with her unfriendly ways and unwillingness to accept their hospitality and friendship.

Enter Wendell, her colleague from Oxford, who is good looking and charming. Although the blurb describes him as her rival, it appears that he is quite willing to work with her and to collaborate on a paper to be presented at an upcoming academic conference, and to make sure she, too, is invited to the conference. She remains suspicious of him, not so much for the idea that he'll try to steal or undercut her work, but because she believes him to be extremely lazy and perfectly willing to make up "data" to enhance his work.

The plot moves quickly, as Emily makes connections with local faeries and becomes involved with trying to help the villagers deal with some issues that develop - while she insists that she is only trying to enhance her research, it's clear that she is becoming involved with trying to help them. I don't want to go into details, since that would tell too muc about the plot, and you'll enjoy it more by reading it yourself. Meanwhile, we see her relationship with Wendell growing, as well as a growing mutual affection with the villagers.

I really enjoyed this book - it rolled along fast, and I was rarely sure how things would develop and where the plot was going next.