If you are planning on adding this book to your tbr because of this stunning cover I suggest you do it immediately cause yes it is as stunning as it’s cover. It’s such a beautiful fantasy book that had many elements that we know and love but it has its new qualities as well. The cover pulled me in but the story made me stay. It could’ve been better yeah obviously but anything can be better if you really think about it. But for what it was I really liked it and do recommend it. It’s an underrated gem.

I really enjoyed this book. It was a unique academia take on faerie fantasy. It very much felt like an escape twisted with lore and fantasy.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

4/5 stars

I love a good book about faeries and was excited when I got approved for this!

Emily’s journey is not so much one of love but more scholarly. Which was just as interesting! I loved the stories she gathered about the folk and how well she knew them. The journal entry style flowed well for the scholarly part of the plot. The romance part was a little choppy due to the journal entries in my opinion.

Emily is passionate about documenting as much information as she can about the folk. She goes to great lengths to gather data and isn’t afraid to get her hands dirty. I greatly enjoyed how the author engrained the folk stories into the book. They educated the reader and often helped Emily along with her quest.

Wendell was such a fun character I loved reading about. I greatly enjoyed his personality and unfolding his secrets! I’m looking forward to more of him in book 2!

Overall I really enjoyed the adventure Emily brought us on. The stories and quirks she learned about the folk were unique and brought you to a whole new world. The only thing I struggled with was about the last 20% of the book. It felt rushed and didn’t fit Emily’s character. Emily knew a lot of folk tricks but somehow still got tricked. She abandoned reason which might have been due to the enchantment. Yet she realized she was enchanted. It just didn’t flow well (which could have been due to the journal style entry’s/recaps). Other than that part I greatly enjoyed this story!

Difficult to get into, difficult to continue, and nearly impossible to read until the end.

I'm feeling very conflicted while writing this review. I wanted to like this book. Honestly, I was confused reading the first chapter. I kept hoping it was a diary entry from a different character that perhaps the MC was reading and would get better from there; unfortunately, it wasn't. It looks like this author has mostly written middle school age readers before and I wonder if that contributed to their desire to throw unnecessarily dense/jargony words into this book. No hate to the author at all because it does look like it was an intentional choice to be vernacular-heavy, but it didn't translate to an enjoyable read. I think perhaps people who enjoy multi-layed storylines where you have to dig a bit to find purpose would enjoy this book. Would be willing to read another book by this author in the future and see if it connects better.

I received an early copy through NetGalley.

What a magnificent book! This is a cozy fantasy that makes me feel like I'm snuggling into a blanket by a warm fire with a cat on my lap. You want a delightfully academic and fun approach to the well-trod trope of fairies? Done. Unique setting? Yep. A curmudgeonly heroine who prefers books to people? Oh yes, and I relate to her a bit much. Fantastic banter that makes you want to giggle aloud? Yes, yes, yes. I am EXCITED that the Goodreads listing says this is the first in a series. I want more Emily. More Wendell. More Folk-related chaos.

Set in a different 1909 Victorian England period of time. A young, over dedicated nontenured professor whose sole study is in dryadology [research of fairies] has attempted to create an overly ambitious ultimate encyclopedia of such. The story starts with her in a far north micro village in probably Iceland or Norway with winter coming in as she gets off the boat to drag her truck up to the tiny village & then get to her tiny rustic cottage. Her big thrill is to find the Hidden Folk of the area & document their ways. Her linear one track mind & lack of ability to actually interact with people can be off-putting & hinders her ability to mesh with the locals.. She receives a letter from the university written by her polar opposite antagonistic interest/competitor professor. He is dashing, charming, verbose & tenured. With he feel of the Fae himself all love him despite his outrageous behavior & he males a sneak attack arrival to "aid" her in her quest.. This is an adorable little kinda Victorian type romance tale with a dollop of Fae lore, Nordic visage, comedy & wordplay is a fast & enjoyable read.

This was a wonderfully whimsical book! I loved the POV of Emily, her curmudgeonly, professorial, dry but witty outlook. She has an engaging voice and I enjoyed spending time with her. The way the world of faerie was presented was fascinating and I adored the world-building in this. The stories of the fae, the footnotes, the depth of the foundational work. Truly immersive.

I enjoyed the academia setting and the academic rivalry side of this story. It is one of my favorite tropes when done well and it was done well here.

Wendell was simply lovely! I love how he burst on the scene, completely putting Emily out of countenance but also making things so much better once he was there. I enjoyed how oblivious she was to his (and her own) feelings and just how besotted and funny and kind he was.

The venture into the faerie domain was well written and the tension and stress of that whole part of the book made it impossible to put down. The power and control that Wendell exerts, coupled with the breadth of knowledge and resourcefulness of Emily worked so well in that section.

The secondary characters were interesting in and of themselves and added depth to the narrative. I enjoyed reading about all the villagers Emily encountered.

I would gladly read more about Emily and Wendell.

This is one of my top reads of the year. It is just the type of book I enjoy.

Okay so it took me a little bit to get into this book. It didn’t start picking up until around the 20% mark.

The writing was in journal formatting which was definitely unique and interesting. I loved the stories of the fae and learning all the secrets of the male main character.

I do wish there was more to romance and that it felt more believable.

Overall this was a fun fairytale read.

Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett was one of the greatest fantasy reads I've read in awhile.
The enchanting world of faeries was astonishing.
And the characters are well developed and their story kept my attention throughout.
Heather Fawcett's writing is fantastic. I loved the style and thought it was perfectly paced.

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

Random House, Ballantine & Del Rey,
Thank You for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this eARC!

This is really was one of my favorite reads of the year. It was everything I was hoping it would be. Heather Fawcett created a wonderful world full of intrigue, love, and magic.

Thank you NetGalley and Heather Fawcett for the e-ARC!

This book was pure serotonin! Whimsical, breath-taking, and an exciting new fantasy!

Everything about this book was so unique. From the characters, to the location, to the culture, everything about this book was utterly magical. I feel in love with the unique writing style. The journalistic entries were quite a change of pace for me, but I really enjoyed it. I think this book is so different than a lot of fantasy books out there. Emily's character is witty and intelligent, and you can't help but fall in love with her character. The story itself is whimsy and fills the reader with wanderlust. This book took my seasonal depression and kicked it right out the window.

There is so much to love about this book, and I like that it was such a change of pace. The styling and characters really set it apart from other fantasies. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for a refreshing and bold fantasy read.

Overall Rating: 4.5/5

This book was SUCH a delight. It’s a fascinating mix of academia and tue chaotic and sinister and magical world of faeries.

Emily is brave and sharp and socially inept, and her story through her journal entries is so engaging. The remote town she visits to conduct her groundbreaking research is full of kind, skeptical, and complex locals who present just as much challenge to Emily as her interactions with the fae do. And once Bambleby arrives on the scene, bringing his chaos and charm and charisma and two servants—ahem, research assistants—the story really picks up.

Reading this book is not unlike burrowing into a cozy blanket on a cold day.

I heartily recommend this one to any who enjoyed The Cruel Prince, Once Upon a Broken Heart, Once There Were Wolves, and The Mirror Visitor series.

This was slow to start but was so cute by the end. Reverse grumpy x sunshine MF romance (where the man is the sunshine side of the equation), a heroine possibly on the autism spectrum?, enough footnotes and references to peer review and cold conference rooms to establish the narrator’s academic bona fides, found family, and the loveliest blend of historical fiction and fantasy. I wouldn’t have minded a bit more closure and more romance (though the tension and slow burn we did get were pretty great!), but I see that this is only the first in a series and that my wishes will likely be granted in the next installment. Delightful.

*Thank you NetGalley for an advance copy of Emily Wilde's Encyclopedia of Fairies in exchange for a fair and honest review*
I am grateful for the opportunity to read this verbose take on the Fae. As someone fairly well-versed in Fae lore, this fell right into what I am already familiar with right out of the gate. I enjoyed the quality of this "encyclopedia" and am glad it didn't necessarily read as such - almost.
This book contained solid world-building. I felt myself in this environment and had NO issues envisioning myself in this vivid landscape that Fawcett created. To the point I had to read this mostly under a blanket due to feeling myself in this stark, cold landscape.
I was quite pleased with the character development. Even though our main character was a cold-hearted scholar, I enjoyed watching her thaw. In the beginning, she was hard to like with her absence of human emotion but I grew fond of her directness and simplicity as the book progressed. I sometimes found myself wishing for her lack of humanity. How simple life would be if we were all so straightforward and completely focused as she was. Then enter Wendell Bambleby. The eccentric to her mundane. The rainbow to her gray. The flamboyant to her understated. He added a frivolity to the story that would have otherwise been missed.
The story moved at a steady pace. I found I was just as immersed in the middle as the end (the beginning had me doubting the entertainment value but the addition of Bambleby kept me going). This was not the "encyclopedia" I would expect but a beautiful story I delighted in watching unfold.
My criticisms. While this book earned a solid 4 stars from me, it fell shy of the coveted 5 stars for 2 reasons. 1: I believe Fawcett to be a lexicomane. The sesquipedalian quality of this book made me grateful it was on my Kindle where I could look up words as I went. I was able to get the point but, come on! It just seemed to me to be a touch bombastic, inflated, and showy. 2: The ending felt rushed. I feel the last few chapters could have been expanded on significantly. I just take issue with stories that I have already invested myself in having such abrupt endings. I don't expect a book to have a happy ending all wrapped up in a pretty bow but I do expect a little more consideration for those that have already devoted their time and imagination to a story. This one seemed like there was a looming deadline and it was time to call it.
All that being said, I did really enjoy this book and would recommend it to any and all that have a remote interest in the Fae!

"My dear Emily, it began. I hope you’re settled comfortably in your snowbound fastness, and that you are merry as you pore over your books and collect a variety of inkstains upon your person, or as close to merry as you can come, my friend. Though you’ve been gone only a few days, I confess that I miss the sound of your typewriter clack-clacking away across the hall while you hunch there with the drapes drawn like a troll mulling some dire vengeance under a bridge."

He smiled..."Just because you have a heart filled with the dust of a thousand library stacks does not mean everybody does."
-Wendell Bambleby

Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett is written in an unconventional style. It's the main character's travel journal complete with hilarious footnotes. Only a few chapters in and already I'm chuckling to myself. Professor Wilde reminds me so much of Katherine Hepburn's character in The African Queen that she's already got the roll in my mind. She's the most loveable antisocial person ever. It makes me want to start dropping words like "charming" "delightful" and calling everyone Mr Allnut/Mr. Egilson with my hair up in a messy bun.

If the subgenre existed I would call this book a cozy fairytale. That said, it is adult though not graphic. Emily's quirky personality shines through so strongly in the writing. There is lesbian representation in a side character. This is going to be a series so I'd advise everyone not to skip it. I enjoyed every page and am so glad to hear Fairyloot is doing a special edition for their adult box. Fantastic book.

Emily Wilde is a scholar, and faeries are her topic of study. Travelling to a remote and wintery town, she plans to journal her discoveries to include in her Encyclopaedia of Faeries - but not everything goes as planned...

It took me a few chapters to get into this book, as the writing style took a bit of getting used to. However, once I was into it the world building was incredible and the story fast paced. I loved the characters and the setting and - most especially - the faeries.

I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

I was given a free net galley of this book in exchange for an honest review. Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries was an immersive visit to the Norwegian hinterlands. This book takes place in an alternate reality where faeries are acknowledged as real if still elusive beings. The title character, Emily, is working on the final chapter of a field study that will culminate in publishing the first complete encyclopaedia of the worlds faerie species. She is not the best when it comes to interacting with the locals and would prefer to spend her free time in her cabin with her faithful "dog". Emily is all set with her research plan when a college from Oxford invites himself to join her expedition in the name of helping her. We soon find out that he has ambitions and secrets of his own. An adventure tale that is a mix of modernity and traditional faerie tales follows, keeping the reader hooked until the very end.

I was privileged to receive a digital ARC from Del Rey books and NetGalley. This review is my own. I read this book about a week ago and haven't known what to say in a review. All these words have been circulating through my brain: amazing, colorful, magical, other worldly, enchanting. I am in awe of the writer who has written a wonderful fairy tale for adults. While this book would certainly be enjoyed by readers in the YA (Young Adult) category, it reads as so much more. This book is about faeries. There are many different kinds and they all have their own doors to get in and out of their magical realms. They can put enchantments on people and cause all kinds of mischief. Emily, a scholar, has been doing research for years on faeries from all over the world, so when she stumbles into problems in Hrafnsvik, she needs to rely on all she has learned over the years. There is a love story woven into this novel that will warm your heart, both between the villagers, Emily's co-author and Emily. This novel was superb!! I had so much fun picturing the snow, the magical realms, the faeries and the love. I look forward to reading the next book by the author.

This book is in the relatively recent vein of cozy fantasy, and I think it fits that bill well. Emily Wilde is a Cambridge professor who studies fairies. This story features academic rivals and a great mystery. For those of you who love cozy fantasy, I think this will be right up your alley. It has a slightly academic tone throughout, and is a bit slow to get started, but ultimately, I think fans of the genre will love this.

While this started slow, it picked up around 20% when the crowd favorite, Bambleby, shows up. I loved how the story was told through journal entries written my Emily. I think it helped to understand her more as a character and to see what was going on or even when the atmosphere changed.

I had a harder time with the romantic aspect and there were some parts that I felt could have been explained better. I think a lot of the faerie magic could have been expanded on. I think this was a great and promising premise but I did want just a bit more. I would definitely give Fawcett another chance and I am excited to see what comes next for Emily and Bambleby!

Thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine Del Rey publishing for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.