DONT TALK TO ME AND SAY YOU DIDNT LOVE THIS I WILL ACCEPT NO BAD COMMENTARY THANK YOU SO MUCH TO NETGALLEY FOR THE ADVANCED READER COPY VERY COOL!

I adored the first Emily Wilde book and was expecting to be wowed by this one too, so quite a disappointment.

Looking back, I think a lot of what I liked about the first book was the establishment of Emily's character. She is prickly, wicked smart, hopeless in social situations, and determined to make her mark in a field that doesn't respect women's contributions. The setting was well portrayed, and Emily's relationship with Bambleby was evolving.

In this book, Bambleby and Emily seem to have come to some sort of equilibrium- flirting and somewhat grudging affection on Emily's part. There isn't much effort put into developing Emily's character- the author seems to take her as a given and she is now a character to be put through her paces in all sorts of madcap adventures. Things are so madcap, in fact, that I couldn't take any danger seriously and I stopped caring about what was happening because the author clearly had a plot on the rails here and the only thing to do was to get to the end of the ride. Everything felt a lot more tongue in cheek frothy, light and silly. There was some actual darkness in the first book which balanced things out better. There are a couple of new characters attempted but the author falls back on some characters from the first book, probably because they are more interesting than anything she came up with in this book.

Loved this cozy book so much! It was a joy to immerse myself in this world again and I just adore Emily and Wendell. What a fun adventure this was!

Absolutely delightful except for the parts where the faerie folk were torturing Emily Wilde and her love interest Wendell Brambleby. Much of the story falls into the realm of what a scholarly, not to mention grumpy, woman won’t do for her annoying indolent monarch boyfriend to repatriate him to his Kingdom. Set in the Alps the scenic descriptions include snow, more snow many faerie doors, and nasty things that go bump after dark. The dialogue and inner thoughts are so cleverly delicious and sometimes outrageous, you can’t help but smirk. Hoping that Ms. Fawcett would be able to keep the sequel fresh and entertaining, she has bested her first effort. There is a lot more to this story and I am looking forward to the next installment.

Whoever says you can’t make fantasy, love and sarcasm work has not read the first two Emily Wilde books. Imbued with near normal and realistic people and creatures there is just the right amount of magic, left turns and disbelief to make this a great series. Many thanks to Random House - Ballantine and NetGalley for a copy.

I wasn't sure how much more of the story could be told but I was pleasantly surprised. I think I enjoyed this book more than I did the first one. The imagery Fawcett uses is fantastic. I love the relationship between Emily and Barnaby, but also with the supporting characters. I would love for Fawcett to continue writing these beautiful fantasy novels.

Thank you Ballentine and #NetGalley for the early copy for an honest review. All the above opinions are my own.

I read the first book in this series last year and it was slow to start, but by the end I was soooo glad I'd read it. Diving into book 2, I was very happy to see that there was no slow start. The action started very quickly and before I knew it, we were off on another adventure with Emily and Wendell, in search of the door to Wendell's faerie realm.

At times Emily is a bit annoying, but I think that's also part of her charm. She really doesn't have very good "people skills" and she's fine with that, but every once in a while it causes her some trouble. In this book we do see her character grow in some ways, especially concerning Wendell.

I have a feeling, based on how this book ended, that there will be one final book. And I'm ready for it!

I am a big fan of this series! I adored the first book, and was incredibly happy to receive this copy for review.

The format is quite original -- there are not that many journal format books anymore and especially not for the fantasy genre as it is difficult to worldbuild at the same time as divulging the character's innermost thoughts and feelings. However, Heather Fawcett pulls this off immaculately.

Emily is a wonderful character to follow, she is complex and unique and flawed. There is nothing worse than a flawless character. Emily's dedication to academia is also wonderful to read about.

The world is complex and intricate and revealed slowly. We never fully understand it, quite, which is something I like in my fantasy novels.

The dynamic between Wendell and Emily is absolutely delighful and reminds me of Howl and Sophie from the book. They were a joy to read about and more books should utilise this type of dynamic, in my opinion.

Overall, I adore this series and I am very excited for the next book to eventually come out!

While there is a little bit of second book syndrome here, it was an overall delightful & creepy exploration of more of the fae and academic politics. I love our slightly headstrong narrator and her bad choices.

The perfect combination of cozy, whimsy, and adventure. Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands gave me the same feeling that I got from reading Encyclopaedia. And I enjoyed every minute of being back in this world with Emily and Wendell, as well as a few new friends. The characters felt true to those created in the first book, while still developing together and in their own right. Emily is still awkward and stubborn and Wendell is charming and dramatic. But we also get to see how they work to accommodate each other’s tendencies.

The lore is so deep in this series and I just want to learn everything I can about the fairy world that Fawcett has created. Each species of fairy has a full history and I love that attention to detail.

I cannot wait to continue on with the next installment!

Thank you to NetGalley, Ballantine/Del Rey, and Heather Fawcett for the advanced copy of Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Such a good sequel! I absolutely loved it! I also love the banter between Emily and Wendell. I am so glad that is is as strong as ever. Their character development alone is great but the banter between the two kills me and I absolutely love it. I also loved the creatures in this book and how they are becoming more dangerous and darker than in the first book. Overall, this book did not disappoint and I am so glad for it! I will definitely be recommending it to my friends!

I liked the first book of this series, but I loved the sequel!

Emily sets off on her latest adventure with her niece, Ariadne, her department head, Farris Rose, and, of course, Wendell. I thought the characters were all handled so well, giving them depth and more than just a surface personality. Rose, for example, seems like he's going to constantly work against Emily, but he ends up being a valuable, supportive part of them team. (And, as someone who is not completely sold on the idea of a relationship between Emily and Wendell, I appreciated his words of caution to Emily.) Emily is such a strong character, and I appreciate that she is written with a rather prickly personality.

I really enjoy this world and the dangerous nature of the Faerie. I'm looking forward to the next book in the series.

I was given an eARC of this book from Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Del Rey in exchange for an honest review.

I loved the first book in this series and the second book did not disappoint! It was cozy and romantic and I can’t wait to see what happens next!

4.5

Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands by Heather Fawcett follows her titled character into another comfy adventure, where Fawcett delves deeper into Wendell's history. While I wholeheartedly enjoyed the first one, the second installment goes even a step above the first in providing another cozy fantasy that allows you to relax and enjoy the story without feeling overwhelmed by world-building or plot devices. Truly, Fawcett has an uncanny ability to give the reader plenty of story and character development without throwing too much at you—the perfect mixture of character banter and adventure to satisfy any fantasy reader!

Emily and Wendell continue to be a very fun couple full of banter. They understand each other and do not push each other to be anything other than who they are. This adventure is as fun as the last, taking you into Faerie to try and help Wendell survive those who are after his life.

It was great to spend time with Emily and Wendell yet again! This time the action starts off pretty quickly and we are off on a journey where we are looking for Wendell's door, finding a long-time missing professor, both befriend and fight off new magical creatures and try to stop the Autumn Queen. We had a few new people added to the journey and it was such a rounded little group of friends/family. I am so stoked to find out there will be at least one more adventure to go on with the characters and I cannot wait. I definitely recommend checking out this series!

Cozy fantasy at its finest. I love Emily and Wendell. They're a duo you want to keep reading about to lift your spirits.

I was so excited to read the second book in this series and it definitely did not disappoint! Emily and Wendell have the most adorable relationship. I love how they’re constantly bickering, but it’s always laced with fondness. It’s so fun learning about new faerie creatures from myths or legends that I’d never heard of (especially the fox creatures).
I also just really admire Fawcett’s writing style. The language is so vivid. I can see the story like a painting or a movie. Such a cozy read too.
I was sooo happy to see Poe again! He’s so sweet, and I love how even with Poe there are still so many subtle fae things that Emily has to decipher. They are all complicated to fully understand, which keeps the reader tense and wondering if there are footnotes to a deal or a favor that we may not be seeing.
I can’t wait to read anything more from this author!

Loved this cozy fantasy sequel to Encyclopedia of Faeries! It's got historical cozy mystery vibes, too. The perfect book for curling up on a rainy day with a cup of warm tea at your side.

Emily Wilde's Map of the Otherlands delivers all of the great character work, engaging magic plot, and detailed (without being overwhelming) world-building of the first novel, while advancing the overarching narrative quite nicely, and giving readers a few new or deepened elements to enjoy.

(The romance, it's the romance).

This second book of a three-book series follows Emily, Wendell, best doggo Shadow, and a couple new characters - Emily's colleague Dr. Rose and her niece Ariadne - on a search for a dryadologist who mysteriously disappeared years ago. The hope is that not only can Emily get a few conference papers out of the experience, but also that the search might help lead them to the door to Wendell's faerie realm, so he can re-take the throne that his stepmother stole from him. While I don't think I was *quite* as invested in the dyradologist-hunt narrative as the novel wanted me to be, I am very here for the larger story of Wendell-as-deposed-faerie-king, and Emily's relentless competence in getting him closer to a return to his realm.

This novel continues the brilliant work of the first in upending a lot of the gender norms of mf fantasy romance/the world in general: Emily is still a prickly, driven, ruthlessly intelligent scholar; Wendell is still a faerie king who is periodically overwhelmed by his own strong emotions about the importance of tidy kitchens, good food, and well-tailored clothing. I was tickled by the fact that Wendell spends the better part of the denouement of this book [ convalescing from a poisoning attempt, and thus unable to bring his (kind of bothersome) Random Murderous Tendencies to Emily's rescue. She truly does take care of the big ending showdown on her own. And speaking of the big ending showdown and this novel's brilliance around Gender Stuff: I really, really loved the scene between Emily and Wendell's stepmother. Having already subverted the trop of the heroine needing the hero to rescue her, the novel also seems to be showing initial signs of subverting the Evil Stepmother trope. Not that Wendell's stepmother isn't evil - she totally is. But I loved how the scene between her and Emily focused not only on their shared relationship to the MMC, but rather the complex mix of repulsion (on Emily's part) and respect (on the Queen's) that the two women have for each other, independent of Wendell. It was a really compelling scene. (hide spoiler)]

I was delighted to find myself FAR more invested in the romance this time around, as well. I put that down to a couple things. First, as I noted in my review of Encyclopaedia, I really struggled with how Wendell was initially introduced, and the further we get from that introduction - the more we know about him as something other than that disastrous first impression - the more I like him. And second, I would basically die for Emily Wilde, and the fact that *she* likes Wendell a lot more in this installment make me much more on board with the romance. Plus, there's a sickbed scene. I'm such a basic b*tch for a sickbed scene.

If I had any critique to make of this book compared to its predecessor, I did find it a bit slower to get into, and I really, really missed the unique setting of Ljosland. Encyclopaedia had some of the best, most compelling sense of place that I can ever recall reading in a romance, and this book lacked that intensive, atmospheric quality. Still, it more than made up for it in plot and romance vibes, and I cannot WAIT for book three.

Disclaimer: I received a free e-ARC from the publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Del Rey and NetGalley for the eARC! All opinions are my own!<

4.5 rounded up! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

and we’re back! Emily and Wendell have a special place in my heart, even if it took me a few months to read this book.

I loved diving back into the world of the Fae, especially how Fawcett describes it. I loved how the Fae are so well integrated into the story and the footnotes. I love how she goes into detail with the footnotes, giving small tidbits of history between the scholars who study the Fae and the Fae creatures themselves.

Following Emily, Wendell, and a few new characters into Austria was exciting! I loved the introduction of Ariadne and Professor Rose, though I do wish we got to see more of them! Ariadne, especially. She seemed like such an interesting character, especially in the third act of the book when she opened up a little more. I do hope we get to see more of her in future books, but the new cast was lovely nonetheless. I loved reading about the new town they were in and what was going on with the other set of characters (I'll omit for spoilers!). I especially loved watching Emily and Wendell's relationship blossom throughout the story, even from afar. You can tell that they really care and love each other.

Another thing that I enjoyed was Emily and Ariadne's relationship! I loved seeing how it progressed and Emily working through the relationship with Ariadne. The scene in the third act touched my heart and it was nice to see.

I think maybe one critique that I had was the book felt a little slow? The beginning-middle part (maybe 30%-60%?) of the book was hard for me and it didn't grip me as much as the first book did, which could be a reason why it took me forever to read. It may just be me, but I felt that there wasn't much going on during that part.

Overall, a lovely book! It was so nice to see old and new faces and I can't wait for book 3 after that ending!