The second installment of the Emily Wilde series and surprisingly (or not) it's just as good as the first. The perfect cozy fantasy to pick up this winter.

Emily Wilde is back and as prickly as ever, though it's tempered by her new relationship with Wendell. The books picks up a few months after her first adventure ends and Emily is happily ensconced at Cambridge, now a tenured professor with an assistant (though it's her niece Ariadne). Emily is still keen on finding more about faeries and finding Wendell's door back to his kingdom. However, when Emily and Wendell are attacked they flee Cambridge for the alps where a different professor vanished into faerie many years ago. Joining them on their journey are her niece and a professor more curmudgeonly than Emily. Of course Emily's curiosity lands her in some hot water but without spoiling everything works out for our main characters.

Adding some levity is Emily's continued refusal of Wendell's proposal, the brownie they encountered in the first novel making an appearance and side characters from the village. Emily is such a funny and fascinating character, so smart and pragmatic at times and yet can also go off and get herself accidentally enchanted.

This is clearly not the end for Emily Wilde and I'm excited to see where her next adventure takes her.

Highly recommend

I was provided a free copy of this book through NetGalley.

Emily Wilde is kind of unlikable. I overall enjoyed this story as much as book 1 however Emily is pretty rude to a lot of the characters that aren’t Wendell - I struggled a little because of how she treated her niece throughout the story when she was only trying to help.

This story did feel a little like the first book where they move into a village to find fae but had enough differences to make it fun. The footnotes sometimes took me out of the story because they were on the longer side and reading it on a Kindle made them show up mid page which made it hard to figure out what the footnote was referring to.

I will still read book 3 because I like where the story is going but I need Emily to be a little nicer to those around her.

I adored the cozy yet high stakes nature of this book. The journal format continues to be perfect for the story it is telling. This format shines through the most in the chapters within farie, as humans lose a sense of reality. With Emily's POV during this time we are able to see the way she fights off madness and memory loss.

The return of Poe and villagers from book 1 was nice and added to that cozy feel. I also appreciated Wendell having a POV chapter once more. One thing this book did better than the first was raise the stakes. I was on the edge of my seat at times, gripped to see what madness would ensue.

The cover perfectly ties in wonderful components of the book, like the compass and the fox faries. I'm really excited to see where the adventure takes us in the next book.

Genius researcher Emily Wilde has returned to Cambridge after publishing her Encyclopaedia of Faeries, only for assassins targeting her academic rival, not-quite engaged suitor, and deposed faerie king Wendell Bambleby to interrupt her lecture and send her on a quest into the Austrian Alps seeking a backdoor into Bambleby's kingdom and also a lost researcher from the past. This complex, whimsical, and charming tale is just as delightful as the first book in the series.

Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Emily once again sets out on adventure (with an academic purpose, mind you), in this follow up that hits many of the highs of the first book. A fun story, highly entertaining characters, and the dynamic between Emily and Wendell are the highlights here, but Fawcett continues to add so much to the reading experience by including details and footnotes that might not be "necessary" but greatly increase enjoyment. I'm such a sucker for footnotes.

4/5. I hope there will be more!

Emily and Wendell are back at it again, this time in search of a door to faerie, one in particular!

Things I loved about the book:
⭐ The pacing. We leave right off where our friends left us previously and jump right back into the action.
⭐ The book is still formatted as a journal, an empirical one at that. Emily remains a scholar at heart.
⭐ Emily finds it much harder to remain objective in this book, which does wonders for her character development. Our little socially inept butterfly is finding her wings.
⭐ New and old companions: New - These individuals offer diffing perspectives into the study of fae, as well as create obstacles for Emily to overcome. Old - Poe is back!!
⭐The romance. Emily and Wendell remain my favorite aspect of the book. The friendship and banter they share with one another is the chef's kiss. It makes for a quirky, yet sweet, love story.

I give this book 5 stars and I can't wait for a third installment.

A special thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

This was a wonderful follow-up to the first book in the Emily Wilde series.

Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands brings back our curmudgeonly heroine Emily and enigmatic hero Wendell for another adventure. Heather Fawcett easily blends together the academic environment of Cambridge with the whimsy of the world of faeries for an overall cozy feel. This book is similar to the first in the series, but that did not hinder my enjoyment while reading. I really appreciate Emily as a character – she could quickly fall into a number of annoying stereotypes as an atypical heroine, but she continues to be a delight to read. Similar to the first book, we have a smattering of side characters (including Shadow!) that definitely enhance the story.

If you enjoyed the first book or other cozy reads, the Emily Wilde series will surely become a favorite. I look forward to what the author writes next.

4.5 stars rounded up to 5. Thank you Netgalley for the ARC ebook.

A near perfect follow-up! Truly a cozy read, this series has been one of my favorite finds of this year. This also wraps things up pretty nicely but I would read more about Emily and Wendell in a heartbeat.

I was SO excited to read more Emily and Wendell, and this did not disappoint! Full of the same wit, and an AMAZING plot, this was magical and fun in the very best ways! I cannot wait to gush about this with my reader friends!

I really wanted to like this. But I could not get into at all. :-( The idea is wonderful but the execution does not capture my attention.

I really enjoyed the next part of the adventures of Emily and Wendell.. This is a historical fantasy set in the early 1900's where Fae exist in our world. The worldbuilding and writing in this book is wonderful and I love that Emily is the curmudgeonly grump and Wendell is the sunshine. Thank you #NetGalley for my arc. #emilywildesmapotheotherlands

If you enjoy cozying up with a cup of tea and a whimsical tale, then this is the book series for you. The take on observational notes about faeires for a story makes this a fresh, fun read. If you enjoyed the first book in this series, you will surely love this one! Thank you to Heather Fawcett and NetGalley for the ARC copy.

4.5⭐️

Grab a cup of tea and a cozy blanket and settle in for another bewitching, whimsical adventure with Emily, Wendell, and Shadow! Fawcett has, yet again, delivered a fanciful journey with even more enchantment, mystery, and slightly preposterous predicaments for our terrific trio. In the second installment of the series, the delightfully colorful cast expands adding eccentric new characters to the mix as well as reuniting with familiar faces book one.

What I loved most about this second book was the chance to get to know Emily more. She is very intriguing in the first book, but we only scratch the surface of her character. Whereas in this latest installment, we see more of her determination, compassion, and humanity as she takes on new challenges to save those she holds dear. Her character’s journey was fantastic.

If you loved the playful banter from
Emily and Wendell and were hoping for more of their witty squabbles and for Fawcett to turn up the romance dial, you are in for a treat! I can say with confidence that if you enjoyed the first installment of the Emily Wilde series, you will be quite pleased with this newest adventure.

This sequel to the first Emily Wilde book picks up right where it left off. Emily just wants to keep studying faeries and unraveling mysteries, but Wendell needs to find a way back to his kingdom & deal with his murderous stepmother and so unfortunately she must step in and save the day again.

The book is very much in the same vein as the first. I continued to enjoy the writing style, treating encounters with faeries as observational scientific study. The relationship between Emily and Wendell is developed further; their devotion is demonstrated by what they do for each other rather than physical affection, and the narrative is stronger for it.

Unfortunately, I feel that the book is a little too much in the same vein - there was not much that felt fresh or new. Even the new places that are explored are glossed over, so I didn't get the same feel for them as I did for the first book.

Overall, this was a fun, light read, but missing some of the spark from the first one. I did enjoy it, and will definitely read the rest of the series.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the ARC.

this was such a lovely, lovely book and i already cannot wait for the third book in the series! more footnotes? check. a charming blonde fairy king? check. an ambitious academic? check. whimsical writing? check. honestly, what more would you want from a book?

It's not often that I find myself enjoying book 2 more than I enjoyed book 1 but here we are. While book 2 keeps the cozy atmosphere of book 1, I feel like there was much more happening in book 2 that made the book more exciting to read. It was quite the adventure!

In book 2 we get the addition of two new characters, Rose (the department head and college) and Ariadne (Emily's niece). I think these additions were absolutely wonderful and were instrumental in helping us to see Emily's growth as a character as she tried to grow and foster these relationships. I loved watching Emily fumble her way through, because it really helps to add depth and realism to her character.

That being said we also can't forget her buddling relationship with Wendell. The slow burn is burning and it's honestly a masterpiece. There are such cute and adorable moments between Wendell and Emily that I found myself kicking my feet in delight everytime they happened.

I was glad to see that the author kept in the anecdotes. I really think they help build out the world and make it feel more real, not to mention its just plan fun to read them. It's such a clever way to world build and I think it's perfect for the way the book is written.

I can't wait to see what's next for Emily and Wendell. Thank you to NetGalley for my A.R.C of the book in exchange for my honest opinions of the book.

I Adore this series so freaking much! It is a little slow but it's consistent through and through. I love Emily and how true to herself she is. Even with everything going on, she continues to power through it and makes sure she documents everything

I could not get into this book. It's too whimsical / atmospheric for my liking. However, if you're a fan of Naomi Novak, I think you would love this book!

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley for providing me with the ARC for Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands in exchange for an honest review. As a fervent admirer of Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries, I was thrilled to have the opportunity to read this story ahead of its January 2024 publication.

I generally try to avoid including spoilers in my reviews, but I want to be extra cautious here since many of my bookish friends are fans of this series. I don’t want to ruin their experience of reentering the beautiful and dangerous world of our beloved Emily Wilde.

I will simply say that I wholeheartedly enjoyed this book as much as the first. The story flowed effortlessly in a satisfying direction, full of the expected adventure, mystery, romance, lore, magic, wit, and whimsy.

Happily, there is a third book planned, for which I will be eagerly awaiting.

Emily Wilde is such a clever heroine. I love reading her journal entries of her time exploring and researching faeries. I did prefer the first book more.

Emily still has not given Wendell an answer to his proposal, and the two instead focus on finding Wendell's door to his faerie kingdom. When assassins arrive at Cambridge to murder Wendell to prevent him from taking back his throne, this hastens the process. Emily and Wendell, and one of their fellow old and curmudgeonly professors, and Emily's niece, Ariadne, venture to Austria to attempt to locate his door. It is a race against the clock when Wendell falls mysteriously ill and it is up to Emily to save the day.

I didn't really care for Rose, the other professor, and Ariadne could be a bit grating. There wasn't nearly enough Wendell as he was mostly ill for this book. But the fascinating worldbuilding continues, and Emily has such a fun and wry way of writing her journal entries.