adventurous, funny, lighthearted, mysterious, fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

A fresh and unique take on fae lore, reading as historical fiction that immerses you in the universe. Candlelit academia, with a full plot and seamless exposition that doesn't make you feel like you're learning a universe. I would recommend this series to anyone looking for a reprieve from the density of high fantasy, while still getting that good magic.

ARC provided by publisher.

The passage of time doesn’t make sense in the Faerie, and it seems a similar enchantment has been woven around this book, a brilliant second volume in the Emily Wilde’s series. Once you’re lured into its depths you find yourself lost until you stumble out of its final pages, with a grin on your face. If that isn’t clear enough, I loved this book, just as much as the first. The central characters continue to be interesting and dynamic, and while most of the work for their character backstory and so on was done in the first novel, there is continued growth and deepening of the characters, which is great. Plus, we get a couple of additional, new characters added to our fellowship, and they don’t feel superfluous or shoehorned in but rather welcome additions, and while they aren’t as robust as our central protagonist they are definitely more than two-dimensional space holders, they are interested and feel genuine. The writing is a lot of fun, with believable dialogue combined with great pacing to make for something you don’t want to put down. The highs and lows of the journey, and the side quests and action scenes and so forth, all are plotted and timed really well, so that you’re always involved and invested. Following the same narrative conceit as the first novel, this being a series of journal entries, it does fall into some of the same kind of obstacles as the first. Namely, that it strains belief that some of the level of detail included would have been able to be recorded by our protagonist, and when and how it would have been written, and so on. I’m still not convinced this story needs to be told within this narrative framing, because it does feel stretched thin at points, where I don’t really feel like I am reading a journal but rather just enjoyed an internal, first-person narrator. And yet, with that said, the language and writing and pacing are so good that it doesn’t actually bother me, my incredulity comfortably napping in the backseat as the lore and story lull me in. The story really does shine, too. On one hand it follows some expected beats, not a whole lot is incredibly surprising. And yet, on the other hand, it is always thoughtful and fun and a really wonderful journey. Fawcett has really built a wonderful world and some great lore, and she has done it in such a way that is really smart, because she has left herself so much room to grow and change discover a whole lot more to explore in the future. What is really genius is the way the idea of story works for the fae, and the fact that the whole idea of story being central to self-understanding is not only a smart way of thinking of an anthropology of a group of beings but also a smart way to let the story exploit ideas or tropes that are repeated in fairy tales and other fantasy stories and for it to feel fitting and appropriate, clever even. The story is one of fearlessness, humanity, and curiosity, all held together with an emotional bond that is hard for even our characters to fully understand. It’s great.

A fun story, filled with journey and adventure, that finds itself in a magical world where mythology and history, fiction and reality, have fuzzy and incoherent boundaries, populated by all sorts of incredible creatures and yet centered on the most powerful of creatures (an intelligent, confident, sometimes foolhardy, scholar). I couldn’t put this book down, and I can’t wait to continue the story in future books. If you have any interest in fantasy or whimsy, but especially like it spiced with strong, interesting characters and a world that you want to get lost in, you will find a lot to love in this series. I do think it is important to read the first book in the series before this one, it does a lot of the heavy lifting of grounding and establishing our characters. You could jump in here and you wouldn’t be lost, but why deprive yourself of the joy of the first book? Get a mug of something warm and delicious and get lost in the Faerie for a while, you won’t regret it.

I want to thank the author, the publisher Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Del Rey, and NetGalley, who provided a complimentary eARC for review. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This book was my everything. The second I was finished reading the first book in the series, I needed Emily Wilde's Map of the Otherlands. And man, did Heather Fawcett not disappoint. The fairy vibes, the goblin core. It was perfect to read on my trip to Montana and hiking through wooded mountains.
My love of Wendell and Emily knows no bounds. I would be so ridiculous to follow them into the fairy realm. No hesitation. Plus, add a ratchetty old professor that you love to hate, chef's kiss.
The additional characters, while brining in beloved characters from the first story made it so perfect and cozy.
These two are by far favorites reads in 2023 and I cannot wait for this series to continue.

I don’t think you all realize how happy I was when I closed the book and looked at the cover and saw that it said series!! So there’s a next book coming right? RIGHT?

Anywho, I thoroughly loved the first book and yet I somehow found it in my heart to love this one that much more. (Mostly because Emily is hilarious and this time she isn’t so focused around her academic career). And ! More mean faeries!

I cannot wait to buy the final book on release date and join my two babies together on my shelf 🥹

Thank you netgalley for an ARC of this book that quickly became my favorite <3

I simply adore Emily and Wendell. The banter between the two is “chef’s kiss”.

We get a new set of side characters that being more depth to the story, including Emilys niece. I love that these books don’t focus solely on the relationship between the two main characters.

I loved the first book but I have to say I loved this one even more. There is a more personal aspect to this book that wasn’t in the first while also still reading as a journal.

I want more of Emily and Wendell!

After publishing her faerie encyclopedia to much critical acclaim, Emily Wilde and her equal parts frustrating and handsome peer Wendell Bambleby are about to embark on yet another adventure. When strange creatures attempt to assassinate Wendell, the duo knows they’ll need to find a door to Wendell’s kingdom in order to stop his murderous stepmother. As Emily’s working on her map of the faerie doors, the timing of their mission coincides nicely with her academic pursuits.

This time they’ll have more company in the form of Emily’s niece, Ariande, and dryadology department head Dr. Farris Rose. The crew sets out for the Austrian Alps, where there is rumored to be a nexus – a door that leads to multiple faerie worlds. Emily will have to rely on her group, her dog (Shadow), the villagers, and her well-honed instincts to find Wendell’s world and save him before it’s too late.

I just adore Emily Wilde and her adventures! She is confident, intelligent, and loyal. She can also be headstrong and impetuous. I felt like she grew as a person in this book. Her circumstances forced her to rely on people and creatures alike, and it seemed as if her resistance to receiving help waned as the story progressed. I loved seeing friends from the first book pop up and was happy the team gained some unexpected allies along the way. The author has created multiple beautifully detailed worlds, and I can’t wait to continue following Emily’s adventures!

This sequel is so good. Truly cannot wait for the next book. Love these characters and their adventures.

This enchanting tale is a worthy successor to Emily Wilde’s Encyclopedia of Faeries (which I recommend the reader savor first). Emily, a renowned professor of Drydadology ( the study of Faerie and Folk) seeks to solve the mysterious disappearance of drydadologist Danielle DeGray in 1861. In her mythical quest,she meets whimsical, and sometimes dangerous creatures of the woodlands, and caves. The author envelops you in a grown up faerie tale of danger and fantasy, and goodness and love.

Map of the Otherlands is as cozy, warm, and propulsive as Heather Fawcett's first Emily Wilde novel. It was a pleasure to spend more time in the Emily Wilde world. Fawcett has created a wonderful, vivid world with memorable characters.

Favorite Quote: “… many folk obey ancient laws of hospitality and cannot simply come charging into one’s home to murder guests.”

Story Synopsis: Emily Wilde is back at the Dryadology department going about life as normal. Recently returned from Scotland, Emily now has a faerie faun foot in her pack, which she believes is the key to finding the door to Wendell’s realm. However, Wendell has been acting a bit off since his birthday celebration. When Emily tells Wendell about the strange man who appeared to her on campus with his hands full of ribbons muttering inane directions, Wendell brushes it off and complains of a headache. It’s not until Wendell and Emily are attacked by assassins during a lecture that they leave University for the Austrian Alps to find the door back to Wendell’s realm.

There, they encounter new folk, make new friends, make new enemies, and Emily finds herself back in Faerie yet again.

Why does this book beguile? Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries was Fawcett’s debut novel and a surprise delight for me when I read the ARC in late 2022. I was utterly thrilled to get the ARC for Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands. In book two, Emily gets better. She’s just as matter-of-fact and slightly cantankerous, but she’s softening. I loved the introduction to Emily’s niece, Ariadne, and the Dryadology department head, Farris Rose. Map of the Otherlands is a building book, so there will have to be a third because these stories are definitely not finished!

As someone who was already enchanted by Emily Wilde and her scholarly exploits, this book has somehow fully pulled me into a fairy trance.

It is very rare that I enjoy a sequel nearly as much as the first installment, however this book was even more delightful! While I loved learning about Emily and her scholarly motivations in book 1, this book further developed her character and relationship to both Wendell and new supporting characters. I especially loved Emily and Wendell's banter and the fact that Emily is no longer pursuing faerie just for her own motivations, but out of a genuine desire to help Wendell reunite with his home.

I also enjoyed the characters of Rose and Ariadne and felt that they further helped Emily grow and learn how to rely on others.

The descriptions in this novel as well as the dialogue between characters is just as lovely as in Encyclopaedia. I squealed when we got to see Poe again, I've grown rather attached to him. I also find it astonishing that Fawcett can describe a vicious little fairy with a thirst for human blood and I can be like "awww what a cutie".

I am so so happy that this story isn't over and cannot wait to learn more about Wendell's court! I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys fairy stories, historical fiction or cozy mysteries!

Cozy fantasy is definitely having a moment and this is the perfect addition to the genre. It’s a strong sequel that upholds the whimsical vibes of the first book. Once again we follow Cambridge professor of faeries, Emily Wilde, who makes a great narrator—she’s antisocial, quite emotionally removed, and chiefly concerned with her research above all else. That is hilariously reflected in the format of the story, which is in the style of an academic journal.

In this book, Emily and her former academic rival and sunshiney foil to her grumpiness, Wendell Bambleby, are searching for a secret door to a faerie realm. Their dynamic is funny and sweet. The progression of their relationship is totally in-line with their personalities. There’s totally fodder for a 3rd book and I really hope we get one!

Thank you NetGalley for the arc!

Review posted on Goodreads on July 19, 2023
Posting review and rating on YouTube monthly wrap-up video on August 2, 2023
Posting review and star rating on TikTok on August 2, 2023

5/5 if I could give it more stars I would. This was a perfect sequel to the first and had the same quality if
not better then the first. The snippets of characters from the first one made me quite happy! Emily and Wendell’s dynamic makes my heart ache for magic to be real. Emily is so surprisingly refreshing for a female lead character as I’m not used to seeing someone like her. She is someone that is relatable and makes me feel a comfort to know there is a main character that could be like me.

I feel that sometimes sequels fall flat with books that had such and amazing start. But not this book, this book was just as impressive as the first one. The characters growth, the world continue to be built and the magic that it brings to life. I can’t wait to add this beautiful hardback edition to my shelf with the other.

Thank you to Del Ray publishing for the eARC in exchange for an honest review! This book is definitely a great cozy fantasy and I loved the characters but overall I don’t think this was the book for me. It was a little hard to follow along with and eventually, I just lost interest. 3/5 stars.

4.6

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*Received an eARC from Netgalley for an honest review. Thank you!

I devoured this book as quickly as I did the first! I read the first just a few days ago and was so ecstatic I had this arc to read right after.

This book continues with Emily and Wendell's adventures through the faerie world, with more action, humor and fluff sprinkled in. The romance has a death grip on my heart and I am always left stupidly giggling at the characters' interactions. The new characters introduced in this book are just as wholesome, and I'm glad to say we get to see a few of the old ones make a reapperance.

Like my review for the first book, this book has an overabundance of charm and every moment made me so giddy I'm not sure what to do with myself now that I have to wait for the third book. Yes, there's a third book! I'm so excited.

This is one of those books I know I'll look back with a heart full of nostalgia. I wish I could experience the first time reading this book again.

While I definitely enjoyed the first book, I absolutely loved this one! It was fast paced and there was a ton of character growth.

I don’t want to go into spoiler territory but the growth we see in our main characters really help drive this one in comparison to the first. With a more personal connection, I felt closer to them than before and never wanted to put the book down!

The plot kept me just as engaged and went fast without ever feeling rushed. Watching Emily balance her curiosity and her budding spikes of humanity was a delightful whirlwind!

Thank you to Netgalley for an eARC!

What can I say? This book scratches all the same itches as the first Emily Wilde book and then some.

Emily is such a weirdly relatable protagonist to me. Normally I find characters with a very logical, academic outlook on life a bit insufferable because they're often written as being oblivious to emotions (theirs or other people's) or anything else they find inconsequential, but not Emily. She still grapples with her own emotions and flaws, just in a very logical way. The "journaling" format really suits this kind of introspection on her part.

I loved the introductions to more varieties of faeries! They perfectly capture the kind of fae I love which are "whimsical and cute but also possibly deadly and nefarious".

I have to admit, I was a bit worried at the beginning of this book. The previous novel, Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries, ends with the romance very much unresolved, and there were moments in the first few chapters when I was confused about the state of it. Has something happened between books? Has their relationship regressed? It was unclear where we were finding them several months later - and not in a way that felt intentional.

I obtained an early copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Heather Fawcett does it again! The more I reflect on this book the more I want to read it again immediately. It’s as lovely and colorful as the first!

The romance between Emily and Wendell is still devastatingly heartwarming. I could have a whole book of just their interactions and be perfectly satisfied. Their relationship since book one gets turned way up in book 2 (still very VERY mild in terms of spice), but it almost comes out of no where, which puzzled me but I went with it anyway because I love them to pieces. I also love when Wendell hijacks Emily’s journal. *chef’s kiss

We get to meet Emily’s niece, Ariadne, and Dr. Farris Rose the Department Dead. They were both intriguing characters but I don’t think Ariadne added much to the overall plot but I think Rose did.

Like book 1, we get another quaint little village setting. Unlike the first book, you don’t get very attached to the village people aside from seeing them out and about and I don’t think Emily does either and most villagers get lumped together and none really stand out. I loved how book 1 immersed Emily and Wendell in the village life so much so the villagers sent a rescue party into Faerie after her. But here I think we focus more on Ariadne and Rose and then de Grey and Eichorn who aren’t all that intriguing when it comes down to it.

De Grey and Eichorn do provide an interesting plot element but all they really did was add mystery and then guide Emily to a door and give her a horn. I wanted to know more about them as people because clearly Eichorn has deep feelings for de Grey. Even Emily implied de Grey was not what she’d expected. I did like Rose the best, especially when he tells his stories, but he comes across as weak when he’s facing the Folk for someone so experienced in the field, and is almost too accepting of Emily’s unorthodox research methods. And Ariadne is just there in the background with a magic scarf that never comes into play.

Again, Emily goes off sans Wendell into Faerie and gets herself into trouble. However she uses her muddled intelligence to overcome a tricky situation rather than play damsel in distress.

I loved the Poe appearance! He’s a gem! Emily’s brief visit to Hrafnsvik had me so nostalgic for book 1. I missed the characters you got to know and love so well. I liked the addition of the compass from Lilja, as random as it was.

I’d really like to see Wendell team up with Emily more in book 3. They make a great pair when she uses her smarts and him his magic when going against an enemy. I wanted to see more of the castle Wendell magically built into a mountain or seen more of him fighting the huntsmen. I love morally grey Wendell! I would still like to know how Wendell got poisoned. There were a few confusing points that weren’t exactly explained, like Poe’s door and the queen’s brother, I am sure a lot of things will be resolved in book 3 which I am greatly looking forward to!

I did love the book. It’s so wholesomely entertaining and Heather Fawcett’s writing is captivating, soothing and immersive. I couldn’t put it down! I would 100% order book 3 right now if I could. Looking forward to more adventures with Emily and Wendell!

If I had to give it a star rating 4.5/5. The story is a 5 and Emily and Wendell always get a 5. The side characters get a 4.

I really need to learn to not request an ARC of book 2 if I haven’t read book 1… because I absolutely detested Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries and would not have picked this one up at all if I didn’t already have an ARC. That said: I actually enjoyed this one far more than book 1 and I think anyone who loved its predecessor will love this one even more.

I found myself more invested in the romance in this one. I don’t know what it is, but I just really loved Emily and Wendell’s dynamic. That alone was enough to keep me interested in the story—which is good, because the story was painfully boring. It suffered from the same pretentiousness as the first book, and unfortunately had so much of the same casual ableism as well.

I did find the ending to be ridiculously rushed. I really felt like on the whole, this is not a book that needs a sequel. The story and arcs could have been entirely wrapped up in this one. But because the pace of these books just drags and drags… there will be a third, seemingly unnecessary book.

I don’t think this series is for me, but I’m glad I gave it a chance!

*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. All views reflected are my own.