4.5 ☆

This book emotionally devastated me so thoroughly that it has taken me seven (!!) months to fully recover from it.

This was quite possibly my most anticipated release ever, and I’m saddened to say that it was my least favorite installment of the Emily Wilde trilogy. That is not to say that I disliked this book, quite the contrary, but perhaps I had expectations that were too high given how much I adored the first two installments.

ᨒ↟ ⋆｡° 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓼𝓽𝓸𝓻𝔂 & 𝓬𝓱𝓪𝓻𝓪𝓬𝓽𝓮𝓻𝓼 ᨒ↟ ⋆｡°

The foreboding prophecies threaded throughout the book established an anxious tone that was a stark departure from the light-hearted and whimsical atmosphere of the previous two books. While the anticipation of what would happen next kept me glued to Compendium, I did miss the more silly, relaxed vibes of Encyclopaedia and Map.

But perhaps my biggest gripe with this third book is that Emily and Wendell spent so much of it apart. While I appreciated the further rich world building, my favorite part of this series had always been the development of Emily and Wendell’s relationship. I was saddened that their relationship took a backseat in favor of uncovering the titular lost tales that Emily chased in this book. I sorely missed the pair’s bickering and banter and goofy antics (the woodcutting mishap from Encyclopaedia is one of my favorite scenes ever). However, this made me appreciate the few moments they did get together much more. Words can’t quite capture how much I adore that Wendell and Emily’s relationship is an easy, gentle kind of love that is deeply rooted in friendship and mutual respect, as opposed to a tumultuous, toxic relationship founded on lust like so many other romantic fantasies. I will never not go feral for these two ♡

I’d have to say that my favorite part of this title, as a bookend in an overarching series, and besides Wendell’s mere existence, was Emily’s growth as a character. It was lovely to watch Emily grow from a curmudgeonly lone wolf to a figure beloved by so many humans and fae alike (e.g. Ariadne, Farris, Lilja, Poe, Taran who begrudgingly respects her).

The Emily Wilde trilogy remains my absolute favorite series to date. I have so much love for the world and its characters that I think about it almost daily, even seven months after finishing. I wholeheartedly recommend this trilogy to anyone looking for a cozy story with relatively light stakes and lovable characters you wish you could befriend in real life. I will absolutely re-read this series in the future (though it may take a while for me to recover from my continued heartache). I will always read any adult fiction Heather Fawcett writes and cannot wait to get my hands on Agnes Aubert’s Mystical Cat Shelter!

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group for the eARC via NetGalley!! This book was the entire reason I made a NetGalley account and it means so much to me that I had the privilege of receiving an ARC! ⁺˚⋆｡°๑ï₊

A cozy conclusion to the beautiful Emily Wilde series! A strong ending that's properly satisfying. I'll miss Emily and Wendell and the fae hijinks that ensue whenever the pair shows up.

I really love the cover and that's why I pick up a lot of romance novels. It's such an atmospheric novel and the coziness is why it's incredibly enjoyable.

This is a strong third book in this series. Not as good as the first, in my opinion, but stronger than the second, as is so often the case with trilogies. I don't think it will disappoint fans of the series at all.

This was a nice end to the Emily Wilde series, although I could absolutely enjoy reading more about Emily's adventures in Faerie. I would say it's probably the weakest out of the three, and I was definitely less attached to the characters and plot this time around.

Most of the story takes place in Faerie, namely, Wendell's kingdom, with some small forays into the world of the mortals. While I enjoyed learning more about Wendell's kingdom, I really liked the academic side of the previous two books and missed that here. It was nice, however, to see some old friends and locations from the two previous books.

Overall this was a great series! 3.75 stars

An excellent conclusion to the Emily Wilde series! I loved this series and this was a great last book. Excited to see what she writes next!

Emily Wilde is my favorite, most direct, and unapologetic heroine in recent years. Her need to know, her knowledge of self, and her emphasis on autonomy in the most unconventional of relationships is amazing and because of these character traits, and the magical expression of love thru deed and hard work is why this final chapter wins my vote for best book to date. Can’t wait to see more from this author.

Cosy and wonderful. Just a whole lot of fun and so enchanting. I cannot wait to see what Heather Fawcett does next. Highly highly recommend this whole series. So good upon reread as well.

A lovely end to a delightful series. We get to follow Emily and Wendell as they retake his kingdom and discover how to rule together and also what it means to really bring your life together with somebody else. Lighthearted and witty as the other two installments.

I've really loved this series and though this feels like an ending I hope to have more from Emily in the future. This book profiles the journey to recover a kingdom and resolves a lot of plot threads that have been a part of the prior books and a very sweet resolution to her love story. Lots of action adventure and danger in this book as well. What I loved was watching Emily discover that she has a community of people that care about her and she doesn't have to always go dashing off on her own to solve problems.

Loved it, which comes as no surprise. If you love this series and these characters then you will love this one. Poe is back briefly, I wish he would stay with Emily during some of her adventures but then he'd have to leave his tree which we know is unacceptable. I am not sure how this series can continue on as this one sort of swooped back full circle to book one but I will keep reading (and re-reading) this series over and over again. Super important: Shadow lives, friends. He's okay.

This was SUCH a delightful addition to the Emily Wilde saga! Seeing Emily interact with fairies as a queen-to-be was both hilarious and moving, and the stakes of the world and relationships just get upped with every book. Cozy, atmospheric, and funny—cannot wait for more.

Stories are the architecture of Faerie, more powerful than magic, more powerful than kings, and Cambridge professor, Emily Wilde, PhD, MPhil, BSc, Dde, tenured, is now in the middle of one. She and her fiance, Wendell Bambleby, are about to retake his kingdom. They've both taken a sabbatical from Cambridge to accomplish this goal. Wendell has been in exile from the Silva Lupi since his stepmother killed his entire family and assumed the throne. Thanks to Emily he not only has a way back, but his stepmother might have already perished by poisoning and he has a rather intimidating entourage. One wouldn't want to show up in one of the most dangerous Faerie realms without a plan. So they swan in with the guardians lead by Razkarden, the trolls, the tree fauns, and the fuchszwerge, the fox-faeries, lead by Snowbell. And they are met with no opposition. Which might be the most unnerving thing about entering the Silva Lupi. Eventually Queen Arna's half-brother, Lord Taran, saunters up and tells them the lay of the land. Arna isn't dead but if Wendell wants the throne he has to best Lord Taran. It's nothing personal, violence comes as naturally as drawing breath to the monarchs of the Silva Lupi, and he promised Wendell's father that he would protect the kingdom from a weak ruler. Lord Taran is the greatest swordsman in the land, and, for a while, Wendell holds his own, but it's not in swordplay that he bests his father, it's by his needle and thread. The path cleared they ascend their thrones and it seems that their only problem will be Emily adjusting the the great many monsters in Wendell's court. But Queen Arna has a neatly constructed vengeance in store. As Emily poisoned her she has in turn poisoned the land. Emily and Wendell worked so hard to find a way back to his world, that all their efforts should have been brought to this; only Wendell's death will lift the curse. Nothing more, nothing less. The Folk do appreciate a story that comes full circle. So in the logical extension of the illogic of Faerie, Emily will save the day due to her living a life lead by scholarly tomes. Stories are the foundations of this world, they may be used as a compass, a guiding star. They just need the right story, they need their guiding star, and this problem will just go away. Once she finds "King Macan's Bees" she thinks she has the answer, the story echoes the present problems, but it's uncanny how accurate it echoes them. Which worries Emily. Queen Arna is cunning and while Emily will never tire of untangling a faerie mystery, could this one be Wendell's last?

Heather Fawcett's Lady Emily series has been a magical, if at times menacing, romp through Faerie and it's academic accouterments. And while I've loved all the volumes in this series I find myself singling this one out as the most magical. While I could say it's because I've grown accustomed to the horrors, much like Emily is attempting to with the monsters in Wendell's court, I think it's really because of a few scenes of such magic that my breath was taken away. The most magical of these is when Emily and Wendell officially marry. In Faerie you don't have to have a big ceremony, you just have to declare your intentions and the deed is done. Which, let's be honest, Emily enjoyed far more than being the center of attention. But when they make their intentions known on a boat as they go to confront his stepmother when they pull apart from sealing their bond with a kiss the world around them is celebrating their love. Faeries are gathering along the shore with lights, like a forest full of fireflies, they illuminate the dark in a way that is pure magic. This is what I've always pictured when I think of the realms of faeries. Little me laying in bed being told fairy tales thrills at this moment. And my love of fairy tales is brought to a whole new level in this volume. Because Heather Fawcett tackles the intersectionality of ghost stories and fairy tales. That's right, Heather Fawcett is bringing in spiritualism into a story I already love and upping the game to a whole new level. So, ghost stories and fairy tales. They could both be under the umbrella of folklore, but personally I like to put them under the umbrella of horror. Because true ghost stories and fairy tales are terrifying. And that fear, that aspect of horror is what draws me in every time. It's the dark shadow of bedtime tales, those that keep you up at night because they have the ring of truth. For me, these types of tales are interchangeable. They are both about something otherworldly. And that this was acknowledged in this series makes me giddy. What's more, it's one of the reasons dryadology even exists as a discipline, because of people studying ghosts. Though, to take this even further, Archibald Robbins of the University of Amsterdam was an iconoclast who theorized there were interactions between the Folk and the spirit world. Then Helen Worthington-West took this further and presented a paper about a brownie who had spoken with the recently deceased using a door. Doors, like the door Emily needed to find to return Wendell to his realm. But this door goes to a spiritual limbo. A place half in the world, half elsewhere, where the ghosts of the Folk linger. Oh my, it's the commingling of two things that in my mind have always been linked that I just can't get enough of. I want more. And I totally agree with Emily, she should have been studying ghost stories instead of the histories of great faerie monarchs.

4.25 Stars

Thank you to the publisher for an arc of this novel; all my opinions are my own.

I was hesitant going into this third novel because, while I loved book 1, I didn’t love book 2. So imagine my surprise when I LOVED this one. We have Emily and Wendall back together, which I think is what I didn’t like in book 2 – that they were separated. I love their relationship and dynamic, I love the juxtaposition between them, and I thought this was so well executed and drove the story forward so well. I felt at home with the characters and I loved the plot line. It was back and forth and up and down but also funny and serious at the same time. This was such a fun read.

Emily Wilde is back as the titular character in the third installment of her very own series by Heather Fawcett, and I am here for it. (Make sure you start at the beginning of the Emily Wilde series if you plan to read this book!)

Emily Wilde’s Compendium of Lost Tales is a historical fantasy novel that takes place in the faerie realm and is written in the form of diary entries, as are the other two books in this series. I would almost describe it as cozy fantasy. The story picks up immediately following the events of the last novel. Wendell and Emily are seeking to reclaim Wendell’s throne, but it will not be an easy task. Fawcett includes a lot of world building, lore, and detail in her novels, which I enjoy. This installment is no different. While I could probably nit pick details about the pacing and plot, I overall just had so much fun reading this book that I don’t have many serious complaints. I really have fallen in love with the characters over the course of the series, and I find them, the world they inhabit, and the dialogue to have such charm. I’m sad to see the series come to an end, but I will be keeping an eye out for future works by this author.

I would recommend Emily Wilde’s Compendium of Lost Tales (or the series as a whole) to readers of historical fantasy, cozy fantasy, and those interested in stories set in the faerie realm.

*Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine - Del Rey for providing a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review!*

This was exactly what I had hoped for in the third book of the Emily Wilde series! There is a wonderful banter and dynamic between the two main characters as well as visits from people of the past books. While this book wraps up the series nicely, it leaves room for more!

Emily Wilde's Compendium of Lost Tales was a solid conclusion to this trilogy that continues to capture both a whimsical and dark tone while exploring an entirely new setting. This book does an excellent job of further developing the main characters despite the already strong characterization in the first two installments. I especially enjoyed the focus on the impact of stories and their reflection of reality, which was a satisfying callback to the themes first introduced in book one. I also appreciated that the development of Emily and Wendell's relationship was balanced with her independent explorations in Faerie, which held true with her character. I look forward to seeing what Heather Fawcett writes next.

Thank you to Netgalley and the Random House for the ARC.

I think this is solely on me and my personal tastes as a reader, but I found this series in general to feel too mechanical in structure. However, I recommend these books a ton to our patrons, especially if they're wanting a cozy read.

Emily Wilde is back and as plucky as ever! I dont think I could ever get tired of this series. I absolutely love the characters, particularly Emily who is always portrayed as hilarious without really meaning to be so. I love her and Wendell's relationship. Its sweet and yet she retains her individuality and freedom. She never feels like someone's "other half".
The land of faery comes alive yet again, and I cant help but with there would be an illustrated edition of the series.
While it feels like this could be the end of the series, I am hoping it isn't, as I would love to dive into this world with these characters again.
Thanks so much to Random House Publishing Group and Netgalley for this amazing ARC.

Very slow pacing, the plot was a bit flat and not amazing. I always stay for Wendell and Emily though, some of their scenes really make it worth it. I also love seeing this world be expanded upon. But the series has just petered out for me as it has progressed.