This is everything you could want from a return to the world Emily Wilde. With new doors and some returning characters, this compendium explores the power of stories with ingredients from the previous instalments. Thoroughly enjoyable.

This was a nice completion to the trilogy. Same cozy fantasy vibes, same hilarious yet endearing characters and all tied up with a satisfying conclusion. That being said, this one felt more challenging to get through in comparison to the first two books. I'm not sure if it was the diary style writing getting old or the copious amount of details for things that felt unnecessary, but I felt like I had to slog through most of it, (in contrast to how I devoured the other two). Anyway, a super cute trilogy for sure!

Heather Fawcett does it again in Emily Wilde's Compendium of Lost Tales!
It is no surprise to anyone who has seen my posts that I love this series. I've raved about it to just about anyone who would listen.
The storyline is great, the characters are the best, and I just love the writing, most of all.

As much as I thoroughly enjoyed the story, I must say I'm disappointed at the lack of color--pretty much everyone is white and then everyone else is fictional creatures. At this point, I've read so many books with diverse characters, I've come to expect it in any book I read. Alas, it is not so. I feel like I can understand why, given that it's set in the 1900s, and doing so would reveal the societal issues--which is not at the crux of this series--but even a nod or hint to racial and cultural differences would have been appreciated.

Lastly, I wish Wendell Bambleby inserted himself again in the journal! It's so fun reading his perspective.

Emily’s back in the final part of the Emily Wilde trilogy.

First: this book (and thus this review) assumes the reader has some knowledge of the previous books.

A few days after the events of ‘Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands’, Emily and her fiancé Wendell are back to claim his throne. Wendell, it should be known, is a faerie prince, banished from his kingdom by his power-hungry stepmother (who, incidentally, was responsible for the demise of the rest of his family). After the events of Otherlands, she’s disappeared – possibly died – but has left a curse on the land. It’s up to Emily to figure out the right story and thus the right path to set things right again if she wants to rule beside Wendell as his faerie queen.

I have mixed feelings about this book. The first half felt a bit meh. Emily seemed to be focused on not fitting in, on trying to find her place in the faerie kingdom, sort of like what she did in the first novel. The second part, however, was lovely. She was back in form, researching stories, finding parallels, figuring out how to save the day – then saving it! It was a lovely ending to the trilogy. There are hints that she could have further adventures (fingers crossed!), but this arc feels complete.

Recommended – if the previous two books in the series have been read. It can almost stand on its own, but there are several events and characters from the previous books that help explain this book.

I received a copy of this from NetGallley.com that I voluntarily chose to review.

An excellent third book in the Emily Wilde series! I loved how the author tied in Emily's search for Faerie myths and stories in to the book's main conflict!

I just finished "Emily Wilde's Compendium of Lost Tales" by Heather Fawcett. I received a free eARC through NetGalley. This is the third book in the Emily Wilde series.

In this newest outing Emily Wilde, dyradologist, scholar, and now Queen of a Fae realm? Emily and Wendell have finally found the door to Wendell' homeland, after Emily deposed of Wendell's stepmother, the ruling Queen, in book 2. Now, with Wendell assuming the crown, and Emily trying to both write a scholarly book about the politics of a Fae realm while also integrating into noble society as a ruling Queen, the two must face down an evil curse to save Wendell's realm for all. Along the way, Emily is forced to reckon with who she is, where she fits in, how her past informs her future, and who she must become to live the life she thinks she wants.

Our plucky, somewhat dry and particular heroine is back! I just love Emily with her serious academic vibes and no-nonsense approach to problem solving. For the first time we get to see Emily completely thrust into Fae, willingly, and trying to maneuver through the politics and her relationship with Wendell. This one clips along at a bit of a faster pace than the other two entries, as there are so many things going on at once-- and it sure keeps you on your toes! One of my favorite parts of this one is the actual examination of the relationship between Emily and Wendell in his true form. Can a mortal really live in Fae as a Queen? If you loved the first two, you'll be swept away with this one!

I was so excited to get the final book in the Emily Wilde series early! This one is far more focused on the lands of Faerie rather than staying mostly to the outskirts like in the first two books. I loved reading Emily's opinions on Faerie and seeing her gradually adapt to her new role. Wendell remains my favorite character. Everything wrapped up really nicely, but I would love further books of Emily's and Wendell's adventures together.

tl;dr
Research and ingenuity once again prevail in a very satisfying conclusion to the trilogy featuring more fae lore, and plenty of familiar faces from previous books.

Thoughts
I fell in love with the first book in the series, the second one brought me much delight, and now the third one has absolutely stuck the landing on the trilogy. I admit, I worry in a series when the final book is lined up to be "the big fight," because we tend to lose a lot of the joy and interpersonal little moments that made the previous books so much fun. Lost Tales neatly avoids this by having the characters skip the "epic battle" altogether. No sweeping armies racing down hilltops to clash, or bloodied fields strewn with corpses. The deposed queen plays a much more subtle game, and it's once again up to Emily's ingenuity and research skills to save the day. The series that started out as academia remains academia to the very end, and it is extremely effective. There's even more lore to dig into, and you can feel the pressure as the clock ticks down to the unknown.

Sadly, we still do lose some of the fun Emily/Wendell moments, as the two of them are separated much more often over the course of this story. It's largely made up for by the ever-growing supporting cast, with the return of characters from the first two books, and the introduction of several more new faces who are all interesting enough to get their own series. Emily's world has grown, and she has friends and colleagues who love and respect her for who she is. It's a touching contrast from her isolated lifestyle in the first book.

Spoiler: For those worried about Shadow, he does not die in this book.

I absolutely love this for highlighting Wilde's original Tales in Ireland! I am so thrilled to own all of these books. I look forward to more of her writing.

In the third book in Heather Fawcett's engaging fantasy series, Emily Wilde's Compendium of Lost Tales, esteemed Cambridge University dryadology professor and researcher Emily Wilde has published her Faerie Encyclopaedia and her Map of the Otherlands and is embarking on the most dangerous adventure in her life. Now engaged to her former academic rival, the dashing Wendell Bambleby, Emily joins him in risking everything to restore Wendell to his rightful position as king of his fairy realm--and establishing herself as his queen.

The couple's playful but deeply sincere relationship is still in evidence, but it tends to take a back seat to the action in this book. Almost everything in the fairy realm is not what it appears to be, and Wendell's enemies are plentiful, including supporters of the late queen, who met her end in a previous book. I have to say that I preferred the first two books, where there was a good balance between the mortal world and the fairy realm. Emily does spend some time with friends from her former life, but Wendell stays mostly in the realm, which makes the story a little less entertaining for me. I did enjoy the intricate descriptions of each venue and each character or group of characters they encounter, thanks to the author's boundless creativity. Even the animal characters are memorable.

I'm not sure whether this is the last book in the series, but I appreciate all three books as enthralling and imaginative. I recommend that they be read in order.

My thanks to Ballantine/Del Rey and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an provide an honest review of this book.

"I wonder if I could order the mountains in my realm to depart? We have hills enough - what more does one need?"

🐈‍⬛ Animal companions
🧚 Faerie worlds
🐈‍⬛ Family drama
🧚 Medium stakes and high vibes

It was a satisfying end to an amazing trilogy - I’m feeling warm and fuzzy but also 🥺 because I don’t want to say goodbye to these characters. I love, love, LOVE that we got to see a lot more of the animal companions this book. Olga is a mood and Snowball is dangerously precious. I know it wouldn't make sense for Poe to have showed his silly face more than he did, seeing as they're in a different world, but I totally wouldn't have minded because he owns my heart.

The books starts off right where we left off, which is something I always really like especially when the previous book ends on a point where I just want to keep reading. It kept the fairytale vibes while having a lot of action packed into it as well. The main reason why I rated it 4 ⭐️ and not 5 ⭐️ as I did with the second book, was probably because of the lack of real communication between Wendell and Emily. Wendell wasn’t really her team as much this book and looking back I was missing some of the snarky ass banter that usually comes with it. It was still there, but I am greedy and wanted more!

Throughout the book Emily kept feeling something was off, but wasn't able to figure out what the issue really was. I didn't mind her not immediately figuring everything out (it's quite in line with the rest of the books imo), though this time around it did mean that the conflict never really ended - even when there was a wee moment of happiness. I'm not sure I understand how the end resolution Emily came up with at the end of the book was supposed to be better than Wendell's, but overall it was a really good story and kept me on the edge of my seat yet again.

I really love Heather Fawcett's captivating writing style and how she manages to write a cozy story that's both witty and thrilling. Wendell is still one of my favourite characters and the absolute absurdity of character was again a joy to read.

I'm so glad this series exists; Heather Fawcett has created such a lovely, delightful world and beloved characters in Emily and Wendell. COMPENDIUM is a very satisfying end to the series, with callbacks to events and characters of the first two books and tying up of loose ends (but not too tight, as that would be asking for trouble in Faerie). The animal companions are particularly excellent here, with Shadow and Orga given ample screen time (as they deserve). As Emily gets more embroiled in Faerie, a theme emerges of the fae being caught in patterns of stories repeating themselves, and only mortals being able to break those patterns, which I felt was the perfect theme to end the series on.

I do enjoy the first two books more, mostly because I preferred the setup of Emily's adventures and the growing romance of those books, versus book 3 where the romance is established and the main plot is a bit more straightforward. But I imagine I'll be giving the whole series several rereads in the future!

I fairly enjoyed this book, I almost can say that with how this book is written that it doesn't need the other two books that came before it. This might sound off putting although I say it in the best way! I really enjoy how Heather writes her books in such a comfy and cozy place from her heart, it makes me feel so drawn to her Emily Wilde books. This book in particular made me really enjoy the ride without having to piece much of anything together. The chit chats of Emily and Windell make me so happy and it goes to show what love really is! I thoroughly liked how Windell and Emily grew into their roles of queen and king of the fairies in their own ways while still making it a better place from the viscous step mother queen, in the right way that is! It simply felt like such a good ending to the series! If anything, I would have liked to see the reoccurrences that Emily had a bit earlier in the book and more banter between the couple!

An absolutely fitting end to a fantastic series. I always love how Emily and Wendall start off with one problem and it offshoots to three other problems that they then need to solve.

We pick up where book two left of and I was surprised by the quick pace to start. We get a lot of information and world-building as Emily sees the world with clear eyes this time around. One thing I love about this series is how steeped in lore and world-building it is, and how Emily's journal entries share it with a clinical eye. I feel so engrossed in the world of the fae throughout this series, especially with the small callbacks and full circles we make to book one.

I will say, I was surprised by how little book two seemed to have impacted book 3 - we see a lot more callbacks to the first instalment, and while I loved that, I wish it had built more on the happenings of book 2 a bit. That being said, this story kept me entertained with the action, the quick thinking on Emily's part, and of course the large cast of characters we now have (Emily's found family growing so much will always make my heart warm).

Something I liked about this one that I felt book 2 was missing was that despite Emily still spending time away from Wendall (I love that he loves and supports an independent woman), we still get interactions between them via letters and memories, and I ate all that up so hard. This was definitely the book where we get the most yearning and outward affection from Wendall and I'm so here for it.

The animal companions had a larger role to play in this instalment too, and I quite enjoyed the love and loyalty they had to their masters - it resulted in a lot of heartwarming and funny moments that had me melting.

All in all this was a fantastic finale to this series. While it felt a bit more structured than the meandering nature of book one, I think it was necessary in order to tie all the loose threads up. In the end, I loved how this series concluded and wish I could read it all again for the first time!

TW: death, murder, injury detail, torture, fire, violence, suicide; mentions kidnapping, trauma,

Plot: 4.5/5
Characters: 5/5
World Building: 5/5
Writing: 4.5/5
Pacing: 4.5/5
Overall: 5/5

eARC gifted via NetGalley by Del Rey via Penguin Random House in exchange for an honest review.

As delightful as the previous 2 installments in this series. Fawcett has not lost her touch. Some series go downhill as more are released, but Emily Wilde stays strong. Highly recommend to those who have read the first two books. Would not recommend as a standalone.

Thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for the ARC.

What a wonderful conclusion to an excellent trilogy. I think it's a trilogy? It feels final, and while I am sad that it has to end, I'm also glad it's not getting dragged out until it's a husk of its former self. The whole series has an interest in examining our stories to guide our future. This one especially takes you through not only the folklore of Ireland but through Emily's past adventures. The story is so well plotted, all the pieces coming together are so satisfying! The romance between Emily and Wendell is so sweet. They are willing to do so much for each other, and they're so happy with the other in all their flaws. And I love Shadow, he's one of the best dogs in fiction. No spoilers, but I did nearly cry at the ending because of the damn dog.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6351039115

https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/83df62b4-713a-4cb2-8872-960786faa5cf

Check out this review of Emily Wilde's Compendium of Lost Tales (Emily Wilde, #3) on Fable. https://fable.co/review/cbeb487b-9493-4394-8bed-d29f29ba84d3/share

Despite never reading it before, as soon as I started this final installment (to my knowledge, anyway) I felt a total sense of cozy nostalgia– I think everyone’s aware by now about my excessive love for this series (and I’ve heard the audiobooks enough that I automatically heard the voices and cadence of the narrators in my head, even though I was reading this as an eARC).

Compendium of Lost Tales picks up where Map of the Otherlands left off: with the characters entering Where The Trees Have Eyes.

From the beginning, the animal companions have a much larger presence than they’ve had in prior books (Orga, my love!). There’s also a much more traditional plot structure and pacing, with very few divergences. On the one hand I think this might better suit people who found the first book composed of too many vignettes and an unfocused story, on the other hand I felt a stronger sense of lull between major story beats than in prior books. However Fawcett never failed to delight me with all of the little world-building details, so -from vengeful battle snails to adorable butter fairies- I was always entertained.

And I know we all talk about the cozy vibes, the banter, the romance, the academia, and the animal companions in this series-- but man are there also a lot of swordfights, now that I think about it. This volume definitely did not disappoint on that front.

I’d have to say my largest disappointment was the way the story often kept Emily and Wendell apart, since their playful banter is probably my #1 favourite thing. There were also fewer instances to see fae friends from prior novels than I was expecting, and I didn’t really feel like new friends were made to fill that gap.

But there are several satisfying call-backs and full circle moments that I adored (including one that made me shout “aw, snap!” aloud… in the dark… startling my cats…). And though I think I’ll continue to re-read the first book in the series the most (a not uncommon occurrence for me and series anyway), I’ll truly treasure all the joy that this series has brought me and continue to re-read it many times in future.

Out of the three Emily Wilde books we have so far, I think this one was the weakest. I think I prefer these stories when they take place on the borderlands between our world and Faerie. The story and the characters seem on much more stable footing there. Wendell's character changes too much when they're in his realm - he's no longer the silly-yet-endearing counterpart to Emily's firm academic sensibility, but neither does he seem very kingly. He just doesn't seem to fit into his own realm, which made the story less engrossing to me.

Likewise, I spent most of the book missing Emily's curmudgeonly stubbornness (also endearing in its own way). She seemed meek and mousy for most of the book's first half, completely unsure of herself, and generally more silent than I expected her to be. I understand that becoming the queen of a realm that you know only through book study would certainly unmoor even the heartiest of personalities from their pedestal of confidence, but I longed for the Emily of books 1 and 2. I was so pleased when she started to make a comeback, even if it didn't happen until later in the story than I wanted.

I very much liked many of the small touches of whimsy we got in the descriptions of Wendell's realm. There was quite a lot of the darker side of fairy tales woven into its fabric as well, but every so often, there would be little glimpses of something cozy and so distinctly fae that it would tempt me to go out into the forest to see if I could catch sight of them myself. The image that sticks with me the most is the warm glow of hearth fires coming from the knotholes in tree trunks. Pure magic.

While it wasn't my favorite entry in the series - mostly due to the fact that the unique dynamic between the foppish, devil-may-care Wendell and the practical, scholarly Emily felt a bit damaged - I still enjoyed the story and will eagerly gobble up any additional installments. I would give it a 3.5/5, but I'll round it up to 4.

Thank you, NetGalley, for the opportunity to pre-read this book and share my opinions on it.

A fantastic conclusion to a wonderful series. Emily Wilde's Compendium of Lost Tales takes place primarily in the Faerie realm, as they try to establish Wendall's rule over his kingdom. It once again straddles the line between cozy and dark academia vibes, and Emily is a delightful protagonist that you love to root for. If you enjoyed the previous two books, then have no fear, this one will be just as enjoyable.

I very much have enjoyed the previous 2 Emily Wilde books so I was very excited to finally make it into Wendell’s kingdom in this one. Emily and Wendell arrive and have to deal with the aftermath of Wendell’s stepmother and their usual adventures begin. I loved seeing Wendell in his home and taking his role as king. Emily once again is there to save the day with her knowledge and stories. It was a very enjoyable read but I’m a little disappointed in the abrupt ending but I’m hoping there will be another book!

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this book!!