Emily Wilde's Compendium of Lost Tales, the final book in this series, did not disappoint!

It is so hard to do a review and not give too much away, while also wanting to tell everything about it.

What I can say is …….there’s a reunion with old friends, Emily is stronger and more confident than ever, trusting in herself to make some really tuff choices after certain events happen, that literally made me want to scream. Emily finds herself fully immersed in the Fae realm, now standing beside Wendell as queen. The stakes are higher than ever when they discover that Wendell's stepmother has cursed the land with a powerful poison that threatens to consume everything unless an unimaginable sacrifice is made.

I was completely swept up in the magic, the high-stakes tension, and, of course, the fantastic relationship between Emily and Wendell. The blend of academic research, folklore, and magic was so well done throughout this trilogy, and this last installment tied everything together beautifully. From the clever banter and academic humor that I've come to love, to the intense action and emotional depth. It had everything I hoped for in a conclusion. The characters, the lore, and the breathtaking world building makes this series unforgettable. The way it all wrapped up felt satisfying. It left me both happy and wanting just a little bit more. A perfect conclusion to a truly enchanting journey!"

If you're a fan of folklore and slow-burn fantasy with complex characters, this book (the entire series) is a must-read!

Thank you Netgalley for allowing me to read this advanced copy.
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Like all the other Emily Wilde books, I ate this one up. This story takes place mostly within Wendell's kingdom and is all about how stories are the stuff the faerie world is made up and how it influences everything that they do. And of course, how our Emily can use that to help solve their problems. Because oh boy do they have a problem in this one. A realm-ending one. I love this series because of just how practical and sensible Emily is, and how absolutely in love with her Wendell is because of it. We get a lot of that in this book. If you like letters that wax poetically about how much he misses Emily when they're apart, you will treasure certain parts of this. I'm genuinely not sure if this is the last book in the series, but it feels like it is and the ending here is wraps up their story nicely.

I am OBSESSED with this Princess Bride esque series! This 3rd installment gave us all of the Emily and Wendall banter readers adore from the first two in the series, but also gave us glimpses into past characters, mortal and faerie. Fawcett's writing style is witty and fun if not a little melodramatic at times, but positively so. This installment was fast paced with an even quicker ending which is the only reason I did not give it Five Stars! I simply wanted more. More Emily, Wendell, Shadow, and all of their friends and fae. Heather Fawcett has made a fan out of me and I will gladly devour anything she writes, especially in Emily Wilde's world!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an advance copy in exchange for honest feedback

After having devoured the first two books in this series, I was desperate to learn what was next for Emily Wilde and her new fiancé Wendell Brambleby. There is a lightness and playfulness between these two characters that I eat up every single time they interact on a page. I really enjoyed how this book tied into the rest of the series and although I am unsure if it is the final book of the series I would be more than happy if this was the ending of their fantastical story. Overall I am a huge fan of all things Emily Wilde and cannot wait for its official release!

Emily will always have my heart. This book was a bit slower for me than the prior two books but I loved living in faerie and being introduced to that aspect more. It was a delight and I just love Emily and Wendell

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Guys - if you haven’t tried the Emily Wilde books yet, DO IT!

I adore this series! It’s my perfect cozy academia/ fantasy setting. The characters remain their charming selves - even though a LOT has happened since book one!
Shadow and Orga are still the cutest sidekicks alive!

Highly recommend! This is a great seasonal read for summer!

Another amazing Emily Wilde adventure! I'm so sad to be leaving this world behind. I love the characters, the world, the story. One of my favorite series for which this is a satisfying conclusion.

Heather Fawcett doesn't miss!!

It's so difficult to review these because I love every one of them so much. There were twists! There were turns! I cried some tears! The ending is so sweet and lovely! Emily and Wendell are obsessed with each other! This book once again takes the reader somewhere new and fresh and deepens our knowledge of the fae in this particular universe! I want this series to go on forever!

This is the third in the Emily Wilde series, and is my favorite of the three. While the first felt a little stiff, and the second felt a bit formulaic (just with added people), this third one shines a bright light. I could really tell that Fawlett had fun with this one, and could sense her confidence in pulling together this plot and emotional journey inside Faerie.

Emily and Wendell have found love and Wendell’s door. They enter his kingdom, but instead of the holiday Em expected, a curse is killing the land. Emily must use all her scholarly skills to find a cure, and this doesn’t always line up with what Wendell thinks is best.

My favorite part was the description and behavior of the butter faerie, but all the glimpses of the fae and their accompanying personalities and politics were wonderful. I also really grew to love Wendell. I didn’t quite buy into their relationship before, but at this point I can’t see how anyone wouldn’t love him. I still don’t know if I like Em or not, and I don’t quite see what charms Wendell about her, but I’m still here for it. This whole series feels like a grown-up version of the books I hunted the library for as a kid—the ones with whimsical magic and cozy adventure. This one carried my attention fully the entire book. I finished it in a day, and was left both satisfied and wanting more.

It's rare that I read a book that makes me want to break out the paints and illustrate, but this one definitely left me itching to create. That’s the highest form of flattery I know for a book. I hope Fawlett continues the series.

Thank you to the author and Del Ray/Ballantine for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Such a fun and exhilarating end to the trilogy. Really enjoyed getting to know Wendell's realm of Silva Lupi and meeting a whole new cast of characters while also getting to see some returning characters. Overall the book really balanced the high stakes plot of saving the kingdom with the quieter interactions between Emily and Wendell and a healthy dose of comedy and dramatics.

Thank you so much for the ARC! I loved this addition to this world! We see a shift from a more scholarly approach, to a shift in faerie politics. It grips you from the beginning, and by the end you want more of Wendell's realm!

The excitement I felt when I was accepted to read the ARC for this book was extreme.

This story continued the overarching plot that had been building up in the first two Emily Wilde books and as such, the tone changed a bit. While Emily is still every inch the scholar we've come to expect the plot took us away from exploring and researching, instead focusing more heavily on faerie politics and her relationship with Wendell.

This book spent the bulk of its time further explaining the realm of the Silva Lupi as Emily navigates being its queen and the challenges that come with inheriting a tumultuous realm. This installment also further explored the use and importance of stories in the fae realms which I greatly enjoyed.

While I still consider this a 5 star read and would definitely recommend this to my friends, I wish more time would have been spent exploring. This book made me realize how much I favored the exploration in the first two books.

One thing I loved about this series in general, that I was happy to see continued, was the rather innocent approach to the physical relationship between Emily and Wendell. As readers, we are offered fade to black moments that allow us to avoid graphic sexual content and are simply informed how these interactions are impacting the characters in question the next day as well as in their relationship as a whole. In essence, we are reminded that the characters are adults who make adult choices without us encroaching too far into the privacy of these characters.

A big thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this novel. This series is definitely going to one of my reading highlights for the year!

I adamantly hope that there will be more books in this series. As the first two were, this book was an absolute delight to read. I found getting to explore Wendell's realm such an interesting expansion on the series.

I love this world that Heather Fawcett has created so much it was difficult to come to terms with this being the final installment. I really enjoyed getting to see Emily (and Wendell) in a new environment as they take on new foes and explore new lands. This book balances Emily working on her own and accepting help from her growing group of friends and family, which was fun to read! We also get to see some glimpses of Poe and Snowbell, who are delightful as always. I adore Shadow and Orga, who got tons of great (and tearjerking) moments throughout. I adore Emily and thought this book's insight into her fears and motivations was fascinating, if not as deep as I'd have liked. And Bambleby is amazing and delightful and odd as usual. I love their relationship and banter.

This one is definitely a lot more plot-heavy and tense than the previous two books, which takes away a bit of the cozy vibes I've come to expect from Fawcett, as well as the character-focused time I love to have. I finished the book feeling a little unsatisfied - one extra chapter for Em and Bambleby to talk privately about her concerns of him changing and her being a queen as well as just to resolve some more of the tension would have done wonders for me as a reader. Otherwise, I had a great reading experience and wish there were 10 more of these books to wrap myself up in. Thank you for the review copy!! <3

I don't particularly have a strong opinion one way or the other on this book, which is usually a bad thing. I did not connect with it as well as I did with the first two. I think partly because the majority of the book takes place in the fairy world, which is intentionally nonsensical and therefore hard to follow. I also felt like it lacked a big climax. There were multiple small hurdles for the main character to overcome, but I did not feel the same need for fixing problems that Emily clearly did.

Emily and Wendell are back, and this time they're taking on Faerie. Emily has ventured into the realm of faeires numerous times before, but always as a researcher, or, on a few unfortunate occasions, as a captive. This time, Emily will be returning as queen. Well, that's the plan anyway. After defeating Wendell's stepmother, the two plan to take control of his ancestral lands. Nothing in Faerie is ever quite that simple, though, and soon Emily realizes they're living out a story all too similar to several she knows. And none of those stories end in a happily ever after. Emily is nothing if not a dedicated scholar, and she knows all too well the power of stories in Faerie. But will she be able to change the narrative when she's the one living in it?

Another excellent Emily Wilde book! Each Emily Wilde novel is just a cozy confection, perfectly prepared and ready for consumption.

𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚: ★ ★ ★ ★
𝗥𝗘𝗟𝗘𝗔𝗦𝗘 𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘: February 11, 2025
𝗔𝗥𝗖 𝗥𝗘𝗩𝗜𝗘𝗪:

I loved this world so much. This is book 3 in the Emily Wilde series and it was just as great as the first two. Heather Fawcett knows how to write in such a way you can vividly imagine everything going on in this book, the writing is beautiful and so well done. If you love a cozy magical world and read this series is most certainly for you. I’m so sad that my book friends have to wait a little while to experience book 3 here but it’s well worth the wait. Place this on your TBR right away and in the meantime, snag the first two and start from there :)

A solid addition to the series. I really enjoy the adventures of Emily Wilde. I think it will appeal to readers of cozy fantasy.

I loved seeing Emily and Wendell’s relationship evolve and deepen in the latest (last?) installment of the Emily Wilde series. The exploration of Wendell’s faerie realm and watching Wendell come into his power was delightful. This series is one of my favorite stormy weather reads, and this book is no exception. It’s cozy and gorgeously detailed.

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For me, Emily’s continued study of faerie felt off the more her relationship with Wendell advanced. Somehow, Emily never seems to grapple with the inherent ethical issues of approaching Wendell and his people as subjects of study in a field that considers them inevitably illogical and other. In this book, in particular, that started to break my suspension of disbelief. While I still enjoyed the novel, part of me wishes there’d been more space given to relationship issues than external plot issues.

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Overall, a lovely finale in a lovely series. I’m going to miss Emily, Wendell, and most of all Shadow.