Member Reviews
I always enjoy reading about the cozy yet perilous life of Emily Wilde. This book didn’t pull any punches when it comes to tension and suspense. It was great to see some characters from the previous books return & it was a joy to see Emily and Wendell’s relationship grow even more. Definitely recommend!
Thanks NetGalley for the advanced copy!
Many thanks to Random House & NetGalley for this ARC! ( All opinions are my own)
This conclusion to the trilogy was my favorite! I loved the first two books; they were so fun and heartwarming. This book was, in my opinion, more emotionally mature but still such an adventure! The mystery of the curse plaguing Wendell's kingdom was so captivating to investigate and I loved spending so much time in the faerie realm. As always, the author creates such intriguing characters and intricate stories when teaching us about the faerie lore. I felt like I was completely immersed in her world, completely oblivious to my own mundane mortal environments. Fawcett's prose really makes you feel comforted and like you are a close friend on this adventure with Emily Wilde. And Wendell is ever so charming, and always makes me laugh at his fussy nature even in the most serious or life-threatening moments. I hope one day we see more of these characters! I'll miss them all.
Full review to be posted after publication date
In this third volume of Emily Wilde’s forays into the worlds of the Fae, Emily takes it upon herself to try to solve the mystery of a plague laying waste to Wendell’s kingdom. This story of Emily and Wendell lives up to the expectation set forth in the first two books, cute, quirky and full of adventure.
*A free advanced copy was given by NetGalley in exchange for a review.
Very happy with the latest installment in this series! I'm a lifelong lover of fairy tales and I found myself as enthralled with the stories within this story as the main plot itself. I only wish Emily was becoming warmer toward Wendell. I know she's the self-possessed scholar, but that bit is getting old. If anything, her pursuit of fairy knowledge is only making her stiffer. I really wished that by the third book she would have loosened up a little. I'm starting to get annoyed with her.
This series has slowly turned from something delightfully new into a comfort. That's not a complaint, though at times I found myself yearning for a deeper emotional connection. It feels over time that Wendell's otherness and Emily's briskness have created a bit of a stasis between them, even though we see through events that their relationship is growing. That's a relatively minor quibble though (as is the absence of a new creature who can fill the gap Poe left when they moved). The setting and humor continue to delight, and I'll keep reading as long as Fawcett keeps writing!
I was so excited to receive an advanced copy of this book! I've loved the last two installments, and this one did not disappoint. The first book in the series is still my favorite, but this still found a way to feel fresh and new.
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In addition to the atmosphere these books create, what I really loved was the journey Emily goes on throughout the story. In the past two novels she has been so confident, for good reason as she is a leader in her field, and I've loved her confidence. In this, with her spending so much time away from the human world, of course she would be a little unsure. She gains confidence in herself and her relationship. The way the various characters dress and what that says about them was really great.
The pacing was exactly what I expected for this series. Not very fast-paced, but there was enough tension and high enough stakes to keeps things interesting. I loved all the little character moments.
Overall a great way to wrap up the series, but if there was more I would definitely read it.
Emily Wilde does it again! Heather Fawcett's writing and this series never fails to make me feel cosy, even in the summer season right now.
Though more plot heavy than the previous books, the characters retain their signature traits. Emily's tendency to priortise scholoary discovery over all else, enough to tamp her fear of pretty much anything fairy; and Wendell and his aloofness is every situation (even dire ones). I absolutely love their character dynamic, and Emily actually shows some emotion outside of academica in this book (of course this was provoked by Wendell)!
I enjoyed that we were further able to explore the fairy world, especially of Wendell's realm. There is something about Heather Fawcett's writing that makes everything about fairies so perfectly natural and real. Sometimes I feel like one of those "foolish mortals" as described in the book as I read Emily's Journals.
This series was an experience for me, and a first venture into cosy fantasy, and I could not be more satified. Although I feel bittersweet for the ending of the series, the ending was perfect, and I cannot think of any other way it could have gone. Thank you so much Random House for the ARC of this book, I cannot describe how ecstatic I'd been to get to read this 6 months before release date!
They say all goods things must come to an end...
Currently throwing a hissy fit because this series is over. From the first book Emily captured my heart and it has been a delight to follow her on her adventures.
I knew an ending for these characters was going to be tough because I genuinely did not wish to part from them, though Fawcett did an excellent job. She not only managed to wrap up the plot but threw in lots of characters from the first two novels that I appreciated revisiting (my sweet little Poe).
I felt as though Emily and Wendell's relationship only deepened throughout this novel and I appreciated getting to know Wendell and his personality more as he opened up in his home realm.
I will forever be yearning for a series like this to sweep me away again. I really can't recall loving a series more than this one. Bittersweet to see it end.
Fingers still crossed that we might get editions of the Encyclopedia, Map and a Compendium!!! 🙏
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC. All views are my own.
I'm having trouble deciding if I took longer to read this third installment because I found it less interesting or because I just had too much going on in life to put mental energy into reading. Who knows. Maybe it's just my mental state right now. The more I think back on what happened the more warm and fuzzy I feel, so I still say 5 stars.
We had all the classic elements of an Emily Wilde book: sweet friendships, creative world-building, creepy faeries, and lots of time with our favorite scholar, Emily. Bonus points for the starring role of our dear Shadow, especially at the end. I also enjoyed the introduction of the mortal characters in Faerie. The author did a great job of seamlessly reminding the readers what happened in previous books without rehashing too much. The "journal entries" in this one got a little more personal and less academic, which I enjoyed. It's necessary for the story being told in this book, and I think it shows some growth for Emily as well, to allow a softer side in her writings.
My only complaint is that I'm still not totally convinced that Emily and Wendell love each other. I think maybe that stems from Emily's nature to be less romantic, and since we spend almost all of our time in Emily's POV the natural consequence is that the romance takes a backseat. On the occasions that she lets her feelings show, she says all the right things, but love feels more like an afterthought than a key touchstone of Emily's life. The story still works, and the lesser role of the romance may actually work well for a lot of readers.
This book was one of my most anticipated reads for next year, so I was ecstatic to be able to read the ARC!
This book started right where book two left off, so we were plunged headfirst into adventures in Faerie, where Emily is now ready to assume her role as queen. The world that Heather Fawcett has created is so charming and fascinating that whenever I sat down to read the book I felt warm and cozy.
I love the way that these books are formatted, in that all of the fantastical going-ons are presented from a very academic and matter-of-fact viewpoint. It is very different than other fantasy books I have read, but in a way that I love! Emily makes such an entertaining narrator, and I loved seeing her growth in this book, especially regarding her relationship with Wendell. She has a fantastic arch from book one to book three.
This book felt like a long fairytale you would find in a storybook. I thought the plot was very cleverly executed, and the pacing was good. None of the books in this series have been page-turners for me, but not in a bad way. They are beautifully written and very intentional.
I am sad the series is at an end, but perhaps there will be more to come from Faerie at some point in the future!
Thank you to Random House Publishing and Netgalley for the e-ARC!
Why do I feel like this story is not over? I have been immersed into Emily Wilde's world for three books now. The second book is still my favorite by far. The ending of this book left me unfulfilled. Heather perfectly continued the creation of this world and into a new fairy realm that we only had glimpse of in the second book. I am assuming the book only ended like this because Heather plans to continue the story line through Ariadna? Or one can at least hope.
Big thanks to the publishers for allowing me access to the ARC version to finish the story line!
It's such a delight when a book you expect to be wonderful lives up to those lofty expectations! Reading the third Emily Wilde book felt like coming home after a long trip. The continued evolution of Emily and Wendell's relationship continues to be a joy to witness, and the main 'adventure' of this book -- saving Wendell's realm from a curse/his stepmother -- was equal parts fascinating (more faerie lore! yes, please!) and thrilling (there absolutely was a point when I flung my phone across the bed in disbelief). The unexpected star of this book, though, was Shadow. Oh, my heart -- loyal, trusting, protective, Shadow! Anyone who's had a dog (or any pet, really) will have their heartstrings tugged upon most mightily.
In any case -- Heather Fawcett has done it again. A brilliant story, brilliantly told, full of warmth and wonder.
My favorite cozy fall cottagecore series. The pacing to me moved along much faster in this one and I was not mad. I love wendell.
Thank you to Net Galley and Random House for providing me with a free arc copy in exchange for an honest review.
This series continues to delight and enchant! I have been a fan of Emily and Wendells's adventures since the first time i read them, and this book does not disappoint.
Thank you to NetGalley at the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This series continues to be cute. I admit that I didn't like this volume as much as the pervious two, but it was still enjoyable. This installment is mostly spent in the realm of Faerie, which is largely nonsensical, and when it does follow rules, they have an incredibly strange logic to them. I understand that's the point of the Fae; their behavior is capricious, but as a practical person, this frustrates me. I wouldn't last 5 minutes, and I found I much preferred the prior books' focus on the problems that arise when the faerie realm intrudes on the "real world," as opposed to spending the time fully immersed in the world of Faerie.
Emily, of course, endearingly finds it all fascinating from an academic research standpoint, but is also smart enough to be concerned about the risks as well. Risks and consequences do, naturally, ensue, and as usual Emily must use her scholarship to combat them. This installment does continue one of my favorite trends of the series, which is that obstacles are overcome largely via knowledge, research, and preparation. Yes, Emily demonstrates courage as well, but she is able to be brave because she has some evidence backing up her strategies.
Essentially, if you liked the other two, you'll enjoy this one, and if you haven't read the first two books, you should. This book isn't a good place to start the series, as it references a lot from the prior stories. I think I read somewhere that this is meant to be the conclusion to the series. If so, I think it ends nicely, but it also ends in such a way that it would be easy to continue Emily and Wendell's story if the author wanted to. I'm sure I'd read a 4th book if it was written, but I'm perfectly content to have the series wrap up here.
First, a big thanks to NetGalley and RandomHouse for letting me read this before its release date!
This was the first of of the Emily Wilde series I've read instead of listened to. Unfortunately my reading gets more regularly interrupted than my audiobook and there are some things I wonder if they follow.
The story follows Emily and Wendell into Fairy to take back his kingdom, which then leads us all over and back into previous books, so I do recommend reading books 1 and 2 first as you'll recognize many characters. Also, if you liked books 1 and 2, I think you'll also like book 3.
And I will admit, myeyes welled up with tears about a certain household pet in the series!
Overall, the book was enjoyable and we get to see more of Fairy and understand how it exists and operates and it ties firmly into the series, so as otherworldly as Fairy may be, readers are rooted in.
In my ebook version, notes and insights about certain topics were at the end of the chapter, while I didnt feel this way with the audiobooks. The audiobook felt like these notes flowed where the topic was and was more of an aside? I would like to have seen that at the bottom of the appropriate ebook page instead of the end.
I absolutely adore the Emily Wilde series and this was no exception. It was a difficult start for me since it had been several months since I read the last one and this picks up right where it left off so I did have to refresh some of the details, but once I got into the heart of the book, I was right back in the heart of what I love about these books. At no point did I predict where the story was about to go, but I was always so engaged with the lore and history woven through that I feel like I learned something while falling even more in love with Emily and Wendell. Their romance still had me giggling and kicking my feet, though I did find myself wanting more of it towards the end. But still though I wouldn't necessarily call this a cozy fantasy as there are some high stakes, it does invoke that warm feeling of coming home again.
Thank you to Net Galley and Random House for providing me with a free arc copy in exchange for an honest review.
3.5 stars rounded up to 4
I wasn't sure how I felt about this book, and I needed a little time to think about it, but here I am.
The beginning gave me a false start, and I had to start again because it literally just drops you into the middle of the story that we left in the second book, no build-up or anything. Not necessarily bad, but slightly jarring since I didn't re-read the second before I began.
I enjoyed the book, I did. Classic Emily and Wendell, the same back-and-forth and elements and fantasy stuff. But it also seemed like there wasn't a lot of story. It was missing something from the first two books, some fun and inventiveness. I can't put my finger on it, but it just wasn't as exciting for me. I do hope there are more books, but if this is the last, it's a serviceable, if somewhat tame, ending to the story.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for providing an ARC of this book.
***This review will be published on GoodReads two weeks before publication.
I decided to reread Book 2 before starting so that I could have recent events fresh in my mind, since it picks up exactly where Book 2 left off. I have no regrets fully immersing myself in Faerie in this way. It's such a delightful world to be in! (Not, you know, Faerie itself, which is appropriately horrifying as it is beautiful, but this magical historical setting.) I loved getting to explore Where the Trees Have Eyes itself for an extended period, and meeting new denizens of that realm - especially Wendell's annoying little sister. And oh man, it's not all fun and games and coziness this time! We're having some adventures with dire stakes that glued me to the book - and only the best scholar of fairy lore in all England can study hard enough to save the day. Loved it, cried a bit at the end, and I think I need to buy copies of this trilogy and treasure them forever.
I enjoyed this book quite a lot! I love books that deal with folklore, but Fawcett's works appeal to me in particular because she mentions the lesser figures in folklore while many books dealing with faerie only write about the royalty. This being an integral aspect of all three novels is a nice change of pace.
I also quite enjoyed discovering Wendell's realm and the magic contained within it. After reading through the previous two books, I believe this is a nice ending to the series and will continue to recommend it to anyone who will listen!
P.S. I'm so glad we got to see Poe and Snowbell again!