3.5*

“If Wendell’s stepmother has us slain before I have a chance to contribute to the scholarly debate, I will be very disappointed.”

Meep! This is not the rating I thought I’d be giving this book. It is by no means terrible and I loved being back in the Emily Wilde world, but when the first two books were first five-star reads for me, anything less than another five stars was going to be a bit disappointing.

I definitely enjoyed the first half more. While it did feel a little bit slow to get going, there were so many lovely Emily/Wendell moments that had me grinning ear to ear and gleefully kicking my feet. Wendell is still so HOPELESSLY in love with Emily, and now that they are back in his own realm, there’s no limit to the ways he can demonstrate it. Also those moments where Emily is threatened and he switches from golden retriever to “touch her and die” in half a second flat… *chef’s kiss*.

Becoming queen of a fae realm has done nothing to quell Emily’s academic curiosity, and even as they navigate the fraught political landscape that Wendell has returned to, her mind is still constantly churning thinking of the research value of everything around her. I must also note as someone who works in a research library and does shifts on the special collections desk, I realised during the chapters where Emily is at Trinity College that she is exactly the type of academic I complain about after said shifts. Make of that what you will. 😂

And yet… while I know that this is the crux of Emily’s character, this is where things started to fall down for me a bit. It all got a bit too academic. While the series has always suggested the connection between stories and the lives of the Folk, so much of the focus became the parallels between one particular story Emily tracked down, and Wendell’s own situation within his kingdom. Everything was about using those parallels to solve the issue at hand… and the issues were solved so easily!

Now that Emily is under Wendell’s protection within Faerie, a lot of the dangers from the last two books just didn’t apply. While I loved the way the plot in this book tied in with and revisited some of the events from the previous two, everything felt like it just went exactly to plan. Emily never had to think on her feet and Wendell never had to come to her rescue (I was so waiting for a journal entry written by him, like we got in each of the other books!).

This is not to say that there was nothing shocking or surprising in the whole entire book – that is definitely not the case! But I would have loved to have seen a bit more of Emily and Wendell (and friends) having to work for their results, rather than everything basically being handed to them on a platter. Having said that, it is still my favourite series of 2024 (while the book will not be released until next week, I read the ARC in December) and this book definitely did not put a damper on that. I will still be recommending it to everyone.

“If there is one subject upon which Wendell and I will never agree, it is the wisdom of attempting to drag a cat into Faerie.”



Academia and faeries are not what you would normally expect to go together. But like strawberry and vinegar, somehow they do in Canadian author Heather Fawcett’s Emily Wilde’s Compendium of Lost Tales.



“He had gone still upon first sight of the door, so much so that he might have been some gilded illustration in a storybook, except that his cloak billowed at the hem, stirred by the salt breeze, which also tugged at the golden hair falling into his eyes.”



In Fawcett’s third novel of the Emily Wilde series, academic and dryadologist (a professor of faeries and similar creatures) Emily returns with her captivating journals and adventures. Joined again by her now fiance and fae Wendell, her loyal dog Shadow, and Wendell’s faerie-cat Orga, Emily documents their next expedition to dethrone the queen of Wendell’s realm. Their previous expeditions were dangerous, but when she becomes the faerie queen and tries to document the magical inhabitants and how their realm functions, the danger becomes life-threatening for Emily and Wendell. Can Emily and Wendell combine their knowledge to solve the mystery before they lose everything?



“…golden eyes glittering against her black fur, which rippled strangely, like smoke trapped within cat-shaped glass.”



Written with academic footnotes and epistolary structure, Emily Wilde’s Compendium of Lost Tales continues Fawcett’s popular series with her unique style and captivating descriptions. Never have footnotes been so entertaining and leave you wishing they were, in fact, real. However, in the third novel of the series, the chapters (or days) are longer than the previous two novels, which slows down the pacing and stilts the tension a couple of times. One of the best aspects of the first novel, Emily Wilde’s Encyclopedia of Faeries, is the short and snappy chapters. However, this review could easily fall into a debate on how long a chapter should be in a novel. Beyond the length, the world-building that continues in Fawcett’s third novel is impeccable. There are familiar characters (human and fae) and animals that might as well be human with their hilarious behaviour. Oxford University, each new location, realm or door are described with such evocative detail that readers can easily immerse themselves into the 1910s and Emily’s world.



“Though I’d expected to find it here, one can never be certain of faerie doors…”



Fawcett fills her novel with intelligent dialogue, sparkling magic and an antagonist who is easily feared. The wintery landscape adds bite to the danger Emily and Wendell face in his reclaimed realm and is the perfect cool down from a hot summer’s day. Bringing back one of Emily’s fae acquaintances from the previous novels was a nice touch and added a bit of humour to some dark scenes. Who wouldn’t love a faerie friend who delivered them baked goods? But the stand-out character for this reviewer is Orga, the faerie cat. A cat with attitude and a little something different.



“Well! I have a great deal to recount since I last opened this journal, and I scarcely know how to feel about any of it!”



Emily Wilde’s Compendium of Lost Tales is a fun escape that expands on Emily’s relationship with Wendall and gives the reader a bit more background on both characters. Although, like any series, the best way to experience the continued story is by reading each in order, Emily Wilde’s Compendium of Lost Things can be enjoyed on its own. The Australian cover is filled with whimsy and draws you to open the pages as if you are under a magical spell. Heather Fawcett’s Emily Wilde’s Compendium of Lost Tales is for lovers of fantasy fiction, adult faerie romances, dark-academia books (although this isn’t quite so dark), and immersive worlds.

I’ve been trying to pinpoint exactly what is so charming about the Emily Wilde series and I’ve come to the conclusion that the same magic found in Shirley Barber’s faerie illustrations sits within these pages. The magic in those drawings that enchanted me for hours as a child has woven itself through Fawcett’s stories and into Emily Wilde’s adventures.

This is how I imagine the faerie realms to be: full of mischievous folk hanging from trees, riddles within words within tales, doors that lead to unexpected places and fair folk who specialise in everything from death to butter magic.

Firstly, a huge thank you to Hachette Aus & NZ and NetGalley for providing me with an e-ARC.

What an amazing journey this book was. This was arguably the best in the series for me. While it still kept its roots of historical fiction, I adored the immersion into the fantasy aspects of this story. The world-building of Faerie was highly descriptive, and made the perfect setting. The pacing also felt more steady than the previous books which was a welcome change.

In the previous two books, I didn’t feel overly engaged with any characters, however, I really felt Emily’s character growth throughout the story, and ended up really liking her by the end. Wendell was much more involved in this book, but Emily still stole the show.
I’m actually sad that this is potentially the last in the series!

This was the best reminder of how perfect the writing in this series is! It's so whimsical, with gorgeous and stunny prose describing the faerie places Emily (and co.) explore throughout the book — juxtaposed with scary, horrifying and cruel fae who are not the beautiful high fae that are found in most books. The writing has made me NEED more, and now I want to reread the previous books in the series and check out one of Heather Fawcett's other books (which are for younger audiences).
In addition to the beautiful writing (which also contributed to the amazing worldbuilding), I loved the storyline of this one as Emily deals with her newfound title of Queen while having to figure out how to fight and remove a curse placed by the old queen. This was less cosy than I remember the series being, not as low stakes and with more action, however I did still enjoy some cosy vibes just from the beauty of the writing.
Many of my favourite characters returned in this book, with a few new ones and it was great to be reunited with them all. Herein lies my only issue, in that at times I got very confused over who characters were so I would have loved a page where I could reference who each character is (this is re. my eARC, this may have been changed for the final version). There are quite a few named characters so it was just too many names for me, and there were some that I remained confused about for the entire book. But aside from that, this was the perfect last book for me to read in 2024 🩷

Thanks to NetGalley, Heather Fawcett, and Hachette Australia & New Zealand | Orbit for gifting me this eARC in exchange for an honest review

I was utterly in love with book 1 and 2 of this series, and I will always love the charm that oozes from Wendell and the comfort that we can feel between Emily and Wendell. However I think I really struggled with the plot pacing with this third instalment, and for the first half it really felt like not much was happening that felt necessary of a whole new book- which pains me to say! It took me a really long time to make my way through this and I don’t feel like this book truly ~needed~ to exist? Wendell wasn’t often present, and it was a lot, a lot, a lot, of inner ramblings of Emily which sometimes felt directionless and like she had lost her self assurance that she had in previous books. The end did feel easily tied up, and I unfortunately just felt really emotionally checked out. I’m happy enough with the ending, love our animal side kicks, but it unfortunately read a bit dryly for me.

I really enjoyed this ending!!! I’m used to listening to the audio books so found it challenging to read the physical as it was harder to keep up with. However, still love the story and characters so much! I think it was a good length, fast paced, funny (there were comments from Emily that had me laughing with tears!). I wasn’t ever bored and I was constantly on edge waiting to see what was happening next. I love this series, I’ll miss the characters and the world dearly.

This is without a doubt, a 5-star series.
The writing, the characters, the plot, the world building, the creativity, it’s all just beautiful.
I do have to regretfully admit this was my least favourite of the three, and that is because the beginning was extremely slow and uneventful. I found it was much better after about 70% and thoroughly enjoyed the ending which really pulled this to a 4. Still a great read and I’m so grateful to have read this early, but do wish it was as fabulous as the previous two books.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hachette Australia & New Zealand for the early reader copy.

This has been one of my favourite series to read and was excited to receive a copy early! It was so great that our favourite characters from the previous series all made appearances and in a way that fit the story.

Although the pacing of the book started out slowly it built up to the ending very nicely and I enjoyed that there were twists and didn’t go as expected. Fawcett provided us with a realistic POV from Emily as a mortal in faerie.

I throughly enjoyed the interactions between Wendell and Emily, especially Wendell’s letters to Emily!

This was a great (potentially) final book in the series that kept up the coziness and world building like the previous books. I look forward to any future books Fawcett creates!

This is the third book in the Emily Wilde series, and it was lovely to be back with our cast of magical characters and scholarly souls on another adventure in faerie. This instalment felt more like a slow burn to me, with quite low stakes in the early chapters. Emily is finding her feet in her new realm while Wendell has some pesky loose ends to tend to. The action increases as we get further into the story however, and ultimately this was a comforting read. While not my favourite in the series, it held the same warmth and magic that I was seeking. Fawcett does a fantastic job of making the side-characters just as intriguing as our main cast, and the footnotes expanding on stories and lore only help to enhance the world we’ve been invited into. A reminder to trust in the power that you can bring to a room, when you stand as your full self.
Thank you to NetGalley and Hachette Australia & New Zealand for the early reader copy. Review to be posted to FishbirdCentral.com closer to publication date.

Wow! Felt real special that I was approved to read this before release. The same wholesome academic adventurous spirit as the first and second book. Emily has her work cut out for her but she never gives up.
Wendell and Emily’s relationship is as sweet and strong as ever. He is reasonable and not controlling. He showers her with practical gifts that help her adjust to her new role.

Every moment in Fairie is so enchanting. The descriptions are quite intriguing. I also love the historical fiction side. The plots twists held me captive and I had to consume it ASAP.

Quick plot: Emily and Wendell return to his kingdom newly engaged to take back the throne. Where is the old queen? What has she done to the kingdom?

The layout of the chapters is nice, not too long and the floral header is a cute extra.

Thanks to NetGalley for the eARC in return for this review.

Emily Wildes Compendium of Lost Tales by Heather Fawcett
Publish Date: Jan 14th 2025

The Emily Wilde series, including ‘Emily Wildes Compendium of Lost Tales’, written by Heather Fawcett, are in my opinion, the perfect cosy fantasy/academia reads.

In ‘Compendium of Lost Tales’, the third book in this series, we are reacquainted with our charming heroes, Emily and Wendell (and let’s not forget the furry sidekicks Shadow and Orga) as they work to find their place in Faerie. The two battle prejudice and curses alike, with the help of friends we have met along the way, and of course, Emily’s scholarly ways.

My imagination has run rampart as I have read these books, and that is a testament to the authors enchanting world building. I find myself savouring these books, because who wouldn’t want to be hanging out with Emily as she solves her fae related problems with a good book, a good dog and a good man by her side.

For me personally, I found this book lacked a bit of the awe and excitement from Emily as she explores, as well as banter between herself and Wendell, which we experienced in the first two books of the series. Saying that however, this book is a bit more fast paced, has a bit more danger, and it has Wendell’s letters to Emily, all of which I enjoyed.
I do not know if this is the final book of the series, but I hope we do get to see these characters again.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hatchette Australia & New Zealand for the opportunity to read this ARC.

In this third instalment, we rejoin Emily and Wendell as they return to his Faerie kingdom to reclaim his throne and restore the lands. The basis for this portion of their adventure is that events in Faerie are based on tales previously told, and so Emily finds herself on a quest to track down sections of lost tales and interpret them correctly.

If you enjoyed book one and two, then you will find that book three stays true to that same recipe of cozy fantasy, light academia and two characters who are just as likely to find themselves lost down a tangent of thought.

Wendell has become more affectionate as the series has progressed and this was a nice development.

Even though I loved book one, I didn't find myself enjoying book two or three quite as much. For this instalment in particular I struggled to pick it up and continue reading it. I don't know if it's that my mood was not quite right or that this form of story telling with the journaling was not for me.

I did find that Emily was a lot more introspective in this book in particular, and a lot less confident in her knowledge and it may be that facet that had me enjoying this book less than the other two. I also felt that there was less dialogue despite there now being more characters involved in the story. Or maybe it was that there were longer periods of less dialogue and rambling thoughts. However, the dialogue that was included was a reward in itself, especially between Wendell and Em.

Thankyou to Hachette Australia & New Zealand and Orbit books for a review copy in exchange for my thoughts.

I’m so sad to have finished this book because, as far as I know, this marks the end of the series! Emily has firmly secured her place as one of my all-time favourite protagonists. She’s such a strong, capable character, and this step in her journey is no exception. I’ve never once doubted her ability to face whatever challenges come her way, which is such a refreshing change compared to other female leads. Emily and Wendell make such an amazing team, and I’ll miss them both dearly. Wendell’s love for Emily is so deep and unwavering, and his ability to match her wit and stubbornness while always showing her that he adores her exactly as she is makes their dynamic so special. I just love that about them!

That said, this book didn’t quite have the same magic for me as the first one, and even less so than the second. I found it a bit less engaging overall. Despite the high stakes, I never felt much tension—by this point in the story, it’s clear that Emily can solve almost any problem, so the sense of danger didn’t feel as sharp. I think it’s also partly because of the direction the story has taken, and with Emily and Wendell no longer having the rivalry that made their relationship so captivating in the first book, things felt a bit different.

That being said, if you’re a fan of the series, there’s still plenty to love here! It’s a fun and satisfying conclusion to a series I’m genuinely sad to see end. I could honestly read about Emily and Wendell’s adventures forever.

The final instalment of the Emily Wilde series and I’m bereft this is the end of a wonderfully whimsical series. Say it isn’t so, Heather Fawcett. Picking up from the previous book, Emily and Wendell find the door to Wendall’s realm to reclaim his throne. There’s faerie court intrigue, Emily’s new role as faerie queen and Wendall’s stepmother has cursed the realm.

Alas I think this was the weakest of the trilogy with a bit of an anti-climactic ending as the villain’s 180 felt insincere (we are in faerie after all). The 25% was slow-going, and lacked the banter between classic grouchy, introverted Emily and charming extroverted Wendall that I put it down a few times. But once the adventure picked up, I was hooked. I chuckled so many times with the dry humour of Wendall’s letters to his ‘dragon-breathing’ Em and Em’s journal entries. Cameos from old friends were also a welcome presence to aid Emily in her quest.

With its cosy world-building and captivating characters, this the final magical adventure in a must-read series. I really hope this isn’t the last of Emily and Wendall.

Thanks to Hachette Australia & New Zealand and NetGalley for the ARC.

The third book in the Emily Wilde's series is a cosy read. The vivid descriptions are a highlight of the novel, great for anyone who needs something a little fast paced.

Emily Wilde’s compendium of lost tales
By Heather Fawcett
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The third installment of the Emily Wilde series was an absolute delight! This book had it all: action, growth, and love. It was such a joy to see Wendell really come into his own—watching him step up and shine was a highlight. And of course, Emily—while she made progress in stepping outside of her comfort zone, I couldn’t help but wonder, could she ever truly escape her scholarly ways? Her intellectual nature is such an integral part of who she is!

I found myself laughing out loud at times, swooning on the next page, and then feeling stressed and worried about my favorite characters in the blink of an eye. The pacing kept me on my toes, and the emotional rollercoaster was a thrilling ride from start to finish.

A big thank you to NetGalley for the ARC! This book was an absolute treat.

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This book gives cottagecore vibes and is perfect for those that love faeries in historical fiction. I read the first two books earlier this year and personally didn’t love them (I thought it was just my mood back in April), unfortunately, this also wasn’t for me. This book is still interesting and beautifully done, I just couldn’t fall in love with it.

A perfectly whimsical conclusion to the light academia series about a scholar of folklore and the fae prince she loves. Emily Wilde has spent her entire life studying fairies but now she must embark on her most dangerous academic project yet: studying the inner workings of the faerie realm as its queen. Along with her former academic rival now finance she is immediately thrust into the deadly intrigue of the courts.

Here she finds a beautiful nightmare filled with scholarly treasures with which to document and avoid for survival. Emily has been obsessed with faerie stories her entire life but she feels just as out of place here as she did in the mortal world. With a deadly curse placed upon the land it will take all her fiancé’s magic and her knowledge of stories to unravel the mystery before they lose everything they hold dear.

It would seem our awkward professor feels just as out of touch in the faerie lands as she does the mortal world which is equally endearing as it is understanding. If one were to find themselves whisked away to become a fair queen it would be a dream come true and a waking nightmare attempting to navigate court politics and faerie tricks.

A book so endlessly enchanting and vividly descriptive that you’ll walk away half ensorcelled as if you truly had walked unknowingly through a faerie door. If only there was a way to stay there without the story ending but even so it was a perfectly enchanting ending.

𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐇𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞 𝐀𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐚 (𝐎𝐫𝐛𝐢𝐭) 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐝𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐩𝐲 𝐯𝐢𝐚 𝐍𝐞𝐭𝐆𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐄𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐞'𝐬 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐮𝐦 𝐨𝐟 𝐋𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐓𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐛𝐲 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐅𝐚𝐰𝐜𝐞𝐭𝐭

I absolutely adored the first two Emily Wilde books so was excited to read this one. This book jumps straight into the action with Emily and Wendell heading to his castle to take back the throne. In fact I had to go over the last book to remind myself of the storyline.
However from this action packed start the story slows down a lot in the middle with a lot of courtly intrigue and weeding out of traitors still loyal to the previous queen (Wendell's stepmother) and a curse affecting Wendell's kingdom.
Without spoiling some major plot points some of the major events in the book seem to be glossed over fairly quickly including working out who the traitor is as once they are discovered nothing much happens to them.
I also felt the same about a certain characters death as the incident seemed to be resolved fairly quickly which left it seeming not very heartfelt.
The ending too was a little underwhelming.
Overall I quite enjoyed this book but it felt more like a middle book than the end of a series