Reviews with content warning for Cursing - Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries

At first I was not taken by the "matter of fact" and neutral approach of the story. I thought the first two chapters were dry and simple, but I can attest that is the author writing the world through the eyes of the main character and is very apropos. By chapter three, I was smitten and devoured every page.
As a lover of fae of all kinds, I was tickled and delighted by the smoothness and almost natural involvement of the fae in the story. None of it was out of place (which is saying something, given the nature of some of the scenes) and it all blended and came into place perfectly. With such expressions of high fantasy, it is hard to mistake some parts

like an animal cloak that melts in the heat, but reluctantly gives the wearer what they need

as being absurd and not belonging, like suddenly seeing a majestic and shining pegasus in a normal field. This magic, however, was laced in so naturally that it naturally belonged and was wonderful.

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emilywemily6's review against another edition

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adventurous dark lighthearted mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

I really enjoyed this book! It was a cozy historical fantasy- which is the perfect recipe. The book felt slow and meandering with no real plot throughout, only numerous subplots that all resolved rather quickly. Whenever I was reading, I was intrigued and couldn’t put it down. When I wasn’t reading, however, I didn’t feel a particular pull to pick it up. The variety of fae was fascinating and I kept thinking it might just be real. I loved the information Emily was able to glean as well as the unanswered questions. I loved Wendell too and appreciated their relationship. A really delightful book!

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littleflowerfairy's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I'm going to be honest; in my personal opinion, most popular fae fantasy books don't depict fae accurately. They're hardly ever like how they're depicted in folklore. People tend to just use the term 'fae' to as either a catch-all for any type of mythical creature, or the term for only a very specific, beautiful, human-like species. This may not bother most people, and there's nothing inherently wrong with it, but as a fae enthusiast frequently doing research for my own fae book, it really bothers me when 'fae' is used very loosely.

Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries does none of that. Heather Fawcett weaves a beautiful story that combines the typical mystery and mischief of fae, with her own twists and addition that make sense and really feel like something you'd read about in an old book about faerie lore! The way she describes the fae and how they interact with our world is incredible and makes for such beautiful imagery! Though I read this in the height of summer, I almost felt like I could step right into the wintery landscape.

Honestly it took me a bit to get really into the book, the first half felt a little slow, but by the second half I was thoroughly hooked!! I loved the characters, the atmosphere, and the feeling like I was reading through an old journal nearly lost to time. It was seriously such a cozy read to curl up with at the end of the day! I can't wait for the 2nd book!!

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beautifulpaxielreads's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries (hence Emily) was pretty much a delight from start to finish.

Set in the early years of the twentieth century, it follows the titular Emily, one of the foremost scholars in the study of faeries, rivalled only by her colleague, the infuriatingly handsome and charming Wendell Bambleby, who for all of his charisma Emily finds just the slightest bit uncanny.

Emily has just arrived in the tiny village of Hrafnsvik on the island of Ljosland (a fictional place which from the descriptions of the landscape and character names seems to be based on Iceland) from her native England, where she intends to research the lives of the island's faerie-folk for the world-first faerie encyclopedia, which is very near to completion.

She is also not a people person, preferring to spend her time either buried in paperwork or trampling through the countryside, making a study of the beings that look set to be her life's work. The village folk of Hrafnsvik do not know what to make of her and her - to them - odd behaviour.

Emily thinks her trip to Hrafnsvik will be like all the other field trips she has made - uneventful and productive. But she is soon to be proved wrong in the most spectacular, infuriating and heartwarming of ways.

Is it obvious how much I enjoyed this? Freya Marske, the author of A Marvellous Light, describes Emily thus:

...winter-sunshined, sharp-tongued and footnoted academia, full of field trips and grumpy romance.

I wholeheartedly agree with Marske that Emily is all of these things - and so much more. It's a grumpy romance between two opposite-minded but somehow compatible individuals (no, I won't tell you who, that would spoil), it's a well-thought-out fantasy of what faerie scholarship would look like if faeries actually existed and were studied, and most of all, it's the story of a young woman learning to accept love and friendship into her life. Although it's never stated explicitly in the book - it would be an anachronism given the time period in which the novel is set - I, like others, believe Emily's behaviour and characteristics to be neurodivergent, though specifics are unclear.

What is clear is that reading about Emily's adventures was a great deal of fun for me, and I can't wait to see what she and Bambleby get up to in the sequel.

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katievallin's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful informative lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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