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nisaak's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
This was mostly cozy except for one part so I can’t 100% recommend it as cozy fiction but I loved, loved loved it. I’m so glad there are two more books in this series!!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Body horror
gillian_aftanas's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping, Murder, Blood, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence
Moderate: Gore, Animal cruelty, Confinement, Death, Grief, and Animal death
Minor: Child death, Mental illness, Torture, Vomit, and Cursing
justinareads's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Body horror, Blood, and Kidnapping
kshertz's review against another edition
mysterious
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? No
3.5
I feel like it had all the elements I love so I’m not sure what didn’t click! I was stoked to see neurodivergence and the romance for them. Maybe not enough romance for me, maybe too much information on fairies? I’m not sure but I wasn’t swept away by it. Often I was just reading and not really retaining all the stories being told. Perhaps it was the narration? Either way, I’m going to pass on continuing with the series.
Content Warnings
Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, and Gaslighting
pandemonicbaby's review against another edition
adventurous
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Never underestimate the power of an autistic bitch with a special interest in faeries
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Murder, Gore, Grief, Confinement, Death, and Kidnapping
Minor: Child death, Animal death, Cursing, and Alcohol
hopeless_kitten's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
informative
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I had tried to read faerie genre books before and I could not sink my foot into it completely. This book has by far been my favorite.
Emily Wilde is a woman (30 years old) who struggles with the theatrics of academia and being taken seriously as a researcher. As a person not in academia, but has great appreciation for research, this was an interesting read. There were words here and there that went over my head at first, but overall the theme was a good read.
Wendell is a character and I enjoyed his presence. Themarriage proposal scene was quite hilarious and it seemed quite on brand for Emily to wind up in another situation like that.
Emily Wilde is a woman (30 years old) who struggles with the theatrics of academia and being taken seriously as a researcher. As a person not in academia, but has great appreciation for research, this was an interesting read. There were words here and there that went over my head at first, but overall the theme was a good read.
Wendell is a character and I enjoyed his presence. The
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror
Minor: Child death
theintrovertsbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Self harm, Violence, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Body horror, Medical content, and Kidnapping
Minor: Murder, Sexual content, Gore, Animal death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, and Torture
hdcamp's review against another edition
dark
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This has all the charm (and darkness and unexpected gore) of a fairy tale, and that's exactly why I loved it. I always enjoy pretending I'm an academic of some kind who gets to do field research for a living, so it was nice to step into Emily's shoes for a while. Reading about her work, about her professional goals, her hopes of having her encyclopaedia published, was all just really lovely. There's something cozy about this kind of life that's wildly appealing, and it shone through in all it's glory. Sometimes that glory includes dealing with other academics, but what are you going to do?
The setting itself was vivid and well crafted. When the book came to an end and Emily and Bambleby made to leave Hranfsvik behind, I felt her nostalgia and sadness with her. But this was a great book to read with a warm drink and a roaring fire - the cold winter weather in this book is visceral, and as someone who enjoys winter, I loved being immersed in the biting chill of Ljosland.* The people and their culture were just as well crafted as their home. The cast of secondary and tertiary characters is decently large, but each of them were distinct and I never had trouble remembering who was who.
From the start I knew that Wendell Bambleby was going to become the love interest (it's tagged as a fantasy romance, I don't think this is a spoiler). If you're interested in slow-burn romances, this takes the cake - the two are mostly just friends through the whole thing, friends who (on Emily's side) frequently comment on the enticing quality of their friend's hair, and how generally beautiful they are. The romance was also remarkably clean, which I really appreciated (there're some references to sex, but the characters barely kiss, much less think about the romance actually happening).
The real hero of this story is Shadow, who was definitely not a normal dog, which I'd suspected, but still Man's Best Friend in the face of all kinds of faerie nonsense. 🥇 What a good boy.
*Someday I will move to a little cabin on an island near the Arctic Circle, and then I will be truly happy.
The setting itself was vivid and well crafted. When the book came to an end and Emily and Bambleby made to leave Hranfsvik behind, I felt her nostalgia and sadness with her. But this was a great book to read with a warm drink and a roaring fire - the cold winter weather in this book is visceral, and as someone who enjoys winter, I loved being immersed in the biting chill of Ljosland.* The people and their culture were just as well crafted as their home. The cast of secondary and tertiary characters is decently large, but each of them were distinct and I never had trouble remembering who was who.
From the start I knew that Wendell Bambleby was going to become the love interest (it's tagged as a fantasy romance, I don't think this is a spoiler). If you're interested in slow-burn romances, this takes the cake - the two are mostly just friends through the whole thing, friends who (on Emily's side) frequently comment on the enticing quality of their friend's hair, and how generally beautiful they are. The romance was also remarkably clean, which I really appreciated (there're some references to sex, but the characters barely kiss, much less think about the romance actually happening).
The real hero of this story is Shadow, who was
*Someday I will move to a little cabin on an island near the Arctic Circle, and then I will be truly happy.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Body horror, and Blood
Passing, vague mentions of sex a few times. Only kissing actually takes place, and it is brief.wonderbeastlett's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
This was one of my favorites for 2023. It is a fantasy and is very well written. The sequel comes out in January 2024.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror
There is a moment where we see some body horror from one of the fairies in the book.jaynovara's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Injury/Injury detail, Confinement, Kidnapping, Abandonment, Animal death, Body horror, and Child abuse