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craftysnailtail's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.25
While I think I liked the first book just a bit more, I still was very happy with this sequel. I enjoyed the new characters, but the villagers (and the village itself, really) weren't a focus for this one, and I think that's mostly what I missed. The attention centered more on Emily and Wendell, which was also nice because I do love them both. They strongly remind me of Howl and Sophie from HMC, especially with how they tease one another.
The plot was a bit trickier for me to follow on audiobook and I felt like a few too many climactic points were settled with vague fae magic. But overall, it was a very fun and adventurous read.
I'm still head over heels for the uniqueness of a fantasy novel written in 1st person diary entries. And Fawcett continues to mesmerize me in the same way Barker does with Abarat. Descriptions of things that are clearly supposed to be horrific and disturbing are so artfully done, that I instead find myself fascinated and morbidly curious. I normally avoid anything close to horror, but Fawcett manages to make it... cozy? It's hard to explain, but it's masterful and paints such a vivid fae world, where beauty and horror exist hand in hand.
Both books are wonderful and I highly recommend them! Can't wait for the next!
The plot was a bit trickier for me to follow on audiobook and I felt like a few too many climactic points were settled with vague fae magic. But overall, it was a very fun and adventurous read.
I'm still head over heels for the uniqueness of a fantasy novel written in 1st person diary entries. And Fawcett continues to mesmerize me in the same way Barker does with Abarat. Descriptions of things that are clearly supposed to be horrific and disturbing are so artfully done, that I instead find myself fascinated and morbidly curious. I normally avoid anything close to horror, but Fawcett manages to make it... cozy? It's hard to explain, but it's masterful and paints such a vivid fae world, where beauty and horror exist hand in hand.
Both books are wonderful and I highly recommend them! Can't wait for the next!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Animal death, and Death
Minor: Body horror and Gore
cozyscones's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
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? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Chronic illness and Death
Minor: Body horror
katievallin's review
adventurous
funny
informative
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Liked overall but not as much as the first one. Emily is a bit annoying and overconfident (more so than in the last book, I thought). Wendell is sick for the whole book. The romance isn’t making a lot of sense to me. Wendell is carrying this series.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Violence, Animal death, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Alcohol, Body horror, and Sexual content
kbairbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
fast-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
4.5
4.5 stars
I love the Emily Wilde books, they scratch a very particular itch for me. I love the characters and the adventure and the magic in the world building. I love the academic language and rhetoric used in this book and hadn’t realized I had really been missing it in my literature. I also love the autism rep and feel like it is done really well. I love the romance between Emily and Wendell, and all of the pets are so cute and so fun and I love them. What a joy it was to be in this world again and I can’t wait to read book three.
I love the Emily Wilde books, they scratch a very particular itch for me. I love the characters and the adventure and the magic in the world building. I love the academic language and rhetoric used in this book and hadn’t realized I had really been missing it in my literature. I also love the autism rep and feel like it is done really well. I love the romance between Emily and Wendell, and all of the pets are so cute and so fun and I love them. What a joy it was to be in this world again and I can’t wait to read book three.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Gore, Violence, Body horror, Animal cruelty, and Injury/Injury detail
thehobbitbarbie's review
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Minor: Body horror, Alcohol, Blood, Murder, and Sexual content
littleflowerfairy's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
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
Thank you to NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for a honest review!
After I finished the first book, I immediately joined NetGalley in order to request an advanced copy, because I just couldn't wait to find out what happened next!
Heather Fawcett once again does an incredible job of building an intricate and lush world of faeries, weaving well-known folklore and her own additions in such a seamless way. I daresay I loved this book even more than the first one! I think it was because I was already invested in the characters, and I just loved all the time we spent with them, introducing new ones and fleshing out existing relationships. I particularly can't get enough of Emily and Wendell's relationship! There were so many beautiful and heartwarming moments between them in this book - moments that left me gushing and giggling every time!
And let's not forget the mystery and the high-stakes action that kept me holding my breath every time a new twist or a new danger was revealed! Even though it's in journal format, that doesn't lessen the fast pace with which we're pulled along in the action, every detailed description from Emily fully immersing you into the world, her emotions tugging at your heart the whole time. Though even with the higher-stakes, they weren't constant, and the book still very much felt as cozy as the first.
Personally, I don't like how most popular fantasy books write the fae. I love the complicated nature of faeries, exploring how separated their morals and ideals are from humans, how utterly inhuman and perplexing they are, and yet at the same time how almost similar to humans they can sometimes become in their curiosity and fascination with our world. Absolutely no hate authors who write their fae otherwise, but I just personally don't vibe with it. I absolutely adore how Heather Fawcett expands upon all the things I love about fae in the Emily Wilde series, and it's one of the reasons this series is quickly climbing up to my favorites list.
Again, thank you to NetGalley, and Heather Fawcett of course, for the opportunity to read and review this book, and I cannot wait until book three!!
After I finished the first book, I immediately joined NetGalley in order to request an advanced copy, because I just couldn't wait to find out what happened next!
Heather Fawcett once again does an incredible job of building an intricate and lush world of faeries, weaving well-known folklore and her own additions in such a seamless way. I daresay I loved this book even more than the first one! I think it was because I was already invested in the characters, and I just loved all the time we spent with them, introducing new ones and fleshing out existing relationships. I particularly can't get enough of Emily and Wendell's relationship! There were so many beautiful and heartwarming moments between them in this book - moments that left me gushing and giggling every time!
And let's not forget the mystery and the high-stakes action that kept me holding my breath every time a new twist or a new danger was revealed! Even though it's in journal format, that doesn't lessen the fast pace with which we're pulled along in the action, every detailed description from Emily fully immersing you into the world, her emotions tugging at your heart the whole time. Though even with the higher-stakes, they weren't constant, and the book still very much felt as cozy as the first.
Personally, I don't like how most popular fantasy books write the fae. I love the complicated nature of faeries, exploring how separated their morals and ideals are from humans, how utterly inhuman and perplexing they are, and yet at the same time how almost similar to humans they can sometimes become in their curiosity and fascination with our world. Absolutely no hate authors who write their fae otherwise, but I just personally don't vibe with it. I absolutely adore how Heather Fawcett expands upon all the things I love about fae in the Emily Wilde series, and it's one of the reasons this series is quickly climbing up to my favorites list.
Again, thank you to NetGalley, and Heather Fawcett of course, for the opportunity to read and review this book, and I cannot wait until book three!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Animal cruelty, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence
Moderate: Blood, Body horror, and Chronic illness
Minor: Death of parent and Alcohol
meganpbell's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
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? Yes
4.75
The dangerous and delightful adventures of curmudgeonly faery scholar Emily Wilde, her Grim dog Shadow, and her otherworldly colleague (and aspiring fiancé) Wendell Bambleby continue in the Austrian Alps and ~elsewhere~ in this sequel to Emily Wilde’s Encyclopedia of Faeries! I just have such a good time following on the Oxford clad heels of this cozy yet prickly light academia fantasy series—alongside all the friends Emily always ends up finding (if slightly against her will).
Content Warnings
Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Death of parent, Blood, and Violence
lastblossom's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
tl;dr
More faerie intrigue, mystery, and romance in what is quickly shaping up to be my favorite series. Read it!
Thoughts
Got my hands on this book the same day I had an assignment due, so naturally I read the book first. I have no regrets. The first book in the series is one of my top ten, and this one is equally matched, with all the faerie lore, twists, and Emily/Wendell interaction I loved from the first. The amount of fae politics and court intrigue is bumped up from the first, and it is SO juicy! Ugh, the drama of it all is just so good. A handful of teasers dropped in the first book get some satisfying reveals here, and Emily and Wendell's relationship beats are so sweet.
The book does a great job of bringing back all the things I loved about the first installment, while adding new developments to keep the story moving. Two new major characters are added who initially had the potential to be very annoying, but I wound up really caring about both of them, and it was nice to see Emily's relationship with them grow as well.
I loved the first book so much, and now I love the second book. The ending implies we might get even more(???), and I am SO ready.
I am also, once again, requesting a special edition with handwritten notes and illustrations.
Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for an advance copy!
More faerie intrigue, mystery, and romance in what is quickly shaping up to be my favorite series. Read it!
Thoughts
Got my hands on this book the same day I had an assignment due, so naturally I read the book first. I have no regrets. The first book in the series is one of my top ten, and this one is equally matched, with all the faerie lore, twists, and Emily/Wendell interaction I loved from the first. The amount of fae politics and court intrigue is bumped up from the first, and it is SO juicy! Ugh, the drama of it all is just so good. A handful of teasers dropped in the first book get some satisfying reveals here, and Emily and Wendell's relationship beats are so sweet.
The book does a great job of bringing back all the things I loved about the first installment, while adding new developments to keep the story moving. Two new major characters are added who initially had the potential to be very annoying, but I wound up really caring about both of them, and it was nice to see Emily's relationship with them grow as well.
I loved the first book so much, and now I love the second book. The ending implies we might get even more(???), and I am SO ready.
I am also, once again, requesting a special edition with handwritten notes and illustrations.
Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for an advance copy!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Blood, and Violence
Minor: Body horror, War, Animal death, and Alcohol
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