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4.16 AVERAGE
4.16 AVERAGE
adventurous
funny
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
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
relaxing
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I liked this book the least in the Emily Wilde series, but it's still great. It's a good story, and a nice ending to the series, in the fairy tale pattern of threes.
It doesn't come full circle with the events of the first book, or within itself, but it still ties up loose ends satisfyingly.
I listened to the audiobook, narrated by Ell Potter. I have to admit it was immensely helpful to hear all the Irish names, instead of having to look up the pronunciations.
Emily Wilde has accepted Wendell's marriage proposal and travels to his realm, where she'll rule by his side. But of course there's something, lots of things actually, rotting within the kingdom. The biggest threat is the curse that the former queen and Wendell's stepmother has placed on the land, slowly making it inhabitable.
What follows is a hurried and stressful search for the cure, that has to follow the fairy tale patterns. Three, long winding plots, and secrets.
As usual in the series, the end seems near while you're still in the middle of the book, and then sudden new developments throw everything off.
There's also the problem of Emily not fitting in. The magic, the fae realm, it's just too much. And the queenly gowns do not feel right.
In the end, Emily's intellect and tenacity win again. She thinks in ways the fae do not, which becomes her biggest strength. Fae are made of stories, mortals can make them.
It doesn't come full circle with the events of the first book, or within itself, but it still ties up loose ends satisfyingly.
I listened to the audiobook, narrated by Ell Potter. I have to admit it was immensely helpful to hear all the Irish names, instead of having to look up the pronunciations.
Emily Wilde has accepted Wendell's marriage proposal and travels to his realm, where she'll rule by his side. But of course there's something, lots of things actually, rotting within the kingdom. The biggest threat is the curse that the former queen and Wendell's stepmother has placed on the land, slowly making it inhabitable.
What follows is a hurried and stressful search for the cure, that has to follow the fairy tale patterns. Three, long winding plots, and secrets.
As usual in the series, the end seems near while you're still in the middle of the book, and then sudden new developments throw everything off.
There's also the problem of Emily not fitting in. The magic, the fae realm, it's just too much. And the queenly gowns do not feel right.
In the end, Emily's intellect and tenacity win again. She thinks in ways the fae do not, which becomes her biggest strength. Fae are made of stories, mortals can make them.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder
Moderate: Kidnapping, Abandonment
Minor: Child abuse
Intelligent and vengeful snails
Trees that have eyes on their leaves
Spider-owls
I don't know if I can say goodbye to this series
adventurous
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
The beginning is slow and then suddenly it goes fast
adventurous
adventurous
medium-paced
This book is tonally dissonant. It's trying to have the vibes and low stakes of a cozy fantasy while dealing with the kind of plot that belongs in a more serious high-stakes adventure story. I usually go for high-stakes adventures over cozy fantasy, so I kept getting tricked into a high-stakes adventure mindset only to be disappointed when these epic setups led to lackluster payoffs. There were also plenty of moments that felt way too cozy-fantasy casual for the epic stakes involved. When we're talking about saving whole realms and lives being at stake, I want the twists to be setup. I don't want them to come out of nowhere like they do in cozy fantasy. This isn't a book about low-stakes academic research. It's a book about a queen saving a realm!
The tonal dissonance is so bad that I'm genuinely not sure who this was written for. It's not cozy enough for the cozy-fantasy crowd and it's not epic enough for the adventure-loving crowd. For example, this book picks up right after the last book's final scene where I'm not sure why they bothered to do that because that setup leads to
The other big issue was the romance or lack there of. I enjoy Emily Wilde and I love Wendell Bambleby, but I don't have strong feelings about them as a couple. Book one did a great job establishing their relationship and making me like the idea of them as a couple, but they weren't even dating by the end which was fine by me. This is a trilogy, after all. I expected book two to really sell their love. Instead, it saw Wendell sick for almost the entire runtime leaving Emily to quest without him.
This means that their relationship didn't really develop in book two even though that book saw them actually get together. By the end of that book, the romance felt like something that was just beginning, not something that was ready for a serious commitment, but book two still ends with them engaged for some reason. This book sees Emily leave her world behind to become a queen in the fairy realms and it didn't work because her relationship with Wendell didn't back that level of sacrifice. So much of this book is Emily feeling unfit to be a queen and I was sitting here wondering why she's bothering. What is it about Wendell that made her make this choice? I have no idea. Wendell's great and I love him as a romantic lead, I just don't love him for Emily.
Emily belongs in academia not ruling over a fairy kingdom. I kept waiting for them to realize that and for Wendell to give up the throne to be with her because he doesn't like the bother of ruling, but we never got that and it made the story feel hollow. This wasn't helped by the lack of romance. Much like book two, this book sees Emily off on her own for most of the story. Wendell occasionally shows up to do something charming, but that doesn't make me fall in love with Wendell and Emily as a couple, it just makes me fall in love with Wendell as a character. He's the main reason I read this series as I've loved him since book one and I'm ending this series feeling like I could have just stopped at book one for how little attention Wendell gets. He only feels like a major and active character in book one. In books two and three, he's played like a side character or quest motivation instead of a romantic lead. That wasn't what I was here for and so I'm leaving this series disappointed.
If you loved book two, then you might enjoy this one as it's quite similar. The only major difference is the scale of the stakes and the fact that the plot doesn't really get going until about a third of the way into the book. If you're here for Wendell and Emily's relationship, then you're probably going to be disappointed. They have some nice moments, but this book is more focused on a Wendell-free quest than it is on romance.
The tonal dissonance is so bad that I'm genuinely not sure who this was written for. It's not cozy enough for the cozy-fantasy crowd and it's not epic enough for the adventure-loving crowd. For example, this book picks up right after the last book's final scene where
Spoiler
Emily and Wendell had gathered a group of common fae to help them reclaim Wendell's throne.Spoiler
nothing. The army does nothing. Wendell and Emily could have shown up on their own and the story would have played the exact same way. There's no fighting or need to show off the strength of their forces. The army actually disbands soon after Emily and Wendell arrive so they're not even here for ongoing protection. They were just here for an over-the-top grand procession to the castle that felt absurdly overdramatic.The other big issue was the romance or lack there of. I enjoy Emily Wilde and I love Wendell Bambleby, but I don't have strong feelings about them as a couple. Book one did a great job establishing their relationship and making me like the idea of them as a couple, but they weren't even dating by the end which was fine by me. This is a trilogy, after all. I expected book two to really sell their love. Instead, it saw Wendell sick for almost the entire runtime leaving Emily to quest without him.
This means that their relationship didn't really develop in book two even though that book saw them actually get together. By the end of that book, the romance felt like something that was just beginning, not something that was ready for a serious commitment, but book two still ends with them engaged for some reason. This book sees Emily leave her world behind to become a queen in the fairy realms and it didn't work because her relationship with Wendell didn't back that level of sacrifice. So much of this book is Emily feeling unfit to be a queen and I was sitting here wondering why she's bothering. What is it about Wendell that made her make this choice? I have no idea. Wendell's great and I love him as a romantic lead, I just don't love him for Emily.
Emily belongs in academia not ruling over a fairy kingdom. I kept waiting for them to realize that and for Wendell to give up the throne to be with her because he doesn't like the bother of ruling, but we never got that and it made the story feel hollow. This wasn't helped by the lack of romance. Much like book two, this book sees Emily off on her own for most of the story. Wendell occasionally shows up to do something charming, but that doesn't make me fall in love with Wendell and Emily as a couple, it just makes me fall in love with Wendell as a character. He's the main reason I read this series as I've loved him since book one and I'm ending this series feeling like I could have just stopped at book one for how little attention Wendell gets. He only feels like a major and active character in book one. In books two and three, he's played like a side character or quest motivation instead of a romantic lead. That wasn't what I was here for and so I'm leaving this series disappointed.
If you loved book two, then you might enjoy this one as it's quite similar. The only major difference is the scale of the stakes and the fact that the plot doesn't really get going until about a third of the way into the book. If you're here for Wendell and Emily's relationship, then you're probably going to be disappointed. They have some nice moments, but this book is more focused on a Wendell-free quest than it is on romance.
There was nothing in particular that I found wrong with the book. I just didn't care enough to finish it before the library wanted it back, and don't care enough to put it back on hold either.