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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
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!!
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!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Confinement, Death, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child abuse, Self harm, Abandonment, Alcohol
Minor: Cursing, Vomit
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm
Moderate: Blood, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Alcohol
adventurous
funny
informative
inspiring
tense
slow-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:
No
One doesn’t need magic if one knows enough stories.
I think I expected more from this book, but I did enjoy what I got. There's such a strong sense of setting here, and it's precisely the kind of setting I love: a tiny community on the snow-covered edge of the world, surrounded by forests and mountains and frozen lakes, all of it touched with fairy magic. I enjoyed the way the fairy lore was handled: the academic approach to it, the relationship between the fairy magic/tradition and story tropes, and how close the fairies here are to what I expect from them based on folklore: fickle and cold-hearted and dangerously beautiful. The second half of the book was particularly strong in terms of this.
I also very much liked the mixture of cozy fantasy and fairy folk horror, or at least the concept of it. In practice, the coziness part kind of kept falling short for me, probably because of the amount of friction between Emily and the villagers at the beginning. Sure, it wasn't unreasonable of them to expect her to learn a bit about their customs and traditions before coming to stay. At the same time, it also wasn't unreasonable to assume that maybe those customs are, you know, foreign for her, so why not spell everything out before taking offense without explaining the faux pas? Communication is good! Also, Emily is very clearly portrayed as neudorivergent and struggles with societal expectations even in a familiar setting. That is something I very much relate to and sympathize with, so it hurt to see her given the cold shoulder for not living up to a standard outside of her scope. Which is why, even once the bridges were mended, it was difficult for me to truly get into the cozy parts. I kind of kept a grudge. :D And then there's also the fact that I somehow expect cozy fantasy books to have kind characters, and Emily is smart and interesting and complex, but I wouldn't call her particularly kind.
From the summary and some of the reviews I've seen, I expected the romantic storyline to be more prominent. As it was, it wasn't exactly subtle and it's certainly present at the forefront of the story most of the time. Emily and Wendell have a lot of fun moments together; taken in isolation, they're great exampls of the kind of grumpy x sunshine dynamic I tend to enjoy in fiction. But I just can't see them moving from that into an actual relationship for some reason. Which, much like my definition of cozy fiction, is largely a personal taste/preference thing, of course.
What objectively made it a bit difficult to maintain immersion was the journal entries format. On one hand, I get why the author chose it for this story over a regular first person narration. It fits the story itself, and it also allowed for that one very fun chapter around the middle—you know which one, if you've read the book. On the other hand, the amount of dialogue and the abundance of moment that felt just like regular first person narration... well, like I said, immersion got tricky. The idea behind the format is good, but the execution could use more polish, I suppose.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm, Violence, Kidnapping
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
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:
N/A
I loved this!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Self harm, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail
adventurous
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
A lovely soft fantasy that felt so comforting and the perfect read for a snow-filled winter.
It's stemmed in a world we're used to, but with the addition of fae and magic, so while there is world building and new myths to be learned, it still feels familiar. I loved the setting, the adventure, the characters, as well as the hint of romance we got to see.I wasn't convinced about that romance at first, because Bambelby didn't arrive on the scene until well into the start of the story, and I wasn't certain that the romance was between him and Emily until well after that. But the more I learned about them and saw how they interacted with each other, the more I came to adore their relationship and how they contrast each other. This book was enchanting and I eagerly await the next book in the series.
It's stemmed in a world we're used to, but with the addition of fae and magic, so while there is world building and new myths to be learned, it still feels familiar. I loved the setting, the adventure, the characters, as well as the hint of romance we got to see.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Self harm, Torture, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Alcohol
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Kidnapping, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal death, Self harm, Blood, Murder, Alcohol
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries is a journal collection of Emily Wilde, a Cambridge professor when she visited Ljosland, Norway for her upcoming book research (there will be a couple of Wendell's (her colleague) entries in this journal.
I'm astonished how detailed this book describes the nature, the Folk they encountered, and how various the folklore's Emily's attached in her journal. I appreciate how author came up with the Ljosland foods which resulted nothing on Google (so, I assume they're fictional foods) and a bunch of references Emily mentioned in her journal related to the Folk study.
I love Emily's interactions with Wendell and Ljoslanders which are wholesome and sweet.
I recommend this book for everyone who wants to read a slow, cozy, wintery but has academic voice along its pages.
I'm astonished how detailed this book describes the nature, the Folk they encountered, and how various the folklore's Emily's attached in her journal. I appreciate how author came up with the Ljosland foods which resulted nothing on Google (so, I assume they're fictional foods) and a bunch of references Emily mentioned in her journal related to the Folk study.
I love Emily's interactions with Wendell and Ljoslanders which are wholesome and sweet.
I recommend this book for everyone who wants to read a slow, cozy, wintery but has academic voice along its pages.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm, Blood, Injury/Injury detail
also there's a couple of scenes which people were under an enchantment and couldn't control their actions
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
If any of the following appeal, pick up this book:
- light academia
- Cottagecore
- Fae
- Cosy fantasy
- Atmospheric writing
- Fantasy Romance
- Grumpy x sunshine where she’s the grumpy one
Synopsis:
Taking a field trip to Hrafsvik to continue her study of faeries, Emily is determined to complete her encyclopaedia which could be groundbreaking in the academic study of dryadology.
But Emily’s strong suit is books and research, not people.
And as if her rocky start with the town’s people wasn’t bad enough, her persistently charming and aggravating handsome rival, Wendell Bambleby, decides to arrive.
Working together Emily and Wendell attempt to piece together the secrets of the Hidden Ones, while exploring their partnership and hearts.
This was beautifully written and a perfect winter read to curl up with. It was atmospheric, lyrical and full of whimsy.
I can see how this might not be for everyone as it has very flowery language and a Howl Pendragon type love interest, but I loved that as it felt accurate to Emily’s distinct voice and they complimented each other well.
(This will come as a surprise to no one who knows me, but I love Anne of Green Gables with my whole heart so know I don’t say this lightly, this has a strong Anne and Gilbert dynamic)!
The world building was intricate and reminded me a lot of Margaret Rogerson’s books and the A Natural History of Dragons series.
Emily is also autistic-coded which was really nice to see!
- light academia
- Cottagecore
- Fae
- Cosy fantasy
- Atmospheric writing
- Fantasy Romance
- Grumpy x sunshine where she’s the grumpy one
Synopsis:
Taking a field trip to Hrafsvik to continue her study of faeries, Emily is determined to complete her encyclopaedia which could be groundbreaking in the academic study of dryadology.
But Emily’s strong suit is books and research, not people.
And as if her rocky start with the town’s people wasn’t bad enough, her persistently charming and aggravating handsome rival, Wendell Bambleby, decides to arrive.
Working together Emily and Wendell attempt to piece together the secrets of the Hidden Ones, while exploring their partnership and hearts.
This was beautifully written and a perfect winter read to curl up with. It was atmospheric, lyrical and full of whimsy.
I can see how this might not be for everyone as it has very flowery language and a Howl Pendragon type love interest, but I loved that as it felt accurate to Emily’s distinct voice and they complimented each other well.
(This will come as a surprise to no one who knows me, but I love Anne of Green Gables with my whole heart so know I don’t say this lightly, this has a strong Anne and Gilbert dynamic)!
The world building was intricate and reminded me a lot of Margaret Rogerson’s books and the A Natural History of Dragons series.
Emily is also autistic-coded which was really nice to see!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Violence, Kidnapping, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death, Domestic abuse, Self harm, Murder
Minor: Fire/Fire injury
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Moderate: Self harm, Blood
Minor: Animal death, Death, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
What a fun book! It's rare that the word "fun" be used to describe a book about proper folklore faeries, but I feel this fits the bill. It was a great balance between the malicious and benevolent sides of faeries, and everything that happened in the main plot just felt like what would happen in a story with them. Emily and Wendell are in the running for one of my favorite couples; they might not have the intense chemistry associated with romance today, but their dry, begrudging care for each other is just what I love. I definitely recommend this book; it's perfect for anyone who likes faerie lore, pseudo-academic fantasy, or Howl's Moving Castle. (Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Self harm
Moderate: Vomit