A review by beccasllibrary
Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett

4.5

The perfect introduction to “cozy fantasy” starts with a low stakes mystery following”driadology” professor Emily Wilde trying to learn about the indigenous fae of an isolated northern town while struggling to work with the town’s inhabitants because of her antisocial and awkward tendencies. Events are complicated when she discovers that a local child has been stolen by the fae and replaced with an unruly changeling, meanwhile her work is further undermined by her egotistical, charismatic, and lazy coworker who immediately has better luck working with the townspeople and begins taking over her research. Dr Wilde can not operate as the detached researcher she has always been if she wants to complete her encyclopedia and must learn to connect with the community she’s entered and her coworker who she strongly dislikes. Stakes continue to rise from here and more mysteries are uncovered. 

Absolutely loved the characters, their dynamics, and the setting. Emily and Wendell have a great academic rivalry that even Emily can’t pretend for long that is not at least a little endearing. The side characters are well written and make you feel for the town and its struggles. Easily could have been 5 stars but the final act felt out of the blue for me, unlike every other storyline which flowed incredibly naturally. Great book for fans of cozy and traditional fantasy, strong characters, and fantasy worlds that feel just as real as ours. Highly recommend.