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A review by banannatoast
Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett
adventurous
lighthearted
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
I was almost disappointed by this. I expected to love this book, and the first 70 pages or so (while cleverly crafted) didn’t excite me, and I nearly gave up. But given 100 pages, I knew this book was going to be a new favorite.
I can’t believe I’m saying this, but for once I’m not upset that the beginning of the book was so dense and dull. The story is written as a series of journal entries, so the structure, style, and frequency of these entries starts to become its own dimension of the story. Though the entries start with twice daily detached academic observation (a bit slow, not gonna lie), they start to lose objectivity and become more erratic as the events unfold, eventually skipping days and weeks and stilling the story in places. The author really used the journal format to its fullest potential, and it definitely enhanced the atmosphere.
Otherwise I think the characters were distinct and charming, and the relationships between them never felt like wasted word count. Even though the romance was mostly a subplot, I thought it was really well done without being too contrived (which feels impressive considering how little romance actually happens on the page). The main character’s relationship was also quite cute, and contributed to the overall character development happening.
Anyway, the writing was really pretty and clever and I loved this book a lot. I will read it again when I need something comfy, wholesome, and wintery.
I can’t believe I’m saying this, but for once I’m not upset that the beginning of the book was so dense and dull. The story is written as a series of journal entries, so the structure, style, and frequency of these entries starts to become its own dimension of the story. Though the entries start with twice daily detached academic observation (a bit slow, not gonna lie), they start to lose objectivity and become more erratic as the events unfold, eventually skipping days and weeks and stilling the story in places. The author really used the journal format to its fullest potential, and it definitely enhanced the atmosphere.
Otherwise I think the characters were distinct and charming, and the relationships between them never felt like wasted word count. Even though the romance was mostly a subplot, I thought it was really well done without being too contrived (which feels impressive considering how little romance actually happens on the page). The main character’s relationship was also quite cute, and contributed to the overall character development happening.
Anyway, the writing was really pretty and clever and I loved this book a lot. I will read it again when I need something comfy, wholesome, and wintery.