A review by craftysnailtail
Emily Wilde's Map of the Otherlands by Heather Fawcett

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! 
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