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A review by tsunni
Emily Wilde's Map of the Otherlands by Heather Fawcett
adventurous
mysterious
tense
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
5.0
Another Emily Wilde book! The story is a continuation from book 1 and the same mix of academic pursuit and ventures in the Faerie realm, with new characters Ariadne (Emily's niece and assistant) and Professor Rose in tow. The story is focused on a new little town and mystery, although some characters from book 1 do show up briefly, which was really fun.
Ariadne and Professor Rose throw some new dynamics into the character relationships. Emily struggles with Ariadne's youthful impetuousness and stubbornness that's a mirror to how Emily herself acts, which makes it amusing that Emily completely misses or glosses over how identical they are in her journal entries; and with Professor Rose, an old curmudgeonly faculty member in the same department that has all the patronizing attitude and condescending ego that goes with being an older man in his field being shown up by a younger woman (I saw that Fawcett had a Masters in English and wondered if Rose was partially based on her personal experience in academia, he definitely reads like people I've known in real life). Both add some interesting wrenches into the gears that help mitigate the book being somewhat a repeat of book 1, and I ended up liking all the new characters by the end, for different reasons.
The overall plot arc is fun and picks up a main plot thread from book 1. The story does end up being similar to how book 1 progressed, and some of the shiny new luster has worn off; but none of the quality of writing and balance of folklore, humor, adventure, and romance has gone away. Fawcett does a great thing here and doesn't drag things on at all; some lingering will they won't they questions do get answered, and plots threads don't get left behind and are resolved in satisfying ways.
The story of book 2 wraps up pretty good, but we're left on a bit of a cliffhanger for book 3, which I can't wait for. I'm loving the characters, world, and vibe of these a lot; if book 3 keeps this up this will probably be one of my favorite series ever.
Ariadne and Professor Rose throw some new dynamics into the character relationships. Emily struggles with Ariadne's youthful impetuousness and stubbornness that's a mirror to how Emily herself acts, which makes it amusing that Emily completely misses or glosses over how identical they are in her journal entries; and with Professor Rose, an old curmudgeonly faculty member in the same department that has all the patronizing attitude and condescending ego that goes with being an older man in his field being shown up by a younger woman (I saw that Fawcett had a Masters in English and wondered if Rose was partially based on her personal experience in academia, he definitely reads like people I've known in real life). Both add some interesting wrenches into the gears that help mitigate the book being somewhat a repeat of book 1, and I ended up liking all the new characters by the end, for different reasons.
The overall plot arc is fun and picks up a main plot thread from book 1. The story does end up being similar to how book 1 progressed, and some of the shiny new luster has worn off; but none of the quality of writing and balance of folklore, humor, adventure, and romance has gone away. Fawcett does a great thing here and doesn't drag things on at all; some lingering will they won't they questions do get answered, and plots threads don't get left behind and are resolved in satisfying ways.
The story of book 2 wraps up pretty good, but we're left on a bit of a cliffhanger for book 3, which I can't wait for. I'm loving the characters, world, and vibe of these a lot; if book 3 keeps this up this will probably be one of my favorite series ever.