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A review by anaraeofbooks
Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett
adventurous
funny
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Absolutely charming and delightful. Well written and with great world-building that's easy to follow and not overly complex. The characters are authentic to themselves throughout the entire book, even as they change and grow in little ways. The style of how the book is written won't be for everyone, it's written like an academic journal of empirical evidence, and Emily herself has a very scientific approach in how she describes things. It's a not the typical fantasy-romance-adventure book and that's what set it apart for me. I breezed through this book and loved every second of it.
I enjoyed that this never felt like an over the top love story but it was a love story in a lot of other ways. Not just Emily and Wendell but a sort of ode to loving our passions and interests, the work that we do, even loving ourselves, our strengths and weaknesses. Its not super obvious but it’s in the way Emily is so consistently passionate and committed to her work (although she also shows what happens when that passion and commitment goes a little too far - living out her very own faerie cautionary tale first hand). How she has no trouble being honest about who she is, acknowledging her faults, but also her strengths. We could all be a little like Emily in that regard. It’s the best non-romance romance I’ve read in a while. I say non-romance romance because even though it’s fantasy fiction with romance elements, I don’t think romance elements does the depth of Wendell and Emily’s relationship justice nor who she is at the end of the book and her relationship with the townspeople like Aud and Lijla. Overall I recommend it if you're looking for something different in fantasy.
I enjoyed that this never felt like an over the top love story but it was a love story in a lot of other ways. Not just Emily and Wendell but a sort of ode to loving our passions and interests, the work that we do, even loving ourselves, our strengths and weaknesses. Its not super obvious but it’s in the way Emily is so consistently passionate and committed to her work (although she also shows what happens when that passion and commitment goes a little too far - living out her very own faerie cautionary tale first hand). How she has no trouble being honest about who she is, acknowledging her faults, but also her strengths. We could all be a little like Emily in that regard. It’s the best non-romance romance I’ve read in a while. I say non-romance romance because even though it’s fantasy fiction with romance elements, I don’t think romance elements does the depth of Wendell and Emily’s relationship justice nor who she is at the end of the book and her relationship with the townspeople like Aud and Lijla. Overall I recommend it if you're looking for something different in fantasy.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence