Emily Wilde’s Encyclopedia of Faeries By Heather Fawcett

Emily Wilde’s Encyclopedia of Faeries is an enchanting and captivating story that is sure to please any bookworm who loves a fantasy romance.

Favourite Quote:

“I missed you, Em,” he said. “It was strange not having you across the hall, scowling at me.” 

“I wonder at your ability to detect my scowls through the wall. Are your senses heightened in other ways?” 

I was needling him. I do this sometimes. I believe Bambleby knows my suspicions about him. 

Book Synopsis: 

A curmudgeonly professor journeys to a small town in the far north to study faerie folklore and discovers dark fae magic, friendship, and love in the start of a heartwarming and enchanting new fantasy series.

Cambridge professor Emily Wilde is good at many things: She is the foremost expert on the study of faeries. She is a genius scholar and a meticulous researcher who is writing the world’s first encyclopaedia of faerie lore. But Emily Wilde is not good at people. She could never make small talk at a party–or even get invited to one. And she prefers the company of her books, her dog, and the Fair Folk.

So when she arrives in the hardscrabble village of Hrafnsvik, Emily has no intention of befriending the gruff townsfolk. Nor does she care to spend time with another new arrival: her dashing and insufferably handsome academic rival Wendell Bambleby, who manages to charm the townsfolk, get in the middle of Emily’s research, and utterly confound and frustrate her.

But as Emily gets closer and closer to uncovering the secrets of the Hidden Ones–the most elusive of all faeries–lurking in the shadowy forest outside the town, she also finds herself on the trail of another mystery: Who is Wendell Bambleby, and what does he really want? To find the answer, she’ll have to unlock the greatest mystery of all–her own heart.

Review: 

Recently, I found myself in a reading slump, adult life was stressful, and I needed a good book to escape into, and for whatever reason, this book jumped out at me. I’m so glad it did. There are books that come to you when you need them the most, and that is what this book was for me. I started it on a Friday night and finished it Saturday afternoon, then promptly went out to Indigo and bought the next two books in the series. I adored everything about this book, so get ready for some major gushing on my part. 

If you are a fan of India Holton’s world-building and heroines, I think you will thoroughly enjoy this book and series. Heather doesn’t go quite to the same extreme India does when you think of that quirkiness, bonkers story, but they do share this unique richness and a magical world with a heroine that is so capable (and a bit prickly) and is constantly being exasperated by the hero. 

This story instantly intrigued me. First, with this remote and mysterious location that Emily arrives at at the beginning of this book. She has arrived at the village of Hrafnsvik, in hopes of learning more about the local fairies that have remained a mystery up until now. Emily is in the process of writing an encyclopedia about fairies, and this is the last section she needs to complete before she can send it off to be published. Like any good small-town story, you find yourself entering this tight-knit community that has quirks, secrets, and at its core feels like a big, dysfunctional family, which makes for great reading. Heather takes that small-town element and injects magic into it. Now this isn’t your cute, happy-go-lucky, magic. This magic comes from creatures that can be dangerous, selfish, and show little regard for the well-being of their human neighbours. This story is bursting with lush and vivid descriptions that make the setting come to life on the pages. That element of mystery when it comes to the fae that exists within this area adds a sense of danger and uncertainty that lands Emily and Bambleby in hot water from time to time. The magical world-building in this book is so well thought out and so interesting. I loved how Heather took our normal world and blended it with the world of fae. 

The structure of this book is also rather interesting. The story is structured as journal entries written by Emily (and maybe one or two by Bambleby). At first, I wasn’t too sure if I would like reading a story formatted that way, but I found myself enjoying it. I would say for the most part, the story does read like it’s coming from a first-person perspective, but then you get those moments when it’s very evident that you are reading Emily’s journal. The story flows nicely. I was worried it would feel choppy because you are reading journal entries, but it didn’t. 

I loved Emily’s character. She is so smart and capable. She is the type of heroine that people constantly look to, because they know she knows her stuff when it comes to faeries. The way her brain works when she is trying to find a solution to a problem is incredible to watch. Now her character is not without its flaws. She’s not a people person. Her social skills are lacking, which makes it hard for her to interact successfully with the local villagers. This lack of social skills makes it difficult for her to make any kind of friendly connections within the village. It’s not until Bambleby comes waltzing in and helps to smooth things over that Emily manages to endear herself to the villagers, awkward prickly parts and all. Emily doesn’t necessarily need to grow as a person in this book. She is aware that she has a hard time with people, and any change in her character is learning to let people in, even just a little bit. Bambleby is quite a different kind of hero. He is a diva in a way and can come across as comic relief. I’m not going to give too much away about his character, because I don’t want to give any spoilers away, but I like him. He is the sunshine to Emily’s prickly nature. 

This book is great if you are looking for a fantasy romance that is on the lighter end of the romance side. It’s a clean, closed-door romance, and in this book, the romance elements take a back seat to the main storyline. If you are newer to the romance world, closed door means there is no sex on the pages of this book. In this book, the two characters kiss, and that’s it. For me, I love a good opposites attract, grumpy sunshine trope-y romance, and this book delivers that. I loved the fact that Heather was still able to deliver a solid romance without taking away from the main plot. I adored the banter between Emily and Bambleby. It’s fun and playfully sharp.   

Emily Wilde’s Encyclopedia of Fairies was everything I needed and wanted it to be, and I cannot wait to read the next book in the series.