Emily Wilde is a scholar and her research area is faeries. She prefers the company of books and her dog Shadow. In an effort of creating the first ever encyclopaedia of all types of faeries, she travels to the village Hrafnsvik where she sets out to study their ‘Hidden ones’.

She is later joined by her colleague, academic rival and reluctant friend (on her end) Wendell Bambleby.

Oh, how I love an unlikely pair. ❤️ I just love how he is fascinated with her mind and weirdness, and how he celebrates her idiosyncrasies.

This story was mostly just pure coziness, but that didn’t shy away from the horror and creepyness of classic fairy lore.

Whimsical, magical and full of lore and fantastical creatures, I highly recommend this book to anyone obsessed with fairytales when they were young.

Also- how had I missed that this is the start of a series! 🙈 I look forward to Emily and Bamblebys continued adventures.

Thank you orbit for the review copy!

Professor Emily Wilde is brilliant in her research into the faeries of the world but she lacks empathy with people. She travels to Ljosland in Northern Norway to conduct the final piece of research for her book but manages to antagonise the locals quickly. When she discovers her academic rival, the handsome and seemingly insouciant Wendell has followed her Emily is annoyed. However Wendell is not all he seems and Emily is about to get closer to the 'Tall Ones' than she anticipated.
This is just a wonderful book. Fawcett has created a whole world of faeries, drawing heavily on folk tales from around Europe but weaving them into a narrative which seems to come from a parallel world close to ours. There is a great sense of humour running through this book and, whilst it is lightweight and easy to read, it is not insubstantial. A triumph!

Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett
Straight out of the gate for 2023 is Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries from Heather Fawcett, a glorious fantasy book that you will absolutely fall in love with. I’d been in a reading slump for a few months, but this book re-awoke my passion for great books once again.
Positively brimming with stories of winter swept villages, evil changelings, fae kings trapped in ancient trees, ice palaces, winter woods, magic markets on icy lakes and so much more, this book will enchant you.
Professor Emily Wilde is a brave new hero, who although more at home with her books and studying the fairy folk is still fiercely brave and is definitely no damsel in distress. She is ably assisted by her obnoxious and enchanting in equal measures friend/colleague Wendell Bambleby, no spoilers here.
I loved the first person POV journal style storytelling of the book which reminded me in places of Bram Stoker’s Dracula. I also loved how the book perfectly counterbalanced and switched between the light and darkness of the fae world and these folktales which can be inherently dark and grisly.
If you love fae filled folktales, then this book should be at the top of your reading list. A wholehearted five out of five.

I saw a fair few people comparing this to the Lady Trent series, along with the descriptor cosy fantasy and thought yep that sounds like my next read. And for once there is truth in advertising. Encyclopedia is very easy going, with a grumpy, ill-appreciated junior academic who finds people hard, self-care harder, and understanding her colleague Wendall downright impossible. Emily is tenacious, detail-orientated, mildly abrasive and doesn’t always think about the social niceties apart from the bare minimum needed to get her beloved research done.This stems more from lack of ability rather than rudeness and if this was a different book then this review would probably be a 10 page essay following on why it’s the woman character who’s not allowed to be rude because she doesn’t see the point, when we have countless male academic characters that are rude and abrasive because “they don’t have time” and are still heroes of their own story. However, I digress. In contrast Wendall, her colleague, is charm personified as well as a bit of a dandy and fairly lazy. He makes friends where-ever he goes and is the star of the academic circuit (much to Emily’s frustration).

For the first chunk of the book, Emily is in Hansvik, a remote northern village where she is investigating the local faerie, both by trying to meet with her research subjects and cataloguing the various tales the villagers have about them as well as ways different members of the village have been affected by their contact with different fae types. This is perhaps the element of the book most like the Lady Trent books, in that it's very pragmatic and makes the fairy-tale, everyday. I really enjoyed this and actually would have quite liked more of this as it's very much what I was expecting and what the copy made me feel like I was getting.

Once Wendall arrives however, things get more ‘fairy-tale’ like. Instead of being an abstract researcher who moves among their research subjects without becoming involved with them, Emily involuntarily becomes embroiled with the worries and concerns of the villagers leading her to both have contact with the courtly fae and become part of the story herself. This is the part of the novel where the comparisons to Lady Trent fall down and Emily-the-academic becomes less of a feature for reasons that make sense in story but may be disappointing for those who were expecting it to continue throughout the book. The cozy element is definitely in Emily’s gradual integration to the village and its community, both aided and hindered by Wendall in equal measure, and for some readers, Emily and Wendall’s eventual relationship although for me this felt somewhat superfluous and unearned. It’s also cosy, in that stakes in the story are relatively low for fantasy. It’s largely only the village that is affected even when the courtly fae gets involved and this definitely added to the fairy-tale nature as well as keeping the focus tight.

In conclusion, a fun and light fantasy that hits the spot for those who like folk-lore and fairy-tales but don’t want another re-telling but instead want something that uses those elements in a more cosy and slightly different approach.

I will admit to having already ordered a beautiful hardback edition of this prior to receiving the ARC, and so I had heard a little about the book before heading into it. Ordinarily I like to go in entirely blind so as to be completely objective.

I had heard complaints that the book was “over-written,” and whilst I can see why some may have made this estimation, I can’t help but think that this is possibly cleverly deliberate given that we are primarily reading the 1st person narrative of our FMC. Our FMC Emily is a genius scholar, specialising in the study of faeries and you could say she has a one track mind. She is solely focused on her studies and learnings, and will do almost anything in the name of research. It could be noted that she has some autistic qualities, however it may just be she is extremely introverted, preferring the company of her notes, dog and books over people, and not understanding social cues.… goodness knows I can identify with that.

When Emily journeys to the remote village of Hrafnsvik in order to try and uncover the mysteries of the elusive Hidden Ones and finish the research for her book, she finds herself having to step hugely out of her comfort zone and learn how to make friends with the traditional townsfolk, and also try to unravel the secrets of her frustrating fellow Cambridge scholar and fierce rival Wendell Bambleby, who although drives her nuts, is her only real friend in the world. Wendell is perceived to be selfish and entirely self-serving however he does develop as the book progresses and we start to see some layers to his character and reasonings for his behaviour and actions. Despite Wendell poking fun at Emily throughout (let it be known Emily gives as good as she gets) I really felt that he hugely respected and admired her.

Overall I found this to be a lovely cosy read and I loved the detailed descriptions of the faeries. If you’re looking for some sexy fae you can get down and dirty with (ahem, y’all know what series I am referring to) then this is not the book for you. These creatures are mostly terrifying and this story gets a little dark at times with abductions and such.

My only complaint was the romance was slow burn to the point of snails pace. Also the declarations of love kind of came out of nowhere. I would have liked for there to have been at least more of an obvious build up and then some actual resolution, but I’m guessing (hoping) we haven’t seen the last of Emily so perhaps we will see where it goes in the next book.

Huge thank you to NetGalley and Del Rey Books for the ARC in return for an honest review.

Truly amazing – a new favorite

Emily Wilde’s world revolves around fairies: As an upcoming dryadologist she is now embarking on a research adventure to collect more information on a particular kind of fairy in Ljosland, a remote Scandinavian island close to the Arctic circle, in order to complete her encyclopedia.
This book was a fantastic read in every aspect – and perfect for winter time when the snow is glistening outside. Heather Fawcett draws such a captivating picture of this cold but wondrous place that I did not want this book to end. Emily is such a unique but likeable character and I loved the way she saw both worlds – and her banter with her friend / academic rival Wendell Bambleby was so much fun. The world building is so creative and perfect, I honestly can’t wait to return to it in the next book.
Emily Wilde has become an immediate favorite of mine and I cannot recommend it enough.

Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries is a delightfully cosy light academia fantasy, perfect for these grey January days. I tend to really enjoy books featuring fae, and this was no exception!

Emily is a really interesting character. She is devoted to her research and highly introverted, struggling to read social cues and feel comfortable around strangers, which makes it very hard for her to befriend the locals of the remote village of Hrafnsvik when she arrives there to conduct the final part of her research. Which would be fine if she didn't desperately need their help to uncover the secrets of the Hidden Ones, the most elusive faeries of them all. As if she wasn't having enough problems, her academic rival Wendell Bambleby decides to invite himself along to help with her research.

I really liked seeing how Emily's relationships with other characters developed: she is guarded and slow to trust, but fiercely loyal to those who make it past her protective shell. Bambleby was so much fun and I loved all the bickering between the two of them, as well as all the ways he tried to make Emily feel more comfortable. The side characters were also fantastic! The village really came alive and I loved getting to know them as they learned to understand Emily. The bonds that developed between characters were really well constructed, in a way that felt natural and realistic.

The worldbuilding was another element I enjoyed. The book is written in journal form as Emily's field notes, so it does lean quite heavily towards exposition by its very nature. This is one of the few things I wasn't too keen on, but it did end up working well to provide context and clearly explain the rules of the world. It was dangerous and magical, as it often is when fae are involved, with every clearing hiding a secret and each tree oozing magic. The lore was rich and deep and so, so interesting to discover. Emily's ability to relate to the faeries was extremely interesting to witness and I loved every scene in which she interacted with them. I struggled a bit with the journal form at the beginning as it felt very slow (both in structure and language), but as soon as Bambleby arrived the story picked up its pace and soon I was fully hooked!

Overall, this is a light and cosy read featuring unforgettable characters, faerie court intrigues, academic research and a slow-burn romance, topped with a generous sprinkling of humour and danger: basically most of my favourite things! I'll definitely be looking forward to the second book.

Upsetting Aud (headswomen of Hrafnsvik) and preferring her books/academia, it appears in the beginning that Emily has more in common with the wild faery folk than the humans in her world.

But then we see a change. Maybe things change due to Wendell’s influence.

As exasperating as he can be, everyone loves him. Emily knows him really well from their shared work, or thinks she does …

Wendell’s arrival changes a few things for Emily – relationships with the villagers, living conditions and much more. I enjoyed their banter 🙂 I can’t wait to see how this will develop throughout the series.

In her quests (notice the plural) to help villagers and the fae, her actions show a different Emily to the one who is glued to her journal.

She’s fearless and has no qualms in putting herself in front of danger, often making decisions without thinking through the consequences.

And there is heart underneath the compulsion she has to find out everything she can about the fae.

I was always wondering what she would get up to and sacrifice next. She’s brilliant!

I loved the isolation, the harshness of the landscape and the darkness.

The way the faery stories are woven through and are an intrinsic part of the community has its own beat. Perfect.

Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries is Enid Blyton for grownups. I loved it.

A huge thank you to the publisher for sending me a proof copy of this charming book. Faeries are always a yes for me and this book combines a number of popular iterations of the fae. I loved learning about the different types and meeting them as the story progressed.

Light academia was a refreshing change, and the main character was wonderfully stubborn and awkward. Her unapologetic ambition was fantastic and her single-mindedness was mesmerising at times. There’s also a grumpy/sunshine romance which was very intriguing.

The pacing was maybe a little off to me and it felt like two halves of different books. I did love both parts but I think a more coherent style would have bumped this to 5 stars for me. I honestly just wanted to read about Emily wandering around doing fieldwork and writing down her observations.

Perfect for fans of The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches.

I have to admit, I didn't expect to love this book as much as I did. I really liked the concept of how it was written, as if we, the reader, was her journal whilst exploring the world she found herself in. I really enjoyed the twists and turns the book led to. I LOVED Wendell, and I loved watching him love her.

Watching the worlds unfold, the stories come together, the characters become a family, I couldn't put it down.

Thank you so much to NetGalley for the ARC.

I will be posting a review of this on my bookstagram at @blondesbooknook and on my TikTok at @blondesbooknook

This book had such an interesting blurb and promised all kinds of cozy vibes. It did start out as a cozy fantasy but it had darker undertones than I had expected. I loved Emily’s character sooo much and how her relationship with the villagers developed. Her equation with Bambleby was also fascinating. It did have a lot of elements I loved but somehow it still left me wanting. It needed something extra which I am unable to pinpoint at the moment. A little bit more development in the relationship between Emily and Bambleby perhaps? A bit more insight into Bambleby’s character mayhaps? I realise this is a trilogy and there’s space left for development in future instalments but I still needed a little extra something to say I loved this book and would continue with this series. For now this is a 3 star read but I would definitely recommend you checking this out if you like the blurb

I just saw faeries, a beautiful cover and was like, I need to read this book!

I like that this was written without modern technology so it seemed like it itself was a faerie tale albeit told in diary form.

It was really nice how Emily starting off the story as being totally introverted changes as the story goes on, funnily enough learning more about how to interact with other humans from the faeries that she's studying.

This was a nicely amusing story that I genuinely enjoyed. I started reading it thinking it was a standalone and had the wonderful surprise that there is another book to come which I look forward to.

I was lucky enough to get a beautiful special edition of this from my adult fairyloot subscription and ended up reading it physically which made it easier to flick to the addendums and back to the place in the story again.

I didn't know what to expect from the story. I read a lot of fae fantasy books and was rather disappointed in this book, but carried on reading as thought it would get better. I have a large tbr and honestly think my time would have been spent better reading one of those books.

Book will be suitable for a first stance into fae world.

Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries

Emily Wilde is a Cambridge professor studying faerie folklore. Her curiosity leads her to the northern village of Hrafnsvik, covered in ice and snow. The surrounding forests are believed to be inhabited by the Hidden Ones, the elusive northern faeries that many consider a myth. Her research is soon interrupted by the arrival of her friend and academic rival Wendell Bambleby, forcing her to investigate her own feelings instead...

I loved this novel! It’s a heartwarming and cosy read with incredible characters and a fascinating story. Emily is a genius in her field, not only book-smart but experienced through countless expeditions and encounters with various faeries. Only her people skills are lacking, but this is where Wendell steps in... Yes, it is another take on the grumpy and sunshine couple, but they are truly adorable. United in their passion, they are academic partners and rivals at the same time.

The world created in this series is wonderfully magical and full of all kinds of creatures, from simple domestic faeries to wild types to powerful Hidden Ones. The novel is written as Emily’s journal, with the occasional entry from Wendell, so we learn about the faeries from the experts in the field. The book includes many legends and some entries written in a more serious, academic manner, adding interest to the story. The plot is perfectly balanced between fast action and quiet moments that allow Emily to write her book and spend some quality time arguing with Wendell.

I recommend this book to anyone looking for a good fantasy book with a bit of romance and lots of humour.
Can't wait for the second book!

Many thanks to Little, Brown Books and Heather Fawcett for the advanced copy of Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries via NetGalley, in return for my honest and unbiased review. Quick note: I don’t recap plots in my reviews, as it’s easy enough to read the book’s synopsis and blurbs, I purely focus on my feelings & opinions of how the books makes me feel.

I know it’s only January, but this book will certainly be one of my favourites of 2023, if not one of my favourites of all time. It is so richly imagined and beautifully written that I find myself thinking about it frequently, and already want to re-read it.

This book spoke to me on a basic level as I completely identify with Emily Wilde, although sadly I have no Shadow. Unlike most of the other whimsical stories of faerie, this book is dark, it’s grumpy and it’s not friendly. These aren’t the beautiful, kind fae which are so popular in fantasy fiction but the sinister, conniving type of folklore. There is so much folklore of all kinds woven into the entire tale.

The descriptions of the northern landscape are breath-takingly vivid and beautiful. You can truly see it in your mind’s eye in gloriously described detail. It is hard to believe that this is a work of fiction, the entire book is so richly and vividly described that it just feels all too real and possible.

Truly magnificent, I will certainly be recommending this book to everyone I know!

Moods: adventurous, dark, emotional, informative, mysterious, tense
Tropes: enemies/friends to lovers, grumpy/sunshine, peril, secret identity
Pace: medium
Character development: medium
Plot or character driven: 50/50
Diversity: high
Spice: 1/5
Trigger warnings: Death

Rating: 5/5

This review will be featured on my blog at www.mymentalshelf.com very soon

I had no expectations of this book, but when I saw a friend mention it and her excitement of it being published, it piqued my interest.

I cannot say anything bad about this story - it was full of intrigue, and twists and turns, and I would recommend this to everyone!

Just when I thought I was DONE reading fantasy about fae, I got an arc of Emily Wildes encyclopaedia of Faires and wow I was wrong! The perfect mixture of fantasy and historical fiction, set in an Icelandic island in a village where Emily travels to write her last chapter of her book, the words first encyclopaedia of faires. Emily struggles to connect with the locals, she’s not very sociable at all and just want to focus on her work. Enter Wendell Bambleby; Emily’s only friend and sort of rival, overly social, charming and potentially not even a human.

This story is so beautiful written, it’s a grumpy socially awkward Emily and a sunshine, utterly spoiled and very handsome Wendell. It’s so entertaining and heartbreaking reading Emily’s thoughts and insights as she struggling to understand how and why she offended the locals and how and why she wants to help them with certain problems that the mysterious, not always very pleasant fae has created. Heather Fawcetts language is utterly mesmerising and a joy to read, the character development is beautiful to follow and the relationship between Emily and Wendell feels so natural, it’s bickering, there’s rivalry (at least from Emily’s side) and despite their differences they just work, as friends and potentially more. The one thing that I wanted from this book was more romance, but I’m hopeful for the coming one!

🌙 historical fantasy
🌙 awkward, a bit grumpy and reclusive heroine
🌙 charming, sunshine mysterious hero
🌙 folk tales and faires
🌙 surprisingly dark at times
🌙 slow burn romance

Shoutout to NetGalley for the ARC!

I read this because it came highly recommended by some of my book club friends and I generally love cozy fantasy as a genre. The way faeries and their specifics were portrayed in the book was amazing. If I were to imagine fae, it would probably be exactly as they were described in this book, along with their many variations.
My favorite part is definitely Wendell, the unpredictable colleague Emily Wilde is forced to work with. The humorous situations they find themselves in stole the show.

I did have an issue with the first 40% of the book being a bit too slow and maybe with a bit of clumsy world-building. The second part of the novel moved a lot faster and I feel like I'd rather have more details on that part of the story, than the initial getting to know of the world setting. For a moment, I thought Emily was boring, but it was just the slow pacing of the story. Emily is actually a delight.

This is a perfect book for lovers of faeries, bargains, and whimsical plots that make you feel like the characters are witty and silly enough so that everything will resolve itself just right.

This was very interesting. I expected an easy to read, contemporary romance and I read a whimsical book about the faerie world. I really didn't expect all this information about faeries, magical creatures and hidden worlds!

It was fast paced and a very cosy read!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

BOOK REVIEW:.
𝑬𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒚 𝑾𝒊𝒍𝒅𝒆'𝒔 𝑬𝒏𝒄𝒚𝒄𝒍𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒂 𝒐𝒇 𝑭𝒂𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒃𝒚 𝑯𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝑭𝒂𝒘𝒄𝒆𝒕𝒕.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
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Happy UK pub day to this gem of a book.
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Read if you like:
🧚‍♂️cosy whimsical fantasy
🧚‍♀️with adventures
🧚lots of faeries and unique side characters
🧚‍♂️a handsome researcher
🧚‍♀️with a bit of romance (aka friends to lover!!!!)
🧚And a good laugh
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This follows Emily, who is a researcher, and her ultimate goal is to research and catalogue faeries in her encyclopedia, which will hopefully impress in an academic convention. She sets off to Russia to try and learn about the hidden one. However, Emily, her only friend, seems to be Wendell Bambleby, her colleague who is handsome and has everything working towards his favour - including being a published academic. But when Bambleby joins Emily in Russia, not everything is as it seems.

Clearly, I'm on my cosy fantasy hype. This book was great fun to read. Do you want a book about fairy tales? This is it.
The book compromises Emily POV and entries in her research journal. What's great about this book is that you're reading like it from her encyclopedia with entries of tales that Emily has encountered. She gets to meet a wide range of characters, which are very unique and a fun read. The more Emily discovers, the more she relies on her years of research about faeries.
Let's talk about Bambleby. He's super charming, and I've sort of fallen head over heels for him. He's a mystery that you slowly throughout the book unravel secrets from.
The only tiny thing I struggled with was the language right at the beginning, which made it a difficult read. But once I got the hand of it, the pace was great.
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I highly recommend this gem of a book. Thanks to Netgalley and orbits book. If you wanna provide a physical copy, that would be great cause I know I would annotate like CRAZY.

And I've just found out there book 2. And I'm so read for more!