Emily Wilde’s Compendium of Lost Tales is a fun, magical adventure that follows Emily and Wendell as they embark on a journey through enchanted lands, they uncover forgotten stories, lost magic, and dangerous secrets. The book takes place immediately following the events of the last book.
The world-building is rich and imaginative, and the banter between Emily and Wendell adds a nice, humorous touch.(I'm gonna miss them a lot )
It’s got that perfect blend of magic, mystery, and heart without being too heavy.
The pacing is mostly solid, though there are some moments when the story slows a little.
This was the perfect conclusion to the series.


Thank you to Netgalley and Little Brown Book Group for providing me with a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

First things first, I wanna thank the author, the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read this in advance, this was the first ARC I received and it couldn’t have been a better book for the occasion!

The third and final installation in this series, and my favorite by far! This book had a strong and exciting beginning. After the previous book’s adventures to find a door to the Silva Lupi, Emily and Wendell embark on to Faerie to Wendell’s kingdom. The story follows them as they deal with problems big and small. The former queen and Wendell’s stepmother has cursed the land and they must find a way to restore the Silva Lupi to what it was, before the curse takes over the entirety of the land.

The way in which they untangled this problem was my favorite bit! I love stories within stories, parallels and references, and puzzles-to some extent- and all these were used to get them to their goal. The story was overall lovely and cozy, as the previous two books had been, but in my opinion this volume was written more splendidly. I cannot elaborate without giving away some key points in the plot, but all I can say is that
many lesser known aspects of Faerie and its mythology are explored, and there is even some personal history unearthed.

There is a cast of new characters to love or even hate. Emily and Wendell also remain their lovely stubborn and strange selves. Orga is, as befits her, still a hero. And Shadow also gets some chances to show off his heroic side. The world of Faerie is explored both geographically and mythically; we get to see a number of new enchantments and glamours, different Folk, and also some horrible curses and poisons.

I think this book will be perfect for people who love fantasy, a cozy read, or a tale interlaced with academia. The writing style is beautiful and magical, while staying quirky and funny. Plot was, in my opinion, strongly and neatly organised, beautifully tying everything together. And on top of all that the book took you through the motions- you experienced joy, fear, anxiety, and even grief- I did shed some tears in fact! The world building was also amazing leaving the reader in love for the book’s universe and wanting to go back adventuring with Emily and Wendell. I cannot recommend this book enough and I do hope that more books might one day be written about the imperfectly perfect characters and their wonderful magical world.

What I loved: this felt like a wonderful completion to the series, and I loved that we got to spend so much time in Faerie and exploring more myths and legends. The twist at the end about the interpretation of the guiding folklore was a clever touch! It was so comforting to be back with characters from Book 1 and 2, but still keeping Emily front and centre. Without giving away any spoilers, thank you for "healing" a certain character: I wouldn't have survived if something had happened to them!!

What I didn't love: that the series is over!!! 😭 I will miss these characters so much, especially Shadow. I did feel we saw a more vulnerable side of Wendell in this book, which wasn't always enjoyable - he really can be carelessly selfish at times, but isn't that to be expected of a Faerie King?? 🤣

"I have learned there is one thing a person never tires of, no matter how long they live. And that is being in love. All else is ash and amber."

I was so excited when I got a copy of this arc, that I almost cried - and while it wasn't quite as incredible as the previous two in the series, it did not disappoint.

I loved the chance to explore more of Wendall's realm, and the evolving story arc added some lovely nuance to his and Emily's relationship. Watching Emily adapt to life in Faerie only made her character more endearing, and I enjoyed watching her learn to be herself in a realm wholly alien to her.

While this was a great read (and I stayed up way too late finishing it), I would have loved to see more of the light academia touches that shine through the rest of the series. But there were also some great new characters and obstacles that fit in nicely to Fawcett's worldbuilding - not to mention the return of other familiar faces!

Overall, this was a heartwarming and compelling read, that provided a satisfying - but still open-ended - conclusion to Emily's story. I'm so grateful to have early access, and I'm excited to see more people get to enjoy this fantastic series!

Books with similar vibes - A Dark and Drowning Tide by Allison Saft, Tea You at the Altar by Rebecca Thorne, Winterfrost Market by Jenny Sandiford, and The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden.

Firstly I wanna thank the author, the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read this in advance.
Emily Wilde's books just got better and better and this one was definitely my favourite.
I love that it started with Emily and Wendell going to his kingdom but her stepmother's disappearance left them a problem they had to solve.
I loved that Emily was able to return to the mortal world a few times to research on the matter and we got to see familiar faces from the other books.
This was a fantastic cosy read. I don't know know if there'll be more books or if it was a trilogy but, if it was and this was the last book, it was a very good ending for very cosy, fun and mysterious read.

I was not ready to say goodbye to Emily and Wendell so I’d been putting off reading the final instalment. If you loved the first two Emily Wilde books you will love this one, whilst it wasn’t my favourite of the three I enjoyed spending more time with these characters and seeing how their story would wrap up.

This is cosy fantasy set in the dark world of faerie done incredibly well, the unique character’s of Emily and Wendell are such comfort characters to me. It was so lovely to see Emily’s open up to her feeling feelings and see her character growth without losing her uniqueness. I did miss some of the original banter between Emily and Wendell that we had in the first two books but as their relationship has progressed it made sense for them as they aren’t in their initial stages of a romantic relationship anymore.

As with the first two books I enjoyed Emily’s pov written through her journal entries, the footnotes can be a little clunky (especially when read on the kindle as there was a need to flick through pages) but I always enjoy these little informative additions to the story. They are a part of Emily’s scholarly character and I think this little quirk works very well within the story.

This felt like the perfect round up to Emily and Wendell’s story but I did like that it was also left open to possible future adventures. I absolutely adore this whole series and there will always be a special place in my heart for these wonderful characters.

Thank you to orbit and author for giving me a digital arc via Netgalley to read and review early.

I really enjoy this series. Emily is a prickly focused and lovable character, committed to her studies but learning how to love her Fae Prince, Wendell. They've returned to his realm to claim the throne and help its recovery from his stepmother. And whilst Emily thinks this is the perfect opportunity to research Fae politics she finds herself instead drawn to a folk tale that echoes the events unfolding in Wendell's own realm.

And to repeat, I enjoy this series. But I haven't rated this book especially highly for a few reasons - some parts felt rushed. Other parts felt as though they jumped from one conversation to the next scene before the conversation had concluded. We are finally exploring a faerie kingdom but end up seeing relatively little of it. It's poor scholarship to use one tale only as the basis for all of your research. And the ending just felt a little weaker than the other books.

Some of that may also be because we are now in faerie. And it feels less like a mysterious other world when apparently it is a lot more easy to cross in and out of it, especially when you have a King on your side...

I received an eARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

First of all, thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book picks up pretty much where the last one left off, with Emily and Wendell returning to his realm. This book had a lot of returning characters, which was nice, though not enough Poe for me.

The descriptions were still whimsical and fantastic. Emily is as focused as always, quite single minded on following stories in this case in an attempt to save the realm. I did find this dragged in places.

While this book is enjoyable, I didn't find it quite as enjoyable as the first two. I really wanted more interactions between Emily and Wendell as those are my favourite things about these books.

This book finishes pretty open endedly, there would at least be scope for some short adventures. I still love this series as a whole and would recommend.

Disclaimer: e-Arc provided by Little Brown Book Group Uk, Orbit via Net Galley for Review. All thoughts are my own. My thanks to Orbit, for providing me with the arc for review.

Plot
The third and final book following the adventures of Emily Wilde and Wendell through the land of the Fae. The book takes place immediately following the events of the second book.

Thoughts
Sigh…

This book was fine, it was just slow and I think it let the previous books in the series down. There was any dramatic plot moments, and I felt it was made up of a lot of smaller moments.

I also disliked how little of the romance we got, Wendell is barely there which is mad when I think about how the earlier books felt more Romantasy leaning.

Overall, a good conclusion to the series, but a bit underwhelming.

⤷ 4.5✩

Thanks to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for providing me with the E-ARC via NetGalley.

I thoroughly enjoyed the last instalment in this series and I am going to miss these characters a lot.

Everything seems to come together in this last book. New characters are introduced with previous characters we know and love still being involved. I love Fawcett’s writing style and how she portrays the world through the eyes of Emily.

The only small annoyance(?) I have is how the problems almost immediately are solved. Why not get into more hot water while trying to get the problems solved? Now the very first attempt seems to always provide the solution, which I would have liked to see handled differently.

The book fitted right in after the second one, loved how Emily ever changed who she was in each of the books, fell in love with Emily and Wendell all over again but my favourite where shadow and orga.

In this third (and potentially final) installment to the Emily Wilde series, we follow the titular scholar as she follows had fiancé Wendell to Faerie where he intends to take up his throne.

First off, this cannot be read as a standalone, you need to have read the first two books in the series, preferably recently as the events from the second book directly impact this one.

The same charm and whimsy from the other books are back as are many of the characters. There is a quest that can only be resolved by delving further into scholarly lore. And of course there are footnotes!

A recommended read for fans of Emily Wilde's Encyclopedia of Faeries, Katherine Arden, and books that blend fantasy, folklore, and academic research with a touch of whimsy.

Thank you to Netgalley and Little, Brown Book Group for providing me with a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A lovely end to the most comforting series. This book had all the same charms of the first two books with even more faerie whimsy.

Emily Wilde's Compendium of Lost Tales is a delightful conclusion of Emily and Wendell's thrilling adventure. The entire series is filled with magic, mystery and academic exploration, in this book more so than the others! We get to see Emily become the hero we all wanted to see, using her bookish knowledge to save the kingdom.

I loved reading about the kingdom with the various little creatures that reside there - I would love a spinoff series where we just go through each of the creates alone!

I love the whimsy in these stories and Fawcett's ability to make these characters seem alive, a beautifully magical fairy tale book with a quirky relationship between shy, academic Emily and charismatic (royal) Wendell!

I would love to read more about these two in the future or tales from the creatures that live there (Emily Wilde's illustrated collection of creatures maybe?)

Overall, a beautiful book full of whimsy and magic, a joyful and heart-warming story which perfectly captures the fairy tale world of Emily and Wendell.

Thank you so much to the publisher for providing me an early copy of this book

The third thrilling instalment of Emily Wilde’s story, and this one does not disappoint!

We follow Emily and Wendell as they try rule in Wendell’s kingdom. Emily is unsure of how to be a faerie queen, which allows us to see her be a bit more vulnerable than in the previous two books. Thankfully there are also plenty of opportunities for Emily to be her confident scholarly self!

I loved the emphasis on stories and folklore in this book, and the examination of how stories can give us direction but also lead us astray.

I loved the new characters introduced in the book, as well as the return of old beloved characters as well. The development of the romance between Emily and Wendell was very well handled for their personalities!

This was a great read, and a great finish to the trilogy. Things are left open ended (maybe we’ll get more books…??) but without leaving plot points unanswered. I’m excited to see what the author does next!

The final instalment of Emily Wilde series is just as lovely and magical as the 1st two books. However, I felt it was less darker than those books. My theory for this is the Fae are portrayed more terrifyingly in the mortal realm compared to their own realm as the Fae's don't really belong here.

In this book we get to see how Wendell fits in as a reigning monarch and taking responsibility of his now poisoned realm. I just wish we had more domesticity between Wendell and Emily because there was so much at stake and wasn't much opportunity for it. However, the few adorable moments we did get was so so sweet.

Overall, this series has become one of my favourite series. It has cosy academia, faeries, pathetic love interest like Howl and a female character that uses her knowledge to get out of dangerous situations.

Thank you Little Brown Book Group for the eARC via NetGalley.

This is the third book in the Emily Wilde series and ties up the loose ends from previous stories (although it’s open-ended enough that I hope Fawcett will revisit the series in the future). In light of this I don’t think it can be easily read as a stand-alone but would recommend reading the other stories in the series first (in addition they’re both brilliant so it won’t be a hardship!!!)

Emily and Wendell return to his kingdom to reclaim it from his evil stepmother and find it under a curse. Emily put her intelligence and knowledge of the Faie to work to try to break the curse and get her happy ending.

This was a brilliant book and reintroduced several of my favourite characters from previous stories, as well as introducing some entertaining new ones. The story is riddled with humour and adventure, Emily remains a character whose sensibilities are modern enough for me to empathise with but not jarring to the approximate time period the story is set in (I say approximate as it is sort of an alternate history with dryadology being an acknowledged field of study).

The plot was brilliant and kept me engaged from beginning until end. I thoroughly recommend this book to anyone interested in reading entertaining cosy fantasy as this series is amongst the best I’ve ever read!

*** Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher ***

What an incredible conclusion to the Emily Wilde series! I’ve loved these books from the start, and this third installment did not disappoint. While it retains the cosy, journal-style charm of the earlier books, the stakes are higher than ever as Emily and Wendell venture into his world. Court politics, treacherous family dynamics, and plenty of magical peril kept me hooked from start to finish.

Fawcett’s world-building is as lush and immersive as ever, and the balance between cosy and high-stakes storytelling is spot on. I loved seeing Emily and Wendell’s relationship develop further, complete with all the tension and realism that makes them feel so authentic.

If this is truly the end of the trilogy, I’m sad to say goodbye, but it’s a perfect send-off. Highly recommend this series to fans of magical, character-driven fantasy.

Emily Wilde's Compendium of Lost Tales is the third book in the Emily Wilde series. In this installment, Emily and Wendell return to Silva Lupi, but the queen has cursed the kingdom, causing everything to descend into a nightmare. Emily attempts to save both the kingdom and Wendell using her knowledge of stories. I love this series so much, and I’m sad that this is the final book. The books are character-driven, and I particularly enjoy Emily as the main character. The banter between Emily and Wendell is delightful to read. Also, Orga and Shadow always manage to steal the show, at least for me. Overall, this series is such a comfort for me. I'll gladly read more. I highly recommend it if you’re looking for a cozy and whimsical light academia novel with charming characters. Thanks to Netgalley and Little, Brown Book Group UK for the arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

An amazing conclusion to the series, the ending feels well deserved! Getting to go on whimsical adventures with Emily through the books has been a delight and this is a perfect way to end it!