Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett – Review

Published: January 10, 2023

Publisher: Del Rey Books

Series: Emily Wilde #1

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 336 (Hardcover)

My Rating: 4.5/5.0

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

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 this heartwarming and enchanting fantasy.

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, Shadow, and the Fair Folk to other people.

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.

My long-time readers know that if there are faeries mentioned, I’m adding the book to my To Be Read pile. This is an academically inclined fantasy with a little romance dashed in, and plenty of the cruel and beautiful fair folk. This was practically guaranteed to be a favorite.

Emily Wilde, already an accomplished Cambridge professor, is set to sweep the academic world with her Encylopaedia of Faeries, but first she has one more entry to fill: that of the mysterious Scandinavian fae. She sets off with her research gear and her rather intimidating dog, Shadow, to a remote village where the mysterious fae have been spiriting away people in record numbers. When Emily’s fellow professor and friendly competitor, Wendell Bambleby, shows up she’s begrudgingly delighted to have the company, but Bambleby is known for making his graduate students do much of the leg work. Still, his research is renowned and he’s invited her to co-speak at a prominent lecture in Paris…

What follows is an interesting, academically inclined tale of human interaction with the fae – both the good and bad. There are changelings, lost kings, tree spirits who make bargains and bake bread, and the terrifying high fae who steal mortals into their snowy kingdom. Emily is a delightful protagonist who is more concerned with her research than anything else and is often frustrated at having to be sociable. Wendell Bambleby on the other hand is her foil – a natural charmer, fitting in amazingly even with the toughest crowd. The two are close friends, though it’s clear that Wendell has stronger feelings for Emily and she’s mostly oblivious. She is, however, not oblivious to his strange nature and is in fact closely studying him for other reasons.

I found Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries to be a charming read that kept the fae as otherworldly and menacing as they ought to be. This is a perfect wintry read and while the setting may be frigid, the extremely slow burn romance will be enough to warm your soul. This looks to be the first in a new series, and I’ll be eagerly awaiting the sequel.