Reviews with content warning for Ableism - Emily Wildes Enzyklopädie der Feen

Reviews tagging 'Ableism'

Emily Wildes Enzyklopädie der Feen by Heather Fawcett

9 reviews

starlit_pathways's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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abigailrosalynn's review against another edition

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adventurous funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Oh my god this was SUCH a fun and cozy and engaging read. It felt nostalgic to some of my faves from middle grade and YA, such a fun run through my memory collection of species of fae and the otherworldly folk. I love love love Emily and I love Wendell and the other cast of characters (POE!) and I can't wait to continue the journey. The world building was *chef's kiss* and I think that Heather Fawcett does a great job of the "flesh out what you know and the audience won't notice what you don't" fundamental building blocks of fantasy. It's been a while since I've read something that rang so true to my type of book. While I've really enjoyed some books recently, they were chosen by others for bookclub and surprises for me. This is exactly the type of book I needed 🩵 AND it was a perfect book to read in one day while the power is out!

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seregelda's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

CW: Animal cruelty and death, ableism, mental illness, violence

I didn't enjoy this book as much as I expected to, and was put off by all the animal cruelty and killing. I tried reading the ebook initially, but the formatting of the chapter flourishes overtook half the page rendering them unreadable. I spent some Xmas money to buy a paperback, but I'm not sure I want to buy the next one. This one just wasn't good enough. Too bad.

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bearwithhat's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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dogoodwithbooks's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

During an expedition to Hrafnsvik, Ljosland, Cambridge professor Emily Wilde uncovers unknown secrets of the fae world she has spent her whole life studying as she tries to save Hrafnsvik from the Hidden Ones alongside her colleague and frenemy Wendell Bambleby.

Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries is an interesting take on the fantasy genre: a low-stakes novel that's not quite so cozy and is a perfect blend of magical realism and Victorian elements. Written entirely from journal entries during Emily's time in Ljosland, the epistolary format works really well for this book as readers are transported in the intricate world-building behind Fawcett's fae world.

Additionally, Emily is such an interesting narrator for this book, and provides a unique POV throughout the book. While Fawcett doesn't say that she's autistic in the book, as an #ActuallyAutistic reviewer, one can notice that there are some of her attributes are similar to other autistic individuals. Regardless of whether Emily is autistic or not, Fawcett does a stellar job with detailing Emily's growth throughout the book as she learns to open herself up to others.

That being said, if you're looking for a low-stakes fantasy novel with fae, cozy aesthetic with dark undertones and a hint of romance, and/or a strong female protagonist (who may be autistic), you would probably enjoy reading Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries.

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cthulhussy's review against another edition

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adventurous funny hopeful lighthearted relaxing slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

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beautifulpaxielreads's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries (hence Emily) was pretty much a delight from start to finish.

Set in the early years of the twentieth century, it follows the titular Emily, one of the foremost scholars in the study of faeries, rivalled only by her colleague, the infuriatingly handsome and charming Wendell Bambleby, who for all of his charisma Emily finds just the slightest bit uncanny.

Emily has just arrived in the tiny village of Hrafnsvik on the island of Ljosland (a fictional place which from the descriptions of the landscape and character names seems to be based on Iceland) from her native England, where she intends to research the lives of the island's faerie-folk for the world-first faerie encyclopedia, which is very near to completion.

She is also not a people person, preferring to spend her time either buried in paperwork or trampling through the countryside, making a study of the beings that look set to be her life's work. The village folk of Hrafnsvik do not know what to make of her and her - to them - odd behaviour.

Emily thinks her trip to Hrafnsvik will be like all the other field trips she has made - uneventful and productive. But she is soon to be proved wrong in the most spectacular, infuriating and heartwarming of ways.

Is it obvious how much I enjoyed this? Freya Marske, the author of A Marvellous Light, describes Emily thus:

...winter-sunshined, sharp-tongued and footnoted academia, full of field trips and grumpy romance.

I wholeheartedly agree with Marske that Emily is all of these things - and so much more. It's a grumpy romance between two opposite-minded but somehow compatible individuals (no, I won't tell you who, that would spoil), it's a well-thought-out fantasy of what faerie scholarship would look like if faeries actually existed and were studied, and most of all, it's the story of a young woman learning to accept love and friendship into her life. Although it's never stated explicitly in the book - it would be an anachronism given the time period in which the novel is set - I, like others, believe Emily's behaviour and characteristics to be neurodivergent, though specifics are unclear.

What is clear is that reading about Emily's adventures was a great deal of fun for me, and I can't wait to see what she and Bambleby get up to in the sequel.

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foiblesandfiction's review against another edition

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adventurous funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I'm one of those contrary people who often snubs books that are much too hyped, and this book is very hyped. So shocker - I loved it. I want a physical copy and an immediate reread.

From the cover alone I was prepared for fantastical cuteness, but I was not expecting a full adventure following our (because she's ours...I will fight wars for her) autistic-coded scientist Emily Wilde on her faerie excursion while being hounded by her he-falls-first academic rival/friend. The first person pov and epistolary style helped me to connect to Emily as a main character and I loved being able to see her navigate the world as an autistic person. Many hijinks ensue, of course, as well as a small quest and, god, I love a quest.

If you enjoy Stalking Jack the Ripper and A Natural History Of Dragons and wish that those two books had a gorgeous little literary baby, then this book is it for you.

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adancewithbooks's review against another edition

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funny informative reflective medium-paced

4.0

Thank you to Del Rey and Netgalley for the review copy in exchange for an honest review. This does not change my opinion in anyway.

Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries is an interesting story that goes from the focus on faeries to the development of our main character.

The story of Emily starts of slow. She shows herself as a professional in her diary entries that we get to read. She tries to keep her distance from the people in the town. But as she is in a very remote area, without a lot of extra help, she does need the towns people to survive. When her academic rival appears she has to step up her game. And once she does get more interaction with the towns people she finds it is not so easy to turn her back on the problems the faeries cause them.

Like I said, the story is slow and the diaries start with an air of professionalism. But around the midway mark you can see a change in her entries. They become much more personal, infused with her emotions and it adds so much more dimension to the story.

The faeries really are the backdrop to out introduction of Emily. She is not someone who is much used to other people and isn't nessecarily good at charming people. She prefers to have her nose in a book with her trusted sideick, the dog Shadow, next to her. Interacting with other people is hard and not something she can prepare herself for so she prefers to avoid it.

When Wendell comes into the story she tries to project a form of rivals onto their relationship while it is clear from the beginning that Wendell really doesn't feel the same way. Back in Cambridge they have breakfast and lunch together. But keeping an air of a rivalry between them from her side means that she can keep him at a distance. For those pesky feelings he seems to call up whenever he is near. Plus she thinks he is actally a court faerie who is banished. That probably doesn't help.

And yet Emily has so much to give to others. She's smart, blunt, honest and does have her heart in the right place. As much as the book tries to say she is only out saving the day because of academics I don't think that is true at all.

Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia might have started out on faeries but it became much more about Emily Wilde.

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