Reviews with content warning for Self harm - Emily Wildes Enzyklopädie der Feen

Really liked this one. A bit slow at the beginning, stayed mainly for the cozy vibes and the FMC's personality and dark humour. Started to pick up the pace around the 25% mark, but still remained a simple read, without major action scenes or complicated worldbuilding, which I enjoyed. I was kind of thrown off a bit by some gory details that showed up in random places, specially because the rest of the book was very "light" on that aspect. I wish the romance was a little more developed, Bambleby's actions

a.k.a. proposal

fell kind of flat. Definitely will be reading the second one.

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bloomingrose92's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

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

5.0

This is one of the books I give 5 stars and a sparkle for being one of the books that will stick with me forever. I absolutely adore Emily. While she is not canonized as having autism in the book, due to her difficulty expressing her emotions and communicating with others, I often refer to her as "Our Autistic Queen".

I loved how closely the village becomes with her by the end, and how even when thinking of how they have become her family, she is still lost on what degree of physical affection she should give them when bidding farewell. And after she chops of her finger to avoid the enchantment of the winter fairy king, and then goes to him anyway because she just "has to know how the story ends", I found myself screaming "Emily!" at midnight alone in my house. (Talking to yourself at midnight at book is a sign of a very good book.) I also loved the development of Wendall throughout the book. When he was first introduced, I thought he was going to be a dry, doting scholar. But with the name-dropping of him being fae at the beginning of the book, to the characterization of his combination laziness and obsessive-compulsive cleaning and sewing disorder, I fell in love. His charm and Emily's wit make such a beautiful combination, and his proposal was the chef's kiss. I love how well they balance each other out, especially seen in the scenes when he helps her integrate with the village and when she forces him to do proper fieldwork. And while the footnotes were annoying to being with, I liked how they not only added to the validity of Emily's character, but also set up the second book.

All in all, one of the best books I've ever read. I will mourn this series when it is finished, but love it all the while as I wait for more.

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kiwij96's review against another edition

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adventurous lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

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

3.75

A couple of things: books need to stop being advertised as romantasy when the only "romantic" event was the FMC saying she liked the MMC's hair, and the MMC professing his love for the FMC out of absolutely nowhere. Considering that even in the book summary, it says "she'll have to unlock the greatest mystery of all - her heart", Emily Wilde barely unlocks her personality.

I genuinely do not know what the plot was supposed to be: academic fantasy; romantasy; general fantasy. Because it began as a light fae academia, and slowly but surely descended into chaos by page 200. Somehow it ended up in Cruel Prince territory with absurd professions of love, an act of self mutilation, and fae royalty. Also the events of the last 100 pages were so erratic and at times out-of-character for the FMC, it didn't suit the story at all.

The events of the story happened at odd paces, with weird and vague descriptions on how conclusions were being made, and also events just being too conveniently solved. For this reason I don't thing the diary entry style of chaptering did it any favours.

This would have worked so much better as a rivals to friends type relationship in an academic setting for sure. There was no chemistry between the characters for a romance to be justified in 315 pages personally.

That said though, it was a great concept and I would probably read again (just in case it was a result of reading it out of season with this having a more winter vibe), and I liked the idea of the academic research into different fae cultures. I am hoping the sequel explores this in more depth. The worldbuilding was fantastic, the writing was mostly descriptive and was easy to read at a nice pace. Just kinda lost the plot a bit towards the end there. Could definitely have been more academic.

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bree_h_reads's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted 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

This was so fun and delightful and casual. It was just such a pleasant read, the more relaxed tone emphasising that.

The plot was consistent and largely casual. Things were happening, but not wild displays of action. The characters would learn things, do things, advance the plot, but in more casual feeling ways. It suited the story’s feel very well.

The character also all felt very dynamic and real. Each one felt unique and different. This variety of character also leant to interesting relationships. I especially appreciated the variety of women in the book and how unique each one felt. Though my favourite character was Shadow, easily the best character and goodest boy. The interest of the characters and their dynamics also really leant to the book’s subtle romance. It snuck up on me and when it did, I was delighted.

I especially liked the world building and how fey lore was handled in the book. Everything drew me in and kept me fascinated. It was also delightful when I recognised some of the lore and I liked learning more. The faerie lore was just so interesting and I’m looking forward to read more of the series.

I only have a few more notes for what I enjoyed. Which are the amazing performance of the narrators, the framing device of the story being told in Emily’s journal, and the casual approach to queerness. Overall a great read, I definitely recommend it.

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day23dreamer's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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dinipandareads's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny informative mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

My first re-read of 2024 couldn't have gone better because this was an absolute delight! I remember enjoying it well enough when I first read it last year but I also recall feeling slightly disappointed by the ending. Those same thoughts do not hold on re-read and I'm happy to say that I loved it so much more this time. It could be because I was listening to it on audiobook and annotated the heck out of it too which made me feel more immersed in the story.

Emily Wilde's isn't a fast-paced story and neither does it have a concrete plot beyond Emily researching the most elusive Hidden Ones to complete the final chapter in her encyclopaedia of faeries, which she has been working on for most of her adult life. It's very much a cosy slice-of-life fantasy that moves along at a steady, although not particularly rapid, pace. We're treated to Emily's POV through her journal entries and being who she is, it does read very academically and that might not be to everyone's taste but I thoroughly enjoyed it because of how well it captured her personality.

I found the world-building exquisite. This is a historical fantasy set in a world where faerie studies are a very real thing and the existence of fae across the world have been chronicled and catalogued and numerous studies have been pursued. It shouldn't surprise you to know that you will come away from this knowing a whole lot more about faeries than you ever did before—at least, that's what happened to me and I loved the whimsical, enchanting and utterly terrifying nature of these creatures. The way the faerie world is explored and dissected through Emily's journal entries is magnificent and although I have no idea what I will do with all this information, I'm delighted that it's been imparted! 😂 Aside from everything faerie, I also loved the way Fawcett's writing brought nature to life. The biting cold of the bitter winter on this tiny island near the Arctic Circle was almost like a character on its own and as much as my tropical ass loves the idea of winter, I don't reckon I'd survive this, lol.

As wonderful as the setting was though, the best part of this was Emily, Wendell and the villagers who I grew to love so much by the end of this book! Sometimes I wonder if we're meant to like Emily at all but in all honesty, I loved her and appreciate her character so much. She's brilliant, curmudgeonly, and incredibly passionate about anything and everything to do with the folk. But the minute it comes to interacting with people she clams up and doesn't know what to do or say. I can relate so much to that! She grew up as a "too smart" young woman with a family that didn't know what to do with her and she had to rely on herself to get anything done. If there's anyone who could teach a Masterclass on how to suppress emotions, Emily would be the one. What you see is what you get with her and I loved that she knew her shortcomings just as well as her strengths! Although she doesn't try to actively change herself throughout the story, as she realises that people are willing to accept her for who she is, it comes about naturally. I thoroughly enjoyed her academic mind and I especially loved it when Wendell came into the picture!

From Emily's pov, Wendell is her academic rival and begrudgingly on her part, her only friend. He's the sunshine to her grump and the exact opposite to her in every way. Where she's rigid about her research, he orders his minions around and kind of flops about everywhere. Where she's socially awkward to her core, he's the light and life of every party and conversation. He's an incorrigible flirt and charms his way through everything he does. I adored his character, especially the sharp, witty banter that he has with Emily! There were serious moments that I knew I probably shouldn't have been laughing but I couldn't help it because of how they spoke about and to each other. It was always respectful and honest but also incredibly endearing. And I loved that even as he needled her to tears, you could tell that he always did so with a great fondness for his dear dragon, Emily. 😍 I loved them so, so much!

That said, I do think that the love confession felt a bit sudden considering he was still hooking up with village women throughout the story. That honestly made me feel a bit uncomfortable but I guess, he's fae? And Emily didn't seem to mind, at least she never raised it as an issue.

His backstory was fascinating but I can't talk about it cos major spoilers but I can't wait to read more about him in the sequel. I hope that we get more of his POV too because I enjoyed them and in the audiobook, the narrator did a fantastic job of capturing his personality.

I think the only qualm that I have, although it hasn't affected my rating this time around, is how neatly the ending wrapped up. It happened very quickly and it felt too clean considering it has to do with such a powerful faerie. But as I said, it didn't take away from my overall enjoyment of the story. I'm so glad that I decided to re-read this before continuing with the second book because I feel so differently about it compared to last year! If you're also thinking about the audiobook for this, I would highly recommend it because the narrators did a fantastic job with all the character voices, especially Emily's and Wendell's!

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vjlp22_reader's review against another edition

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adventurous slow-paced

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

4.5

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acesolaris's review against another edition

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dark 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? It's complicated

5.0

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