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littleflowerfairy's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
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
Thank you to NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for a honest review!
After I finished the first book, I immediately joined NetGalley in order to request an advanced copy, because I just couldn't wait to find out what happened next!
Heather Fawcett once again does an incredible job of building an intricate and lush world of faeries, weaving well-known folklore and her own additions in such a seamless way. I daresay I loved this book even more than the first one! I think it was because I was already invested in the characters, and I just loved all the time we spent with them, introducing new ones and fleshing out existing relationships. I particularly can't get enough of Emily and Wendell's relationship! There were so many beautiful and heartwarming moments between them in this book - moments that left me gushing and giggling every time!
And let's not forget the mystery and the high-stakes action that kept me holding my breath every time a new twist or a new danger was revealed! Even though it's in journal format, that doesn't lessen the fast pace with which we're pulled along in the action, every detailed description from Emily fully immersing you into the world, her emotions tugging at your heart the whole time. Though even with the higher-stakes, they weren't constant, and the book still very much felt as cozy as the first.
Personally, I don't like how most popular fantasy books write the fae. I love the complicated nature of faeries, exploring how separated their morals and ideals are from humans, how utterly inhuman and perplexing they are, and yet at the same time how almost similar to humans they can sometimes become in their curiosity and fascination with our world. Absolutely no hate authors who write their fae otherwise, but I just personally don't vibe with it. I absolutely adore how Heather Fawcett expands upon all the things I love about fae in the Emily Wilde series, and it's one of the reasons this series is quickly climbing up to my favorites list.
Again, thank you to NetGalley, and Heather Fawcett of course, for the opportunity to read and review this book, and I cannot wait until book three!!
After I finished the first book, I immediately joined NetGalley in order to request an advanced copy, because I just couldn't wait to find out what happened next!
Heather Fawcett once again does an incredible job of building an intricate and lush world of faeries, weaving well-known folklore and her own additions in such a seamless way. I daresay I loved this book even more than the first one! I think it was because I was already invested in the characters, and I just loved all the time we spent with them, introducing new ones and fleshing out existing relationships. I particularly can't get enough of Emily and Wendell's relationship! There were so many beautiful and heartwarming moments between them in this book - moments that left me gushing and giggling every time!
And let's not forget the mystery and the high-stakes action that kept me holding my breath every time a new twist or a new danger was revealed! Even though it's in journal format, that doesn't lessen the fast pace with which we're pulled along in the action, every detailed description from Emily fully immersing you into the world, her emotions tugging at your heart the whole time. Though even with the higher-stakes, they weren't constant, and the book still very much felt as cozy as the first.
Personally, I don't like how most popular fantasy books write the fae. I love the complicated nature of faeries, exploring how separated their morals and ideals are from humans, how utterly inhuman and perplexing they are, and yet at the same time how almost similar to humans they can sometimes become in their curiosity and fascination with our world. Absolutely no hate authors who write their fae otherwise, but I just personally don't vibe with it. I absolutely adore how Heather Fawcett expands upon all the things I love about fae in the Emily Wilde series, and it's one of the reasons this series is quickly climbing up to my favorites list.
Again, thank you to NetGalley, and Heather Fawcett of course, for the opportunity to read and review this book, and I cannot wait until book three!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Animal cruelty, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence
Moderate: Blood, Body horror, and Chronic illness
Minor: Death of parent and Alcohol
meganpbell's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
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? Yes
4.75
The dangerous and delightful adventures of curmudgeonly faery scholar Emily Wilde, her Grim dog Shadow, and her otherworldly colleague (and aspiring fiancé) Wendell Bambleby continue in the Austrian Alps and ~elsewhere~ in this sequel to Emily Wilde’s Encyclopedia of Faeries! I just have such a good time following on the Oxford clad heels of this cozy yet prickly light academia fantasy series—alongside all the friends Emily always ends up finding (if slightly against her will).
Content Warnings
Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Death of parent, Blood, and Violence
roget's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Note: Spoilers for book one ahead!
In this novel, Emily Wilde (a notable expert in the field of Dryadology) and Wendell (her academic-rival-turned-faerie-king-paramour) attempt to locate a door back into Wendell's realm--Silva Lupi. Emily's studied the writings of a long-lost, notorious scholar and theorizes there may be a faerie "nexus" in the location this scholar went missing fifty years before. The task is simple--find the nexus, get Wendell a secondary way home, and write a brilliant map of the Otherlands while she's at it. The task seems simple, but there are well-intentioned yet troublesome nieces, stodgy department heads, complicated romantic feelings, and powerful Silva Lupian assassins standing in their way.
A spectacular follow-up to book one, Fawcett writes faeries with a ferocity and texture not unlike Holly Black, but with a story that pierces right to the heart of hygge. Exceptional, warm, cozy, and genuine, it’s well worth the read.
Book two took the characters I loved and made me love them even more. It dug deeper into dryadology’s academic nooks and crannies and provided numerous forays into the absurd. The plot was solid and entertaining, and built wonderfully on the ground covered in EWEoF.
This is a love letter to folklore and fantasy. It will easily be in my top ten reads of the year. I cannot recommend this enough.
In this novel, Emily Wilde (a notable expert in the field of Dryadology) and Wendell (her academic-rival-turned-faerie-king-paramour) attempt to locate a door back into Wendell's realm--Silva Lupi. Emily's studied the writings of a long-lost, notorious scholar and theorizes there may be a faerie "nexus" in the location this scholar went missing fifty years before. The task is simple--find the nexus, get Wendell a secondary way home, and write a brilliant map of the Otherlands while she's at it. The task seems simple, but there are well-intentioned yet troublesome nieces, stodgy department heads, complicated romantic feelings, and powerful Silva Lupian assassins standing in their way.
A spectacular follow-up to book one, Fawcett writes faeries with a ferocity and texture not unlike Holly Black, but with a story that pierces right to the heart of hygge. Exceptional, warm, cozy, and genuine, it’s well worth the read.
Book two took the characters I loved and made me love them even more. It dug deeper into dryadology’s academic nooks and crannies and provided numerous forays into the absurd. The plot was solid and entertaining, and built wonderfully on the ground covered in EWEoF.
This is a love letter to folklore and fantasy. It will easily be in my top ten reads of the year. I cannot recommend this enough.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Chronic illness and Violence
Chronic illness is due tobtwnprintedpgs's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Violence, Blood, and Murder
brianneh's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
Another delightful book in the Emily Wilde series! We are back following the journal of Professor Emily Wilde as she, Wendell Bambleby, and a few new additions hunt for a missing door back to Faerie. Their quest is aided by both new and old faces, and I loved getting some throwbacks to some of my favorite characters from the previous book. I also liked and am intrigued by quite a few of the new characters and hope to see more of them in the next book.
I am so glad to be back in this world, and the wonderful, descriptive language pulls you right in. I feel like I can picture the setting of the places Emily visits so vividly, from offices at Cambridge, to the cottage in the small town the group stays, to the mountainous wilderness they explore.
While I do like Wendell and the rest of the crew, Emily will always be my favorite. I’m glad we still get everything from her perspective (although I also enjoy the odd chapter from Wendell every now and again!) This book continues the journal style of writing we saw in the first book, which I enjoyed. I like how she includes footnotes in her own journal, even if Wendell teases her for it!
The book does start off a bit slow for the first half, but really picks up in the second half! I absolutely loved the first book, and I feel the second one is a solid followup to it. I would definitely recommend reading Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands!
Thank you to Netgalley, Heather Fawcett and the publishers for the ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence
cleolindbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Thank you, NetGalley, and a special thanks to Random House Publishing for the arc! I received the first book and this book as an e-arc, but reviews are my own🖤
I got this book unexpectedly as a wish granted by the publishers, and I have never been more excited and happy! The first book, Emily Wilde's Encyclopedia of Fairies, was an unexpected five-star read for me. I am glad to say that the second book lived up to how much I adored the first book. This book carried on with the whimsical and details scholarship of the first book. This series feels like you are reading a scholar's journal, and I'm honestly astounded at the thought and care put into each creature and footnote. This is an extremely strong continuation of the series, and I hope there is another book after this!
This book is also strong in its introduction of new characters and the development of old ones. The addition of Rose and Ariadne as characters brought a bit of humor and change from the first book. The author did a great job of introducing them and building up their characters without them feeling like filler. However, one of my favorite things about this book is seeing the continuation of Emily and Wendell's story. I feel as the story pushes Emily and her personality to an extreme which feels very in-character for her. The first book set her up as a genius scholar who pushes to extreme lengths in the name of scholarship and science, but this book takes it to the extent that feels like a normal progression for her. I do wish we got to see a bit more of Wendell, but I am really excited about where their story ends and really want a third book!
I got this book unexpectedly as a wish granted by the publishers, and I have never been more excited and happy! The first book, Emily Wilde's Encyclopedia of Fairies, was an unexpected five-star read for me. I am glad to say that the second book lived up to how much I adored the first book. This book carried on with the whimsical and details scholarship of the first book. This series feels like you are reading a scholar's journal, and I'm honestly astounded at the thought and care put into each creature and footnote. This is an extremely strong continuation of the series, and I hope there is another book after this!
This book is also strong in its introduction of new characters and the development of old ones. The addition of Rose and Ariadne as characters brought a bit of humor and change from the first book. The author did a great job of introducing them and building up their characters without them feeling like filler. However, one of my favorite things about this book is seeing the continuation of Emily and Wendell's story. I feel as the story pushes Emily and her personality to an extreme which feels very in-character for her. The first book set her up as a genius scholar who pushes to extreme lengths in the name of scholarship and science, but this book takes it to the extent that feels like a normal progression for her. I do wish we got to see a bit more of Wendell, but I am really excited about where their story ends and really want a third book!
Content Warnings
Minor: Gore and Violence
bookcheshirecat's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Diverse cast of characters? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence and Injury/Injury detail
lastblossom's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
tl;dr
More faerie intrigue, mystery, and romance in what is quickly shaping up to be my favorite series. Read it!
Thoughts
Got my hands on this book the same day I had an assignment due, so naturally I read the book first. I have no regrets. The first book in the series is one of my top ten, and this one is equally matched, with all the faerie lore, twists, and Emily/Wendell interaction I loved from the first. The amount of fae politics and court intrigue is bumped up from the first, and it is SO juicy! Ugh, the drama of it all is just so good. A handful of teasers dropped in the first book get some satisfying reveals here, and Emily and Wendell's relationship beats are so sweet.
The book does a great job of bringing back all the things I loved about the first installment, while adding new developments to keep the story moving. Two new major characters are added who initially had the potential to be very annoying, but I wound up really caring about both of them, and it was nice to see Emily's relationship with them grow as well.
I loved the first book so much, and now I love the second book. The ending implies we might get even more(???), and I am SO ready.
I am also, once again, requesting a special edition with handwritten notes and illustrations.
Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for an advance copy!
More faerie intrigue, mystery, and romance in what is quickly shaping up to be my favorite series. Read it!
Thoughts
Got my hands on this book the same day I had an assignment due, so naturally I read the book first. I have no regrets. The first book in the series is one of my top ten, and this one is equally matched, with all the faerie lore, twists, and Emily/Wendell interaction I loved from the first. The amount of fae politics and court intrigue is bumped up from the first, and it is SO juicy! Ugh, the drama of it all is just so good. A handful of teasers dropped in the first book get some satisfying reveals here, and Emily and Wendell's relationship beats are so sweet.
The book does a great job of bringing back all the things I loved about the first installment, while adding new developments to keep the story moving. Two new major characters are added who initially had the potential to be very annoying, but I wound up really caring about both of them, and it was nice to see Emily's relationship with them grow as well.
I loved the first book so much, and now I love the second book. The ending implies we might get even more(???), and I am SO ready.
I am also, once again, requesting a special edition with handwritten notes and illustrations.
Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for an advance copy!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Blood, and Violence
Minor: Body horror, War, Animal death, and Alcohol
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