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A review by flowerpaladin
Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett
dark
funny
mysterious
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I will say this is without question a five star book. My own rating is purely personal. The book is exceptionally well-written and it was honestly a pleasure to bask in Heather Fawcett's prose.
Okay, so why three stars? The main reason is I simply didn't like the two main characters.
Emily is introverted and socially inept; this is honestly very charming, and I thought it was sweet how often she bungled her interactions with the villagers. What I found not so sweet was how she seemed to display a complete lack of empathy for other people, whether human or fae.
She admits to herself that the only reason she is attempting to save two innocent villagers is because it will advance her scholarly work. She alsotortures a small faerie child —twice. She initially treats all fae as specimens for her research; she doesn't approach them as if they are actual people with a culture of their own. It gave me weird, uncomfortable, colonialist vibes.
Yes, eventually, she does mellow out. She is moved by the villagers' kindness to her. She forms a slight bond withPoe . But even towards the very end of the book I still couldn't tell if she saw him as a person or a subject to be studied.
Wendall is twenty times worse. Yes, of course, Wendall isa faerie . But his characterization gave me whiplash. Sometimes it seemed like he only acted kindly towards others to please Emily, while at other times he did seem to genuinely care. He commits an act of violence that was exceptionally disturbing. As a love interest, he verges a little on the creepy and definitely callous side. The entire time he's allegedly in love with Emily, he's sleeping with countless other women. And at one point he tailors Emily's cloak without her knowledge or consent so that it will, essentially, look sexier on her ! Ugh. Creep!
It goes without saying then that I didn't buy the romance between them. Even if Wendall were less of a douche, though, I just didn't see Emily returning his feelings. Towards the last fifty pages or so she blushed a little when their hands would touch. But I never saw evidence that she genuinely loved him.
That said, there were things I loved about the book. The pacing, for instance. I loved how character-focused the story is, how we sort of hop from one little situation to the other. I never felt anxious or upset about what was happening, plot-wise. I never had to put the book down because of something disturbing. I also enjoyed the setting. The descriptions were beautiful and dreamy and reminded me of another wintery book, Spinning Silver. I also liked the spooky parts of the book. The fae were pretty brilliantly realized, disturbing, though never in a way that, again, made me want to put the book down.
I won't be continuing the series, but I'll definitely look out for books starring OTHER characters by this author!
Okay, so why three stars? The main reason is I simply didn't like the two main characters.
Emily is introverted and socially inept; this is honestly very charming, and I thought it was sweet how often she bungled her interactions with the villagers. What I found not so sweet was how she seemed to display a complete lack of empathy for other people, whether human or fae.
She admits to herself that the only reason she is attempting to save two innocent villagers is because it will advance her scholarly work. She also
Yes, eventually, she does mellow out. She is moved by the villagers' kindness to her. She forms a slight bond with
Wendall is twenty times worse. Yes, of course, Wendall is
It goes without saying then that I didn't buy the romance between them. Even if Wendall were less of a douche, though, I just didn't see Emily returning his feelings. Towards the last fifty pages or so she blushed a little when their hands would touch. But I never saw evidence that she genuinely loved him.
That said, there were things I loved about the book. The pacing, for instance. I loved how character-focused the story is, how we sort of hop from one little situation to the other. I never felt anxious or upset about what was happening, plot-wise. I never had to put the book down because of something disturbing. I also enjoyed the setting. The descriptions were beautiful and dreamy and reminded me of another wintery book, Spinning Silver. I also liked the spooky parts of the book. The fae were pretty brilliantly realized, disturbing, though never in a way that, again, made me want to put the book down.
I won't be continuing the series, but I'll definitely look out for books starring OTHER characters by this author!