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A review by btg
Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Curmudgeonly, socially awkward academic must engage in Social Skills in order to convince a small town to talk to her about the faeries. She is aided on her quest by awesome animal sidekick and charismatic rival male academic, whom she coincidentally has a seething banter with.
The plot is quite engaging and really keeps you tied to the page for certain parts. It is a medium paced book, but that's to be expected with high concept urban fantasy -- overall I would consider the book to be exciting with an intriguing concept. If you are an academic who enjoys fantasy, wait no further and grab this book at your nearest opportunity -- dark fantasy academia was a genre I did not know I needed. Think of this book as an unholy blend of traditional fae lore meets Ali Hazelwood. Regarding the worldbuilding, I loved the focus on fae mythology and I find it to be impeccably done.
Emily is so fun as a character for me. As a fellow socially awkward academic, I identified strongly with her. Her arc was extremely heartwarming and I loved how her insatiable quest for knowledge was played with and explored.
Truthfully, my main problem with the book was Wendell. The character is well constructed with a coherent background, an intriguing concept (which would be a spoiler to mention), and interesting flaws. I also find him to be inconsistently likeable. As a woman in academia, his laziness (while supported by backstory) feels difficult to forgive. I like his banter with Emily and the protective turn his character takes, but felt that the relationship felt overly rushed and not well developed in the initial stages. I regularly wondered why Emily was so interested (and to be fair, she even wondered that herself). I may have enjoyed it better as a slower burn over several books.
Overall, Emily Wilde's Encyclopedia is an excellent story for fans of community centered stories, dark academia, or urban fantasy. Fans of heterosexual enemies-to-lovers may enjoy the love story as a bonus, but I would not pick up this book on the love story alone if you typically don't enjoy the genre.
The plot is quite engaging and really keeps you tied to the page for certain parts. It is a medium paced book, but that's to be expected with high concept urban fantasy -- overall I would consider the book to be exciting with an intriguing concept. If you are an academic who enjoys fantasy, wait no further and grab this book at your nearest opportunity -- dark fantasy academia was a genre I did not know I needed. Think of this book as an unholy blend of traditional fae lore meets Ali Hazelwood. Regarding the worldbuilding, I loved the focus on fae mythology and I find it to be impeccably done.
Emily is so fun as a character for me. As a fellow socially awkward academic, I identified strongly with her. Her arc was extremely heartwarming and I loved how her insatiable quest for knowledge was played with and explored.
Truthfully, my main problem with the book was Wendell. The character is well constructed with a coherent background, an intriguing concept (which would be a spoiler to mention), and interesting flaws. I also find him to be inconsistently likeable. As a woman in academia, his laziness (while supported by backstory) feels difficult to forgive. I like his banter with Emily and the protective turn his character takes, but felt that the relationship felt overly rushed and not well developed in the initial stages. I regularly wondered why Emily was so interested (and to be fair, she even wondered that herself). I may have enjoyed it better as a slower burn over several books.
Overall, Emily Wilde's Encyclopedia is an excellent story for fans of community centered stories, dark academia, or urban fantasy. Fans of heterosexual enemies-to-lovers may enjoy the love story as a bonus, but I would not pick up this book on the love story alone if you typically don't enjoy the genre.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Child abuse
Minor: Alcohol