A review by wordsofclover
Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett

adventurous lighthearted medium-paced

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

5.0

A truly charming novel perfect for anyone looking for some whimsy, academia and dark fairy folk. 

 

We follow Cambridge professor Emily Wilde as she arrives in Hrafnsvik, a Scandinavian island that contains its own special kind of faeries no-one has studied before. Emily is undergoing work on her Encyclopedia of Faeries and is one of the best academics in this area though she is often overlooked due to gender and serious personality. Emily is soon joined by her colleague Wendell Bambleby, who may be more than he first appeared. 

 

I loved this. Emily is a brilliant main character -studious and single-minded and most likely a touch neurodivergent too I think - she sometimes struggles with connecting with others (understanding what they want from her or not understanding some social cues) yet still manages to form a lovely type of found family by the end of the novel. We see in many ways how Emily fits into and understands the fairy world in a way she often doesn’t in the human one. 

 

The relationship between Emily and Wendell was brilliant from Emily’s exasperation and hate/love relationship with Wendell to how they just get one another and some of the soft yearning that verges on surprise from both of them. 

 

I really enjoyed the Scandi setting and customs in this book as well as the healthy respect/fear of the fae folk from the locals which I very much understand as an Irish person (never destroy or walk across a fairy fort! Or chop down a fairy tree!). 

 

Very much enjoyed my time reading this and looking forward to the next book.