The Bibliophile's Bookshelf

Title: Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries

Series: Emily Wilde #1

Author: Heather Fawcett

Genre: Adult, Fantasy, Adventure, Romance

Rating: 4.5 stars

Review:

Emily Wilde prefers books, her dog, and studying the Fae to the company of other people. When she travels to a small town in the North with the intention of studying a remote, never before studied type of Folk, she isn’t planning on befriending the townsfolk. Nor is she overly glad that her academic rival, Wendall Bambleby, has decided to join her. As she gets closer and closer to solving the mysteries of these elusive Folk- and helping better the livelihoods of the townsfolk- Emily begins wondering who Wendell Bambleby really is.

Characters

Emily Wilde: Emily Wilde quickly became one of my favorite characters. She was funny and entirely dedicated to her work, which I admired. I don’t often find female characters who are so dedicated to their work and not as much to other people. I really liked her and her banter with Wendell was amazing, as well as how she was presented.

Wendell Bambleby: He might be one of the best love interests I have ever come across. While I am often enthusiastic about relationships, this one caught me off guard. I need them to be together! They have a wonderful chemistry and relationship- romance aside. Wendell is the perfect counter to Emily, and he had me laughing often. He is charismatic and entertaining and brought a lightness to this book.

Shadow: Shadow is a dog. I have a certain affinity for animals in stories and I especially loved this little puppy. Of course, in the story this dog was massive and a Black Hound, but he was just the most darling thing. Easily one of the best parts of the book.

The Villagers: There were many villagers that played a part in the development of this book. I enjoyed them all, especially Thora, but they were secondary to Wendell and Emily. These characters weren’t developed a lot throughout the course of the book, but they did play some significant roles by the end and help change the main character’s viewpoints.

Story

I really loved the story. I will say that I avoid stories about the Fae, so I went into this with some trepidation. Some of the Faerie aspects did confuse me, but on the whole it was so good.

Wendell and Emily are so cute together. A lot of things I have seen about this book said/implied that they were rivals. I did not get that impression at all. Emily was annoyed with Wendell, but they were still friends. They had wonderful banter and cute adventures.

This book was also written in a journalistic style. All entries were from Emily, except one towards the end of the book was Wendell’s perspective. This book takes place during the early 1900s, and some of the language is old. Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedi of Faeries was very atmospheric!

Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries is an intriguing, entertaining read. It has two adorable main characters, with a cute relationship and banter. There were some aspects of the story that confused me, but I was placed in the middle of this story seamlessly.

This is going to be one of my most recommended books!

Quotes

“Perhaps it is always restful to be around someone who does not expect anything from you beyond what is in your nature.”