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Review of Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries

The setting for Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries, is a Hrafnsvik, a small town that lies far to the north where cold, snow and ice are ever present.  Emily Wilde has travelled to this frigid, wild place to study and classify the local faery folk for inclusion in her important Encyclopaedia of Faeries which she plans to publish in the near future. 

Emily’s introverted nature makes it hard for her to connect with the locals.  Combing that with the intensely cold environment and the reader is left with an acute sense of isolation for Emily.  She struggles with everyday life because the people of Hrafnsvik are not helpful.  Cold and hunger may doom her mission before she even gets started.

Then Wendell Bambleby arrives.  Emily’s friend and academic rival is the complete opposite of her.  Outgoing and charming, he soon has the townsfolk eating out of his hand.  The house Emily was renting goes from cold and stark to warm and cozy overnight.

The difference between the two researchers is so extreme that it becomes charming.  The phrase “opposites attract” is colorfully and precisely depicted. The romance is understated and perfect. 

Just when one thinks the story is about the relationship between Emily and Wendell, the author throws in complications.  Malicious faeries harassing the locals in various ways become ever more threatening.  When they ask the scholars for help, Wendell is not interested.  But Emily believes helping these people will also help her in her search for knowledge. 

Exploring faerie worlds to help the village folk proves to be academically enriching but it also proves to be mortally dangerous.  For Emily and Wendell, these adventures will require every bit of knowledge they have acquired throughout their years of faery research. I was enchanted by Emily, Wendell and the people of Hrafnsvik.  I was captivated by the story of their adventures and thrilled with how they conquered the evil faery folk.  This is book one of the Emily Wilde series, but rest assured, this is a complete story with a satisfying ending.

Through Netgalley, the publisher provided a copy of this book. My review is my honest opinion.

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About Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett

Cambridge professor Emily Wilde is good at many things: She is the foremost expert on the study of faeries. She is a genius scholar and a meticulous researcher who is writing the world’s first encyclopaedia of faerie lore. But Emily Wilde is not good at people. She could never make small talk at a party–or even get invited to one. And she prefers the company of her books, her dog, Shadow, and the Fair Folk to other people.

So when she arrives in the hardscrabble village of Hrafnsvik, Emily has no intention of befriending the gruff townsfolk. Nor does she care to spend time with another new arrival: her dashing and insufferably handsome academic rival Wendell Bambleby, who manages to charm the townsfolk, get in the middle of Emily’s research, and utterly confound and frustrate her.

But as Emily gets closer and closer to uncovering the secrets of the Hidden Ones–the most elusive of all faeries–lurking in the shadowy forest outside the town, she also finds herself on the trail of another mystery: Who is Wendell Bambleby, and what does he really want? To find the answer, she’ll have to unlock the greatest mystery of all–her own heart.

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