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Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries
352 pages
A delightfully dry, footnote-filled expedition into a wintry village where the faeries are dangerous and the academic rivalries are even more treacherous.
What it feels like
Reading this book feels like curling up by a hearth fire in a drafty, snow-bound cabin while something ancient and mischievous scratches at the door. Unfolding at a steady, deliberate pace through the lens of a scholarly journal, the narrative is steeped in a wintry, atmospheric chill that contrasts beautifully with the dry, curmudgeonly warmth of its narrator. The prose is delightfully formal and peppered with academic footnotes, capturing the voice of a woman who understands dangerous folklore far better than human interaction. It is a cozy yet perilous experience, balancing the dark, teeth-baring reality of traditional fae lore with the sparkling, witty banter of an academic rivalry. This will thoroughly enchant readers who love prickly heroines, slow-burn romance, and magic that feels genuinely wild.
- Mood
- wintry
- cozy-yet-perilous
- enchanting
- atmospheric
- Tone
- wry
- academic
- curmudgeonly
- dryly humorous
- charming
- Pace
- steady
- Themes
- academic rivalry · reluctant vulnerability · the dark side of folklore · finding community
- The writing
- Framed as a scholarly journal, the writing is precise, formal, and delightfully dry, complete with footnotes that reveal the narrator's hidden warmth.
- The arc
- A slow thaw of a prickly, isolated heart as it learns to accommodate the messy unpredictability of friendship and romance.
- Who it's for
- Fans of cozy fantasy who appreciate a fiercely independent heroine, dangerous folklore, and the academic rivals-to-lovers trope.
Content notes
- changeling lore/child abduction
- mild violence
- animal peril
About the book
A curmudgeonly professor journeys to a small town in the far north to study faerie folklore and discovers dark fae magic, friendship, and love in the start of a heartwarming and enchanting new fantasy series.
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, and the Fair Folk.
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.
Description from Open Library.
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