Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett

Pages: 336 

Publisher: Orbit 

Released: 19th of January 2023 

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, 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. 

What I Have to Say 

This is the faerie book I've always wanted. Forget the smutty soap opera's that fill the shelves these days, this takes faeries back to their roots and shows you the charm of a good faerie story. It also was fantastic that they made a alternate historical setting where women were respected scientists and LGBTQ+ side characters were accepted without question. It's refreshing to have a world where such prejudices aren't around. 

Emily Wilde is capable, scientific and the perfect protagonist for this book. She isn't a simpering idiot caught up in over her head who still somehow manages to overcome all the odds, she knows what she's doing and is able to befriend, trick or charm the faeries on her journey to research them. But the character I loved most was Bambleby. Bambleby is wonderful. He infuriates Emily to no end and they snipe at each other constantly and his name is Bambleby! What better name is there than Bambleby? 

I also loved the dog, Shadow. My only criticism of this book is a small one and that is sometimes it seems the author has forgotten Shadow exists. There were a couple of scenes where I was distracted from what was happening because I didn't know where the dog was and why he wasn't intervening. There was one crucial scene where I think he should have done something at least. 

But that didn't take away my enjoyment of the book too much. It was still one of the best faerie books I have ever read. 

5 stars

My thanks go to Orbit and Netgalley for providing me with this copy for review.