Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries
Ratings399
Average rating4.1
I absolutely loved this book. It was exactly what I was looking for. It's a really cosy book, I imagine especially in winter, even thought its mysterious and some fuck up shit happens. The characters are amazing, and I loved Wendell with my whole ass heart, what stupid idiots they both are. Magnificent, amazing, I cannot wait to read the next book.
I wasn't expecting there so be this much romance, and although I didn't mind it there were definitely some cheesy aspects that I didn't love. But in exchange for this story, I don't really care. It was great.
This was very enjoyable. It has he falls first and pining so I loved all that. Emily is smart and capable all the way through the novel and learns that she can open up to other people and trust others as well. She does do something I didn't agree with in the last arc of the story, but it was for scholarly insight so I can't be too mad about it. I LIVED Wendell. His banter with Emily is so fun and I think they are so good together ☺️ I desperately wanted a couple things to happen that didn't so it got -1 star off the total.
My oh my was this a fun story. I loved Emily and her determination to have the most complete fairy encyclopedia. I loved the stories she told of “folk”. I really enjoyed her relationship with Wendell and how it developed. Great story would recommend highly.
Loved it, very cozy, but also an interesting plot. Emily is great, her social awkwardness is very relatable (Is she autistic-coded? Doesn't get people/social cues, obsessed with one topic/special interest, very logical. Saying that as an autistic person myself, I got those vibes) and I like that she is very capable in her field. Also loved Wendell, he's just very charming and funny and their banter together is great. Not to mention all the villagers and Poe of course! Just really enjoyed this book, perfect if you want to read something fun and lighthearted, but still exciting.
Also I love Shadow, big dogs that are sweet and loyal but protective are the best.
I loved this so very much.
Confession time, I ignored this all year when it popped up in reviews because I thought it was an actual encyclopedia of fairies. I normally can't stand stuff about the fae.
But Emily and Shadow, I love them so very much.
In this one, Emily goes North to study the Winter Folk. Bambleby joins her in an attempt to save his tarnished reputation. Together they attempt to stop the folk from stealing children.
Seriously loved every minute of this.
This was way cuter than I was anticipating. I absolutely love Wendell, and Poe, and Shadow, and Aud, and Lilja. I loved that Emily was able to find a community that wasn't Fae. I'm so excited to see what will happen in the next book. I want more of Emily and Wendell being adorable, I want to know where Poe's key leads, and I want Wendell to find his way home and to bring Emily.
It was a fun read but quite wordy. Would have given it 3.5 stars if I could but not worth 4 stars in my opinion.
What a delightful surprise - I thought I was in for another cute but mid low fantasy but this just gets better and better as each chapter progresses. I'm not a series girlie but I might make an exception for this one
Spiderwick Chronicles for grown ups go offffff
probably a mistake to read this after the awesomeness that was the final empire... a decently pleasant read that simply wasn't for me or for my taste!
Initially I found this story readable and pleasant enough; I liked it less towards the end, as the amount of magic in play became excessive.It's set in the winter of 1909/1910, and mostly on a remote Norwegian island. Strangely, the mortal humans in it seem too modern, while the faeries are too old-style for my liking.Most of the text is supposed to be the journal of Professor Emily Wilde, introverted 30-year-old academic and expert on faeries. However, it's written as a normal first-person novel, in modern English, not at all like an academic journal, and with no feel of the period in which it's supposed to be written. Nor do I get any feel of the period from the behaviour of the characters or from the dialogue.The faeries are divided into common fae and courtly fae, of which only the common fae (smaller, less powerful) are normally seen by mortals. The courtly fae seem to have almost unlimited powers, which I'm not comfortable with. Power without limits unbalances a story and also makes it harder to believe.The faeries seem to be based on traditional tales. I don't know whether the author, Heather Fawcett, has read any modern fantasy novels written by her competitors in the field; if she has, they seem to have had little or no influence on her.On reading about Emily Wilde, I soon realized that she reminded me of Amelia Peabody, the heroine of [b:Crocodile on the Sandbank 40881649 Crocodile on the Sandbank (Amelia Peabody, #1) Elizabeth Peters https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1532091568l/40881649.SY75.jpg 2570338] and sequels. Both are British women written about by North American authors; Emily is obsessed with faeries while Amelia is obsessed with Ancient Egypt; Emily starts her adventures at the age of 30, Amelia at 32. Emily was born in about 1879, Amelia in 1852. Both are initially single and have little or no sexual experience. Their personalities are somewhat different: Amelia has more confidence and competence at dealing with people. However, Emily reminds me of Amelia mainly because their ‘voices', writing their first-person accounts of their adventures, seem rather similar to me. As a fictional character, I think I prefer Amelia, although Emily is OK.
4.5 !! Cozy, comforting, entertaining, mischievous faerie antics. What more could you want?
A ver, no está tan mal. Pero es verdad que pensaba que iba a ser otra cosa, por eso creo que me ha decepcionado bastante.
2.5 stars
This was my first book of the year as well as my first buddy read with Destiny. We both went into this book expecting to love it but unfortunately that was not the case. I didn't really care about any of the characters or the plot. The characters weren't even all that likable either. The only thing that kept me from DNFing it was the fact that it was a buddy read and I really did like the banter between Emily and Bambleby. I also liked the world but other than those 2 things this one was unfortunately a fail.
I didn't have any cosiness expectations going in, so the cutting and kidnapping stuff didn't really bother me and I was able to just enjoy and appreciate the story.
The first few chapters were a bit of a chore, but the footnotes and general information about the Faeries dumped on me made it interesting to read.
The romance plotline was clear to me after the first “Bloody Bambleby” thought, but it was so nicely done with all the mutual trolling, that I actually enjoyed it and found myself rooting for them by the end. I liked the proposal scene and how these events were involved in the second proposal and Em's kidnapping.
Poe is my favourite character in this book. I do hope his appearance in the second book won't be limited to just one or two short episodes. Curious about the trinket he gave to Emily.
The village and villagers was cool. All this Nordic “we either hate or love you” thing. I liked how both were earned - hate by being ignorant and blind to social norms (which also played a lot into Emily's character) and love by actually saving Lilja, Margret and Ari. But the fact that they were absolutely OK with saving her when she messed up didn't convince me much. I'd expect to see something like “I'm so angry with you right now, but I also love you, so I'm going to help”, rather than this unconditional forgiveness.
And yes, the need to save her. This whole part was my least favourite. It felt too much even for that world. And going to free the King after she chopped off her finger and freed herself from enchantment? Seriously? She's a mad scientist, but she's not stupid. At least she's not supposed to be. And “a seer told me I would one day be locked up by my own people, and only a mousy little scholar could get me out again” part was again too much. Bamleby's explanation that marrying her was the only reasonable way to pay her for freeing him had way more sense.
Is it me or do Faerie royalties in this world have a very deep sleep? The King was trapped while he was sleeping, Bambleby slept through not one, but two times when Emily went to do some crazy shit...
Bottom line, I still enjoyed the book very much. It's definitely in my top 10 this year. Looking forward to discussing it at VBC this Sunday.
I appreciate the traditional depiction of the fae and the tales referenced throughout the journal. Unfortunately the rest didn't work for me. Emily goes to a northern island village just before winter and everything is terrible. The cottage, the food, the locals, the sheep, the pre-winter snows. I set the book aside for two weeks because the sheep were such jerks! Her coworker Bambleby showing up fixes some of those things and she can dedicate her energy toward complaining about him.
Emily ends up in peril and requiring rescue a lot. Her knowledge of fae stories helps resolve many conflicts but her overconfidence lands her in even more peril.
Listened to the audio version. The narrators were excellent and really added to the story.
Lots of fun, great plot, and very inventive. I look forward to the next one.
✨ this is exactly what I want out of my cozy reads!
I can't believe it took me so long to get to it because I adored every second of the audiobook (which was superb, btw). The vibes were immaculate, and I loved the way the faerie were incorporated into the story, as well as the journal style of writing.
Most of all, I adored the characters. Emily is a no-nonsense scholar whose main priority is her research. She is a little awkward and secluded. She has no time to mingle with others, girl is here to get her work done and that's that. We see her grow throughout the story into someone who starts to see those on her journey as friends.
Wendell though. Wendell was the star of the show for me. He is exactly the type of a character that I adore. He can be a jerk, but at least a hilarious one. He reminded me of book!Howl from Howl's Moving Castle and that's a huge compliment. Let's not forget about Shadow! Our good, lil pup.
Normally I do not like comparing books because I don't want people to go in with the wrong expectations but I think that if you love HMC or The Regency Faerie books by Olivia Atwater, there's a high chance you'll enjoy Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries! (And if not, please don't blame me 😭).
Emily Wilde is a perfect cozy winter read, and I hope that if you do try it, you will love it as much as I did 🍄