Angie Cox's Reviews > Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries

4 ⭐️ This is a lovely book. Wonderfully written and incredibly fanciful lore.


WHAT TO EXPECT:
✨ academic fantasy set in early 1900s
✨ setting: remote small village in Scandinavia
✨ she is a Cambridge professor writing an encyclopedia of faerie
✨ he is a Cambridge professor who offers to assist in her research
✨ academic rivals/friends to lovers
✨ forced proximity
✨ slow burn
✨ no spice
✨ fun banter
✨ neurodivergent FMC
✨ satisfying plot/conflict
✨ interesting faerie lore and world building
✨ HEA but leave door open for book 2


My Thoughts:

This was a solid story. It definitely falls into the cozy fantasy category with gentle pacing and vivid writing. It was honestly relaxing to read because there's no real urgency to finish. There are exciting moments of conflict and intrigue, yet due to the way it's written, I never felt strong emotions or an eagerness to read through the night in order to find out what happens next.

The book is written in diary format, which was done well, but personally, I found it difficult to fully immerse myself in the story or connect with the moments being written about because I knew everything would be alright since Emily was recounting everything after the fact. On one hand, it's nice because I felt zero anxiety while reading, but at the same time, it takes away the excitement of not know if things are going to turn out okay.

My favorite part about this story was the faerie lore. I've never read a book that has this much world building and detail about the faerie. I'm honestly impressed with the creativity and/or folklore research about faerie and creatures that the author must have done to write this book. I loved learning about the difference faerie from their physical appearances to their behaviors / interactions with humans.

Emily Wilde is such a fascinating character. She is neurodivergent, and I loved seeing this represention in such a smart, strong, female lead. The way Emily is so focused on her research is admirable, and I respect that no matter what type of faerie she encounters, she is able to keep a clear head and interact with reason and curiosity.

The relationship between Emily and Wendell Bambleby is entertaining. The banter between the two is fun, and I enjoyed how easily these two fall into a harmonious rhythm with one another. But, just FYI, while there is some romance aspects that develop, I wouldn't call this story a romance. It's a very small aspect of the story, but it may evolve more in the next few books.

There is one thing that did irk me. This is 100% a personal pet peeve, but I absolutely loath when the potential love interest has romantic or sexual relations with other people. Emily is completely unbothered because she's just friends with Wendell and she knows he's a big flirt. So there is no jealousy on her end. However, I think it diminishes his 'love' for Emily. He's been friends with her for years while being in love with her, but at the same time he philanders about everywhere he goes. Even in front of her. This also makes me question why he 'loves' Emily in the first place. The story starts with her mentioning how annoying she finds him but that while he's her rival, he's also her only friend. Whenever they interact, she insults him or bosses him around, but Wendell honestly finds this amusing and replies sweetly. I think a lot of his feelings for her and how he acts makes sense with what we learn about Wendell, but at the same time, it doesn't convince me of their romance. I'm hoping this is explored more intentionally in the next book.