Review: Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett

Today I would like to share with you my opinion of one of my favourite books: Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Fairies. What worked for me was the mix of ingredients that I could relate to because of the similarities in my life. Emily is a researcher with a genuine interest in what she studies, like me, she is accompanied by a dog, like me, she does fieldwork, like me.

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.

This first book in the adult series "Emily Wilde" wasn't perfect, but it's the first time I've read a book like this, so it's hard for me to rate it. I can see all the aspects that need improvement and I can see why this book won't work for some people. Nevertheless, I enjoyed it much more than I expected because I could relate to Emily. I will start by listing the cons and then come back to the reasons why it still worked for me.

Most of the problems are just a consequence of the diary format. Emily brings a fieldwork notebook with her and we see her entries over a period of 6 months. This means that we only have Emily's point of view (except for a few entries by Wendell), so the characterisation of the other characters is very limited. On the other hand, I noticed the effort and very good writing to create depth. Also, Emily, with her imperfections and weaknesses, feels very real and human. I was able to follow her thoughts and motivations.

The plot is, in my opinion, the weakest aspect of this book. The pace was very slow for the first two thirds and little happened, while the finale feels very rushed. I didn't mind this, though, as it reflected the fact that Emily was adjusting to a new place, people, routine, etc. It also had a sort of "cosy" or "slice of life" feel to it, which I liked. I would have liked a few more pages to give more space to the conclusion. Also, where do the students end up? It is mentioned at the beginning that they were gone, but no one cared about them.

To sum up, I enjoyed the atmosphere and connected with Emily in a way that rarely happens. It's probably because I love dogs and I'm doing my PhD, but I also shared Emily's curiosity. This made the negative aspects much easier to bear. If you like a cosy winter read with a nice protagonist and story, I would recommend it. Also, if you liked A Natural History of Dragons, I would recommend to give Emily Wilde a try.

4.25 stars.

Have you read it? What did you think about it? Let me know in the comments!