„One doesn’t need magic if one knows enough stories.“

Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Fairies by Heather Fawcett

When I picked this book up yesterday, I didn’t believe that it would be my jam at all. After all this was promoted as a romance (at least from the sources I came across), which is the genre I read least from (if anything at all, really). But I wanted to challenge myself. To my utter surprise though: I loved this book! So much so, that I read the whole thing in one go 😂
Yes, I absolutely adore this book. And I wouldn’t have marked it as a romance, more like a quirky fantasy book, with a romance in it. Which I didn’t mind at all; no, I even liked it very much!

Plot
In „Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Fairies“ we follow our main character Emily Wilde, a woman of 30, studying the faeries that live in the world. She does so at Cambridge and of course in the field, and that’s why she set out into the north of Norway, to discover a new species of fairies and therefore conclude the information she needs for her book she wants to publish: A complete encyclopaedia of fairies. This would all be doable, was Emily not a socially awkward and reclusive person, who manages to superimpose the whole village she is staying at against her in the matter of a week. To her not at all positive surprise on top of that a friend and colleague arrives shortly after her as well, Wendell Bambleby, to try to help her in her studies (although she feares that he might also want to steal her data and credit). We follow them both as they try to make up to the townspeople, while at the same time gather the data they need and want to furfill each of their dreams. In their quest they search for the most elusive fairie folk of them all, „The Hidden Ones“, not knowing that danger lies in their search. A lot of things happen which they didn’t plan, and the plot kept me reading until … well … the book ended! Without giving any spoilers, you can expect: Faeries, magic, twists and turns, community and connection, adventure and everything fun basically!

Characters
Our main character is a scholar with a reclusive character, kind of bordering on (or more way over the border to) socially insecure and anxious. She is a bookworm and kind of strange, the most content when she is sitting over her books or outside in the field, yet we see enough of her inner struggle to really warm up to her. I like to see asocially anxious characters a lot, I happen to come across them way too scarce in literature. Seeing those characters can provide such a huge impact to readers who struggle with the same problems. And overall trying to overcome that social disposition is a hero story in its own.
Bambleby, our main characters only friend, seems to be an amusing, very good looking, socially adept, yet mysterious figure. Strange things happen from the beginning in regards to him, and Emily has her own theories about him. But is she right about him? And what does he want from her, why did he really follow her into the icy north?

Setup, World Building, Writing Style and General Information
The whole setup of the book was charming. Written in the form of the diary of Emily, I loved the intimate character as well as the footnotes and the general information on faeries in the book. It was such a beautifully detailed world, and good world building is something I always fancy. The genre can be characterised as cozy fantasy most of the time (although there are some parts that would not fit the description in my opinion). Choosing the medium of the diary lets us warm up to a main character, that otherwise would have seemed cold, distant and closed up. I don’t know how that could have been done better or even differently. The pacing I liked, as there is enough going on to be never boring, yet we don’t rush through the story as well. The thing I liked most though is the interaction between Bambleby and Emily. The banter between them, the humour and irony, I loved it all! In my quest of reading romance once in a while, I also seem to come to the understanding, that I am very much a lover of what you might call slow burn (hope I use that terminology correct here). I love the prelude of a relationship, the slow building of tension and affection. I don’t care too much for everything after that, and this book was perfect for that!
The writing style was engaging, yet easy to read and I just flew through the pages. As I found myself done with the book yesterday evening, I was relieved to find out that this was the first book in a series, so the story will go on (which makes sense given some plot twists I will of course not mention here). The next book will be titled „Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands“ and will release in january of 2024 (which is way too much in the future for my taste). I will definitely be reading this! Also let me just appreciate here how beautiful the cover is (screams spring to me).

All in all, „Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Fairies was a hugely entertaining, sweet, magical and fun read. This book was an unexpected delight!

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5 stars, hugely entertaining!

This book is for you, if…

… you are not the typical romance reader, but want to give romance in books a try

… you are into faeries and the strange yet intruiging faerie world

… you love a relatable yet socially awkward main character

… you love gathering knowledge and having adventures at the same time

Trigger Warnings: Blood, Physical Violence, Murder, Gore

5 Star Reads 2023 Releases Allgemein ARC Audiobook Award Winners Bizarre Black Literature Book Series Classic cozy dark fantasy Female Author Feminist Literature Historical Fiction Horror LGBTQ+ Literary Fiction memoir Murder Mystery Mythology Retelling Romance Science Fiction strong female character Thriller YA Young Adult