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Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries (Emily Wilde, #1)

Heather Fawcett

Start date: February 1, 2025

Finish date: February 28, 2025

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What Members Thought

Jun 12, 2024 Tien rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

I have seen this book around for quite some time and as I usually avoid hyped books, I haven't really deigned to add this one to my TBR. However, a friend's review the other day pushed me off my high horse and into this winter wonderland.

Aaaanddd... I was delightfully surprised and enjoyed it so much, I pretty nearly couldn't put it down (work & kids though... couldn't live without yet sometimes!). I love these characters and have admit my penchant for grumpy x sunshine. Well, I guess she's not ...more

2 likes · Like · see review

Nov 26, 2023 Cambria rated it it was amazing

4.5, a great read! Can wait for the next book!

1 like · Like · see review

Dec 15, 2023 Jessica rated it really liked it · review of another edition

My feelings about this book swung back and forth, but I settled at three stars - I didn't love it but I didn't hate it either. It was ok.

Pros
1. Shadow. I love a magical animal in a story (see: Nettle and Bone) He was the goodest boy.
2. Poe. Poe was a brownie who Emily befriends. He was both charming and utterly bloodthirsty. I loved him, and wished we could have had more of him.
3. The setting. The wintry village setting was adorable and very cozy. I loved the interactions between the villagers a My feelings about this book swung back and forth, but I settled at three stars - I didn't love it but I didn't hate it either. It was ok.

Pros
1. Shadow. I love a magical animal in a story (see: Nettle and Bone) He was the goodest boy.
2. Poe. Poe was a brownie who Emily befriends. He was both charming and utterly bloodthirsty. I loved him, and wished we could have had more of him.
3. The setting. The wintry village setting was adorable and very cozy. I loved the interactions between the villagers and our main characters.

Cons
1. Emily. I don't believe Emily was meant to be neurodivergent, due to the lack of indication by the author. She definitely had social anxiety and was introverted. However, she was also rude, and didn't seem to have done any research on the culture of the village whatsoever. Her decision-making was confusing at times. She was also pretty mean to Brambleby for seemingly no reason.

2. The pacing. I did not mind the format of the book (the story is told through journal entries) but there were long stretches where I didn't feel any kind of forward momentum. It was cozy, sure, but I still like to know where the plot is headed.

Neutral
1. Brambleby. He was super charming, good at cleaning, and a whiz with a sewing needle. I liked all those traits. I struggled with understanding why he was in love with Emily, because she treats him with nothing but suspicion. My biggest question about him is a spoiler: (view spoiler)

2. The fairys. The fae in this book are on the dark and violent side. There were times where that clashed with the cozy feel of the book. Be aware that there is plenty of violence, though it isn't super graphic for the most part. There were a few places that made me uncomfortable.

There is actually very little romance in the book, and it's very clean. I have seen people classifying this as a romantasy, but to me it's clearly a cozy fantasy story. The writing is charming, so if you're looking to read something with cozy vibes this might be for you. ...more

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Mar 26, 2025 Nicole rated it liked it

3.5

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Dec 09, 2023 Mandy Beyers rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Emily travels to a small town of Hrafsnvik chasing knowledge for her Encyclopaedia of Faeries. She is NOT good with people, so when her colleague Wendell Bambleby appears and quickly takes over, she is very frustrated. Her research and relationships become entangled in quite an enchanting way as she reluctantly becomes close to Wendell. (And they are adorable together!)

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Jan 19, 2024 SarahSmith rated it it was ok

This was amusing to read, but also a bity wordy so it took me a bit of time to finish. The storyline was interesting and I found most of the characters to be fairly entertaining. The ending seemed a bit rushed, but I assumed that was because the author was trying to push into a sequel.

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Jan 13, 2023 Lesa Divine marked it as to-read

Shelves: library-get

Dec 01, 2023 Kristen rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy, first-in-series, historical-fiction, in-a-series, fiction, black-covers, 2023-challenge-books, tandem-print-and-audio, src-fall-2023, fae