Audiobook Review – Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries (Emily Wilde, Book 1) by Heather Fawcett (5/5 stars)

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Historical Fantasy
Length: 12 hours and 5 minutes
Publisher:‎ Random House Audio
Release Date: January 10, 2023
ASIN: ‎B09W4JNJ1Y
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in the Emily Wilde series
Source: Borrowed audiobook from Library
Rating: 5/5 stars

“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, Shadow, and the Fair Folk to other people.

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, muddle 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.”

Series Info/Source: This is the first book in the Emily Wilde series. I borrowed this on audiobook from my library.

Thoughts: I really loved this. This was a fun, cozy fantasy read that I truly enjoyed. The story has us journeying with Emily, a Cambridge professor, who is determined to venture to the far north to finish her Encyclopaedia of Faeries. Unfortunately, she isn’t quite prepared for the weather or the hostility she faces there. However, she is determined to deal with the discomforts and soldier through. That is until her charismatic friend (and fellow professor) Bambleby shows up and makes everything more complicated.

I loved Emily’s obsession with the faerie studies and her blindness to how she affected everyone around her. She grows a lot through the book. The small winter town she is studying in is cozy and entertaining. Much of this book reminds me of Marie Brennon’s “Memoirs of Lady Trent”.

Her friend and academic rival, Wendell Bambleby, brings some amazing zany fun to the story. I love how he accepts Emily for who she is and subtly supports her brilliant mind in ways she doesn’t even realize.

Of course, I always enjoy stories about faerie and this book explores some unique and obscure faerie types, which again, I really enjoyed. This was an engaging and fun read for me, the pacing was well done and the description and witty dialogue engrossing. I breezed right through this book.

My Summary (5/5): Overall, this was a wonderfully fun, feel good fantasy with deadly faeries and chilly magic but a surprisingly cozy feel to it. I would recommend to those who enjoyed Brennon’s “Memoirs of Lady Trent” and to those who enjoy these kind of humorous academic adventure fantasies and don’t mind just a touch of romance. I really enjoyed this and am thrilled that I just got “Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands” to review early. This second book in the series releases Jan 2024.