Early Review – Emily Wilde’s Compendium of Lost Tales (Emily Wilde, Book 3) by Heather Fawcett (5/5 stars)

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Length: 368 pages
Publisher:‎ Del Rey
Release Date: February 11, 2025
ASIN: B0D21X99FJ
Stand Alone or Series: 3rd book in the Emily Wilde series
Source: eGalley for Review from NetGalley
Rating: 5/5 stars

“Emily Wilde has spent her life studying faeries. A renowned dryadologist, she has documented hundreds of species of Folk in her Encyclopaedia of Faeries. Now she is about to embark on her most dangerous academic project yet: studying the inner workings of a faerie realm—as its queen.

Along with her former academic rival—now fiancé—the dashing and mercurial Wendell Bambleby, Emily is immediately thrust into the deadly intrigues of Faerie as the two of them seize the throne of Wendell’s long-lost kingdom, which Emily finds a beautiful nightmare filled with scholarly treasures.

Emily has been obsessed with faerie stories her entire life, but at first she feels as ill-suited to Faerie as she did to the mortal world: How can an unassuming scholar such as herself pass for a queen? Yet there is little time to settle in, for Wendell’s murderous stepmother has placed a deadly curse upon the land before vanishing without a trace. It will take all of Wendell’s magic—and Emily’s knowledge of stories—to unravel the mystery before they lose everything they hold dear.”

Series Info/Source: This is the 3rd book in the Emily Wilde series. I got this on eGalley from NetGalley for review.

Thoughts: I enjoyed this book just as much as the previous books in this series. We spend a lot more time in faerie in this book and learn a lot more about Wendell’s past.

Emily and Wendell head into faerie to take back Wendell’s throne. Sadly, this isn’t as easy as expected as there seems to be a curse on the lands; a curse created by the apparently not-quite-dead former queen. Emily rushes to analyze various faerie stories and try to figure out the best way to break this curse. Wendell is healing the land as he can.

I really continue to enjoy both Emily and Wendell as characters; they have a sweet relationship and are very supportive of each other through some rather trying times. We meet some new and intriguing characters in this book as well and get to spend some time with some of Emily’s friends from the first book too.

I enjoyed the crazy inhabitants of faeries, the detailed analysis of various faerie tales, and Emily’s bravery in facing some tough situations. This is a well written and cozy, heart-warming fantasy. I hope there are additional books in this series.

My Summary (5/5): Overall I really love this series. I love Wendell and Emily and their relationship, and I enjoyed all the time we get to spend in faerie. This is a well-written fantasy with heavy faerie themes, a lot of humor, some adventure, and a cozy feel to it. I really hope there are additional books in this series.