Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett was an unexpected delight that I’m glad to have stumbled upon. This novel did start off a bit slow and while it did have my attention it didn’t really hook me making me itch to read more and more until around the halfway mark. It’s not bad by any means, the pacing makes sense, its just starts off a rather slow burn. Written first person to be interpreted as Emily Wilde’s field journal as she heads out from Cambridge for the small town of Hrafnsvik in snowy Ljosland – an island off the coast of Norway – to document a species of faerie referred to as “Hidden Ones”. Emily travels out with her large wolf-dog looking forward to both the academic research and some solitary time in a remote village. Much to Emily’s chagrin a colleague of hers Wendell Bambleby invited himself along to assist in her research showing up briefly after her. Together they research the local fae. While this book is pretty much straight fantasy, there are a few descriptions within that lean toward horror – which honestly should be expected when dealing with the fae – and I loved every moment of it. If you aren’t a fan of horror you needn’t worry, I highly doubt its enough to give anyone but a young child a nightmare as the descriptions are fairly brief and not particularly grotesque. Well… One scene is a little gruesome but that particular scene reads closer to a bit of romance than horror.

I could very easily see any fantasy fan enjoying this book, and even though it took a bit to really grab me, I do think it’s a solid read that just about any fantasy lover will enjoy, young or old, for that, I give this 9 out of 10 stars. Heather Fawcett also has a second book in the Emily Wilde series coming very soon, Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands, coming January 16th 2024 Which I have a Galley of to be reviewed and posted soon!