Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries: the Sunday Times Bestseller

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I loved the whimsical coziness of this book and Emily’s “curmudgeonly ways”, as you put it, and the banter between her and Wendell was one of my favorite things ever. The faerie kidnapping elements are terrifying and I shivered constantly during the latter half (admittedly I am easy to scare, especially when I'm reading at night). But once you make choices that encompass real world places and events, you have to at least get it a little bit right. As they're settling in, Emily receives a letter from one of her Cambridge colleagues, Wendell Bambleby, that he's planning to join her. I think by writing that version of the past in which everyone gets to be happy, as they could not in truth, you erase the very real problems, and the struggles of the people who lived them, just to enjoy an aesthetic.

They also have this rivals-to-lovers/frienemies dynamic that makes their interactions even more delightful.I had a hard time remembering who was who because none of them felt like fully realized people with personalities and histories.

And here, where the struggles are something we can pinpoint easily to dates and specifics, it's hard to ignore that discrepency. Emily Wilde’s Encyclopedia of Faeries enchants with a cozy atmosphere and scholarly inquiry into the world of the fae. I got a fantastic feel for the place, the people and the fae and it all flowed so well with an easy pacing that made it impossible to stop reading.I told her early into reading that I was having trouble with this book and she so sweetly volunteered to read it with me and I am so grateful to have had someone to rant with! Wendell is beyond description – he starts off as a self-obsessed snoot but his character starts peeling off its layers quite interestingly as the story progresses. I saw the autism-like coding, too, and it came across as very unintentional, and honestly, it irritated me. With the impossibly disarming Wendell by her side, they make a formidable duo – part amusing double act, part old married couple, part young lovers yet to declare their true feelings for each other.

Missing her and worrying about her at Cambridge, Wendell decides to assist Emily on the encyclopedia. Needless to say, Emily, along with her trusty companion, her dog, Shadow, have a bit of a learning curve to overcome in Ljosland. Because I am neurodivergent, this at-times awkward, sometimes snarly relationship appeals to me more than the ones between people who understand exactly the right way to feel and how.especially when compared to Emily) The only thing I can't comprehend is why he would love Emily at all. He pokes fun at the FMC for traits which I read as marking her as clearly autistic-coded (largely in not understanding the common social cues and rituals of those around her) and especially early in the book it gave me the distinct impression of laughing *at* her rather than *with* her.

They start off a little distrustful of Emily, sure that she will bring the wrath of the Hidden Ones on them, but the more time they spend with her, the more they come to hope that Emily might indeed be their salvation. As for Emily, while she is apathetic and uninterested in helping others, she becomes a heaping mess if something happens to Wendell. And it’s trying to do the sort of cosy, romantic fantasy that is currently enjoying a surge of popularity, so it’s not even as though it deserves points for originality. I am not sure if the author meant to make her seem like she was potentially neurodivergent but that's how she came across to me at times, especially in regards to social situations and her having a special interest in faeries.I suppose most children fall in love with faeries at some point, but my fascination was never about magic or the granting of wishes. Which is not to say Wendell is perfect – he’s just as bad as her, except that he notices it, and is willing to try to get his way by being charming and manipulative, rather than obtuse. The possibility of a romance between the two is frequently teased, with the constant exasperation shown towards each other offset by a mutual respect.