Synopsis
When mysterious faeries from other realms appear at her university, curmudgeonly professor Emily Wilde must uncover their secrets before it’s too late in this heart-warming, enchanting second instalment of the Emily Wilde series.
Emily Wilde is a genius scholar of faerie folklore—she just wrote the world’s first comprehensive of encyclopaedia of faeries. She’s learned many of the secrets of the Hidden Folk on her adventures. . . and also from her fellow scholar and former rival, Wendell Bambleby.
Because Bambleby is more than infuriatingly charming. He’s an exiled faerie king on the run from his murderous mother, and in search of a door back to his realm. So, despite Emily’s feelings for Bambleby, she’s not ready to accept his proposal of marriage. Loving one of the Fair Folk comes with secrets and danger.
And she also has a new project to focus on, a map of the realms of faerie. While she is preparing her research, Bambleby lands her in trouble yet again, when assassins sent by Bambleby’s mother invade Cambridge. Now Bambleby and Emily are on another adventure, this time to the picturesque Austrian Alps, where Emily believes they may find the door to Bambley’s realm, and the key to freeing him from his family’s dark plans.
But with new relationships for the prickly Emily to navigate and dangerous Folk lurking in every forest and hollow, Emily must unravel the mysterious workings of faerie doors, and of her own heart.
Review
My thanks to Little, Brown Book Group UK, Orbit, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest opinion. It was one I was so excited to read!
In “Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands,” Heather Fawcett invites readers on an extraordinary journey that transcends the boundaries of imagination. A sequel to her first work, “Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries”, the novel picks up where the first left off, and is a testament to Fawcett’s storytelling prowess, creating an enchanting narrative through Emily’s journal entries that captivates readers.
Told in a series of first-person journal entries alongside the protagonist’s research, the novel is set in the early 1900s in a world where the fae (faeries) exist, the novel’s protagonist, Emily Wilde, is on a quest to find the hidden door to Wendell’s faerie realm, while still avoiding a commitment to him by agreeing to his marriage proposal, and working on a new project at the same time: a map of the various faerie realms known to humans.
As a reader, I found myself enchanted by Fawcett’s exquisite prose and the vibrancy of the Otherlands. The opening to the book was engaging and caught my attention straight away. Emily is a relatable protagonist, one whom I found myself readily identifying with throughout the novel, and both Wendell and Emily are characters I easily fell in love with. That her story is presented through first-person journal entries also feels quite unique and pleasing to read in a world saturated with fantasy novels.
However, while I found the side characters enchanting in this book, I also wish that a bit more focus had been devoted to them. Also, the pacing felt a little off to me, becoming a little slow-going about halfway through after an attention-grabbing opening, until it picks back up once more in the last quarter of the book.
In the realm of fantasy, “Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands” stands shoulder to shoulder with heavy-hitters in the genre, such as Holly Black’s “Folk of the Air” series. Fawcett’s work is distinguished by its unique format of first-person journal entries, and an imaginative depth that rivals the most beloved tales of magical realms.
This book comes highly recommended for readers who enjoy well-written fantasy in a different format to typical fantasy novels. “Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands” is a delightful journey that beckons to the adventurer in all of us, offering a respite in a world where the ordinary transforms into the extraordinary.
Heather Fawcett has crafted a literary gem with “Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands.” I sincerely hope that Fawcett will continue writing books in this world because I would be incredibly happy to read more adventures in this world. A resounding five stars for a book that not only invites readers into a fantastical realm but also leaves them with a treasure trove of imagination.
Rating: ★★★★★
You can get a copy here on Amazon
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