From the Bookshelf of SpecFic Buddy Reads…
Find A Copy At
Group Discussions About This Book
No group discussions for this book yet.
What Members Thought
What happened? This was supposed to be actually good. You lied to me, book.
Oh, I know! What I read was a faerie changeling of a book, while the actual good book was abducted and is forlornly roaming the depths of Faerie kingdom, and we are never destined to meet. Nothing else explains these shenanigans.
The ingredients were fantastic. But the dish ended up unsalted, overboiled and generally a mush.
Take a remote cold Scandinavian island at the turn of the 20th century in a world where faeries ...more
Oh, I know! What I read was a faerie changeling of a book, while the actual good book was abducted and is forlornly roaming the depths of Faerie kingdom, and we are never destined to meet. Nothing else explains these shenanigans.
The ingredients were fantastic. But the dish ended up unsalted, overboiled and generally a mush.
Take a remote cold Scandinavian island at the turn of the 20th century in a world where faeries ...more
This book was utterly delightful. It was sometimes a bit heavy handed with the foreshadowing, but I loved the characters, the world-building, the setting and the prose was at turns exceedingly beautiful and humorous. A wry humor, mostly at the MC’s expense, but she was well aware of her curmudgeonliness.
If you are averse I will warn of a grumpy romance, which occupies a very little bit of the 2nd half of the book.
If you are averse I will warn of a grumpy romance, which occupies a very little bit of the 2nd half of the book.
A grumpy female Cambridge scholar travels to Norway to explore the faerie folk near a remote village in the 1900s. She‘s not terribly good with people and the villagers are not impressed. But Emily doesn’t really care, her only interest is the Fair Folk. Her only companion is Shadow, a big, black dog. Well, at first. She eventually gets joined by her very annoying (and incredibly handsome) colleague Wendell Bambleby and two of his students. Wendell charms the townsfolk, who had entirely gone off
...more
This one fell very flat for me. For such a good looking cover, I was hoping for a story to match but alas I was quite bored. I don’t know if the fact it was in journal form played a part, but it felt like a story of no action or excitement. The romance was flat too. Many thanks to Netgalley for an arc of this book.
Cambridge Adjunct Professor Emily Wilde arrives in the Norwegian town of Hrafnsvik to study the Hidden Folk. She has studied Dryadology for years, and is eager to document the local fairies, rounding out her detailed Encyclopedia of Faeries.
Emily is a dedicated scholar, knowing more details and having more depth in Dryadology than her colleagues, so she's annoyed when her rival Wendell Bambleby arrives, saying they'll get the research done soon together, then publish to acclaim.
Emily is intelle ...more
Emily is a dedicated scholar, knowing more details and having more depth in Dryadology than her colleagues, so she's annoyed when her rival Wendell Bambleby arrives, saying they'll get the research done soon together, then publish to acclaim.
Emily is intelle ...more
I really enjoyed this book. I saw some reviews call it a "cosy fantasy" and I think that is pretty apt - the pace is fairly slow and the story is rich in characters and details - and faeries.
Professor Emily Wilde is almost finished with her Encyclopaedia of Faeries, which she hopes will get her a tenured position at Cambridge. She travels to a small village in the far north, where she hopes to examine the different fae creatures there. When an academic friend/rival shows up and shakes up Emily's ...more
Professor Emily Wilde is almost finished with her Encyclopaedia of Faeries, which she hopes will get her a tenured position at Cambridge. She travels to a small village in the far north, where she hopes to examine the different fae creatures there. When an academic friend/rival shows up and shakes up Emily's ...more
*4.5 stars
What a delightful book!
In many ways this reminded me of A Natural History of Dragons. I could deeply relate to Emily Wilde, her attention to detail, her focus on her work. I loved how she slowly opened herself to the wonder and enchantment of her job, despite the danger, and how she became more vulnerable and open to the people in the village.
I'm always gonna be a sucker for the scholar character in any fantasy story :) Very much looking forward to book 2! ...more
What a delightful book!
In many ways this reminded me of A Natural History of Dragons. I could deeply relate to Emily Wilde, her attention to detail, her focus on her work. I loved how she slowly opened herself to the wonder and enchantment of her job, despite the danger, and how she became more vulnerable and open to the people in the village.
I'm always gonna be a sucker for the scholar character in any fantasy story :) Very much looking forward to book 2! ...more
This was imo over hyped.
I'm a sucker for a plot when the heroine moves in the middle of nowhere and needs to set up her life (even temporarily) in a new place, which was executed well in this book. As an introvert, the heroine was very relatable. 5 stars.
...more
Sep 21, 2022
Lynne
marked it as to-read
Dec 27, 2022
Di Maitland
marked it as to-read
Jan 09, 2023
Gali
marked it as to-read
Feb 26, 2023
Jessica
marked it as to-read
Nov 01, 2023
Sarah
marked it as to-read
Jan 02, 2024
Bradley
marked it as to-read
