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Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries (Emily Wilde, #1)

Heather Fawcett

Start date: February 1, 2025

Finish date: February 28, 2025

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Books of the Month

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What Members Thought

Dec 07, 2023 Amy rated it liked it

Shelves: fiction, rec-ig-blogs-friends-other, _own-ebook, _own-home-library, rec-currently-reading-podcast, rec-book-riot, read-in-2023, fantasy

After seeing so many raves, I was expecting to love this one. But it was more fine than great for me. I liked it fine. It just didn’t grab me or make a huge impression. I wanted to love it way more than I did.

6 likes · Like · see review

Apr 08, 2024 Brenda rated it it was amazing

Shelves: own

This was so super cozy. I loved pretty much everything about it. It is not necessarily a fast moving story, you have to settle in and just enjoy the coziness.

2 likes · Like · see review

Nov 26, 2023 Cambria rated it it was amazing

4.5, a great read! Can wait for the next book!

1 like · Like · see review

Oct 23, 2023 Karen rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Fun book, great escape.

1 like · Like · see review

Dec 15, 2023 Jessica rated it really liked it · review of another edition

My feelings about this book swung back and forth, but I settled at three stars - I didn't love it but I didn't hate it either. It was ok.

Pros
1. Shadow. I love a magical animal in a story (see: Nettle and Bone) He was the goodest boy.
2. Poe. Poe was a brownie who Emily befriends. He was both charming and utterly bloodthirsty. I loved him, and wished we could have had more of him.
3. The setting. The wintry village setting was adorable and very cozy. I loved the interactions between the villagers a My feelings about this book swung back and forth, but I settled at three stars - I didn't love it but I didn't hate it either. It was ok.

Pros
1. Shadow. I love a magical animal in a story (see: Nettle and Bone) He was the goodest boy.
2. Poe. Poe was a brownie who Emily befriends. He was both charming and utterly bloodthirsty. I loved him, and wished we could have had more of him.
3. The setting. The wintry village setting was adorable and very cozy. I loved the interactions between the villagers and our main characters.

Cons
1. Emily. I don't believe Emily was meant to be neurodivergent, due to the lack of indication by the author. She definitely had social anxiety and was introverted. However, she was also rude, and didn't seem to have done any research on the culture of the village whatsoever. Her decision-making was confusing at times. She was also pretty mean to Brambleby for seemingly no reason.

2. The pacing. I did not mind the format of the book (the story is told through journal entries) but there were long stretches where I didn't feel any kind of forward momentum. It was cozy, sure, but I still like to know where the plot is headed.

Neutral
1. Brambleby. He was super charming, good at cleaning, and a whiz with a sewing needle. I liked all those traits. I struggled with understanding why he was in love with Emily, because she treats him with nothing but suspicion. My biggest question about him is a spoiler: (view spoiler)

2. The fairys. The fae in this book are on the dark and violent side. There were times where that clashed with the cozy feel of the book. Be aware that there is plenty of violence, though it isn't super graphic for the most part. There were a few places that made me uncomfortable.

There is actually very little romance in the book, and it's very clean. I have seen people classifying this as a romantasy, but to me it's clearly a cozy fantasy story. The writing is charming, so if you're looking to read something with cozy vibes this might be for you. ...more

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Jan 03, 2023 Carrie marked it as to-read

Shelves: m-g

Jan 09, 2023 Ruth marked it as to-read

Jan 10, 2023 Kat marked it as to-read

Dec 01, 2023 Kristen rated it really liked it

Shelves: first-in-series, fiction, black-covers, in-a-series, fantasy, historical-fiction, 2023-challenge-books, tandem-print-and-audio, src-fall-2023, fae