First book review of 2023: Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett

 Hi everyone and Happy New Year! 

I had to take December off as it's one of my most insane months at work and I barely had any time to read, let alone write reviews or any posts. But it's been a fun month and I read some amazing stories over the holidays, when I could finally catch a breath!

There is a full 2022 review on bookstagram though, where you can see all my favorite books that I recommend from 2022: HERE. 

And speaking of favorite reads of 2022, in December I was lucky to read Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries, which was one of the best reads of the year imo! 

Here's the scoop: 

Release date: January 10th 2023

Goodreads / Amazon / My Instagram / Playlist

Rating: 5 stars 💫

Tropes: 

✨️Fantasy Romance (light academia style)
✨️Fae lore and folklore
✨️Grumpy / Sunshine 
✨️Cozy magical vibes
✨️"Are you hurt? I'll 💀them"
✨️ Close proximity

A story filled with folklore, fae mythology and magic, adventure, subtle dry humor, character and relationship depth and growth and surprises at every turn.

Though I read it a few weeks ago, I still have the vibe and story imprinted on my brain. It has that cozy, cottage, read by the fire, rich fairy tale feeling.

Everything, from the daily mundane things, to the visits to the tavern, the locals, the folklore, the stories inside stories, the mystery of the bigger plot encompassing them all, the tentative relationships they formed, their chemistry, the questions, had me spellbound.

I liked Emily from the get-go. She charms from the very first page with her wit, intelligence, strength, courage, boldness and personal vulnerability. She takes us into a journey filled with mist, whispers of magic and fae lore and tells us her story with all the truth, mystery and discoveries as she meets them, in journal form. The moments when her thoughts got derailed and take a romantic turn - definitely not appropriate for an academic work, made me gasp and giggle and yell "finally! So I'm not the only one feeling the tension here!"

The slow burn (if we can even call that) is so subtle yet intense, delightful and fun its even more precious and rewarding. A nice grumpy sunshine in a storybook setting. 

It's perfect. I need this to be a preface for any other fae book ever written out there. I need it in true encyclopedia format. I need all the special editions. 

Overall, my take is: Outlander meets A discovery of Witches meets Once Upon a Broken Heart and I'm sticking with it. The perfect book to get cozy with at the end of these long winter days, for me it was like a balm for the soul. Easy 5 stars and a must read for everyone!

Memorable quotes:
*from the eARC, subject to change

"You are not so terrible, Em. You merely need friends who are dragons like you."

 

"I am an explorer, Wendell. I might call myself a scientist, but that is the heart of it. I wish to know the unknowable. To see what no mortal has seen. ... To peel back the carpeting of the world and tumble into the stars. "

 

Stories, after all, are so fundamental to their world; One cannot hope to understand the Folk without understanding their stories. 

 

For a heartbeat, all the other moments we've shared faded away, leaving behind only the small handful of times we'd been close like this, connected somehow like a bright constellation. 

Thank you to the publisher Random House/Del Rey and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this gem early. 

Have a great week and a most amazing 2023!