I'm choosing to believe it was fate that I saw this book at the thrift store during a reading slump. Especially since I first spotted it in someone's hand and they (miraculously) put it back on the shelf. Well, their loss.
Emily Wilde's Encyclopedia of Faeries follows the titular professor's time studying faeries in a cold, distant country. Her attempts are hampered by her awkward social skills and eventually by the charming academic rival that follows her north.
Fawcett's book arrived during the height of BookTok and publisher's obsession with fae and faerie romances, so when I first heard about it, I chalked it up to being much the same. But anything to with academia always pulls me in. Maybe its my brain's own desire to catalogue and draw connections? I'm not sure. So I gave this book a shot. And wow, it felt like a breath of fresh air. Fawcett's world and characters feel far more connected to Naomi Novik's tales of Slavic folklore and Marie Brennan's Victorian dragon academics than it did to faerie romances and stories I've read and heard about in the past. In my opinion, that connection stems from the underlying respect and gravitas the book holds for folk and oral histories. Emily, as a character, lives and breathes folk and faerie stories, and her love is built on a respect both for the faeries she studies and also the people whose lives are intertwined with the fantastic. Even the residents of Hrafnsvik, who originally see Emily's search as naive and perhaps dangerous, come to understand and respect her knowledge and skill. I've seen fae romances in which their existence is equated to elves, or portrayed as an overwhelmingly powerful and unknowable "other" force. Fawcett's book, like other tales focused on the folklore aspect of fae, treats them with the same respect and understanding one might hold towards the ferocity of nature. Which is arguably what likely inspires many faerie stories.
On top of that, Emily and Wendell have such a beautiful, believable bond. I like any book couple with a "I love you. I will kill you for doing that, but I love you" energy, and these two both have it in spades. And on top of that, the book knows when to give their relationship space to breathe, and when to hone in on their feelings. I think, and I hate to repeat myself, its the sense of respect both characters have for each other that makes for a believable and enticing romance between them.
I have yet to pick up the other two books in the series (each copy is $30+ in Canada!), but if fate (or faerie magic) wants to drop them off at the thrift store again, I won't hesitate to grab them.
Book Info:
Title: Emily Wilde's Encyclopedia of Faeries
Author: Heather Fawcett
Published: January 12th, 2023
Publisher: Del Rey Books
Pages: 317
Based on this, try: A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan, Half a Soul by Olivia Atwater, Uprooted by Naomi Novik, An Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson
Catch you next time,
Aleks
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