Emily Wilde's Map of the Otherlands is like drinking a mug of hot chocolate while watching a storm rage outside - an activity which I am sure Wendell would approve of! Cozy and charming yet with enough drama I read it all in one sitting.

I was incredibly excited to get my hands on an early copy, and Heather Fawcett's follow up to Emily Wilde's Encyclopedia of Faeries did not disappoint in the slightest. This time we follow Emily and Wendell in their search to locate a door back to his realm, while encountering all manner of new folk...and a few familiar faces - or muzzles, in Shadow's case!

Honestly, it was just a joy to read.

Wow! Wow! Wow! What an incredible sequel! I absolutely love this cosy series, it’s the perfect read for these gloomy evening’s!

I would say I enjoyed this one slightly more than the first and I absolutely loved that we got to see more of Emily and Wendell’s witty sides!

Another fun entry in the Emily Wilde series that I just flew through.

This time the action moves to Austria with a new village to get to know and new folk to investigate. Emily (with Wendell, her niece and department head all in tow) is trying to find a hidden door to Wendall’s realm and believes that solving the mystery of some lost scholars could be the key to everything.

Comparing it the first, maybe this one feels slightly less academic and the map of the title isn't particularly relevant. also a bit more action-packed and dangerous.

Once again, I felt immersed in the world immediately, I love the style and the characters - it just felt like a joy to read and I'm looking forward to more adventures with Emily.

In this sequel we follow Emily and Wendell as they are searching for his door to go back home and stop his stepmother. Following the publication of their encyclopaedia, Emily and Wendell begin a new quest to find Wendell door to go back to his realm. While Emily works on her new project, both Emily and Wendell are going to confront just how difficult it is to deal with Faerie.

I enjoyed this sequel! The main duo was as witty as the first one, and I loved their banter. Wendell was a delight to read about. The world is just as magical and I personally enjoyed the expansion that we got here with new territories and new concept of how the magic works. The only two things I didn’t like was the friends group as I much preferred the one in the first book; and the pacing. It was way too slow in certain parts of the plot.

This was a solid sequel and a great introduction also to the next book that we’ll get in this world. If you loved Emily Wilde be sure to check this one out!

Thank you NetGalley and Little Brown Book Group auk for allowing me to read an arc of this

We simply need more books about female academics researching creatures that to us are fantastical. Give the people (me) what they want

I was so excited about this book - I found the first one an absolutely delightful surprise and couldn't wait to return to traipsing around with Emily as she researched some more faeries! The general concept still rules, and I quite liked the addition of the footnotes (I don't recall the first book having any but might be wrong) that meant we got more info about faeries (note: in the e-book, these are added at the end of the 'about the author' section, so I couldn't find them at first). I also really liked the part of the book set in Cambridge! I think, although Emily's adventures are fun, I just greatly enjoy a cosy academia story, and the Cambridge part still had whimsy to it (Emily dumping a faerie foot on Wendell's desk was so iconic. No one's doing it like her), making it very fun to read.

I quite enjoyed the subtle character development Emily had gone through based on her experiences in Ljosland. Although she still didn't always know how she was supposed to behave in social situations (relatable as always), she had started to actually care for people beyond Wendell, and was therefore more interested in being kind to others, even if she didn't always know how. Despite this, she wasn't just suddenly conforming to all social norms, but winning more people over with her authentic character, which I really liked. Finding social situations difficult doesn't automatically equate to other people disliking you (or the other way around), and this Emily was much more aware of that.

The reason I'm giving this a slightly lower rating than the first book, despite it having the same delightful magic to it, is because it sometimes felt like it was just more of the same. They were in a small village surrounded by wildlands, with mischievous faeries and strange villagers, and the feeling was too similar to the Ljosland adventure, despite the differences. The characteristics that made the first book unique were repeated here, and since I was expecting them, they didn't wow me again. The ending of this book did give me hope that the third installment (which I 100% will be reading) will be very different, so I'm optimistic!

I received an ARC from Netgalley in return for an honest review.

I was very much looking forward to this novel, I had very much enjoyed the first Emily Wilde novel and was hoping for more of the same.

Emily is a difficult protagonist. One hand I love her because fiercely intelligent and has a tonne of agency and she likes to get things done properly. On the other hand she can also be annoying and rather lacks in some of the soft skills that would see her succeed quicker in her academic career.

This time round she is heading up an expedition to try and find a fabled nexus - a faerie door that leads to many locations, following in the footsteps of an earlier female academic who went missing looking for the nexus. This time as well as being accompanied by Wendell whose evil stepmother is sending fae assassins after him. And Rose a more senior academic who appears to be there just to tell Emily she is wrong and too headstrong and be obstacle to oppose and a neice who wants to be a dryadologist but is a bit of a liabilty.

I wish I could say I loved this as much as the first novel. I struggled to get into it and by the end was quite pleased to be finished.
Part of this is down to the characters being annoying I felt very little motivation to care about anyone. And to frustrate me further despite the new location I didn't feel like this was treading new ground at all.

It felt contrived and it lacked a lot of the charm that I thought the first novel had.

5★

Thank you NetGalley for the e-arc copy of this book! This was easy 5 star, I loved it so much! I loved it even more than the first book, which I gave 4.5★

Thoughts:

☆ As I said, I enjoyed this book quite a bit more than the first one. As much as I loved the first book, I had issues with the pacing. I felt that there were moments where nothing much was really happening and it was just quite slow. This book on the other hand was so much better with its pacing. It improved all the parts I didn’t like in the first one. There was always something going on ☆ it didn’t have to be high stakes, there were some lower stakes part, but never boring.
☆ The atmosphere of the village and the forests! In general I’m in love with the overall atmosphere of this world - in both books. It’s just so cozy and whimsical.
☆ The writing was one of my favorite things. I can’t really say why exactly. It’s just the way the author writes really speaks to me.
☆ I loved spending time with our main characters once again. I could relate to Emily in so many moments. And I missed Wendell and his personality too. I was also happy with the new characters that joined them on this new adventure. Ariadne was sweet and I was glad to have her around too.
☆ The fae was also one of my favorite things. I was so happy to see Poe again and the moments with him were adorable. And we get to make a new friend too.
☆ The romance? Hello, I was happy to get more of that! I still want more tho, not gonna lie. Once again it was just sprinkled on top, as the plot is the main focus of the book, and I’m very happy with that. I just love our main characters together so much, I wanted more! More of their moments, more of their banter. I just can’t get enough of them
☆ I cannot forget Shadow, he was such a good boy once again. I love him.
☆ Why didn’t I realize there’s gonna be a third book? In my mind this was a dulogy for some reason. With that said… I need the third book like right now!

Overall if you liked the first book, definitely read this one as it’s even better!


Read if you like:

☆ folk faeries and creatures
☆ reverse grumpy x sunshine
☆ cozy fantasy
☆ whimsical atmosphere
☆ light academia/cottagecore
☆ adventure

This is a charming and cosy fantasy read. And for a second book it still holds all the amazing whimsy feels of book 1. Great plot and easy to follow. Thank you NetGalley and Orion Publishing for my eArc.

This book was such a comforting delight to read— I love how ridiculous and whimsical the faeries are, alongside the grump/sunshine dynamic between Emily and Wendell. Emily is so unapologetically herself, and I really love that. Fawcett’s style of writing is addicting to read and I cannot wait for the third and final instalment of this series! (Please don’t let anything happen to Poe or Shadow, I beg).

A massive thank you to netgalley for the arc of this book because it made my whole week <33

Having published her ground-breaking Encyclopaedia of Faeries, Emily Wilde is enjoying tenure at Cambridge University and her time with her colleague/secret-Faerie-king Wendell. But she has launched straight into a new project: a map of Faerie, the Otherlands. This new venture fits neatly into her secret mission to help Wendell find a back door into his realm so he can defeat his step-mother and claim his throne. She also has to decide whether to accept his marriage proposal, but in the meantime has settled into a comfortable friendship with him, and is trying to ignore the growing yearning within her.

When assassins sent by Wendell’s step-mother attack them on campus, the duo decide to speed up their plans and so, accompanied by Emily’s over-enthusiastic niece and the strongly opinionated Head of the Department, they venture to the Austrian Alps. Here they retrace the steps of a scholar who disappeared decades previously, and whom Emily believes had found the nexus, where many doors to different parts of Faerie meet.

Map of the Otherlands is made up of Emily’s diary entires, just as the first one is, and I enjoyed being back in her mind and the way she jots everything down, footnotes and all. I will admit, though, that the first half went a bit slowly for me, as all the academic knowledge and the painstaking research was set up. It also took me a while to warm to the two new characters, but once the group was forced into a few tricky situations and the Folk came out to play I was hooked! We get to see a wide range of the Fae in this second book, with some pretty grisly descriptions of some of them, and I liked the way all the folklore was woven into the story. I also loved that Poe made a brief reappearance!

In terms of character, Emily has certainly come a long way since she was first introduced in Encyclopaedia of Faeries, and I enjoyed watching her relationship and feelings for Wendell grow throughout this book. Where she used to be only logical and unattached, she has learnt to trust her feelings and open up a little to others. Emily also absolutely shines when talking of Faerie, which is good as that’s what she’s doing for most of the story… but she gets the chance to step into the world of the Folk a bit more in this second instalment and her wonder is definitely contagious, and her bravery inspiring. She is the perfect protagonist for all those who dreamt of distant lands and enchanted kingdoms, as I did when my mother and my aunt told me stories of the fae.

Just as Encyclopaedia of Faries was, Map of the Otherlands is ideal winter reading: curl up with this cosy fantasy full of magic, improbable occurrences, romance, lost souls, and sunlit alpine slopes and valleys full of secrets. You don’t strictly need to have read the first book to get enjoyment out of this one, but I do recommend it as you’ll get the full background of the characters and this world they live in, where the Folk are real and a subject of academic study.

So I absolutely adored the first book in the Emily Wilde series and this one did not disappoint in the slightest, in actual fact I think I loved this one even more. I loved being back with these characters and for me it felt as if no time had passed. Just like the first book, this is told in journal format with Emily telling her story and experiences but this time we have the addition of footnotes which I really liked!

I loved watching Emily grow as a character and getting to see her development. I also loved her relationship with Wendell grow and I definitely enjoyed seeing more romance between the two. The banter between the two is spot on and I just adore them both so much. I also really liked the addition of some of the secondary characters in this book and really hope that we get to see more of them in the next one!

Honestly this is one of my favourite series of all time. I love how whimsical, quirky and absolutely clever it is and I will forever recommend this series.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Emily Wilde's Map of the Otherlands by Heather Fawcett is a cozy fantasy with lots of magic. The writing form is slightly different from the first book, but you do not have to worry. You will get your beloved characters and some new ones. If you liked the first book, I think you will not be disappointed with this one and you will enjoy it on every page.

Thank you NetGalley and Little, Brown Book Group UK, Orbit for this beautiful opportunity to preview this book.

I adored Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries and Emily Wilde's Map of the Otherlands was no different! This book was filled with all the cosy fantasy and cosy academia vibes of the first as well as delving deeper into the fae world with the development of Wendell and Emily's relationship. I loved their grumpy/sunshine romance dynamic and they are both just such wonderful and fun characters to read!

Ahh, these books fill me with joy. The cantankerous Emily and capricious Wendell are a great stance on the grump/sunshine trope and I am here for it! These books encompass my favourite elements of Melissa Marr’s Wicked Lovely books and Evie Dunmore’s League of Extraordinary Women series. This new book is an excellent sequel, as Emily must try to save Wendell by heading into Faerie, using all her knowledge and skills against all the dangers and pitfalls she lectures her students about at Cambridge. If you like romances/stories about the fae (and yes, yes I do), then this historical twist is a treat.

I was so excited to receive the ARC of the second book in the Emily Wilde series and it was such a cosy read! I loved the escape this book brought me and I really fell in love with the characters even more. I really enjoyed the character developments and the relationship between Emily and Wendell. It definitely has less world building than my normal go to fantasies but I think that really brought a cosy feel to the book which made me enjoy it! I would recommend this series to anyone who is interested in fantasy and also enjoy a slightly more academic take on writing styles! Definitely cannot wait for the next one!

Wow. I have never been more excited to get a book to read early, after having loved the first Emily Wilde's book, I was highly anticipating reading the second, and it did not disappoint. The dynamic between Emily and Wendell was to die for, the world-setting, the plot, the character development, the continuation of exploration of different faeries, sublime.

For more bookish reviews, please follow my bookstagram at @blondesbooknook

I'm OBSESSED!!

I loved the first one in this series, and the second is exactly what I wanted, which is to say, more of the same. I adore these characters, Emily and Wendell are just the most fun to read from, I love their slow burn grumpy sunshine romance. Emily is just as prickly and unyielding as in the first book, which is why I love her. I love the world these books create, and I can't wait to pick up book number three!!

LOVE.

I am most definitely one of Emily Wilde's biggest fans.
First of all: the humour, I love how witty the books are, how Heather Fawcett uses language to bring across all sorts of feelings. Emily Wilde and I are two completely different people, and yet, as soon as I immerse myself in her Diaries, I understand her and agree with everything she does and says. I even admire her bluntness.
Secondly, the worldbuilding: I love how Heather Fawcett goes all out with it. Nothing is too much, she drags anything she considers handy into the story. And yet it's never overdone.
Thirdly, the romance. I love me a good grumpy vs sunshine story and I like it that Emily is the grumpy one. Also I am in love with Wendell, he's so charming and funny.
I would recommend Emily Wilde to anyone who loves a cosy, romantic, funny fantasy novel that is linguistically strong. So basically, everyone.

I have been so excited to read this and it starts promising with lots of action within Cambridge College where Emily and Wendall are professors.
Sadly and unfortunately, and I could well be in the minority here, by half way I was getting a bit bored. Very similar to first book, in that they rent another cottage and go out daily looking for doors, plus searching for this other lost person. I didn’t gel with any of the characters as much in this book either.
My main disappointment though was the story to finding Wendalls door, i thought was going to be the main story and have a good portion of the book in wendalls kingdom. But that didn’t happen.
Every time it’s in the faerie world we don’t get to hear much because it’s always forgotten about with ‘magic’
I will still be reading book 3 in the hope that this one will actually be predominantly in wendalls kingdom.

5 of 5 stars
https://lynns-books.com/2024/01/08/emily-wildes-map-of-the-otherlands-by-heather-fawcett/
My Five Word TL:DR Review : Emily has won my heart

Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands is another wonderful instalment into Heather Fawcett’s series of the fae. I absolutely loved the first book in the series and getting to know Emily and Wendell even better in this next part of their journey just furthers my love for these two characters and the world that Fawcett has created. To be fair, I hold my hands up and confess that I love stories that include the fae so to an extent this was my catnip but Fawcett does a fantastic job yet again and totally pulled me into this story with ease. The world she has created is riveting, her writing is delicious, all her characters shine and the fae are this wonderful blend of creepy, curious, fiendish or haughty and disdainful that is simply my cup of tea.

I’m not going to elaborate too much on the plot. I will say that as a second in series this review may contain spoilers for book 1 so if you have yet to explore the first book then stop reading now and hurry – go pick up No.1.

At the heart of the story a mystery. If you’ve read book 1 you’ll know that Wendell is a fae king in Exile. In EWMotO his stepmother decides to take that next step and earn herself the epitaph ‘wicked’ by sending assassins into the mortal realm to deal with her errant step son once and for all. Now, Wendell is quite the demon at swordplay but even so the two can’t continue in this vein, so with that in mind, armed with a few helpful resources and a couple of extra companions, they set off in search of one of the secret doors to Wendell’s kingdom. Now there is more to the mystery than that and the stakes are of course much higher but I’m not going to give away such nuggets here.

Once again we have the winning combination of Fawcetts delightful prose cunningly woven into a journal format and, similarly, we have our two winning characters from the first book, but with a couple of extras and a character from the first book even making a reappearance.

This is another winning story for so many reasons.

Firstly, the plot at first felt almost a little skittish, like I couldn’t quite get a grip on what the real focus of the story was. I think some of this is also because I tend to get a bit drawn to the academic side of things, such as Emily’s pursuit of her mapping of the Otherlands, which obviously plays into the story but in a very subdued, backseat kind of way. Really, the real mystery here is what exactly is taking place in Wendell’s kingdom and why and once I had a handle on that I became much deeper embroiled in the goings on. And there are other little elements, beside the academic pursuits, thrown in for good measure, such as the missing professors. Overall, once I got a real grip on what was going on I loved it and was absolutely riveted.

Again, the writing and style are a winning element for me. I love an epistolary style story and Fawcett’s writing is really lovely to read. I love the way she turns a phrase, she is a wonderful storyteller and on top of that her dialogue, particularly between Emily and Wendell is spot on and really easy, charming and often amusing to read.

The romance here has progressed. There is a marriage offer on the table but not one that Emily is keen to accept, even though she thinks so fondly of Wendell. They’re such an odd couple that they truly do make for compulsive reading. Emily continues to be a prickly pear and Wendell continues to win people over with his easy charm but there is much more between them now and it felt like an easy and natural progression reading about how they cared for each other in their own particular ways.

And, finally, I love the imagination, the fae and the way they behave, no Disney style faeries in this story. Half of these little suckers will gobble you up for tea given half the chance, the other half will turn you into playthings for their idle amusement and kill you when you fail to please.

I’m loving this series. Absolutely loving it. It’s a perfect ensemble of period setting, without the over stuffiness, subtle romance, winning characters, dark and light elements, captivating mystery and tricksy fae. What you waiting for.

Oh, and I almost forgot, we now have a charming cat companion as well as a dog companion.

I received a copy through Netgalley, courtesy of the publisher, for which my thanks. The above is my own opinion.