I loved the second book about Emily and Bambleby even more than the first book! (No strange names - I'm looking at you Mord.) This time the backdrop is the Austrian Alps, and we follow the gang on an adventure that will unraveling both secrets and feelings. It is super cozy, and full of charm, I loved seing their relationship evolve. Can't wait for the next book!

Thank you to Netgalley, publisher and author for providing me with an digital ARC.

Wow. Just, wow. This was a phenomenal follow up from Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries. Just, absolutely brilliant.

Now, I loved the previous book. A lot. So, I didn’t think it was possible for the series to get any better, but boy was I wrong. I completely mean this, but this book was even better than the first. It just, completely blew it out of the water. It was tremendous and I enjoyed it so, so much.

The book completely starts off with a bang. Emily and Wendell’s research is questioned while at the same time, Emily is embarking on a new, and even bigger project - a map of the realms of the faerie. Along with their disgruntled head of department, and Emily’s niece and assistant, Emily and Wendell travel to the Austrian Alps to also finally uncover the door which will lead them to Wendell’s own faerie kingdom.

Similar to the first, this is such a wild ride. It’s not just a cutesy book about faeries; there is a lot of action and adventure which completely draws you in and almost hypnotises you until you reach the end of the book. It is such a whimsical and charming book that takes you on such a brilliant adventure.

I love Emily and Wendell so much. They have such great chemistry and back-and-forth and it’s only elevated in this book. They’re even closer and just lovely together. They have become one of my favourite book couples of all time.

The writing has maintained its beautiful and rich detail. The descriptions of Wendell’s kingdom are so vivid and stunning; you felt completely transported to this magical realm of faeries. It was marvellous. I also think this book has more warmth and personality than the first. This sounds negative; what I mean is that the writing in the first book is very academic and we’re just learning just who Emily is. She’s an academic, and that is unapologetically who she is. Whereas in this book, she’s growing as a person to be more than just her brain; she’s has relationships with people, and I don’t mean just with Wendell.

I just really loved this book from start to finish. It was wonderfully written and absolutely magical and whimsical.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for access.

In the second instalment in the Emily Wilde series, Heather Fawcett continues to weave her enchanting spell on page. This book is a delightful mix of folklore, academic intrigue, and personal discovery. Emily Wilde, our dedicated and socially awkward protagonist, is as charming as ever. Her passion for faerie research and her endearing quirks make her a relatable and engaging character. Fawcett writes beautifully crafted descriptions of faerie lore, drawing readers into a world that feels both magical and meticulously researched.

One of the book's strengths is its world-building, a stunning continuation from the first novel. Fawcett excels in creating an immersive environment where the lines between the human world and the faerie realm blur intriguingly. The faeries themselves are depicted with a delightful mix of whimsy and danger, staying true to their mythical roots while adding fresh twists.

Emily Wilde's Map of the Otherlands is a captivating continuation of the series. It offers a unique blend of academic exploration and faerie magic, wrapped in an enchanting narrative that leaves readers eager for more. While it may not be perfect, it certainly is hard to resist.

I've been really grateful to have been granted access to the sequel of Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries arc!

Now I'm thinking about it, the first book in the series played a great role in making me fall in love in cozy books.

In this book, we still follow Emily and Wendell, but there are also new characters we get to know. I've really liked their relationships and how they figured out how to cooperate.
We also get to know a new location, which fits the season as it's wintery and cold! Despite this, there is the usual cozy and warm feeling while reading the book.

Two mild spoilers, there is a cat and a dog! And a chapter written by Bambleby as a fun addition to Emily's tone.

I really appreciate following a character that is a bit different to our usual heroines, and I've felt represented in how the MC thought about things.

I don't want to write more as it's a sequel, but if you've liked the first book, I can't imagine you disliking this one. It's been a fun ride.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

✨ Comp titles:
📖 Veronica Speedwell series by Deanna Raybourn
📖 Whimbrel House series by Charlie N. Holmberg

Huge thanks to the Publisher and Netgalley for the arc, and I can't wait to dive deeper into the Faerie world in the next additions to the series!

A whimsical and academic take on a faerie tale! Emily is just my kind of MC, and despite it taking me a little time to adapt to her way of speaking, once I had I was hooked on her story. Wendell was a delightful addition to the story, and I loved how all the villagers came together to help Emily. I especially loved the diary format - I haven't read a book written in this format for a very long time so it was a refreshing way to tell the story. My favourite character had to be Shadow - I am a sucker for an adorable and loyal animal companion!

Thanks to NetGalley and Publisher for providing the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I liked this a little more than the first one. The book revolves around Wendell's exile into human realm with his evil step-mother trying to get rid of him and Emily getting pulled into Fae problems yet again. New characters were neatly introduced while Emily and Wendell remain their self as introduced in the first book. This is a cosy slow burn meant to be read on a slow day sipping a favourite drink like there's all the time in the world. For those who've read the first book, here's a bonus: adorable Poe makes appearances! The story wrapped up neatly and can't wait to read the next installment!

4.5 ⭐️

Oh I loved this one!!! It was so much fast paced and adventurous, although I definitely prefer the side characters from book one! I wish Poe was more present 😭

Emily is SO close to being a character I would love, I think that in book 3 I’ll really like her, Wendell is Wendell so I have nothing to complain about him. In the beginning I wasn’t quite enjoying Ariadne but I really learned to like her too.

Happy to know that their history isn’t over yet 🥳

Emily's new scholar project - creating a map of the realms of faerie, will take her and Bambleby to the Austrian Alps where Emily hopes they will find the door to Bambleby's realm. All the while avoiding royal assassination attempts, an accompanying overly-enthusiastic niece, a fellow scholar fiend, and trying to restore Bambleby to his throne.

This is such a refreshing series - light and cozy academia, older characters, softer romance, introverted, focused characters, and an emphasis on educational ambition and passion.
I forgot about the footnotes! This adds such a dimension that makes it feel all the more immersive and provides world-building and history without feeling like info dumps.

Now that the shock had worn off she seemed to view the attack as a thrilling tale ripe for scholarly documentation, and was already making notes on the subject.
An entirely unhealthy response to attempted murder, of course; I have never been more convinced that she has the makings of a dryadologist

There is more romance here compared to book one, but it is closed door and deals a lot with Emily trying to get her head around the idea of marrying a fae prince feared and revered.

In fact, plenty of Folk are gentlemen. And plenty of mortal men are not.

I preferred book one - the icy, yet cozy atmosphere Fawcett created filled with community, discovery, and hope flowed more naturally.
I also felt more endeared to Emily and her character and how I could relate to her.

There will be a book three and of course, I will be counting down the days for a cover reveal, and then a release date!

Thank you to Orbit for providing a physical arc in exchange for a review!

This book was as delightful as the first book, if not more. New characters introduced, while still having the notable characters from the first book. Emily & Wendell’s banter is winning as always. I felt like this book has loose Alice’s adventure in wonderland references, with the door business (especially the nexus) and following a creature through a strange realm. Loved it. I’ll be seated for the next book, as I believe that there’ll be the third book, for the Folks like things that came in three♥️

I really liked this, even more than the first! These books are just so enjoyable, they are for you if you want an amusing cozy mystery with fae

I think what really drives these books are the characters. The main characters, Emily and Wendell, are so loveable. I love the grumpy (cold?) professor x sunshine fae prince dynamic that they have and their banter is so entertaining. There was more romance this time which I was hoping for and it was lovely.
I find a lot of the time with characters like Emily, particularly female characters, they are forced to change along the way to be "better" but I loved that Emily is learning to explore her emotions without it being made to seem like there is something that needs fixing, I really appreciated this. Wendell is honestly delightful, he's a great love interest and his every tiny action toward Emily had me swooning. I love his journal entry's and getting the chance to see his perspective, an Irish man after my own Irish heart♥️
I was thinking when I finished book one that I would miss Poe so I was very happy to see him again and I loved the addition of the chaotic Snowbell! I would have enjoyed more interaction with the locals, I loved that in book one and I felt it was missing here even though I did like the new secondary characters.

While these books are very character driven, this one definitely has more action. I loved seeing the darker underbelly of the fae world and there was never a dull moment with their quests and discoveries. I did find the quest to find Danielle was a bit anticlimactic once it was resolved, it just sort of petered out.

I love the style of these books. The journal entries make it seem faster paced and the beautiful writing makes it so enjoyable. The pacing is perfect in my opinion, there were no irrelevant details but nothing is rushed either. I did find the footnotes a bit unnecessary and in the end a bit irritating, I stopped reading them eventually and I don't think it made much difference to my enjoyment or understanding.

These are really those type of stories that I would just read books and books of. They're the perfect balance of whimsical, romance and the darker elements of the fae, they remind me a lot of Studio Ghibli. Overall I really enjoyed this book and I look forward to the next! This had a great ending while also setting up perfectly for book 3!

I loved this second book. I loved seeing the evolution of Emily, Wendell, Shadow, the other characters that they remained in touch with, I loved learning about Emily's career developments, about their research expedition, about their current goals. I found the entire excursion so wonderfully written that I could totally imagine myself there, and I just found it really fun to read.

I breezed through it for as much as I could, but again as someone who really does not care for faeries Mrs. Fawcett (and Miss Wilde of course) have turned me into a faerie girlie who now needs to get her hands on more books like this because it was just that great. Like I really loved it!

Solid 6/5 but I'm limited in my ratings unfortunately so it'll be a 5/5