📚🧵 Emily Wilde’s Compendium of Lost Tales🧵📚

- Heather Fawcett

⭐️⭐️⭐️

Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries had been on my physical TBR for far too long, and after being approved for an ARC of this third and final book, it was the push I needed.

Emily and Wendell were wonderfully unique characters and I’d recommend if you want a change from the typical cookie-cutter female and male protagonists. This whole story was a breath of fresh air, that I really appreciated.

I preferred the first book, feeling that the second and third tailed off slightly. I didn’t connect with the subsequent book’s characters as I did with the Ljosland inhabitants.

I didn’t enjoy the periods of time we spent in Faerie, rather preferring the academic setting of Cambridge and the villages of St Leisl and Ljosland. We spent a significant portion of the Compendium of Tales in Faerie, which was a shame and dampened my enjoyment of this third book, although this may well have been personal preference.

Overall, if you want a cosy, low-stakes, fantasy to snuggle up with this Christmas, Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries would be a very good shout. However, I wouldn’t recommend continuing the series beyond the first book as it didn’t add anything in my view.

A delight as always! I really noticed that HF has hit her stride in terms of pacing. This felt clean and precise, if that makes sense? In a good way, I mean. It had a rhythm to it. Initially I wondered how I would feel about the plot of this particular installment, but I ended up really enjoying it. There was a great balance between the fairy lands and Emily's scholarly pursuits/the human world which felt very natural.

I would describe this as seriously low angst, also in a good way. Enough things going on to get invested but I didn't feel anxious, I knew I could relax into the book and just have a nice time, which I really liked. It had the usual cozy vibes that this series does so well, especially in the autumn/winter months, this is a perfect read for this time of year.

The interactions between Emily and Wendell were adorable, as always, and I especially loved Emily and Shadow in this book (and Wendell and Orga, of course). All in all a lovely, satisfying conclusion (at least, I'm assuming it's the conclusion, not that I wouldn't read more set in this world.)

I would give this a 3.75/5. It isn't a bad book but I don't think it was for me.
I enjoy the basic concept of the story but found it didn't really like the tone of the writing. To me it is written in a very 'proper English' tone, which reminds me of classic literature which I do not enjoy.
I found that as I couldn't remember the other books as its been a while I couldn't remember some of the characters/things that had gone on and there is very little recap so you need to have read the previous books/remember them better than I do.
Its another 'gentle' fantasy thats not too taxing if you want to delve into the 'cosy fantasy' genre that people seem to talk about a lot nowadays.

ARC provided by NetGalley and Little, Brown Book Group UK.b. Thank you for the opportunity to read and review Emily Wilde's Compendium of Lost Tales.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

I adored the first and second book and I loved the their installment too! Emily embarks on her most dangerous project yet; studying the inner workings of a faerie realm as its queen. Along with Wendell, her former academic rival-now fiancé, they travel to his long-lost Kingdom so that they can seize the throne from his murderous stepmother.

Emily and Wendell are one of my favourite and sweetest YA pairings! I loved the development of their relationship in this book and the hybrid between the mortal and Faeries realms.

The stakes were definitely much higher for the finale which removes a portion of the cosy element of the fantasy.

I enjoyed the conclusion for this series and wished there was more Wendell POVs in this book. I'm going up miss Emily, Wendell, Poe and Shadow a lot! Can't wait for the rest of the world to read the finale!

« And so, Em, when I say that I am wretchedly ill at ease without your company, that I feel as if I am missing a limb, that I cannot be content even amidst the wonder of my realm, you will understand the depth of my feelings. »

I love this series so much! Reading the last book in one of your favourite series never gets easier, but at least i’ll always be able to reread these books💗
In this volume, we finally assist to Wendell’s comeback to his beloved kingdom Silva Lupi in Ireland, mostly devoid of the much hated mountains.
I loved Emily and Wendell’s relationship the most in this book, she truly has him wrapped around her fingers: he’s absolutely pathetic for her and her only (my favourite type of mmc🥺).
Emily is as resourceful and goofy as always and we are introduced to a new set of characters, mainly the inhabitants of the castle: the common fae as tender and helpful as always and Niamh. Thankfully we also get to see beloved characters from the previous books like Margret and Lilja, Poe, Ariadne and Farris, Lord Taran and Callum.
This book is perhaps the most action-packed of the trilogy, which I definitely appreciated!
I cannot end this review without mentioning Shadow and Orga (respectively Emily’s sweet “dog” and Wendell’s fiery cat), who are both extremely protective of their parents, if in different ways.
I really hope we’ll get a novella with all of these characters because I can’t get enough of them💖


Thank you to netgalley and Little, Brown Book Group UK for an advanced readers copy of this beautiful book. All opinions are my own!

Pros:

- Historical fantasy :D
- More worldbuilding. Fawcett's fairies are fascinating!
- Wendell's cat, Orga, made me chuckle. Best animal sidekick ever?
- Speaking of animal sidekicks, Shadow is the real MVP
- Some scenes / ideas from previous books were brought back cleverly

Cons:

- The first third was slow and tedious, making me constantly wonder what the story was and whether a third installment was needed
- The format (still an academic journal from Emily's POV) drew things out even more and made some sections too passive for my liking
- Fanservice-y character cameos that didn't add much and also contributed to (guess what) slowing things down
- Em and Wendell technically have everything for me to like them as a couple, but many of their interactions felt flat to me, particularly at the beginning

TL;DR: If fairies, historical fantasy and magical cats are your thing, read on! If pacing issues are a pet peeve for you... maybe reconsider, or take it easy with the first third of the book. All in all I found it enjoyable, but I could have done with fewer pages

First of all, I thank NetGalley for giving me this e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Before reading this third installment of Emily Wilde’s Compendium, I had to go back and read the first two books, which I hadn’t initially planned to do. However, I’m glad I took the time to catch up on the series. This trilogy has been an interesting experience overall, especially because I had never read anything quite like it before—structured like a diary, with Emily documenting her discoveries about the faerie world. It’s a unique concept that I appreciated.

That said, I gave this book three stars because, while enjoyable, it didn’t fully capture my enthusiasm. Compared to the first two books, I found this third one overly long and, ironically, somewhat lacking in events. Despite its length (significantly longer than the previous installments), it felt like fewer things actually happened. The story could have been trimmed by at least a hundred pages without losing anything essential.

The writing itself is solid, and the book still carries the charm of Emily’s perspective and her academic approach to the fantastical. However, it felt a bit hollow at times, and while it was pleasant enough to read, it’s not the kind of book that will stay with me for long.

In conclusion, it’s a nice read but not a memorable one.

ps. I did however appreciate Wendell Bambleby’s presence in this book, i find his to be a particular male character not seen very often in fantasy books, i do love him dearly.

I really liked this. Not as much as the first one, which was an instant five stars but I still liked a lot about this one.

This book was not for me. Whilst I enjoyed the story i felt a bit out of my depth with it.

I enjoyed the characters. Would I go back for more? No I don’t think so.

Loved the conclusion to this series, even if I did find it a little slower than the others. Funny, cosy and romantic, I’d definitely recommend picking this one up. Especially if you enjoyed books one and two.

[ARC provided by NetGalley and Orbit. Thank you for the opportunity to read and review Emily Wilde's Compendium of Lost Tales.]

Rating: 5/5

Having loved the first and second book, it should come as no surprise that I absolutely adored the conclusion to the Emily Wilde series. What else can I say other than that my heart is full? This series is pure whimsical comfort, cosy fantasy at its finest, and I'm so thankful to have read an early copy. Heather Fawcett strikes the perfect balance between academia, mystery and romance, leaving readers with a beautifully magical story to get lost in.

In this conclusion, Emily embarks on her most dangerous project yet; studying the inner workings of a faerie realm as its queen. Along with Wendell, her former academic rival-now fiancé, they travel to his long-lost Kingdom so that they can seize the throne from his murderous stepmother. But with a curse brewing on the horizon, it'll take all of Emily's scholarly knowledge to unravel the mystery before they lose everything they hold dear.

Emily and Wendell are one of the sweetest pairings I've ever encountered, and I love how accepting they are of each other in these books. Wendell is never shy of showing how much he loves and cares for Emily and I don't know if it's because of my own neurodivergence, but every scene where he dotes and fusses over her just gives me the biggest heart eyes. In Compendium of Lost Tales I was worried knowing that a lot of the romantic tension has now been resolved, but new plot developments make up for that with ease and I was still as enchanted with their love in this book as I was in the previous instalments.

I also love the focus of each book, from building an encyclopaedia, creating a map of the Faerie world and finally, collating all of the different tales within it; each topic is explored perfectly and ending the trilogy on the importance of finding meaning in the various faerie stories felt like an excellent full-circle moment.

Out of all the books in the series, the stakes are definitely much higher in the finale. This removes just a smidge of the cosy element when you’re reading but fear not, Emily continues to be an incredibly pragmatic narrator so even when the plot reaches perilous heights, we still see it through the lens of a scholar solving a mystery.

The only thing that I feel this book was missing that we saw previously was a snippet of Wendell’s point of view. I would have loved to get back into his head for a moment but this is just a very minor complaint from someone who simply wants endless content from this series.

This series will go down as an all-time favourite for me, and I'll be recommending it to anyone looking for the perfect light academia/cosy fantasy. I'm going to miss Emily, Wendell and Shadow (I might miss Poe even more) but l can't imagine it'll be long before I start a reread. If you're on the fence about starting these books then let this be a sign to boost them up your TBR asap!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the digital ARC!

Ooooooh, I love Wendell. And Emily. And Shadow. Everyone - I love everyone. We all need an Emily who is so smart and intelligent. She refuses to back down in the face of all the absurdity that is Faerie, and she doesn't let anyone see how scared she really is. Emily truly is the perfect heroine in this book. She's grown over the last few and is someone who is aware of her limitations yet has also had her mind opened by the people she's met. She's more caring for the little Folk and uses her mortal awareness to unveil answers from places that the courtly Fae wouldn't consider. Not only that, but she's so well-read in the stories of the Folk that she has multiple stories to guide her through every interaction.

If I had to sum up this trilogy, it's that knowledge is power.

Wendell, as you might expect, is an absolute darling. Seeing him back in his home realm was a delight, but it was equally as delightful to see how he'd been affected by his time in the mortal world and also how his love for Emily has informed his thought process. If I had to describe how Wendell thinks, I think it would be something like 'WWED?', aka What Would Emily Do? Thankfully, Emily is a level-headed person with plenty of common sense, so he'll never go wrong there. He also knows her very well, and I adored seeing him be a little nervous in this because he's afraid of her reaction or that she won't like something - despite the fact he does know her SO well. It's charming, especially from a faerie King and even more so when you realise he's not afraid of anything in his scary realm except Emily's disapproval.

Shadow...sweet boy. The unsung hero of the series. The bestest boy.

We also get to see previous characters come back and get their time, and I really love how obvious the influence Wendell and Emily have had on each other. She's more open-minded and accepting of people's thoughts and worries for her, whereas Wendell is more aware of his status and power.

In terms of the story, we follow on directly from the end of the second book and basically don't stop. The story is pretty fast-paced, and I felt there were fewer footnotes in this than in the other books. This made sense, as this book felt less like Emily trying to discover something and more personal. Everything was written just as beautifully as last time, and trying to imagine some of the bizarre things that Emily sees must have been hard and yet I could visualise everything perfectly.

If you didn't enjoy the previous two books, then you likely won't enjoy this (and honestly, why are you even trying? lol). But if you liked them, then feel confident in this book being just as good, if not better than the others.

This book felt like a love letter between Wendell and Emily, and I truly enjoyed seeing Emily love him so openly after holding him at arm's length for so long. The troubles they go through in this are very intense (prepare to feel sad), and it's like we're taken on a mountainous journey of emotion (much to Wendell's annoyance).

I'd love to see more of these in the future, but for now...it was the perfect end.

*I received an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review*

If you’re into faerie tales, magical worlds, and some seriously cute romance, Emily Wilde’s Compendium of Lost Tales by Heather Fawcett is an absolute treat. It picks up with Emily Wilde, the brilliant but awkward dryadologist, diving headfirst into her biggest challenge yet—becoming queen of a faerie realm. And she’s not alone; her fiancé, Wendell Bambleby, is by her side, bringing his usual mix of charm, magic, and unpredictability.

What I loved most about this book? Emily and Wendell. They’re just so fun together. Their relationship has this perfect mix of snarky banter, sweet moments, and real teamwork. Wendell’s flair for the dramatic and Emily’s no-nonsense approach create this great balance that makes you root for them both. Honestly, they’re “insufferably cute” (and I mean that in the best way).

The faerie realm itself is like stepping into a dream—and a nightmare. Heather Fawcett nails the atmosphere, from the glittering, otherworldly beauty to the dark, dangerous edges lurking everywhere. It’s one of those settings that feels so vivid you almost expect to look up from the page and find yourself there.

One thing that really stuck with me was Emily’s journey of figuring out how to fit into this wild, magical world while staying true to herself. She starts out doubting if she’s queen material (spoiler: she is), and watching her step up and own it is such a satisfying part of the story. It’s a good reminder that sometimes you’re way more capable than you give yourself credit for.

If you’re into magic, romance, and adventures with a good dose of heart, definitely check this out. And if you’ve been following Emily and Wendell from the start, you’re in for a treat—they’re at their absolute best here.

This book wraps up the story of Emily, a scholar of faerie lore, and Wendell, her fae prince fiancé.as they travel to the faerie realm to reclaim Wendell’s kingdom. The story is full of action, and humour…. with a sprinkle of romance.
A great conclusion to a truly enchanting series!

This was another of my most anticipated reads. I adore the Emily Wilde books and their vibes so much, and it's a world I wanna live an and take Shadow for a walk.

This conclusion of the trilogy is heavier in plot than its predecessors, and it brings everything to a really good ending with some good plot twists of high and low stakes.
It's got a bit of Cruel Prince vibes, which is fine, but to me it takes away from the Emily vibes a bit. I'd loved to have more of that very unique magic.
I love the style of the academic diary and the snarky voice in it. I dig it and there's as lot of it in it. I especially love the passages when Emily gets a bit lost, entranced by the magic of faerie.

I'm down for everything the author decides to write in the future. And I'd also love to read more about Emily and her world.

4/5 stars

Thank you @netgalley and @littlebrownbookgroup_uk for the eARC!

#EmilyWilde #Netgalley #Bookstagram

Emily and Wendell attempt to reclaim Wendell’s throne from his step-mother. They face assassins, politics, poison, and - the worst - hairdressers!

<b>“It’s been a while since I had so much fun.”
“He nearly decapitated you!” I exclaimed.
“Yes, but besides that, Em,” he said patiently.
</b>
This is more introspective, with Emily worried she isn’t enough for Wendell, that she doesn’t fit in with the Fae lands. How will she convince anyone she is a queen?

I did like how Emily finally realises she doesn’t have to take on the world alone. Not only does she have Wendell with his magic and her own ingenuity against a realm teeming with monsters, she has friends in human world and small folk who are willing to help as much as they can.

<b>If Wendell’s stepmother has us slain before I have a chance to contribute to the scholarly debate, I will be very disappointed.
</b>
This one sadly disappointed me. It didn’t draw me in as much as the first two and the dynamic between Wendell and Emily that was so endearing previously felt stilted now that their relationship has been established and tested.

The dialogue was a lot better the first 1/3 and I was excited that this would revert to what I loved. However, the action and mystery took more precedence over the light cozy academia.

<b>And so, Em, when I say that I am wretchedly ill at ease without your company, that I feel as if I am missing a limb, that I cannot be content even amidst the wonder of my realm, you will understand the depth of my feelings. Surely you must miss me a little as well? I know your heart by now, Em; it is not all stone and pencil shavings, as you are wont to pretend.
</b>
The writing felt more factual and rather than the whimsical magic that Fawcett had employed before. Furthermore, I felt the footnotes didn’t add as much interest, reading a lot more like references and notes rather than adding to the world and our knowledge.

I missed Poe :(( Sharp toothed Snowbell did not make up for loyal, sweet Poe.

Thank you to Little Brown Book Group for sending me the arc in exchange for a review!

The first two books in this series have been brilliant and I can vividly remember just how much I enjoyed reading them. So the gift of a third book in the series is a treat.

I love how scientific our main character is (I appreciate that as a scientist. I think I would be the same if entering a fairy realm and wanting to scientifically record and research all I came across!). Wendell is an entertaining character too and in this one, they have a wartorn realm to reclaim.

The main story was great and I seriously love this authors writing. It’s so alive and vivid, it really takes no effort to get into the story at all.

This book a was a great balance between action-packed and deliciously slow paced immersive. It was also great to rejoin a few familiar faces from the previous book and especially towards the end, I literally could not put the book down. It was a great addition to the other two fab books in this series.

So grateful I was able to receive the eARC of the last installment in what is now one of my favorite series of all time!

I adore these characters and I'm going t0 miss them SO much. Heather Fawcett, I'm begging, consider writing something else in this gorgeous, cozy, world!

Emily has really cemented herself as one of my most beloved female main characters - I appreciate how she was able to grow and change in some ways, like learning to be more open with people and trust them, but also stayed ultimately true to her character. She's a scholar, and she's a badass (honestly, the Veil must have been terrifying!) and she's a queen! Even if not in the traditional sense.

Wendell kept reminding me of my all-time favorite book boyfriend Cardan from The Folk of the Air, except in a different font! I mean this in the best possible way. He's so fun and extravagant, he's not afraid to show his vulnerabilities to her, and despite his Fae nature, I swooned how his love for Emily is stronger than any of that. It was so clear and sincere through their every interaction. The fact that his temper and loss of control mostly happens when Emily is in danger speaks volumes. And his letters!!!!!! Argh, he's the best.

As someone who has lost her dog this year, his wedding gift to Emily made me emotional. I'm so happy the author decided to give Shadow more time.

Overall, the story was as intriguing as the previous installments (I must confess the first one remains my forever favorite though), and though the pacing wasn't always perfectly balanced, I had a tremendous time. I'm so sad to be done with Emily's adventures, but happy to have experienced them alongisde her <3

Thank you Netgalley and Little Brown Book Group for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review

I have no other way of starting this review other than to say how much I didn't want to finish this book. Heather Fawcett's beautiful writing has a way of hooking you in her stories without you even realising you're getting completely lost in the amazing world she created. Everything is so whimsical and enchanting - much like it has been in the past two books - that I just found myself wanting more, more and more. In a way, this book reminded me of TFOTA trilogy, simply because of the way both these series manage to evoke fairytales and folklore and create these dangerously intriguing worlds that almost make you mourn their inexistence.

Emily and Wendell's banter was as delicious as ever, and I absolutely loved every single time these two had a moment together. Their relationship is adorable, their dynamic as delicious as it was in the past couple of books, their humour is funny and I love how comfortable and familiar and vital they both have become in each other's life.

This book definitely felt like a goodbye of sorts, but I truly believe this is one of those worlds that could just keep on giving, if Fawcett was ever so inclined.

Thank you for this eArc Netgalley! This review is influenced by nobody but myself.

It seems that Heather Fawcett ups her game with every book. When I started this book I thought it was going to be about Wendell reclaiming his throne, but that was only 15% of the whole plot. Throughout the story I had to manage my expectations because there was a lot more plot than I thought there was going to be. And I mean this entirely in a good way.
I love the character development Emily has had over the three books Heather Fawcett has written about her. I highlighted numerous sentences, because they were so funny! I love the dry humor in this book.
The story is rather complex and you need to remember a whole lot from the previous book in order to appreciate this story fully. This is, of course, a good thing too because now I want to reread all three of the books immediately! I would love it if there was an extra book with Wendell's perspective too!
Spoiler alert: the cat and the dog remain completely unharmed.