Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Fairies by Heather Fawcett

5 Stars

Recommended Ages: 14+ (technically, this is an adult novel, but appropriate for most teenagers)

Prior to reading Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Fairies, I had never read a cozy fantasy before. I know... in this day and age where cozy fantasies seem to be all the rage. I primarily read high fantasy where you would be lucky if your favorite side character doesn't die at the end of the book (it's always your favorite side character; it's never the character you could take or leave). For not having read cozy fantasy prior to this, I think I started off with a high point in the subgenre. Will I be destined to be disappointed hereafter?

Emily Wilde is a Cambridge professor whose specialty is fairies. Because fairies not only exist in this version of our world, there are entire academic fields devoted to them. She arrives in the small town of Hrafnsvik, Norway to study the unique fairies that inhabit the region. This includes the "Hidden Ones," or the taller, human-looking fairies that appear infrequently, but lure villagers away in the night only to leave their brain a mental husk, if they even return at all. Her handsome academic rival, Wendell Bambleby. arrives a few days later, charming the villagers in a way she could never, and meddling in her research.

Emily Wilde's EOF is written in the first person as a diary. There are some limitations to this format, although less than I would have thought. For example, Emily includes full quoted conversations in her diary entries--something most diaries would not include. This allows the book to be both intimate while not insular. That said, there are moments where Emily simply refuses to continue a line of thought or a story because it wouldn't be proper to include in an academic diary--a tendency that only mildly mutes how much we see of the burgeoning feelings Emily finds herself having for Wendell. The diary format also allows for effective world-building in a style that doesn't feel too much like an info-dump (even if technically, it is).

What makes this fantasy "cozy" is that while there are moments that could be described as "high stakes," the reader never feels as if all will ever be truly lost. Our protagonists will find a way out, somehow. And that is refreshing. This is a world that is comfortable even when not entirely safe. There is a warmth to both Emily and Wendell, even if Emily is a bit prickly, and Wendell has quite the ego. I still loved them both, for rather than despite their flaws.

I thoroughly enjoyed spending time with the people of Hrafnsvik, Emily and Wendell, and will absolutely be reading the next book.