Emily Wilde's Compendium of Lost Tales

Starred review from December 1, 2024

The third Emily Wilde book, after Emily Wilde's Map of the Otherlands, takes readers back into the seemingly Victorian era of Faerie. Scholar Emily and faerie king Wendell venture to his homeland to take back the kingdom, but upon arrival, they find this surprisingly easy, since his stepmother is nowhere to be found. As the new queen, Emily decides that this is the best opportunity to study the inner workings of the politics of the fae and plans to publish a book on her findings. However, all of Wendell and Emily's plans are put on hold, as suddenly the land feels as though it is dying, and they discover that Wendell's stepmother has cursed the kingdom. Fae are dying as well as the lands, and only Wendell's death can heal it. Emily is determined to find another way and turns to her strength--research. VERDICT Fawcett delivers a perfect new entry in this series, which will enrapture readers with fantastic worldbuilding. A great pick for those who are fans of both Marie Brennan's A Natural History of Dragons and Jane Austen novels.--Leigh Verburg

Copyright 2024 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 15, 2025
In the conclusion to the Emily Wilde trilogy, a Cambridge professor of dryadology--faerie studies--prepares to live her research as never before. Previously, inEmily Wilde's Map of the Otherlands (2024), Emily poisoned Queen Arna, the usurping stepmother of her faerie-prince fiance, Wendell Bambleby, and found a gate to Wendell's lost kingdom; naturally, the process of establishing a new monarchy in a quixotic faerie realm will be far from smooth. Unfortunately, Arna is not quite dead; she is using her poisoned, liminal state to blight the very landscape. Emily must employ her specific mortal skills (academic research and unrelenting resolve) to find the faerie lore that best describes their current situation, picking out the clues within scraps of old tales to locate the hidden, dying queen, and deal with her in a way that doesn't lead to further damage. Although much of what she learns is grim, Emily forges on, determined to discover the path to a happy ending for herself and Wendell, where she can be the faerie queen she never imagined she'd be (and is frankly quite uncomfortable being). Thankfully, this concluding volume isn't the feared retread of the previous two, both of which involved Emily's research in remote European locations and her efforts to get on with the human locals, even while her obvious neurospiciness and deep understanding of rules allow her to deal with faeries more effectively than most mortals can. This installment makes effective callbacks to the previous two, while moving the story forward as Emily, despite the concerns of her mortal friends, tries to make a place for herself in a dangerous new world where not all of her subjects are prepared to take her seriously. Janet of Carterhaugh merely had to drag her lover Tam Lin from a horse to secure her happiness from a vengeful faerie queen; Emily has to put in real work, using her brain and plunging into physical danger to earn her future. The result is far more satisfying and believable, despite being mainly set in a fantastical world. A well-constructed and enjoyable conclusion.

COPYRIGHT(2025) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Starred review from February 1, 2025
Picking up on the same day that Emily Wilde's Map of the Otherlands (2024) left off, Emily and Wendell, along with her dog Shadow and his faerie cat Orga, head deep into his faerie homeland to retake the throne after Emily dispatched his scheming stepmother in the previous book. But his stepmother is not gone, and she has placed a curse on the land that can only be broken by Wendell's death. Emily, the consummate scholar, knows there must be another way, so she delves into her research (which involves a trip back to the human world) to find the faerie story that can free the land of its troubles. But the story she finds is not as simple as it seems, and just when all seems lost, Emily visits an old foe in the hopes of saving the day. Clever Emily is a compelling narrator as always, with her mixture of irrepressible academic curiosity and general disdain for the foibles of others. Well, most others. She has softened toward Wendell, which makes the stakes all that much higher. The already well-developed world continues to grow in fascinating ways, and the ending suggests an unlimited number of possible adventures to come. Here's hoping.

COPYRIGHT(2025) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.