A review by theverysleepygirl
Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett

adventurous emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

I found this book very dull, which is weird because it had a everything it needed.

I liked the FMC a lot. The staunch, no-nonsense academic in the northern countryside. She was so much fun and just such a great character to explores 
I like the ML, mainly bc he fits the archetype of spoiled rich boys (I'm sorry idk why) so he was right up my alley. Plus a mix of a little bit of hate to love? Forced proximitv? Great. 

Plus, the premise involved the FAERIE academic having to uncover the new fae of this north isolated village WITH a colleague that she hates? THAT SHE ALSO SUSPECTS IS A FAE? 

Literal genius. 

There were changelings, mysteries and the writing was decent. Hell, I am still excited whenever I remember everything that this book could represent. 

Unfortunately, though, it was boring. 
It spends chapters upon chapters recounting frankly harmless descriptions of the countryside or of Emily's cottage. Mind you, its style of writing is nice, but lacks the punch needed in descriptions to make the attempts at imagery evocative or exciting. 

This similar issue with writing, which may be because it is all supposed to be written in Emily's perspective, persists in every tyrning point scene. Shocking emotional reunion. Big secret reveal... they are all delivered, somehow, in the same tone - save for one scene, which I liked, about the remedy (if ykyk).

Emily admits that she sucks at reading the room. She's right. 

We're supposed to believe that the ML has been pining for her desperately the whole time, but my God there is NO SIGN of this. Tho the romance is built slightly towards the end, it is barely believable, as there is no chemistry in sight. 

Not to forget that the final plot ended up feeling like nothing compared to the mysteries set in place. 

This was overall,a very disappointing read that felt like a big bowl of nothing. 2 stars. 

This was written in one go, and not proofread, so forgive any clunky sentence structure.