Publication: 11th February 2025 – Orbit
The third instalment in the enchanting light academia Emily Wilde books, about a curmudgeonly scholar of folklore and the fae prince she loves, from Sunday Times bestselling author Heather Fawcett.
Emily Wilde has spent her life studying faeries. A renowned dryadologist, she has documented hundreds of species of Folk in her Encyclopaedia of Faeries. Now she is about to embark on her most dangerous academic project yet: studying the inner workings of a faerie realm-as its queen.
Along with her former academic rival-now fiancé-the dashing and mercurial Wendell Bambleby, Emily is immediately thrust into the deadly intrigues of Faerie as the two of them seize the throne of Wendell’s long-lost kingdom, which Emily finds a beautiful nightmare, filled with scholarly treasures.
Emily has been obsessed with faerie stories her entire life, but at first she feels as ill-suited to Faerie as she did to the mortal world-how could an unassuming scholar like herself pass for a queen? Yet there is little time to settle in-Wendell’s murderous stepmother has placed a deadly curse upon the land before vanishing without a trace. It will take all of Wendell’s magic-and Emily’s knowledge of stories-to unravel the mystery before they lose everything they hold dear.
Emily Wilde’s Compendium of Lost Tales is the third novel and the delightful ending to this amazing series by Heather Fawcett, although I am keeping all my fingers crossed for more Emily and Wendell’s adventures!
I really enjoyed this series from the very first book. It’s an atmospheric cozy fantasy with magical folklore, intrigue, wit, and romance and a wonderful cast of characters, especially the protagonist, Emily Wilde, a highly esteemed professor of Folk studies and now their reluctant queen, and the always charming heir to the throne Wendell Bambleby. I have loved Emily and Wendell’s relationship from the very beginning, with their banter, her resolve and scholarly attitude against his easy and striking disposition and the way their rivalry turned into love.
In this third book, Wendell and Emily are ready to take Wendell’s long-lost kingdom, but there are challenges and enemies to face and curses to break, everything faithfully narrated through Emily detailed journals, which also include Wendell adorable love letters to her. Old friends return to help them save the realm, as Emily delves into old stories to also save the man she loves.
Emily Wilde’s Compendium of Lost Tales is an enchanting, heartwarming, and thrilling story with an ending that both gave me a nice sense of closure, but also left me wishing there was still more to come!
A huge thank you to Orbit and NetGalley for the proof of this fantastic novel in exchange of my honest opinion.
Heather Fawcett is the author of the middle grade novels Ember and the Ice Dragons and The Language of Ghosts, as well as the young adult series Even the Darkest Stars. She has a master’s degree in English literature and has worked as an archaeologist, photographer, technical writer, and backstage assistant for a Shakespearean theater festival. She lives on Vancouver Island, Canada.
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