Initial Thoughts
Easily another 5-star read. But now I feel like I’ve made a mistake, because I will have to wait a year before reading the conclusion to this series.
EMILY WILDE’S MAP OF THE OTHERLANDS
by Heather Fawcett
Del Rey, January 2024
Adult fantasy, romance
Rated: 5 / 5 cookies
When mysterious faeries from other realms appear at her university, curmudgeonly professor Emily Wilde must uncover their secrets before it’s too late in this heartwarming, enchanting second installment of the Emily Wilde series.
Emily Wilde is a genius scholar of faerie folklore—she just wrote the world’s first comprehensive of encylopaedia of faeries. She’s learned many of the secrets of the Hidden Folk on her adventures . . . and also from her fellow scholar and former rival, Wendell Bambleby.
Because Bambleby is more than infuriatingly charming. He’s an exiled faerie king on the run from his murderous mother, and in search of a door back to his realm. So despite Emily’s feelings for Bambleby, she’s not ready to accept his proposal of marriage. Loving one of the Fair Folk comes with secrets and danger.
And she also has a new project to focus a map of the realms of faerie. While she is preparing her research, Bambleby lands her in trouble yet again, when assassins sent by Bambleby’s mother invade Cambridge. Now Bambleby and Emily are on another adventure, this time to the picturesque Austrian Alps, where Emily believes they may find the door to Bambley’s realm, and the key to freeing him from his family’s dark plans.
But with new relationships for the prickly Emily to navigate and dangerous Folk lurking in every forest and hollow, Emily must unravel the mysterious workings of faerie doors, and of her own heart.
Last year I’d read Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries and absolutely loved it. When I was informed that the sequel was on NetGalley, naturally I went straight for it and requested the book. And even though I have a copy on my Kindle already, I also ended up grabbing a Fairyloot copy of it, too! (Alas, this won’t be shipped until this summer, but at least I’ve read the book and just eagerly awaiting adding it to my shelves?)
Well, this is a first. I went into this second book with the general acceptance that perhaps it would not surpass the charm of its predecessor. However, comparing the first book with the second is a little unfair, considering the content and story of both. The first was an entryway into Emily and her attempts to create an encyclopedia of fae folk. This one is a general continuation of that story, which still makes it a bit of a cozy fantasy, but the stakes have actually risen; there is, after all, the assassination business hanging over Wendell Bambleby, former rival and now sort of kind of lover (though Emily will tell you otherwise!).
And that’s where the charm of the second book has it five-starring the same way as the first book had become a favorite. Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands is a ride from beginning to end. Where the first book is this entry into Emily’s world, the second book continues a few months after, and doesn’t spend a lot of time building the story. It really just continues off of Emily journaling her thoughts and observations, and then hijinks proceed to go down. Before we know it, there is an attempt on Wendell’s life that propels the story to go where it did.
And boy, the ride was spectacular! While the new characters were neither here nor there for me (except Ariadne, we stan we stan), I did enjoy some of the interactions they had with Emily and Wendell. But easily the starring characters of this show are the two main characters: Emily Wilde and Wendell Bambleby. Their banter, the little soft moments between them (seriously, you could literally see Emily falling falling FALLING for Wendell in the most delicious way), their murmured sweet nothings (“–the creases, Em, the creases–” IYKYK), and even the action sequences (Wendell enchanting all of Emily’s pencils was CLASSIC Wendell), were absolutely EVERYTHING. I enjoyed every moment of their interactions, and I need more of them just going on adventures, because I could read several books of just The Emily Wilde and Wendell Bambleby Show and not get tired of them.
I only feel sorry that I read this so early this year. I should have waited, because the third book isn’t going to be out any time soon. Sigh. I guess it’s time to re-read this book as an audiobook!
5 out of 5 cookies! The tent scene will forever live in my head rent-free.
Story and Somnomancy 