Review by Stacey O’Carroll
Author: Heather Fawcett
Series: Emily Wilde Book #3
Publisher: Hachette
RRP: $32.99
Release Date: 14 January 2025
“If there is one subject upon which Wendell and I will never agree, it is the wisdom of attempting to drag a cat into Faerie.”
Academia and faeries are not what you would normally expect to go together. But like strawberry and vinegar, somehow they do in Canadian author Heather Fawcett’s Emily Wilde’s Compendium of Lost Tales.
“He had gone still upon first sight of the door, so much so that he might have been some gilded illustration in a storybook, except that his cloak billowed at the hem, stirred by the salt breeze, which also tugged at the golden hair falling into his eyes.”
In Fawcett’s third novel of the Emily Wilde series, academic and dryadologist (a professor of faeries and similar creatures) Emily returns with her captivating journals and adventures. Joined again by her now fiance and fae Wendell, her loyal dog Shadow, and Wendell’s faerie-cat Orga, Emily documents their next expedition to dethrone the queen of Wendell’s realm. Their previous expeditions were dangerous, but when she becomes the faerie queen and tries to document the magical inhabitants and how their realm functions, the danger becomes life-threatening for Emily and Wendell. Can Emily and Wendell combine their knowledge to solve the mystery before they lose everything?
“…golden eyes glittering against her black fur, which rippled strangely, like smoke trapped within cat-shaped glass.”
Written with academic footnotes and epistolary structure, Emily Wilde’s Compendium of Lost Tales continues Fawcett’s popular series with her unique style and captivating descriptions. Never have footnotes been so entertaining and leave you wishing they were, in fact, real. However, in the third novel of the series, the chapters (or days) are longer than the previous two novels, which slows down the pacing and stilts the tension a couple of times. One of the best aspects of the first novel, Emily Wilde’s Encyclopedia of Faeries, is the short and snappy chapters. However, this review could easily fall into a debate on how long a chapter should be in a novel. Beyond the length, the world-building that continues in Fawcett’s third novel is impeccable. There are familiar characters (human and fae) and animals that might as well be human with their hilarious behaviour. Oxford University, each new location, realm or door are described with such evocative detail that readers can easily immerse themselves into the 1910s and Emily’s world.
“Though I’d expected to find it here, one can never be certain of faerie doors…”
Fawcett fills her novel with intelligent dialogue, sparkling magic and an antagonist who is easily feared. The wintery landscape adds bite to the danger Emily and Wendell face in his reclaimed realm and is the perfect cool down from a hot summer’s day. Bringing back one of Emily’s fae acquaintances from the previous novels was a nice touch and added a bit of humour to some dark scenes. Who wouldn’t love a faerie friend who delivered them baked goods? But the stand-out character for this reviewer is Orga, the faerie cat. A cat with attitude and a little something different.
“Well! I have a great deal to recount since I last opened this journal, and I scarcely know how to feel about any of it!”
Emily Wilde’s Compendium of Lost Tales is a fun escape that expands on Emily’s relationship with Wendall and gives the reader a bit more background on both characters. Although, like any series, the best way to experience the continued story is by reading each in order, Emily Wilde’s Compendium of Lost Things can be enjoyed on its own. The Australian cover is filled with whimsy and draws you to open the pages as if you are under a magical spell. Heather Fawcett’s Emily Wilde’s Compendium of Lost Tales is for lovers of fantasy fiction, adult faerie romances, dark-academia books (although this isn’t quite so dark), and immersive worlds.
