I’ve started the past three years with one of Heather Fawcett’s Emily Wilde books, and I always look forward to my yearly meet-up with the fae. The new year arrived, and shortly after, book three in the series followed. Emily Wilde’s Compendium of Lost Tales is a beautiful culmination of all of Emily’s previous adventures. It’s my favorite story in the series by far. We’ve reached book three, so there are slight spoilers that cannot be avoided ahead.
Now that a door to Wendell’s faerie realm has been located, there’s nothing to stop the exiled prince from returning home and reclaiming his throne from his stepmother. Emily Wilde steps through the faerie door with her former academic rival, now fianceé, to meet the oncoming obstacles and hopefully write an academic paper or two. It does not take long for the pair to realize something is off in the faerie realm, and they soon discover the former queen has cursed the land and gone into hiding. As Emily navigates increasingly unfamiliar territory among the fae, she will rely on her research and experts to find a way to heal Wendell’s realm and create an auspicious future for the faerie king.
If you’ve made it to book three in the Emily Wilde series, you know by now that each book sends Emily on some incredible research trip to study the fae. This book is no different, except that the adventure is not primarily fueled by scholarship, although Emily certainly has ideas for papers along the way. The previous books have been building up to this moment, and Emily not only has a wealth of faerie knowledge to lean on but connections and experience throughout Faerie that she can use to help her save Wendell’s realm. There are nice callbacks to previous characters, both human and fae, and big events from book one that are critical to Emily’s mission. Compendium does a great job bringing the reader in on an exciting (and terrifying) new exploration of Faerie while rooting them in the familiar to keep some hope alive in Emily’s desperate attempt to save the realm.
Compendium also breaks the mold of the previous two books, with its setting mostly taking place in Faerie. This was my favorite part of this story because we leave the mortal world behind to become fully enmeshed in the chaos of Faerie. Instead of interacting with them in the human realm in brief encounters, Emily now calls Faerie home. Despite being obsessed and fascinated by the fae, she is now in an in-human realm completely unfamiliar to her, and it’s jarring and exciting at the same time. Emily wars between slight discomfort, fear, and utter awe of the incredible world around her. And for those who shy away from change, Emily’s experience in this book is a lesson that can inspire you to take the next step. Whether you’re moving to a faerie realm or starting a new hobby, new experiences are hard and challenging but bring about great growth and change. Emily is fearful, but she still moves forward, evolving not only herself but her relationship with Wendell and his subjects.
And for all of us readers out there, I think you’ll appreciate Compendium for the way it honors and celebrates the power of stories. Emily relies on faerie lore and the stories shared through time to guide her through the events unfolding in Wendell’s realm. The stories remind Emily of the lessons that need to be learned to keep bad history from repeating itself. In analyzing stories that met unfortunate ends, Emily advocates for a different approach in a world doomed to repeat its worst tragedies. She shows mercy when fear and hatred originally reigned, and she influences the characters around her to see new perspectives. Her only guidance is the stories that may have different plots but all showcase the same character pitfalls and decisions that led to heartbreak. With a desire to have a much happier ending, Emily decides to re-write the story happening around her.
Emily Wilde has outwitted faerie kings, held her own against haughty professors, and won the heart of her biggest rival. But she’s met her greatest challenge in the Compendium of Lost Tales, and she must risk it all or lose everything. Bewitch yourself with Emily’s latest and greatest adventure, you won’t be sorry you stepped through the faerie door.
Rating: Emily Wilde’s Compendium of Lost Tales – 8.0/10
-Brandee
I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an unbiased review. The thoughts on this story are my own.
