Emily Wilde's Map of the Otherlands by Heather Fawcett Series: Emily Wilde #2
Published by Random House Worlds on January 16, 2024
Genres: Fiction / Fantasy / Action & Adventure, Fiction / Fantasy / Romance
Pages: 368
Format: eBook
Source: Amazon
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • 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 who just wrote the world’s first comprehensive encyclopaedia of faeries. She’s learned many of the secrets of the Hidden Ones 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. And 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 dangers.
She also has a new project to focus on: a map of the realms of faerie. While she is preparing her research, Bambleby lands her in trouble yet again, when assassins sent by his 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 Bambleby’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.
Book Two of the Emily Wilde Series
My Review
I recently took part in a buddy read and let me just say that it was my first ever, and it was so much fun. We decided to read Emily Wilde’s Map Of The Otherlands because we both enjoyed Emily Wilde’s Encyclopedia of Faeries. This is the second book in the Emily Wilde Series, and I have to say that I loved it even more than the first book. I am not sure if it is because of the buddy read or if it is simply because I think that Wendell Bambleby is hilarious, but either way, I very much enjoyed it, and I am so eager for the next to come out. Reader, have you read anything by Heather Fawcett? As always, I would be interested to hear. Before I get started on my review, I want to make you aware that there will be SPOILERS here because it is the second in a series.
Setting 1910 Cambridge and The Austrian Alps
In this story, we follow Emily and Wendell as they get settled back into their routines at Cambridge. Emily’s Encyclopedia Of Faeries has been published, and now she is working on a new book. Their time back in Cambridge was cut short due to some Fae coming to one of Wendell’s lectures to try and assassinate him. The assassination attempt was ordered by his murderous stepmother. You see, Wendell is a Faerie King who has been exiled from his realm. The problem comes that he has recently proposed to Emily, and well his mum finds this to be a threat, hence the assassination attempt. It does not take Emily and Wendell long to realize that they need to leave Cambridge once again. They need to find the door that leads to Wendell’s realm. So the two of them, along with some new characters and Shadow, head to the Austrian Alps in search of the door into his realm. I should mention that Emily, however, has not decided whether she will accept his proposal. Marrying a Faerie is risky to begin with, but to marry a Faerie King is a whole other thing and one she is not sure she wants a part of. This really is the least of her worries at the moment because they need to escape.
I understand now why folklore of the Alps is so rich — the many folds and crevices in the mountainsides could hide any number of faerie doors opening onto dozens of stories. (pg.83)
As the small group heads to St. Liesl in search of Wendell’s door, they are certainly impressed by the views. Emily, Shadow, Wendell, Ariadne (Emily’s niece), and Farris Rose (Head of the Dryadology Department) finally make it to their destination. Emily found them a home to stay in, which is owned by a villager named Julia Haas. Emily is pleased with the home, and Ariadne is so excited that she said it was marvelous. Meanwhile, Wendell maintained a dubious silence, and Farris claimed the bedroom furthest from the rest of the house. Oh, and there are only three bedrooms because Emily was not counting on the extra people when she rented the home. I will say, Reader, that this home seems a bit bigger than the last home Emily and Wendell stayed in during the previous book. Wendell has not changed a bit, especially when it comes to the cleanliness and coziness of the home.
He opened a cupboard and shook his head. “Good Lord!”
“It doesn’t look dirty to me, ” I said, to which he responded with a long-suffering sigh. I added, “And if you are going to be an old hen about it and waste your time clucking over every scrap of clutter, you should know in advance that I won’t be assisting.”
“Old hen!” he exclaimed. ” Well, of course you won’t help. You’ll spend the evening in your preferred manner, hunched over in some dark corner like a troll.” (pg. 85)
As you can see from the above lines, the banter between these two characters is still going strong. You can also see that Wendell is still the diva that he was in the previous book, which I love. Truly I think that he makes the books. I absolutely love his character. The reason they have decided to escape to the Alps is because many years before, a woman disappeared one night while searching for the Nexus. Emily believes that the Nexus will be a great help to them in finding the hidden door into Wendell’s Kingdom. The woman’s name was Danielle de Grey, and the group had heard from the villagers that they should be careful because people had gone missing in this area. They were given rules on what they should do at night in order to please the Fae so that they would not be bothered. Unfortunately, for some reason, the Fae will not leave their home alone. Each morning, they wake up to see more damage done to the door and its frame, and frankly, it freaks some of the members in the home out. Seriously, can you blame them? I would be freaked out, too.
The damage to the home and the knowledge of people (particularly scholars) going missing throughout the years in the area does not slow down Emily’s hunt for the hidden back door. Each day, she heads out to search for new clues along with her traveling companions. It is of the utmost importance that they find it soon for not only the sake of Wendell but for everyone’s safety. Of course, with this new mission, Emily encounters new types of fae and magical creatures. One creature they meet loves adventure, so he comes in handy at certain times throughout the story. We also get to see Poe again, and his appearances are so sweet and extremely helpful to Emily throughout her journey. This story includes some high-stakes scenes; come on, lives are at stake, after all. Besides, let us not forget about the attempted murders.
Reader, I am not going to lie to you here. I am struggling to write this review because I loved the book so much, but I do not want to give away anything important, and I feel like with this story, it is so easy to do. So this is what I am going to say: if you loved Emily Wilde’s Encyclopedia Of Faeiries then you should absolutely pick this one up. Honestly, I really loved it even more than the first in the series. If you love stories that involve missing people and mysteries, then I think that this would be a good one for you. If you enjoy fighting scenes (not too gory) that involve magical creatures, fae, and the use of magic, then definitely give this story a go. If romance with a slow burn is your thing, then I think you will enjoy this one. If you are looking for all the cozy fantasy vibes in a perfect setting while reconnecting with some of your favorite characters, then Reader, I really think that this is the book for you. If you have been here long enough, then you know that I am going to ask: have you read anything by this author (I am honestly thinking about the first book in the series), and if so, what are your thoughts? I am always interested to hear the thoughts of other readers. Until Next Time, Reader, Happy Reading.
Trigger Warnings:
- Battle Scene
- Violence/Blood
- Poisoning
- Animal Death and Injury
- Attempted Murder/Murder