I am shocked that I read another one for this TBR series after a couple of months of reading the last one. In this series, I pick one of the random books that is displayed every time I go to my homepage on Storygraph. My goal is to eventually get under 500 books on my TBR list on Storygraph but mainly I don't want to neglect the books on my list.
A curmudgeonly professor journeys to a small town in the far north to study faerie folklore and discovers dark fae magic, friendship, and love in the start of a heartwarming and enchanting new fantasy series.
Cambridge professor Emily Wilde is good at many things: She is the foremost expert on the study of faeries. She is a genius scholar and a meticulous researcher who is writing the world's first encyclopaedia of faerie lore. But Emily Wilde is not good at people. She could never make small talk at a party--or even get invited to one. And she prefers the company of her books, her dog, and the Fair Folk.
So when she arrives in the hardscrabble village of Hrafnsvik, Emily has no intention of befriending the gruff townsfolk. Nor does she care to spend time with another new arrival: her dashing and insufferably handsome academic rival Wendell Bambleby, who manages to charm the townsfolk, get in the middle of Emily's research, and utterly confound and frustrate her.
But as Emily gets closer and closer to uncovering the secrets of the Hidden Ones--the most elusive of all faeries--lurking in the shadowy forest outside the town, she also finds herself on the trail of another mystery: Who is Wendell Bambleby, and what does he really want? To find the answer, she'll have to unlock the greatest mystery of all--her own heart.
I was planning on returning this book to the library since I hadn't gotten to it in weeks and I thought I was done reading for the year. What a fool I would have been if I hadn't decided to give it a go. Twenty-five pages in I knew that I had to stop for the night because I would be up to 3 a.m. reading it. I ended up staying up late another night needing to finish this story. I would never have thought I would have been lucky to get another favorite of the year right before the end but I am so happy that I did.
Emily reminded me of Theodora Ettings from Half a Soul and Veronica Speedwell from A Curious Beginning. She's a highly intelligent British woman who pursues knowledge like no other. She's clearly autistic which makes it difficult for her to pick up on social cues. Her love interest, Wendell Bambely, gives off Howl from Howl's Moving Castle vibes. He's a flirt, charming, charismatic, with a hint of mystery. He follows Emily to a snowy remote Nordic village and they get caught up in the village's trouble which makes for a great adventure. I loved these two together. Bambely understands her like no other and doesn't judge her for her sometimes selfish pursuit of knowledge. The bantering between the two makes their relationship all the more fun to see form.
I loved getting to learn about the fae. The descriptions of the fae were far more scarier than expected but I found that more intriguing than what I am used to. I loved getting to go along with Emily in the woods and getting to know the villagers. The world-building was wonderful. I really enjoyed the slower pace of the ordinary days in Emily's life researching and interacting with fae and villagers alike.
I am so excited that the next book is coming out so soon! I really loved this book and highly recommend it to anyone who wants to read a faerie book for adults.
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