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, Shadow, and the Fair Folk to other people.
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, muddle 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.
My thoughts:
The story is told as a series of journal entries from Emily Wilde as she goes to the far north looking for faeries. This is effective because it allows us to see how Emily views the world, people, and her chosen subject. What we find is that she is that she is single-minded in her research pretty much most of the time. She is also socially inept and a bit of an introvert. I really liked her.
Wendell Brambleby, her associate, is very much her opposite. He revels in the attention of the townsfolk and thrives on his interactions with them. There is also something mysterious about him. As it is revealed that he may be Emily's only friend, she also finds she may be drawn to him in other ways as well. I enjoyed the banter between the two and watching their relationship grow and change.
It's a little slow in the beginning as we meet the characters and get acquainted with the world they live in. After a while, it almost seems like a loose series of fairy tales. Each tale moves a little faster and maybe a little darker.
The bits of Faerie lore that are sprinkled throughout her journal entries are interesting and lend authenticity to her writing. And her interactions with the brownie Poe, set the stage for her other interactions with the Fair Folk.
Overall, I give this book 5 out of 5 stars. I liked the characters and enjoyed their banter. The action in the book is very fairy tale -ish interspersed with accounts of daily life. I also like that it ends in such a way that it is open to the possibility of sequels. If you like fairy tales and tales of the Faeries, then you will probably enjoy this book set in the early 1900s far north.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This did not affect my opinion and review.
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