Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries Book One of the Emily Wilde Series

Heather Fawcett

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.

Fantasy Atmospheric Cozy Whimsical Academic Rivals Friends to Lovers Grumpy / Sunshine
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Why we picked this

Emily is a brilliant, socially awkward scholar studying faerie folklore in a remote wintry village, and the combination of academic obsession, dangerous fae, dry humor, and her relationship with the infuriatingly charming Wendell makes this ridiculously easy to settle into. It practically begs for a blanket and a cup of tea.

Recommended by Veronica JordenReader in Residence

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