Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands is just as fabulous as the first book in the series. It’s one of those books that you find hard to get across just how wonderful it is … such an amazing mix of historical fantasy, fantasy romance and adventure. I usually write lots of notes but the story captured me from the beginning and I wrote hardly anything!
Jera’s Jamboree receives payments for affiliate advertising. This is at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. As a Cratejoy affiliate I earn if you click on a link and shop from my link. Please see my disclosure policy for more information.
Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands by Heather Fawcett
- Category : Fantasy
- Publisher : Orbit; 1st edition (18 Jan. 2024)
- Language : English
- Hardcover : 352 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0356519155
- ISBN-13 : 978-0356519159
- Amazon | Waterstones | Goodreads
Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands Summary
Emily Wilde is a genius scholar of faerie folklore, and has catalogued many secrets of the Hidden Folk in her encyclopaedia with her infuriatingly charming fellow scholar, Wendell Bambleby, by her side.
But Bambleby is more than just a brilliant and unbearably handsome scholar. He’s an exiled faerie king on the run from his murderous mother, in search of a door back to his realm.
By lucky happenstance, Emily’s new project, a map of the realms of faerie, will take them on an adventure 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 friendships 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.
Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands Review
Despite it being almost a year since I read (and loved) the first book in the series, it was so easy to remember and slip back into this land of academia and faerie! Excited for them to find the nexus that would take Wendell home, and knowing there would be plenty of adventures on the way, I couldn’t wait to get going. And wow, it gets started at a cracking pace!
Emily now has tenure. The first introduction we have to Department Head Dr Farris Rose is a verbal attack. Quite eccentric (but then I guess he’s learned what protection is through the years) and at first pompous, he’s a key character on the journey to find the faery door. I love how the nature of his relationships change through the story.
There are more new characters as well as ones we already know. And as before, it’s hard to tell whether some of them have good intentions or are harbingers of chaos 🙂
Once again, the story is told through Emily’s journal entries with footnotes for clarification (and a very important entry from Wendell too). I really like this format of informality mixed in with the academic. It’s a great way to understand how Emily and Wendell work, not only as a romantic couple but also as partners in the magical world.
I loved the mayhem in the library! And the time in the faery realm. Oh Emily you are so clever! The next story is going to be very interesting. There’s definitely going to be something different waiting than they expect.
Magical faery items that don’t work quite as you expect; ordinary everyday items that are in fact something else; a quest into the faery realm to rescue colleagues and find the nexus. Perfect. The Emily Wilde series would make fantastic viewing on the screen.
If you read Enid Blyton stories as a child, you’ll love this series (obviously with more adult and darker themes). Give it a go!
Related Books
- Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries (Emily Wilde Series Book 1)
About the Author
Heather Fawcett is a Canadian author of books for adults, kids, and teens, including the Even the Darkest Stars series, Ember and the Ice Dragons, The Language of Ghosts, Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries, and more. Her books have been translated into more than ten languages and somehow all include dragons in one form or another. She has a Master’s degree in English Literature and a Bachelor’s in Archaeology. She lives on Vancouver Island.