Synopsis:

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.

Review:

First of all, what a pretty cover right? I am sure it conjures up a whimsical, cute tale about faeries. It certainly did for me and oh was I wrong.

Emily Wylde does have faeries of course, but they are far from nice. That actually turned out to be one of the things I liked about this book. It really leaned into the sinister side of the fae and showed us their darker side.

Another thing I liked was how it was written. I love stories that are in an epistolary format and this one takes the form of Emily’s diary. We follow her entries as she ventures off on an academic research trip to a remote village in Scandinavia. She is soon joined by her colleague Wendell and after some time Emily comes to suspect he knows more about the fae than he is letting on.

Despite the startlingly cruel nature of the fae we meet in this book, it was overall a fairly cosy and light read. The characters were endearing (though it did take me a minute to warm up to Emily), and while the side characters weren’t explored too much I did like what we saw of them.

The plot was interesting and we come to face a variety of different fae while also investigating some local disappearances. the worldbuilding was solid, the descriptions definitely evoking the wild and windswept landscapes of Scandinavia.

The minor downside was the romance. It wasn’t that interesting and definitely was not enemies to lovers. However as it was such a minor part of the plot I could easily overlook it.

Overall, a really atmospheric, easy read, and perfect for this colder time of year.