Name: Emily Wilde's Map of the Otherlands (Emily Wilde series #2)
Author: Heather Fawcett
Publisher: Orbit
Date published: January 2024
Genre: Fiction, adult, romance, historical, fantasy, fairy tales, mythology, folklore, cosy fantasy
Pages: 352
Rating: 5/5
Emily Wilde is a genius scholar of faerie
folklore - she just wrote the world’s first comprehensive encylopaedia
of faeries. She’s learned many of the secrets of the Hidden Folk on her
adventures... and also from her fellow scholar and former rival,
Wendell Bambleby.
Because Bambleby is more than infuriatingly
charming. He’s an exiled faerie king on the run from his murderous
mother, and in search of a door back to his realm. So despite Emily’s
feelings for Bambleby, she’s not ready to accept his proposal of marriage. Loving
one of the Fair Folk comes with secrets and danger.
And she also
has a new project to focus on: a map of the realms of faerie. While she is
preparing her research, Bambleby lands her in trouble yet again, when
assassins sent by Bambleby’s mother invade Cambridge. Now Bambleby and
Emily are on another adventure, this time to the picturesque Austrian
Alps, where Emily believes they may find the door to Bambley’s realm,
and the key to freeing him from his family’s dark plans.
But
with new relationships 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.
- From Goodreads.
I really enjoyed how this book expanded the world building that was started in the first one. We got to see more of both the mortal world and the faerie realms and there was so much detail in the descriptions and in the history and backstories, it felt very real. I loved the way the faerie realms had to be described differently to the mortal world and sometimes Emily did not even have the words for them, it really gave the sense that it was something otherworldly and almost incomprehensible to humans, too beautiful to witness.
The romance was so sweet and affectionate. I loved how clearly Wendell adored Emily and how Emily tried to be brave when taking steps in their relationship. I think they were both good for each other and helped each other grow. I loved that Emily was quite honest with herself and so her relationship with Wendell was quite open and honest too and they told each other how they were feeling. Reading them together was just very enjoyable as they could be both lighthearted and humorous and also serious and romantic and I think both sides to them were written very well.
I think it was a great sequel to the first book, the author was able to continue writing in both Emily and Wendell's voices well and I will definitely be reading the next book as I am very much looking forward to finding out what happens next on their adventures.
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