When all is said and done, I enjoyed this book. I am not one for a book about fairies, and this one is dusted with them and whimsical nature observations, which as I said, is not where I am most comfortable as a reader, but I got there in this book, and while it is more diversionary than deeply thoughtful, I ended up thinking about it more than I would have guessed.
The titular Emily Wilde is brilliant at a great many things when it comes to academia. A meticulous researcher and foremost expert on the study of faeries, she’s determined not to let the fact that she’s a woman hold her back from making advances in her field. But the one thing Emily isn’t good at is interacting with other people. She’s quite content with being an habitual outsider and she has no interest in making friends. But when she arrives in the remote hardscrabble village of Hrafnsvik on her latest assignment, Emily’s lack of people skills starts her off on the wrong foot with the gruff townsfolk. Which is a bit of a problem when she’s relying on their hospitality and knowledge to aid her research.
Further compounding Emily’s frustration is the arrival of her charismatic colleague and insufferably handsome academic rival Wendell Bambleby. Both aggrieved and secretly relieved by his unexpected appearance, Emily grudgingly welcomes Wendell’s help in winning over the locals and seeking out the mysterious faeries in order to complete the encyclopedia she’s compiling. Though Wendell’s own secrets might prove to be more useful than Emily could ever have imagined, she has no intention of letting him take the credit for her work. And she certainty has no intention of falling for his frustratingly endearing charms either. As you might imagine from the set up, they end up working well together and getting accomplished what neither of them could have done alone.
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