From the moment I started reading Emily Wilde's Compendium of Lost Tales, I knew I was going on an adventure. The world of the fae is captivating and being able to accompany Emily and Wendell for a third time was so much fun. I especially love Wendell (he'll forever be one of my top MMCs) and his dynamic with Emily throughout this story. From start to finish, I had a grand time! Heather Fawcett is truly the queen of whimsy.

Thank you to Del Rey and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this story in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

4.5 stars for the 3rd book in the Emily Wilde series! This time, Emily and Wendell are actually in Faerie, reclaiming his lost kingdom. Emily is finding all this fascinating and wonderous. However, there seems to be a blight on the land, a curse placed by Wendell's displaced stepmother, the former queen. Figuring out how to defeat her and save the land is right up Emily's alley and she does some serious studying of the old faerie tales in order to figure out how to save, Wendell and his realm.
This is darling and wonderful and Emily is full of determination and spirit. I love this series!

I have enjoyed every installment of Emily Wilde, and this one was no different. This book followed along with Wendell and Emily’s quest to retake his kingdom.

As usual, I find Emily an endearing character (and she has certainly softened as a character over the series - a good thing, I think!). She is always thinking of scholarship, writing papers, and finding the pattern in Faerie stories. She uses her considerable knowledge to help Wendell out yet again, but the new challenges and situations keep the formula fresh. Very enjoyable!

I’ve started the past three years with one of Heather Fawcett’s Emily Wilde books, and I always look forward to my yearly meet-up with the fae. The new year arrived, and shortly after, book three in the series followed. Emily Wilde's Compendium of Lost Tales is a beautiful culmination of all of Emily’s previous adventures. It’s my favorite story in the series by far. We’ve reached book three, so there are slight spoilers that cannot be avoided ahead.

Now that a door to Wendell’s faerie realm has been located, there’s nothing to stop the exiled prince from returning home and reclaiming his throne from his stepmother. Emily Wilde steps through the faerie door with her former academic rival, now fianceé, to meet the oncoming obstacles and hopefully write an academic paper or two. It does not take long for the pair to realize something is off in the faerie realm, and they soon discover the former queen has cursed the land and gone into hiding. As Emily navigates increasingly unfamiliar territory among the fae, she will rely on her research and experts to find a way to heal Wendell’s realm and create an auspicious future for the faerie king.

If you’ve made it to book three in the Emily Wilde series, you know by now that each book sends Emily on some incredible research trip to study the fae. This book is no different, except that the adventure is not primarily fueled by scholarship, although Emily certainly has ideas for papers along the way. The previous books have been building up to this moment, and Emily not only has a wealth of faerie knowledge to lean on but connections and experience throughout Faerie that she can use to help her save Wendell’s realm. There are nice callbacks to previous characters, both human and fae, and big events from book one that are critical to Emily’s mission. Compendium does a great job bringing the reader in on an exciting (and terrifying) new exploration of Faerie while rooting them in the familiar to keep some hope alive in Emily’s desperate attempt to save the realm.

Compendium also breaks the mold of the previous two books, with its setting mostly taking place in Faerie. This was my favorite part of this story because we leave the mortal world behind to become fully enmeshed in the chaos of Faerie. Instead of interacting with them in the human realm in brief encounters, Emily now calls Faerie home. Despite being obsessed and fascinated by the fae, she is now in an in-human realm completely unfamiliar to her, and it’s jarring and exciting at the same time. Emily wars between slight discomfort, fear, and utter awe of the incredible world around her. And for those who shy away from change, Emily’s experience in this book is a lesson that can inspire you to take the next step. Whether you’re moving to a faerie realm or starting a new hobby, new experiences are hard and challenging but bring about great growth and change. Emily is fearful, but she still moves forward, evolving not only herself but her relationship with Wendell and his subjects.

And for all of us readers out there, I think you’ll appreciate Compendium for the way it honors and celebrates the power of stories. Emily relies on faerie lore and the stories shared through time to guide her through the events unfolding in Wendell’s realm. The stories remind Emily of the lessons that need to be learned to keep bad history from repeating itself. In analyzing stories that met unfortunate ends, Emily advocates for a different approach in a world doomed to repeat its worst tragedies. She shows mercy when fear and hatred originally reigned, and she influences the characters around her to see new perspectives. Her only guidance is the stories that may have different plots but all showcase the same character pitfalls and decisions that led to heartbreak. With a desire to have a much happier ending, Emily decides to re-write the story happening around her.

Emily Wilde has outwitted faerie kings, held her own against haughty professors, and won the heart of her biggest rival. But she’s met her greatest challenge in the Compendium of Lost Tales, and she must risk it all or lose everything. Bewitch yourself with Emily’s latest and greatest adventure, you won’t be sorry you stepped through the faerie door.

Rating: Emily Wilde's Compendium of Lost Tales - 8.0/10

A satisfying conclusion to one of my all-time favourite series! There would have to be a lot wrong with this book for me to give it a low rating, just because Heather writes characters so well I’d genuinely read about them sitting around doing nothing and enjoy it. And frankly, that’s not the smallest part of this series, I’d say. The EW series as a whole is slower paced, and this book is no exception. I found that Emily’s driving unease at the story she has found herself in mostly sufficient tension to sustain me. It’s perhaps not as perfect as I felt the other two books in this series are, but it is one I’m thrilled to share with friends and customers anyway.

It was great being back with the grumpy-sunshine duo that are Emily and Wendell in this third installment of their adventures. While it was great getting a deeper look into Wendell’s kingdom and a small dive into Irish folklore (my FAVORITE!!), I won’t lie that of the three books, this one felt the least impactful plot wise. 😔

I don’t want to get into too much detail in case there are some people who haven’t read the series, but I’ll just that the pacing felt much slower than the other two and while I don’t mind a slow plot, this book just kind of felt like an overall plot filler for what will come in the future (which I’m assuming there’s more to come). 👑

As much as I LOVED the inclusion of Irish folklore into the mix of Emily’s adventures, as someone who spent the majority on their MA research on Ireland and its tumultuous relationship with Britain, specifically during the 1880’s-1910’s, this just gave me a weird vibe. For one, while I get this is supposed to be a cozy fantasy, Emily’s time in Dublin felt incredibly glossed over to me. Sure, I get that maybe the historical period might not be the most important aspect of the plot, but I just felt that Fawcett missed a huge opportunity to at least acknowledge the growing tensions between the British and Irish, and the latter’s abysmal treatment and representation by the British. This might be the historian in me coming out to complain, but it’s something that I just couldn’t get out of my head when I read this. 😮‍💨

Overall, still had a good time (when Emily wasn’t in Ireland itself), and I do look forward to seeing if there’s more to these goofballs’ adventures! Big thank you goes to Del Rey and NetGalley for accepting my request to read this in exchange for an honest review, and to Fawcett for continuing to make Emily’s adventures wild. 💚

Publication date: February 11!

Overall: 4.25/5 ⭐️

In Emily Wilde’s Compendium of Lost Tales, the third installment of the Emily Wilde series, Emily and Wendell return to Faerie for Wendell to take his throne. Emily finds herself shaped into a queen of faerie, but struggles reconciling the expectations of the role with her superseding interest in approaching Faerie as a dryadologist and a human. She is far from the only human living in Faerie, and finds kinship with Naimh, a fellow dryadologist, and Callum, another partner of one of the Folk. As with any contested transfer of power, however, Wendell must convince not only his subjects but the realm itself that he is their rightful ruler, and of course his stepmother doesn’t make it easy. Emily takes it upon herself, with the help of some familiar faces, to seek out lesser known and piecemeal stories of the Folk—the titular lost tales—to settle Wendell’s kingship and the kingdom itself, with lives (most importantly, to Emily, Wendell’s) at stake.

I went into Emily Wilde’s Compendium of Lost Tales with great expectations for the resolution of Wendell’s assumption of the throne, and somehow this book still exceeded them. I thought Fawcett did an excellent job balancing Emily’s desire to perform her role well with her innate disinterest in performing it as expected, as well as her otherness in Faerie—Wendell had spent the previous two books as the fish out of water, though successful in the human realm; Lost Tales juxtaposes that with Emily’s familiarity with the rules of the Folk and the way it still manages to dismay her. I appreciated Wendell’s consideration in giving Emily an easily accessible space of her own in the human realm as a private escape from the caprice of Faerie. I love the balance of Emily and Wendell’s dynamic: the ways they support one another, their affection for each other, and their sureness about each other is so interesting and refreshing in this series, and I deeply appreciated how well it continued in this book, even through such an upheaval in setting and circumstance. Lost Tales beautifully maintained the themes I’ve loved this series for: Emily’s priority of her role as dryadologist over almost all else, her role as heroine and solver of puzzles and riddles, and ultimately the central rule that the Folk are governed by story and legend. And still, she’s allowed to be emotional and selfish and she does the right things for her own reasons. I was very impressed and pleased by Emily Wilde’s Compendium of Lost Tales for its continuity of theme and character, as well as the stakes and construction of the plot. I’d recommend it to those who enjoyed the previous two books, readers of historical fantasy, and people who, like me, can’t pass up fantasy that reads like nonfiction.

Thank you to Del Rey for providing an advance copy through NetGalley in exchange for my review. All opinions are my own.

Emily and Wendell is taking over his kingdom after his stepmother’s downfall. Taking over the palace was easy, but apparently Wendell’s stepmother refused to go down without a fight and poisoned the realm. Naturally Emily looked into Folk tales for solution, and even though the answer didn't give her any consolation.

More glimpses into the Otherland, this time without an immediate danger so we could appreciate the landscape more! it's interesting to finally see Wendell's courtly fae side, though his personality didn't change a bit. he and Emily were still being adorable as ever and I love them so much. there were several old side characters making appearances in this book and it's nice to see them again.

on the other hand, i also felt like some things were missing. the obvious one is that there's no "journal entry" written by Wendell, which is disappointing because it was one of the highlights on the first 2 books. the plot also felt too convenient? lacked the sheer chaos and unpredictability which were also the charm of this series.

i still enjoyed it though, and I miss Emily & Wendell already...

This was a fitting and cozy conclusion to a great trilogy. I didn’t love it as much as the first two, but I don’t begrudge it for that.

In this final installment, the fae world is finally front and center, rather than the somewhat menacing and hard-to-find subject of Emily’s research. We had higher stakes and more magic this time around.

I do think it was missing something on the pacing front. I found myself less engaged overall, especially in the second half.

But I love this trilogy, and will continue to recommend it.

Thanks to Del Rey and NetGalley for the ARC!

**3.5/5 Stars, Rounded Up**

Emily Wilde and Wendell Bambleby are off on another adventure in Faerie in Emily Wilde’s Compendium of Lost Tales by Heather Fawcett. Fawcett’s “Emily Wilde” series is unique in the fantasy genre in that it is written as more of a research journal. A professor in dryadology, Emily Wilde has dedicated her academic life to studying Folk, and now she becomes fully immersed in the realm with Wendell by her side as her fiancé. I hesitate to go deeply into their relationship, as Compendium of Lost Tales is the third book in a series, and I don’t want to spoil anything from previous books. But let’s just say they’re an unlikely match. Wendell, though, believes in Emily and in her abilities—so much so that he asked her to marry him and become his queen.

I loved the first two books from the series. Wendall and Emily have entertaining, humorous conversations and camaraderie. And I appreciate the chapters’ footnotes. While they’re not necessary, they provide a little more insight into Fawcett’s world and how her mind—and Emily’s—works. Honestly, fits Emily. She is a professor, after all. Why would an academic not include footnotes? Instead of a glossary or “References” (even fictitious) at the end of the novel, Fawcett gives footnotes. They demonstrate the depth in Fawcett’s imagination. You can skip them if you want to, but if you’re curious about a certain story? Or a type of Folk? Read them.

Now, let’s get to the actual plot of Emily Wilde’s Compendium of Lost Tales by Heather Fawcett. This addition to the series has been my least favorite so far. It moved slowly, and I found it to be a bit predictable. While I felt the last two books were about Wendell and Emily, this one focused far more on Emily alone, with Wendell more in the background. Wendell’s stepmother cursed the kingdom before disappearing; to save the realm, she must be found. Fawcett emphasizes throughout the novel how important stories are to the Folk—and the Compendium revolves around one particular tale. One tale, often mistranslated, and one with several possible endings. This story guides Emily and Wendell through their every action to restore the kingdom.

Which is…fine, I suppose. But if you figure out the story, you can almost anticipate how the story progresses. The relationship between Emily and Wendell is sweet and steady, despite the times they disagree. But I almost felt like the ending was…I don’t know, lazy? It all wrapped up, sure, but I found the “intense moments” falling flat and elicited no emotional reaction. They just…happened. Maybe that comes from Emily being a professor and providing mostly facts. But “X stabbed a sword into their chest,” and then you just keep moving forward? Give me more. And I wish there’d been more with the stepmother, though maybe I say that because I don’t remember her role(s) in the last book(s) all that clearly. Emily Wilde’s Compendium of Lost Tales was enjoyable. I loved seeing Emily blossom into herself and her identity. But I wanted more. I hoped for more.

Reading all three Emily Wilde books in the span of two months has given me a slight book hangover and faerie fatigue. While it was probably my least favorite of the trilogy to date, it is nevertheless still a strong entry in the series.

The EMILY WILDE series is comforting in its consistency. Emily remains consistently meticulous about her research; despite the new challenges thrown her way of being a faerie monarch, her scholarly sensibilities always come first, to everyone’s advantage. It is, perhaps, Wendell who changes the most over the three books, as he becomes the unique monarch he could be thanks to his distinctive personality and his interactions/understanding of mortals.

This consistency sometimes has its drawbacks. In each of the books (and COMPENDIUM is no different), the main conflict comes from an external villain that, while potentially affecting our beloved characters and the setting physically, doesn’t really seem to have any psychological or emotional effect on them. And the fact that Emily and Wendell are largely unruffled and unchanged by their experiences with battling said bad things kind of sets me at an emotional distance away from the story, as well.

Finally: is it bad to say that my favorite parts of COMPENDIUM are when Book One characters and settings are involved? New characters don’t seem to be as fleshed out and lovable as the characters in and around Ljosland. I also thought it was a bit funny that my favorite bits of COMPENDIUM all took place in the human world, rather than in Faerie. I wish that Faerie had been more thoroughly explained and infused with the kind of magnetism that would keep me enthralled.

Overall, COMPENDIUM is a solid entry into Emily and Wendell’s story, and keeps the door open for further adventures should they happen. I did personally wish for some more growth and development across the trilogy, but as this is a cozy fantasy I understand it’s not a requirement.

The final journey in the trilogy featuring a professor of faeries and her former academic rival turned fiancee, a prince getting ready to take his fae throne. Emily Wilde and Wendell Brambleby have finally found the door to Wendell's kingdom. With his stepmother's curse to break and the fae kingdom dying from it... the only solution to the curse is Wendell's death but Emily will do anything to stop it and save him. As Emily adjust to the fae land and becoming the new Fae queen.... things only get more complicated as there are murder attempts on Wendell's life and its up to Emily to solve the puzzle of how to break the curse and save the man she's in love with. I loved how this entire series wrapped up. The romance and relationship between Emily and Wendell was a soft slow burn that felt adorable to watch. I love how sweet and caring they are to one another. Wendell and Emily just get each other. This series has been a wonderful cozy fantasy romance that has just felt so special to read. It's one I will absolutely be recommending to future readers! I can't wait to see where Heather Fawcett goes next with her books and what fantastic stories she comes up with. This series ends on a kind of open door ending and I hope that Heather comes back to this series one day because I could honestly read 10 more books of Wendell and Emily's cozy magical adventures.

Release Date: February 11, 2025

Publication/Blog: Ash and Books (ash-and-books.tumblr.com)

*Thanks Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Del Rey for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

EMILY WILDE’S COMPENDIUM OF LOST TALES is such a fun, whimsical little series! Thank you for my early reading and listening copies, @orbitbooks_us & @prhaudio , it publishes February 11th!

I encourage you to start at the beginning of the Emily Wilde series, it is chock full of faeries, woodland creatures, magical realism and is just lovely!

In this the 3rd installment from the series, Emily is helping Wendell locate his banished stepmother before the power consumes him. She moves seamlessly between her world and the faeries’ worlds, researching and finding more and more about the lore of faeries, past stories, and how to sold Wendell’s problems.

The whole series has a “side of romance” and this one has even less of that, as Emily becomes stronger as a FMC and moves about without much help from Wendell.

Love it!

Emily Wildes compendium of lost tales is the third book in the Emily wild series by Heather Fawcett, and book 3 Emily returns to Wendells Kingdom, where Wendell takes his place as king making her the queen. Emily tries to resign herself and become accustomed with royal life at the same time her and Wendell are on the lookout for Queen Arna. when they learn where the queen has gone instead of it being the end of the adventure, it is only the beginning. It seems the kingdom is rotting from its roots, and only the death in vengeance can cure it, but who’s death? Emily has always had her notes to confer with, but soon she’ll be confronted by something never written in the fairy books and it’s history and it will be left up to her to put the kingdom and her own life right again. I really love these books and this one, although not as great as the first two was still an awesome book and better than most. I’m not a big reader of fairytale stories, but Emily Wiles has definitely caught my attention and I anxiously anticipate every new book and was satisfied with this one. I love how Emily mistakes and all, always whinds up being the hero. There was so much in this book that was surprising in this on going love affair between Emily Wendell and the ferry realm and I loved all of it. #NetGalley,#RandomHouse,#TheBlindReviewer, #HeatherFawcett, #EmilyWild’sCompendiumOfLostTales,

Emily Wilde is a scholar with every inch of her body. She wants to know the why, the how, and its implications. She can be a bit like a dog with a bone chasing after information. I really enjoyed reading her budding relationship with Wendell in the past books. And while I have enjoyed her journal entries in the past this one was a bit harder for me. Emily seemed too determined, wrenching the story in the direction she willed. I wanted to hear more of Wendell and the creatures in his land. I wanted more adventure. I wanted more romance from Emily.
That being said it was a delightful conclusion. I loved seeing more of Wendell as a suitor and his comfort in his own land. Shadow is the best dog and I love that he featured strongly in this book. I love that previous characters came back and newer ones were fleshed out more. I loved the darker elements, the little snippets of horror, and the connections to other tales in the footnotes.

Thank you to Random House Publishing for sending me an e-arc. I enjoyed the conclusion to the trilogy. All thoughts and criticisms are my own.

Heather Fawcett sticks the landing with this one, giving our beloved characters an ending that feels just perfect.

Fans of the first two books will easily fall for the familiar banter and antics of Emily and Wendell. The stakes in the third installment feel bigger than the previous stories but the overall feel of the quirky cozy world remains. Just as before, the character depictions are really the star of the show here with Emily being a delightfully accurate depiction of a thirty something academic. Wendell, as always. brings his flamboyance and charm in equal measure. The juxtaposition makes for sincere laughter and some surprisingly tender moments.

I do think for some, this installment might feel oddly paced. Readers are constantly on the run throughout these pages, with little time to rest, but somehow even the wild adventures feel cozy.

The entire Wilde series is perfect for folk who prefer their cozy stories to have some legs.

Wendell

Many thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Getting this ARC made my day! The book had such a great plot and I loved seeing the characters from the past books. Of course I love Wendell Bambleby. It was interesting to see Emily’s adjustment to the faerie world, I think the ending was perfect showing hope for their future as rulers.

This one was on par with the first two books, which is to say generally delightful. I just absolutely adore Emily and Wendell, and this book brought the same clever, quippy dialogue I've come to expect from the series. I loved seeing these characters grow, both separately and in their relationship, and I loved seeing more of Faerie. I don't know if this is the end of the series, but I think this book ended very well and it made a satisfying conclusion either way.

Five stars! Heather Fawcett's Emily Wilde's Compendium of Lost Tales was a pure joy to read, a truly satisfying experience from beginning to end. I absolutely loved it! Emily's prickly personality is so endearing, and the contrast with Wendell's fussy nature, combined with his undeniable handsomeness and mercurial fury when Emily is threatened, makes their dynamic utterly captivating. Fawcett has created such a magical world, and I was completely immersed in it. I only wish there were more than three books in the series! I enjoyed it so much that I'm already planning a reread of the entire series. Highly recommended!
M. Roberts

This was such a great conclusion (at least I think it was a conclusion) to Emily and Wendell's story. If you have been following these stories, this installment will not disappoint. These characters are just as charming and lovable as you have come to know them to be. The story follows Emily and Wendell as they try to obtain and maintain control of his kingdom. Along with the adventure that unfolds, Emily is dealing with the emotional upheaval of moving her life to a new realm. For anyone who has packed up and moved for the sake of those that they love, that sense of disorientation will be very familiar. These books are so cozy and so fun. Fawcett does such a great job of writing high stakes stories that somehow feel safe and warm. I have been a fan of these stories from day one, and this one felt like a perfect continuation.