Simply marvelous. I'm heartbroken that there aren't 50+ more books in this series... 2 just doesn't seem like enough!

And yet! This omnibus is filled with so much perilous adventure, so much young-heroine-overcoming-all-odds, so much fantastical faraway places & "aliens", that it satisfies any reader's thirst for delicious plot development & captivating characters.

I enjoyed the science. I enjoyed the magic. I enjoyed the otherworldly invaders. I enjoyed the steampunk. I enjoyed the submarines & airships. I enjoyed the connections made between our FMC and her found-family. I loved Hyacinth. 🪻 I loved Rani & Kenar. 🖤 I loved every single aspect of these stories!

For fans of Castle in the Sky, The Mummy, Journey to the Center of the Earth, Around the World in 80 Days, and similar adventure-based tales mixed with a healthy dollop of quick wit, charming individuals & outlandish means of transportation.

Martha Wells is an insta-buy & always-support author for me, and these stories help further cement my love for her writing & my enjoyable reading.

Thank you NetGalley and Tor/Forge for giving me the opportunity to read to this book early and share my honest review. All reviews will be posted to my socials (Netgalley, Goodreads, Fable, IG).

The Emilie Adventures is an omnibus containing two previously published Emilie novels: Emilie and the Hollow World and Emilie and the Sky World. This is YA Steampunk fiction and I really enjoyed it. I think I love Martha Wells writing style. It is definitely YA, so please keep that in mind if you decide to pick it up. Emilie is our female main character and she is running away from home. She lives with her uncle and it is not a good situation for Emilie so she decides to stow away on a ship to go to her cousin who runs a school for girls, but she stows away on the wrong ship! The ship she is on is going to the interior of the planet and adventures ensue. In the second book, Emilie and the Sky World, they are going into the air because an airship has arrived that is from another aetheric plane. No telling if they are here for good or to cause harm as the story begins.

I completely enjoyed both stories. It does read young - almost more middle grade than YA. The first story gets bogged down in a couple of places, but overall it's enjoyable because I liked the characters. Emilie is a teenager, she is smart, resourceful and plucky. I enjoy steampunk and do not read enough of it. I think the second story is better because it handles the pacing better. Overall this is a 3.75 stars from me rounded up to 4 on Goodreads. Thank you to Tor Publishing and Net Galley for my e-arc.

My Rating: 4*

Emlie and her dual adventures were such cute, energetic stories. Though this is my first time reading Martha Wells, I do plan on picking up her Murderbot series. However, these books about Emilie and The Hollow World and Emilie and the Sky World, were great YA, middle grade reads with just the right amount of whimsy and excitement to keep me reading.

In the Hollow World, Emilie wants to stow away on a ship and start a life of adventure. She is tired of her aunt and uncle telling her what to do and how to behave. However, she steals away on the “wrong” ship and soon finds herself on a whirlwind journey through the center of the world, where there are races of beings she’s never encountered and other magical/ scientific elements which she’s not had exposure to. The crew seem to eagerly allow her to join, even if she is only about 16, and she soon finds the adventure she’s been looking for while trying to find the crew of a ship and a missing professor. There are definitely nods to Journey to the Center of the Earth as well as, perhaps, a bit of Treasure Island.

With the Sky World, Emilie takes off into the sky where a large flying/ floating ship seems to hold her next mystery. She still has to deal with some family issues and decide if she is going to fully embrace being an adult or fall back into a childish mindset. I did think this one was a bit less of an adventure and a bit more about growing up, in general. Still, I enjoyed the duology and if we go on any more explorations, then I hope I can tag along.

*I read this ARC back in February (I love Martha Wells, so I could not wait until closer to pub date😬).

The Emilie Adventures is a re-release of two exciting steampunk fantasy YA stories in-one.

The first story, “Emilie and the Hollow World,” introduces us to Emilie, a young girl who runs away and accidentally stows away on a ship with an engine designed to explore the inside of the planet. When the ship gets damaged upon arrival and they meet a strange new race, Emilie and her new friends must find a way to return to the surface.

In the second story, “Emilie and the Sky World,” Emilie and her crew hear about a mysterious and possibly dangerous disruption in the upper air currents. So they journey to the strange landscapes of the Sky World to discover a menacing force.

Both stories are is full of exciting moments and quirky characters that make Emilie’s journey’s very enjoyable.

Wells has yet again, created a world of fantasy that is fun to read and also features lovable and relatable characters like the spunky Emilie. I enjoyed my time in both the Hollow World and the Sky World.

The Emilie Adventures publishes on May 13. Thanks to tordotcom and NetGalley for providing this eArc.

I am a huge fan of Martha Well's books and her writing. I originally found her Murderbot Diaries and then Witch King, so when I saw this book on NetGalley I was excited to dive into a more YA voice. This duology was released years ago as separate books and are now, for the first time, together in one volume. I found the story compelling and quite enjoyable! I enjoyed Emilie as a character and the fantastic adventures that she has in both the hollow and sky worlds along with the Marlendes and the rest of the crew. It was a story about inner strength and a test of wills as they navigate unknown worlds and situations. The steampunk fantasy mashup was also a lot of fun and involved a lot of fun as well. It was neat seeing the combination of science and magic being used in the world. However, I will say that the books did have a lot of instances where things were being told to the reader instead of simply shown. Overall, it really didn't take much away from the story and I am quite sure that teens who enjoy adventure stories will like this duology.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Publishing for providing me an Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for an honest review!

Disclaimer: Green Team received an ARC of The Emilie Adventures by Martha Wells courtesy of NetGalley and Tordotcom. We thank them for the early copy for review. All opinions are our own. The Emilie Adventures releases on May 13, 2025.

Here are the Green Team of the Legendarium Podcast, we are huge Murderbot fans. So we were very excited to check out some of Martha Wells's other works.

The Emilie Adventures is Martha Wells's YA steampunk fantasy adventure duology that Tor is re-releasing as a bindup. It consists of two YA steampunk fantasy adventure stories featuring…you guessed it a girl named Emilie. The first book is called Emilie and the Hollow World, originally published in 2013. The second book is called Emilie and the Sky World, originally published in 2014.

Review for Emilie and the Hollow World:
Overall we had fun reading this one, especially getting to discover the Hollow World and learn a bit about how aether worked. This was a pirate adventure story without explicitly being a pirate adventure story. There was a lot happening in this short book but unfortunately there were a few aspects that hindered our enjoyment. In this first book, we found the characters to be a bit clunky. Emilie is supposed to be around 16 years of age but her character read to us as a bit younger and her actions / thoughts felt disconnected from the age she's supposed to be. The plot also felt slow and dragged even though a lot did happen. The pacing of the book didn't quite align with how exciting the adventure was supposed to be. That being said, we still had some fun reading this first book.

Review of Emilie and the Sky World:
We enjoyed the second book quite a bit more than the first. Perhaps it was because we more familiar with the characters and the world. But we did notice the writing overall was better than the first book. The characters were more fleshed out. The plot was a bit tighter and more interesting. This one read like a first-contact story. We get to explore a whole new world and learn more about what's out there in the aether universe - not all of it good. The introduction of a new side character helped make the story more entertaining (even though they provided some obvious plot armor for our main characters.) While not quite on par with the character work we see Martha Wells do in The Murderbot Diaries, the character growth and depth here is more present than in Emilie and the Hollow World. The pacing of this book is also more aligned with the adventure being portrayed and read more quickly than the first book.

For more of our spoilery thoughts, check out our episode here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4MWuJN4FJgQM9FIvwII87b?si=abDzC8azS2im34BzaJ9voQ

This is collected edition of two YA steampunk novels from Martha Wells’s backlist, and as a certified Wells fan, I was looking forward to reading. Unfortunately I don’t think I was the target audience for these stories, which feel very young in tone and scope. While there is a lot of imagination and potential in these Jules-Verne-esque adventures (Aether currents! New worlds! Alien life forms! Airships!), I kept feeling frustrated by the over-explained problem-solving and the under-explained settings, so my overall experience was disappointing despite the exciting scenes. This felt like the wrong time for me, however I do think a younger audience would find much to enjoy with Emilie and her companions!

3.5 stars

Thanks to Tor/Forge and NetGalley for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group for access to an advance reading copy.

This edition of the Emilie Adventures collects book 1 and book 2 of the series, which was originally published in 2013/14. The Steampunk story has Emilie as the main protagonist, who finds her way as a stowaway on a special ship. The ship can travel through the aether to other worlds within and outside our world. There, she has grand adventures and faces danger.

Emilie reads as much younger than she is meant to be. She's meant to be 16, but the way she acts and talks reads much closer to a precocious 11 or 12. This can be jarring when the adults in the adventure let her do dangerous things until you remember she's 16, which isn't that young.

The world Martha Wells builds is interesting and the travel to other worlds is interesting. I had some trouble picturing some of the creatures and people they meet. Illustrations would be a great addition to the book.

Overall, I found myself wanting to skip over some parts to get the story over with, and there were few surprises later in both stories. Murderbot Diary fans won't find much here to keep them reading, as the story and main character aren't as impactful.

DNF: I just didn't care about Emile, and her first adventure started to feel as though the author just threw things in because they sounded neat without thinking about coherence.

eARC provided by publisher via Netgalley.

It was a very cozy read i loved it as well as an mc who was growing so well every chapters, it was satisfying to see her standing up for herself when the times didn't call for it. I adored the arc with Hyacinth it was refreshing and loved how they learned to trust each other

I am a huge fan of Martha Wells' Murderbot series. This is my first time reading The Emilie Adventures, and I really enjoyed this young adult duology, and I always look forward to any science fiction novel that utilizes steam punk technology (Treasure Planet vibes). The pacing is great, I never found myself bored. The main character, Emilie, is a determined and (as the title suggests) adventurous teenager - an easy to root for character.

The first book in this duology, Emily and the Hollow World, finds our heroine as a stowaway aboard a ship she didn't attend to be on, with an antagonist that would prefer she never come back. The second book, Emilie and the Sky World, follows her investigation into a mystery in the sky, giving Emilie the chance to take flight on another adventure once again. Emilie is resilient in the face of challenging situations, and you can see how in the first novel she is more reserved (attempting to observe everything and everyone around her) and in the second novel more impowered (doesn't shy away from battles or leaping into dangerous situations), and I appreciated the character growth she develops through both novels. I did wish we spent more time with some of the other characters introduced as I enjoyed Emilie's time interacting with others outside of her scheming and action. This was an easy read and I can easily picture it being adapted into an animated television show. I recommend it to any fans of young adult books, fans of Wells, or looking for a steam punk story that isn't grim dark.

Thank you to TOR Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this duology, I love any chance to read Martha Wells!

The Emilie Adventures are a steampunk-with-magic duology of young adult novels. Our Protagonist is Emilie, a young girl running away from an extremely toxic home situation. (Her uncle is convince that since her mother became an actress, that Emilie will be no better than she should be. He is kind of horrible.) Her plans to become an assistant at a girl's school run by a cousin are rear-ended by The Call To Adventure.
In Emilie and the Hollow World, Emilie's attempt to stowaway on a ship (due to not having enough money for passage) leads to her accidentally ending up on an exploratory vessel. This particular ship is leaving to explore the "Hollow World" discovered by a sorcerer-philosopher. A sorcerer whose ship broke down, and has gone missing.
In Emilie and the Sky World, Emilie briefly goes to visit her cousin, to visit and explain that she's taken on a job as a secretary to Miss Marlende, the daughter of the sorcerer-philosopher who went missing in the previous book. (Miss Marlende is extremely involved with her father's work, so Emilie is going to be going on More Adventures.) The visit is cut short by the appearance of a strange vessel appearing in the sky.
(From here, we learn that this setting doesn't just have a hollow world. It's actually a series of layers more or less tied together by magic streams called "Aetheric Currents." The ship is empty except for one plant-like alien.)
So, what I like the most aside from the adventures themselves is what seems to be the underlying message of the series: sometimes family is great. Sometimes it is toxic and unpleasant. Sometimes it's simply estranged.
Another thing I liked is that Emilie isn't expected to forgive her uncle because "he means well." She is allowed to be angry when he rudely turns up and tries to drag her away from her new job. (And then goes to get a constable because he thinks that's going to help.) She is allowed to be angry with her younger brother for siding with her uncle. This is a thing that tends not to happen in young adult or even adult novels where family is concerned.
A few aspects of "you are allowed to be angry with a parent-figure," also shows up in the relationship between Miss Marlende and her mother. Professor Abindon is a member of the Philosophical Society, but when she had been a student, she had only been allowed to audit classes, and hadn't been allowed to earn a degree. She divorced Dr. Marlende for unstated reasons (that are most likely because he takes absolutely insane risks). The Professor has a strained relationship with many other characters, and seems to be extremely abrupt with no patience for the mistakes/stupidity/general obtuseness of others.
I liked this book for the "found family" and adventure aspects! Well's worldbuilding is always fascinating, and I am intrigued by the cultures she comes up with. I also liked the "bio-family is why found family exists" themes. This review was based on a copy received from NetGalley.

My thanks to NetGalley for making an eARC available to me for my review.

These two short novels are really geared to a YA audience. The world is a kind of steampunk/magic mish-mash, and Emilie is a young woman trying to get out from under her uncle's thumb, but ends up as a stowaway on a sailing ship that takes her off on an adventure. The author does a decent job with the material, but these short novels really should not be compared to the MurderBot novels.

The Emilie Adventures
by Martha Wells
Emilie #1 & #2
YA Fantasy Steampunk
NetGalley eARC
Pub Date: May 13, 2025
Tor
Ages: 14+

~Emilie and the Hollow World #1~

Because of her uncle, Emilie runs away, sneaking onto a ship that will take her to the town where her cousin runs a school, but she ends up on the wrong ship, one that is heading in to the planet on a rescue mission. But Lord Ivers wants all the credit, so he will do anything to strand them all.

~Emilie and the Sky World~

There is something strange in the sky, and it seems to be getting bigger. To make sure it isn't a threat, Emilie and the Marlendes must ride the dangerous air currents into the aetheric plane.


I couldn't help but compare these stories to 'Journey to the Center of the Earth', '20,000 Leagues Under the Sea', & 'The Mysterious Island'.

They are both cute and adventurous stories, with a touch of cozy, about a young girl who becomes a stronger version of herself as the first story progresses, and even though this is set in a time when it's extremely frowned upon, she stands up for herself.

The first book moved at a great pace but did have a few places get bogged down by telling instead of showing... 'They did this, then they did that.' A little more descriptions, feelings, etc., would have done more for the story. The second book didn't have as much telling, so it flowed at a much faster pace.

While there is violence, it's not too descriptive or graphic, and sure, there's a hint of romantic interest, but it does not take over the story. There is some language/verbal abuse, and younger readers may not understand the true meaning of the situation, but I think it's suitable for readers fourteen and older.

Because these books were originally released back in 2013 and 2014, I'm hoping that with the release of this omnibus, that there are a few more in the works.

Both get...

3 Stars

This is a really fun fantasy adventure. I loved the world-building and would love to read more books set in this world. If this winds up being a series, I could see it being a great candidate for some very pretty special edition books.

3 stars

Summary I
Sixteen year old Emilie has run away from an uncle and aunt with low expectations of her. Her adventure becomes much more exciting than expected when she is mistaken for a thief and ends up on a sorcerous aethership headed deep into the ocean and beyond.
Review I
Emilie I is clearly written as a Young Adult novel, with a naive but plucky young heroine encountering the cruel world for the first time, and with many opportunities for her innate goodness to shine through. That’s all well and good. What’s disappointing is that Wells seems to be so consciously adhering to a formula. Every moment feels carefully scripted and targeted. The result is a book that’s pleasant, but not especially interesting.
Despite the care, Wells seems to miss her target. We don’t learn Emilie’s age for a couple of chapters, and when we do, it’s surprising. I had the feeling of a 10-12 year old, not an adolescent. Even when we learn Emilie is nearer being a young woman than a child, she doesn’t feel like one. The introduction of a love interest is thus a bit offputting. Perhaps, in a world where most fictional teens face harsh dystopias at every turn, there’s room for a return to starry-eyed childhood innocence, but it didn’t work for me here.
Wells’ world is a similar return to days of yore, with Emilie and crew visiting the hollow center of the Earth on aetheric currents. I assume this is in conscious homage to Verne and Burroughs, and took no issue with the sheer scientific improbability of the setting, though there’s little attempt to explain it, and some of the background details are improbable even within the context.
Wells does better with characterization. She winks at historical stereotypes by quietly inverting some gender roles, but sets the story in an Elizabethan-era steampunk setting in which woman are meant to play a submissive role. This gives Emilie something to rebel against and overcome, but it feels a bit tired. Emilie herself is an active, intelligent protagonist. She worries and wonders, but takes action – not always in very credible ways. She faces and overcomes fairly predictable challenges.
Altogether, this is a quick, modest adventure for kids who haven’t read too widely (and thus encountered most of the ideas already). There’s nothing wrong with it, but also not anything particularly compelling. I don’t feel any need to go on to the next book.
Summary II
Emilie, having run away from home and been caught up in otherworldly adventures, has secured a spot as secretary to an adventuress. But before she can do more than catch up with the cousin she initially ran to, another adventure presents itself - this time even more dangerous.
Review II
I feel as if Martha Wells lost her willingness to take chances for a while, after the strong start of her first several books. But it may be more accurate to say that she pursued what sold well, since I think the later Murderbot series qualifies as chancy. The Emilie books, unfortunately, fall into that in-between period and do not.
A decade ago, I read the first Emilie book and wasn’t impressed enough to continue with the second, having also been disappointed by the Raksura books. When I saw they’d been reissued, though, I thought it would be a good chance to try again to see whether I’d been unfairly critical. Sadly, my reaction is pretty much the same.
This second book – and it’s probably good that they’ve been issued as an omnibus – picks up right where the first left off, literally the next day, I think. It’s very much of a piece with the first, aiming for the same YA audience, and I have some of the same critiques – among them that Emilie, while described as 16, acts as if she were 12 or younger.
The action is exciting, but not highly credible. As in the first book, there’s magically a universal translator devised by another people. Why is it that humans never think to develop one of their own? It smooths the narrative path, but perhaps a bit too much. In fact, the plot of this one it many ways mirrors the first, at least in the emotional tones.
I think the books are fine. They have the benefit that the women in them are strong and independent but not perfect. Beyond that, though, they’re on the bland side. Most suitable for young readers new to SFF and adventure stories.
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review.

(3.75 stars) I got an eARC of The Emilie Adventures from Tor and NetGalley, and as a big fan of The Murderbot Diaries, I was curious to see what Martha Wells had cooked up in her earlier work. It turns out, it is a charming mashup of steampunk, fantasy, and science with a heroine who accidentally stows away on a ship to literally another world. Whoops.

Emilie’s running from a toxic home and aiming for a fresh start with her cousin. Instead, she ends up on a magical deep-sea ship, facing strange portals, glittery scaled non-humans, and skybound escapades. Think Journey to the Center of the Earth, but with a teenage girl and fewer mustaches.

The vibe is like a nostalgic adventure story that can be consumed by adults or Middle Grade despite this being billed as YA. There is little angst or romance, but lots of exploration and wonder. Emilie herself is smart and resourceful, though the side characters often feel like background players in her solo show.

If you want a fast-paced, whimsical adventure with vintage flair and magical science, this is a fun ride. Just maybe keep a closer eye on your travel plans than Emilie did.

The Emilie Adventures fits into the Golden Compass vein of young adult novels where I could very easily see giving it to a younger child with a high reading level and a love of fantasy. It reads like a classic but with Martha Well's keen, sometimes quiet humor. Emilie, like all of her protagonists, is easy to love.

Enjoying the resurgence of Martha Wells' non-scifi work, this time with "The Emilie Adventures." A collection of 2 previously published works. Out 13 May 2025.

Emilie was in the middle of running away from home and stumbled into a job. Which is about as good as you can hope when you start as stowaway. Thankfully the folks she ends up with are decent folks in the middle of heading to the world below theirs. Normal stuff.

Reasons to read:
-A wild amount of life experience in a short amount of time, on the job learning
-Steampunk vehicles with magic
-Shattering worldviews of scientists
-Beings different than you'd expect
-Competency being rewarded

Cons:
-Wish I had found it when I was younger, but I can suggest it for a lot of my cousins kids now

"Two novel-length steampunk adventures from the author of the wildly successful Murderbot Diaries.

Together in one volume for the first time:

Emilie and the Hollow World
Running away from home and stowing away on the wrong ship, Emilie embarks on a fantastic adventure.

Emilie learns that the crew hopes to use an experimental engine to journey to the interior of the planet, but when the ship becomes damaged on arrival and evidence points to sabotage, they encounter the treacherous Lord Ivers, along with a strange new race.

Can Emilie and her new-found friends possibly reach the surface world again?

Emilie and the Sky-World
When Emilie arrives in Silk Harbor, Professor Abindon, an old colleague of her friend Lady Marlende, warns them of something strange and potentially deadly in the sky, a disruption in an upper air aether current. On further investigation they realize it’s a ship from another aetheric plane.

How to determine if it’s a friendly explorer, or something far more sinister? Nothing less than a journey into the dangerous air currents will do.

Join Emilie and she navigates the strange landscapes of the upper air, and the deadly menace that inhabits the Sky World."

If anyone can bring back Steampunk literature it's Martha Wells!