Emily Wilde's Map of the Otherlands - Heather Fawcett
Charming but somewhat slow follow-up, yet it manged to keep the slow pace a pace I could enjoy. Emily Wilde, a socially awkward creature, takes his adventure into the mysterious faerie realms known as the Otherlands. The book expands on faerie lore and the world-building is vivid, but it feels a little bogged down by its pace and a lack of urgency. At times making this feel like a drag to maintain.
Emily’s relationship with Wendell Bambleby, her fae-like colleague, does progress, offering some cute moments of banter and tension, but the romantic and emotional... Mostly I just was not there for it. While I appreciated the cozy, whimsical tone and the faerie myths, it didn’t quite hold my interest throughout.
l love how flirty Wendell is with Emily, got me blushing. I get her not being certain, but it’s obvious she really cares for him.
I think this one had good pacing and more action, which was well-written. It did kind of stall in the middle, but the poisoning provided good urgency and high enough stakes to keep it interesting. Wendell’s step mother was really interesting, I actually hope she’s not dead. I assume we’ll find out more about her brother who helped Wendell.
It’ll be interesting seeing Emily deal with the courtly fae and all of their politicking. I loved the progression of Emily and Wendell’s romance. They have such cute banter and the delay of her acceptance of the marriage proposal added a cute bit of tension. Like you always knew she was going to say yes, but the delay just increased the sweetness for me.
Overall, I found the concept more enjoyable than the execution. It’s a decent read and you get some faire lore for those who are interested in that. Overall, it did not deliver to the potential it had promised.
