Have you ever really liked a book and not had a helluva lot to say about what makes it good?
Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries was on my radar but I wouldn’t have picked it up if it weren’t for some time if it weren’t for my book club. The person who suggested it is not a big genre girlie like me either.
The main character has subtle coding for possible ASD or some flavor of ND. She’s very unemotional, logical, and socially awkward. Her previous paramour was overtly ASD and she loved that. Changelings or being half fae was often used to explain ND centuries ago. It makes sense a character whose brain works differently would better understand creatures like the fae. There was also a casually queer side character. I loved that bit of representation and no one was fussed about it.
I liked the world, the magic, the characters both human and fae. I’m glad this is the start of the series. The ending was satisfying for the arc of the this story but left plenty of room for more. I’d like to see how the wider world is with fae being real and acknowledged. The writing is good and exactly what I’d expect from first person historical fantasy. It’s very reflective of the character’s voice and has a hint of the style from that time period.
It’s well done and lots of fun. I look forward to diving into the rest of the series. The second book came out this year and the third will be out next year. 4/5
JesseJaneReads 