Emily Wilde's Map of the Otherlands

“Assassins are a monstrous breed. Either they attack when you are at your worst, or they are having a go at you on your birthday. I have never known a more dishonourable profession.” Another fun little adventure with Ms. Emily as she attempts to thwart the assasination attempts on Wendell by his evil half-fae-half-human stepmother, all while working on her latest project.

Just like the first, this book is full of a whimsical view of the Folk and their realms. It was also a lovely look into Wendel's story. The more I read the more I see myself in Emily. I love her quirkiness and bluntness. Cannot wait for the next installment; or to see where our dryadologists lead us next.

4.5/5

I am aware that mine is no easy task, given that faerie doors can and do move, and what I will accomplish is likely to be a mere snapshot of Faerie during this particular era. Even so, it will be a monumental achievement for scholarship, something for others to build upon—particularly if I can produce evidence of such disputed doors as the nexus.

Emily and Wendell are back for another magical adventure. This time there's faerie assassins after Bambleby, sent by his stepmother and current queen of his realm, who's appearance at Cambridge put in jeopardy his secret identity and worse even: Emily's tenure! Out of options Emily believes the only way to put a stop to the attacks is by finding Wendell's door to his realm, a plan that takes them all the way to a small town in Austria. But they're in more danger than they realize and this quest could be their last.

Heather Fawcett you've done it again you little rascal. Yes, I do believe that this suffers from second book sydrome (at least to me) but my issues with this book are so little they only took 0.5 out of my rating. That and the fact that the cheer of the new year is over and I'm back to being a hater. Overall this was fun, cozy but still having claws, comforting without dumbing it down. I had a great time reading it, just like the first book.

My two biggest issues were the side characters and the last 20% or so of the book, quite minor if you ask me. I never cared for Rose, in a completely neutral way. I could understand his position and his point of view, but I don't feel like he contributed much to the plot. Ariadne was ok, she just felt too basic and lacking depth. The village characters were not like the ones from the first book which I was ok with so it was weird when they gained relevance because we didn't really know them. It was HILARIOUS when Danielle de Grey finally showed up after two books of build up only for her to be a lowkey asshole. Of course she has green hair and pronouns LMAO. Never meet your heroes

I gave Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries 5 stars, and I think I liked this sequel even more. I don't know if it's due to a change in the way Emily the character sees people or if it's due to having met some of these people before, but the characters felt more detailed. I felt much more attached and fond of Wendell in this book and I really enjoyed the understated comfort of Emily's romance with him vs feeling like it was a weaker aspect of the previous book. This story also seemed more adventurous and fast paced, which I enjoyed despite not having any issue with the slower pace of the previous story. I am curious to see where the series goes from here. I recommend the audiobooks for this series, they suit the tone so well.

Content Warnings:
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body horror, Violence, and Blood
Minor: Death, Murder, Alcohol, Gore, and Sexual content

I love everything about this series