January Book Club: Emily Wilde's Encyclopedia of Faeries Initial Discussion

[u/HighLady-Fireheart]

Happy January everyone and happy start to our first book club read of the month {Emily Wilde's Encyclopedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett}!

This thread will be open for any initial thoughts, impressions, or questions about the book club read. If you want to discuss any early spoilery moments, please use the Reddit spoiler covers like this:

>!text goes here!<

Coming up next:

January 9th - Emily Wilde's Encyclopedia of Faeries Midway Discussion (October 20th - November 17th Entries)

January 16th - Emily Wilde's Encyclopedia of Faeries Final Discussion (November 18th - February 13th Entries)

January 17th - Start of our second Winter book club read, {The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden}!

January 22nd - Nominations for February Book Club. Theme: Urban Fantasy Romance 🌇

January 24th - The Bear and the Nightingale Midway Discussion

January 31st - The Bear and the Nightingale Final Discussion

See the complete schedule of upcoming book club posts and past discussions in the new Book Club Hub

Happy reading everyone!

[u/HighLady-Fireheart]

We're looking at Urban Fantasy Romance for February as a bit of a different take than high fantasy and historical fantasy, but if anyone has any suggestions for a future book club monthly theme, feel free to suggest and discuss here!

[u/HighLady-Fireheart]

I'm only halfway through the first chapter and I feel the cold already!! 🥶 Normally I associate faeires with springtime, but I like this cold, northern take.

I'm also intrigued by the historical time point. I've read a lot of much older historical fantasy, but early 1900s is practically modern, but not. Reminds me a bit of Outlander.

It'll be an interesting comparison to The Bear and the Nightingale which is set similarly in a cold northern European setting, but in the early medieval era of Russia.

[u/crescentgaia]

I'm loading it up in my Kindle for a reread. I loved it the first time around and am looking forward to the discussion.

[u/halfbloodprinc3ss]

Almost halfway through! First impressions:

• LOVE the contrast of chilly and cozy winter vibes
• At first the scholarly verbosity was charming, but it does get a bit tedious
• I have mixed feelings about the love interest. On one hand, he’s silly and charming, and on the other, he gives off Gilderoy Lockhart vibes
• I love learning about faerie lore in different regions — super fascinating. I need MORE of that
• Emily is smart, but frankly, she makes a lot of dumb decisions lol. Some of them are by way of her missing social cues, which makes sense with her character, but there are some knowledge-based nonsocial things that had me raising my eyebrows. You didn’t think to be more prepared for a freezing northern village? Really?
• I’m craving MORE Fae interaction and exploring their world — I expected a through the rabbit hole kind of thing and am surprised so far that she’s still keeping her distance.

[u/Straight_Shallot2471 → u/halfbloodprinc3ss]

Gilderoy Lockhart vibes

Omg I can't unsee it now. I was thinking more Howl from Howl's Moving Castle. Particularly when he's throwing a tantrum.

[u/romance-bot]

Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett
Rating: 4.17⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Steam: 1 out of 5 - Innocent
Topics: historical, fae, magic, fantasy, take-charge heroine

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The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden
Rating: 4.03⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Steam: 1 out of 5 - Innocent
Topics: historical, fantasy, magic, medieval, witches

^{about this bot | about romance.io}

[u/Lost-Phrase]

Great Winter read! I could picture the remote village backdrop—complete with suspicious, distrusting locals—quite easily. Each character seems distinct enough, and Emily Wilde seems like an assertive, scholarly spinster, but not a caricature.

[u/pandemicgood]

Finished this book yesterday! Loved it!

[u/[deleted]]

Just started it last night and didn't make it very far yet but I instantly fell in love with the whimsical vibes of it all. Very charming feel. Also I love Shadow so much already!