Emily Wilde has spent her life studying faeries. A renowned dryadologist, she has documented hundreds of species of Folk in her Encyclopaedia of Faeries. Now she is about to embark on her most dangerous academic project yet: studying the inner workings of a faerie realm—as its queen.

Along with her former academic rival—now fiancé—the dashing and mercurial Wendell Bambleby, Emily is immediately thrust into the deadly intrigues of Faerie as the two of them seize the throne of Wendell’s long-lost kingdom, which Emily finds a beautiful nightmare filled with scholarly treasures.

Emily has been obsessed with faerie stories her entire life, but at first she feels as ill-suited to Faerie as she did to the mortal world: How can an unassuming scholar such as herself pass for a queen? Yet there is little time to settle in, for Wendell’s murderous stepmother has placed a deadly curse upon the land before vanishing without a trace. It will take all of Wendell’s magic—and Emily’s knowledge of stories—to unravel the mystery before they lose everything they hold dear.

Book Three of the Emily Wilde Series

In Book three of the Emily Wilde series, Heather Fawcett has continued her charming and full of wonder narrative surrounding Emily Wilde, as Emily comes to terms with the immortal world, her place beside Wendell and the mystery of a deadly curse. Once again Emily’s knowledge of fairy tales must help unravel the curse before it is too late. 

One of the aspects I like the most is the research that is obvious in the telling of the series. Just as in the previous two books, the mingling of fairytales and romance is a charming mix, inviting the reader into Emily’s world. I love that Emily is nothing as we expect but is a force to be reckoned with, both in her knowledge and her ability to love. 

This novel in particular focuses as much on the politics of Faerie and Wendell regaining his kingdom. In the process, we learn more about his background as well as Emily’s but the focus on stories is the key to the curse and to the beautiful ending.

If you like stories that are charming and full of wonder, this one is the one for you. With this being a strong continuation of the previous novel, I do suggest you read the previous two books in the series. At least the previous book is required to fully enjoy this one, the third in the series. I love the whimy, the fairy tales and most of all the romance between Wendell and Emily. 

5 out of 5 dryadologists

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