Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced review copy of this book.
Format: Digital ARC
CW: violence, injury, animal death, gore, death, murder, fire, alcohol, kidnapping.
Publisher’s Summary | Skip to Review
Rose asked me why I was not more surprised by your feat. He does not understand you as I do, Em, but as you seem to consider him a friend now, I told him the truth: in order to be surprised, I could not have known already that you are capable of anything. (QUOTE FROM THE UNCORRECTED PROOF COPY)
Summary from the publisher
Emily Wilde is a genius scholar of faerie folklore who just wrote the world’s first comprehensive encyclopaedia of faeries. She’s learned many of the secrets of the Hidden Ones on her adventures . . . and also from her fellow scholar and former rival Wendell Bambleby.
Because Bambleby is more than infuriatingly charming. He’s an exiled faerie king on the run from his murderous mother and in search of a door back to his realm. And despite Emily’s feelings for Bambleby, she’s not ready to accept his proposal of marriage: Loving one of the Fair Folk comes with secrets and dangers.
She also has a new project to focus on: a map of the realms of faerie. While she is preparing her research, Bambleby lands her in trouble yet again, when assassins sent by his mother invade Cambridge. Now Bambleby and Emily are on another adventure, this time to the picturesque Austrian Alps, where Emily believes they may find the door to Bambleby’s realm and the key to freeing him from his family’s dark plans.
But with new relationships for the prickly Emily to navigate and dangerous Folk lurking in every forest and hollow, Emily must unravel the mysterious workings of faerie doors and of her own heart.
Review
I am so in love with this series — I can not wait for the next installment!
I was a little afraid that this would suffer from “Second Book Syndrome,” but it was just as good (if not better) than the first. There were several mysteries to solve, but it never felt too convoluted or confusing. There were moments in the middle of the book that would have dragged in the hands of a less talented author, but just as the pace starts to slow, the story ratchets back up: old friends arrive, new fae make mischief, clues are revealed.
The dynamic between the main characters is so well done in this series. The romance is tender and real (and very slow burn) with very few instances of cheese and sticky sweetness, which I don’t always love. Their banter is clever and hilarious
I loved how we got a deep dive into Faerie. I’ve been really curious about the other lands. To put it short: I want to stumble into a hidden doorway and explore it forever (without losing my mind, obvi). It’s so easy to get lost in Heather’s writing and really get immersed into the world Faerie. I won’t give any spoilers, but I loved every minute of it.
The only thing missing was more interactions with the village and village life. That was one of my favorite parts of the first book, and I wish it was present here too.
Rating: 4.5 kitties!
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