More fantastically fae fun

This series has slowly but surely become one of my favorites, like slowly falling in love with a wonderful thing made up of many wonderful things. I not only stand by my statement that it’s one of the best academic rivals to lovers series I’ve ever read (though undoubtedly there’s more of that trope in the first book), but its narrative style is just so creative and captivating. Emily Wilde herself is already a fascinating character — incredibly intelligent, grumpy dryadologist and Cambridge professor that she is — but reading her misadventures through her journal entries only makes her unique character traits all the more interesting. She has such a calculable brain, dry sense of humor, and impeccable memory. I can’t get enough of her endearingly witty descriptions (ultimately a testament to the skill of author Fawcett!) of dialogue, social interactions, observations of Fae and humans alike, and feelings for Wendell. I was excited to see another instance of Wendell hijacking the journal to leave his own entry, thus giving us his equally witty if not more aloof voice as a character I majorly love. I adore their romance and its importance to the story without being the entire story. At its heart, this series is about Emily’s innate passion for knowing and understanding as much as she can about Faerie, particularly what she can do to help the exiled Irish Fae king she has come to love after years of denial and charming ignorance. I truly have yet to find a book with more exquisite banter than this one. I’ve kicked my feet and giggled on multiple airplanes reading both the first and second installments. Among the beautiful (and often terrifying) descriptions of the Folk and reappearance of sweet little Poe, I liked the small host of new characters we got to meet. Rose, though traditional to a close fault, hypocritical, and a nuisance more than once, had character development I didn’t anticipate on liking as much as I did. I also loved Ariadne’s curiosity and moments of quiet fire — the evolution of her and Emily’s estranged relationship was also something I really enjoyed reading. I think the presently existing books in this series  both follow a similar narrative pattern that feels productive more than repetitive: a certain kind of researched quest must be fulfilled, the company of characters travels to said place for what ends up being shenanigans they didn’t but probably should’ve expected, and Emily ends up venturing into depths of Faerie she shouldn’t be able to escape, saving the day in unconventional but admirable ways. I really admire how she possesses the intellect and bravery to get herself out of nearly every situation, acting as the hero and savior for her charmingly superficial lover. The series of events propelling the first book forward bled into this book’s plot very well. I pulled out my pen on one of the last pages and wrote “there better be a third book.” Turning the last page to see the message “The story of Emily Wilde and Wendell Bambleby will continue in Book 3.” brought me no small amount of joy. Now it’s just a matter of waiting, considering I drove to my nearest Barnes and Noble the day this book came out and promptly bought it. Knowing I’ve found a series I anticipate nearly as much as I did ACOTAR makes the wait more than worth it. :)



Some of my favorite quotes from Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands:

“There is nothing trivial about good coffee.”

“I don’t like to hold his gaze for long; not because I find it intimidating, but because a part of me worries that if I do, I will never wish to look away.”

“‘I think you just want to hold hands,’ I muttered, though I did not mind.
‘That wouldn’t be very gentlemanly.’
‘You aren’t a gentleman.’
‘In fact, plenty of Folk are gentlemen. And plenty of mortal men are not.’”

“‘Is there anything I can do?’
‘Yes,’ he murmured. ‘Say that you’ll marry me.’
‘God.’ So he was well enough to tease me, at least—that was some relief.”

“‘You made a castle,’ I said faintly.
‘An abomination of a castle.’”

“‘If your precious hills and forests unleash their monsters upon me, I shall become the most gruesome of ghosts and haunt you for eternity.’”

“‘You will show me,’ I murmured to the cloak. “You will show me all, when you are well again.’
It was both a promise and a prayer.”

“Em, I must confess—I am in awe of you. I believe I am also a little frightened.”

“How I missed you.
‘It was only a day!’ I can hear you reply. Well, a day is far too long.”

“‘I will be with you,’ I said quietly. ‘I’m not going anywhere.’”

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