WOMS: Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands

If all books about the fae were more like Emily Wilde’s adventures, I might read more stories about them.

Emily and Bambleby are back in this second installment, Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands, of Heather Fawcett’s series reminiscent of Marie Brennan’s Lady Trent series, just with excursions to discover and research the fae in their natural habitats, not dragons.

Perhaps that is what I love most about this series, though I’m sure I already shared the same sentiments in my previous review of the first book, Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries. I adore the epistolary format, especially that it’s more of a scientist’s research journal than some woebegone teenager. I still don’t know how Fawcett comes up with those footnotes. They’re the best part!

In this next adventure, Emily and Bambleby are thrown deep into the throes of faerie land as they search for an entry to Bambleby’s home world. (We learned in book one he’s a fae princeling, banished by his wicked stepmother, and is trying to find a way back home since the throne is rightfully his.) Whilst trying to negotiate with the local fae in the treacherous Austrian Alps, they must also narrowly avoid attempted assassinations from Bambleby’s stepmother. Now that he’s revealed himself to the fae again, removing his mortal disguise, the attacks are getting more and more brash and fiendish. (How like the fae.)

I think what I appreciate most about Emily and her adventures with the fae compared to the other stories I hinted at earlier is she’s not easily seduced by their fairness or glamours. In fact, she understands them on a fundamentally logical level as a dryadologist who has devoted her life to studying these mysterious beings, but she doesn’t allow the supposed facts of her mortal observation dictate every truth to her. Sure, there are times she finds herself struggling against her own narrow perspective, but like any good scientist, she keeps an open mind and allows her perspective to alter and shift based on new data she extrapolates.

She’s quite similar to Irene from Genevieve Cogman’s Invisible Library series as much as Lady Trent in that she’s level-headed and takes the rational approach to danger.

Whether or not that is similar to me, I cannot say. I’m such an emotional creature, and I’ve spent the majority of my life learning to not be controlled by them. However, it is quite similar to my sister (the astrophysicist I enjoy bragging about because I’m just super proud of her and all she’s accomplished despite the challenges life has thrown at her). Perhaps that’s why being inside the mind of a character like Emily is so comforting and familiar.

Bambleby, though, is not a stereotypical fae prince either. Sure, he thinks himself to be the most dashing and handsome person around, but this confidence doesn’t extend into arrogance or conceitedness often attributed to the fae. In fact, he frequently sacrifices himself or uses his magical powers to aid Emily, putting himself in danger. It’s apparent how deeply he loves her, and how willing he is to give her whatever she requires to make her research successful. His character is refreshing to read, a somewhat humanized fae princeling, kind of like Legolas if I’m honest; though, he’s an elf. (Don’t tell Bambleby. He might take offence.)

I won’t entirely spoil this book for you in the hopes I’ve convinced you to read it for yourself, so without revealing too much about the ending, I am ecstatic to read what comes next for our enigmatic pair as they’ve uncovered more than just a backdoor to Bambleby’s world, allowing Emily to slip in unawares and discover the plot behind their attempted assassinations. It is going to be quite a high stakes chase for them to recover Bambleby’s home from the clutches of a dark and vengeful curse, but I’ve perhaps gone and said too much already.

Just go read it for yourself! Emily and Bambleby will be back next year in her Compendium of Lost Tales. Mark your calendars because you won’t want to miss it!

Follow me on Goodreads to see what I might review next, and Instagram for more daily content!