Notes from the Shelf

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Book Summary

Emily Wilde has always studied faeries—but now she must rule them.
When the brilliant dryadologist is crowned queen of a faerie realm alongside her charming fiancé Wendell Bambleby, she’s plunged into a world of enchantment, danger, and royal politics. With a cursed kingdom, a vanishing villain, and a crown that doesn’t quite fit, Emily must rely on her academic wits and Wendell’s unpredictable magic to survive a story that’s quickly turning dark.

My Thoughts

Emily Wilde’s Compendium of Lost Tales is book three to the Emily Wilde series by Heather Fawcett and is the conclusion to the series.

I really liked how all the characters from the past books came into play in this last one, as well as all the past events. Everything built up together into the book and it came together wonderfully. Every character served a purpose to further the story along.

There were much less footnotes in the later half of the book with everything else going on. Emily becomes more personally invested and doesn’t have time to be scholarly with the threats everywhere, which I know some people didn’t like the footnotes as much so maybe that’ll be better if that’s the case for you. For me, I really liked the footnotes aspect so it was a bit weird to not have them, but I like the evolution of Emily’s character to not have the need to add the footnotes and write more personally.

This book does get into more of the politics of Wendell’s realm, which could maybe be viewed as tedious for some readers, but I don’t think it was overly done, so it was still enjoyable for me.

Final Thoughts

I thoroughly enjoyed this book as well as the whole Emily Wilde series. Compendium of Lost Tales is a satisfying ending to a magical series. I loved how it ties everything together, from returning characters to plot threads from previous books, without it ever feeling rushed. Emily’s personal growth really shines, with her evolving voice reflecting how far she’s come from the footnote-heavy scholar in the first book.

I’m sad to say goodbye to Emily and Wendell, but I’d happily return to this world if Heather Fawcett ever writes more for the series!

If you’re interested in reading ‘Emily Wilde’s Compendium of Lost Tales’, consider purchasing it through Bookshop.org. Supporting this link helps sustain independent bookstores and keeps this blog thriving.

Read my other reviews for the Emily Wilde series:

Book Review: Emily Wilde’s Encyclopedia of Faeries

Book Review: Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands by Heather Fawcett

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