Originally posted on my blog Nonstop Reader.
Emily Wilde's Map of the Otherlands is the second book in this delightful historical cozy fantasy by Heather Fawcett. Released 16th Jan 2024 by Penguin Random House on their Ballantine imprint, it's 352 pages and is available in hardcover, paperback, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout.
This is a historical academic fantasy with light romance elements set in Edwardian England and is so beautifully written that the descriptive prose is occasionally breathtaking. The titular protagonist, Dr. Emily Wilde, is a prickly strong-willed academic who is performing field studies to categorize and understand the fae. This often lands her and her colleagues in dangerous situations, though she usually manages to extricate herself using her prodigious knowledge and sheer will (and cleverness). She finds it easier to confine herself to codifying the unspoken rules which govern the fair folk than to understand the same with her fellow humans.
There is (naturally) an element of slow-burn romance in the form of an undisguised frenemy (now firmly in the romantic lead role), the exasperating (but devilishly handsome) Dr. Wendell Brambleby, well-born (he's royalty in exile), charming, and infuriatingly indolent. It's marketed as a YA selection, so there are some smouldering kisses, but nothing outré or explicit.
For fans of Katherine Arden, Natasha Pulley, Cat Rambo, and Catherynne Valente, this book will recall the wonderful feelings from those authors' books. It's not derivative in any way, but it *is* magical. I also enjoyed that despite being set in the early Edwardian period, the author doesn't have any problems dispensing with the more annoyingly rigid social mores of the time. Dr. Wilde is refreshingly forward thinking and the book more or less simply ignores the inconvenient proscriptions against women being unchaperoned and engaging in academic careers on a somewhat level playing field with their male colleagues.
The unabridged audiobook format has a run time of 12 hours 4 minutes and is expertly narrated by Ell Potter, and Michael Dodds. They both have eminently listenable voices and make a nice contrast to one another; Ms. Potter's cut glass RP accent here contrasting nicely with Mr. Dodds' lower tenor Irish lilt. Sound and production quality are high throughout the read.
Five stars. Gorgeous. It's a continuing series, and would make a great short binge/buddy read.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.