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unluckycat13's review against another edition
This book sucks. This is a romance novel masquerading as a general fantasy story, but containing basically every negative romance trope. Main character fails to do something and needs the man to rescue her? Consistently. One wonders how she even survived in the world before he got there. There are worse issues in the book though.
It's also unclear how such an amazing person, who's so powerful, the most knowledgeable about fae in the world, the most competent, the most talented, able to do so much on a shoestring budget and often mostly alone, is so widely disrespected and unknown. I applaud an author who makes being a woman or LGBT not subject to discrimination and prejudice, but the author surely must understand those are the reasons why a character in this situation would normally be disrespected and have their work ignored. Even the authors this book is in homage to faced this situation, and it is why their books are like that both in how they're written and the general reception.
What we have here is the most talented and amazing woman to ever live, who is more impressive than many of the impossible folk tales she collects, who is smarter, harder working, more talented than seemingly any of her peers, with singular insight lacking by everyone else in the world-- And no one knows or cares who she is. Not the fairies, not her colleagues, all cause she's not very sociable? Come on.
To add to that, the earth shattering nature of her adventures and finding in this book (which surely continue into the future books, but seemingly mostly didn't happen in any previous book) paint a picture of her life as just starting with this book. It breaks the illusion that she's a character with an entire life prior.
One of the larger disappointments in this book for me, aside from the romance, is the fairies. Poe is honestly quite the interesting creature... Who ultimately is just a human being who looks weird. As you get to the courtly fae, they indeed are also just dudes. Even the things it describes in them such as their moody natures where their emotions flip on a dime is something probably anyone could observe in other human beings. Sure we can't create ice swords from tears (oh wait, we can do that too), but they're just attractive people. It's baffling.
Ultimately this book is only fulfilling if you're reading it for the romance where Emily comes to realize how awesome and actually flawless her male companion is (for even his flaws are really just also awesome and endearing), and love him. Any other aspect of this book will be a let down as it increasingly goes in the direction that you can read in just about any het-romance book.
Shout out to the moment where the main character mentions that Irish folk lore seems to have been "christianized" at some point but she doesn't know why, how, or by who. Is that supposed to be a character flaw on her end or is the author making a joke?
I also feel compelled to add there is a scene where they torture a child which did not sit right with me. The child is not evil, the child is literally abandoned by his parents and hated by his foster parents. He's probably one of the more innocent people in this book and is looked down on with more disdain than the courtly fae who are hollowing people out for fun. When you add to this that changelings were kind of historically just an excuse to torture autistic or otherwise disabled children, the distressing aspects of the scene are renewed. It pushes Emily over an event horizon of not just being a little immoral or maybe having her own sense of justice, she's quite explicitly a little bit evil although the book would not present her as such. This book in general seems to have very little empathy towards children. I realize not having much empathy is a trait Emily has at the start which she slowly learns to get over as she becomes more suitably womanly for her male love interest, but I think this book is particularly weird about children.
It's actually unclear in general what causes Emily to grow a heart here when she seemingly never had one before except that it makes her more feminine to contrast against her suitor.
It's also unclear how such an amazing person, who's so powerful, the most knowledgeable about fae in the world, the most competent, the most talented, able to do so much on a shoestring budget and often mostly alone, is so widely disrespected and unknown. I applaud an author who makes being a woman or LGBT not subject to discrimination and prejudice, but the author surely must understand those are the reasons why a character in this situation would normally be disrespected and have their work ignored. Even the authors this book is in homage to faced this situation, and it is why their books are like that both in how they're written and the general reception.
What we have here is the most talented and amazing woman to ever live, who is more impressive than many of the impossible folk tales she collects, who is smarter, harder working, more talented than seemingly any of her peers, with singular insight lacking by everyone else in the world-- And no one knows or cares who she is. Not the fairies, not her colleagues, all cause she's not very sociable? Come on.
To add to that, the earth shattering nature of her adventures and finding in this book (which surely continue into the future books, but seemingly mostly didn't happen in any previous book) paint a picture of her life as just starting with this book. It breaks the illusion that she's a character with an entire life prior.
One of the larger disappointments in this book for me, aside from the romance, is the fairies. Poe is honestly quite the interesting creature... Who ultimately is just a human being who looks weird. As you get to the courtly fae, they indeed are also just dudes. Even the things it describes in them such as their moody natures where their emotions flip on a dime is something probably anyone could observe in other human beings. Sure we can't create ice swords from tears (oh wait, we can do that too), but they're just attractive people. It's baffling.
Ultimately this book is only fulfilling if you're reading it for the romance where Emily comes to realize how awesome and actually flawless her male companion is (for even his flaws are really just also awesome and endearing), and love him. Any other aspect of this book will be a let down as it increasingly goes in the direction that you can read in just about any het-romance book.
Shout out to the moment where the main character mentions that Irish folk lore seems to have been "christianized" at some point but she doesn't know why, how, or by who. Is that supposed to be a character flaw on her end or is the author making a joke?
I also feel compelled to add there is a scene where they torture a child which did not sit right with me. The child is not evil, the child is literally abandoned by his parents and hated by his foster parents. He's probably one of the more innocent people in this book and is looked down on with more disdain than the courtly fae who are hollowing people out for fun. When you add to this that changelings were kind of historically just an excuse to torture autistic or otherwise disabled children, the distressing aspects of the scene are renewed. It pushes Emily over an event horizon of not just being a little immoral or maybe having her own sense of justice, she's quite explicitly a little bit evil although the book would not present her as such. This book in general seems to have very little empathy towards children. I realize not having much empathy is a trait Emily has at the start which she slowly learns to get over as she becomes more suitably womanly for her male love interest, but I think this book is particularly weird about children.
It's actually unclear in general what causes Emily to grow a heart here when she seemingly never had one before except that it makes her more feminine to contrast against her suitor.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse
Minor: Child death and Alcohol
Romancesophiesmallhands's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping
Moderate: Blood, Violence, and Gore
Minor: Vomit, Child death, Death, and Child abuse
indigo_fox's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I could not put this book down! It was everything I wanted and more! The first couple chapters were kind of boring, I didn't think I would end up liking the book. But once it got past the set up things really took off.
The characters are absolutely lovable. I'm a huge fan of Wendell, seriously I'd do anything for him. His boisterous personality is just so fun and engaging, I couldn't tear my eyes away from the page whenever he was in the scene. Wendell and Emily have excellent chemistry, their bantering is so much fun to read. The dialog between them is great, I have a whole bunch of favorite parts marked.
There were times when Emily made me mad. Some of her decisions were a bit sketchy. But I still liked her as a character. She's mousey and intelligent, and I love how awkward she is in social situations.
The story itself was fun. I love all things fey so getting to read a story about someone studying the folk was the best thing ever. It was fun following Emily as she unraveled the mysterious surrounding the folk of Ljosland. I found the side characters to be enjoyable too. Ari, Poe, Aud and Thora were some of my faves.The changeling Ari will always have a special place in my heart (I play a changeling in d&d). I wish I could remember his true name but I didn't write it down before returning my library copy!
The world building is great. Fawcett did a great job of twisting lore into her story. I loved all the little stories that were sprinkled throughout the text, and the little at the end of each chapter. I feel like these two things helped to flesh out the world.
The folk in the book were great too. We got to see various sides from whimsical and fun to dark and dangerous.
The characters are absolutely lovable. I'm a huge fan of Wendell, seriously I'd do anything for him. His boisterous personality is just so fun and engaging, I couldn't tear my eyes away from the page whenever he was in the scene. Wendell and Emily have excellent chemistry, their bantering is so much fun to read. The dialog between them is great, I have a whole bunch of favorite parts marked.
There were times when Emily made me mad. Some of her decisions were a bit sketchy. But I still liked her as a character. She's mousey and intelligent, and I love how awkward she is in social situations.
The story itself was fun. I love all things fey so getting to read a story about someone studying the folk was the best thing ever. It was fun following Emily as she unraveled the mysterious surrounding the folk of Ljosland. I found the side characters to be enjoyable too. Ari, Poe, Aud and Thora were some of my faves.
The world building is great. Fawcett did a great job of twisting lore into her story. I loved all the little stories that were sprinkled throughout the text, and the little at the end of each chapter. I feel like these two things helped to flesh out the world.
The folk in the book were great too. We got to see various sides from whimsical and fun to dark and dangerous.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Kidnapping, Death, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal death and Child abuse
meremeth's review
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Such a wonderful comfort read. Absolutely fell in love with the characters. Good, but not overly complicated world building, and loveable, fully fleshed out side characters.
Content Warnings
Minor: Child abuse
trollmila's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Ultimately really liked it and will be picking up the sequel on payday!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail and Blood
Moderate: Alcohol and Animal death
Minor: Abandonment, Alcohol, Child abuse, and Confinement
reclusivebookslug's review against another edition
funny
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
I gave this a 3-star rating the first time I read this book (on another edition), but my expectations were exceeded while rereading this in preparation for reading the sequel. There is something so relaxing and comforting about the way this book is written. It's very re-readable. I'm glad to have added this to my collection of owned books.
Wendell feels like a combination of Astarion from BG3 and Howl from Howl's Moving Castle (the book) in personality. He's a silly, lazy pretty boy, but also so much more than that beyond the surface. He's so fun to read, expecially in combination with Emily's more serious nature. Poe is also a favorite of mine.
A possible downside to Fawcett's writing style here is that there are not a lot of high-intensity suspenseful moments, but I actually experienced this as a good thing for the most part. Sometimes you want something more chill, and this is perfect for that. This effect I think is the result of a combination of factors including: Fawcett's writing voice, the narrator's somewhat detatched, scholarly personality, and the journal setup (which always implies a safe outcome for the protagonist and means that readers don't experience the events in the moment but after the fact with reflection). All this is not to say that the book is boring at all, it's just a different style and perspective that suits a certain reading mood but may not be everyone's cup of tea.
My only true criticism is that I preferchangelings to be portrayed in a more positive, empathetic light than is done here. Changelings are such an interesting piece of folklore and I love to see them in fiction, but I want to see the typical trope subverted.
Wendell feels like a combination of Astarion from BG3 and Howl from Howl's Moving Castle (the book) in personality. He's a silly, lazy pretty boy, but also so much more than that beyond the surface. He's so fun to read, expecially in combination with Emily's more serious nature. Poe is also a favorite of mine.
A possible downside to Fawcett's writing style here is that there are not a lot of high-intensity suspenseful moments, but I actually experienced this as a good thing for the most part. Sometimes you want something more chill, and this is perfect for that. This effect I think is the result of a combination of factors including: Fawcett's writing voice, the narrator's somewhat detatched, scholarly personality, and the journal setup (which always implies a safe outcome for the protagonist and means that readers don't experience the events in the moment but after the fact with reflection). All this is not to say that the book is boring at all, it's just a different style and perspective that suits a certain reading mood but may not be everyone's cup of tea.
My only true criticism is that I prefer
Content Warnings
Minor: Injury/Injury detail and Child abuse
thefatgingerone's review
I wanted to love the book but the scene of torturing a changeling child really disturbed me. So much of the language used is similar to language that used to be used about disabled children and it’s clearly a metaphor for disabled children but the actions towards the child are disgusting and disturbing. The fact that the protagonist is never called out or faces repercussions for her actions was so upsetting to me. Ruined what would have been a lovely story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Medical trauma, Forced institutionalization, Emotional abuse, Animal death, Abandonment, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Kidnapping, Blood, and Physical abuse
thewarbler's review
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse
bellebeaumont95's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Vomit, Gore, and Child abuse
jaynovara's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Injury/Injury detail, Confinement, Kidnapping, Abandonment, Animal death, Body horror, and Child abuse