A Cambridge professor specializing in the study of faeries gets more than she bargained for when she goes meddling in the Folk's business. Emily Wilde arrives in the Scandinavian country of Ljosland with a singular goal: to become the first scholar to confirm and formally document the existence of Ljosland's legendary faeries. As a dryadologist--a sort of anthropologist specializing in the fae--Emily has spent a lifetime studying these nigh unknowable creatures. She receives a cold welcome in the village of Hrafnsvik, however, and a troublesomely handsome and infuriating colleague named Wendell Bambleby soon shows up to offer help, leaving her with no choice but to accept it. Emily and Wendell's relationships with the locals grow even more strained when they begin investigating the courtly fae--that is, the "tall ones": humanlike fae who bewitch humans and replace their children with changelings--and she accidentally blows Wendell's cover as a fae prince exiled from his court. The tall ones have plagued Hrafnsvik for years, returning their children as empty husks when they deign to return them at all. The kidnapping of a local woodcutter and her girlfriend spurs Emily to action for not altogether altruistic reasons. After all, what better way is there to report on Ljosland's courtly fae than by going to their lands herself? Rescuing the women buys Emily and Wendell some grace with the locals but creates a domino effect that eventually turns Emily into the unwitting heroine of a fairy tale very much like those she records. Emily's first-person account of her story tends toward purple prose, which may turn off some readers. Once Wendell enters the story, however, the fae prince's charm radiates both on and off the page, and his conversations with Emily give the novel some much-needed jaunt. A somewhat uneven novel that will nevertheless charm readers of cozy fantasies. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

In Fawcett's slow-moving but atmospheric debut adult fantasy (after YA Even the Darkest Stars), a socially awkward Cambridge professor heads to the frost-coated fictional country of Ljosland in an alternate 1909 where tangling with faeries is commonplace. The tale is presented as the journal of dryadologist Emily Wilde as she documents her research for the eponymous encyclopedia. These journal entries work well at giving readers a window into the voice and personality of an extremely introverted and detached heroine, but they don't make the aloof, academic Emily any easier to root for. As Emily becomes more involved with the Ljosland locals and their faerie troubles--and meets a changeling fae, who has swapped places with a local infant--Wendell Bambleby, Emily's colleague, professional rival, and only friend, arrives, claiming to want to help. Emily's less than thrilled, as she distrusts Wendell's methods and suspects that he himself may be a fae. Though the first entry in Emily's journal hints at the high stakes of her work, the plot itself is more concerned with unpacking her relationships; danger doesn't rear its head until the very end. Still, the extensive faerie lore and lush descriptions of the wintry setting make this fantasy worth picking up. Agent: Brianne Johnson, HG Literary. (Jan.)

Dr. Emily Wilde is a scholar visiting the remote Scandinavian nation of Ljosland to study the Hidden Ones, a species of faerie. She is joined by her faithful dog, Shadow, but otherwise is on her own to focus on her work until her Oxford colleague, the affable and too-handsome Dr. Wendell Bambleby, shows up. He is hoping she will coauthor a paper with him; her superior scholarship will guide the research, while his stellar reputation in the field will add gravitas. But she prefers to work alone. Still, Bambleby remains, doing annoying things like making their shared cabin more homey and making friends with the locals, who warn Emily to let the Hidden Ones stay hidden, despite the havoc they wreak on the town. Told entirely through entries in Emily's research journal, Fawcett's first novel for adults is propelled by the voice of curmudgeonly Emily, whose hard outer shell slowly melts in the face of friendship. The full cast of characters, well-developed faerie lore, and pervasive sense of cold add depth to the delightful proceedings, which include scholarship, yes, but also danger and a hint of romance. Emily is an Amelia Peabody in snowshoes, and readers will be utterly charmed.

Epistolary novels often make the best audiobooks, and Fawcett's (The School Between Winter and Fairyland) adult fiction debut is no exception. Dr. Emily Wilde sets off for the Scandinavian country of Ljosland in search of faeries, documenting her travels in her journal. Fawcett gives the titular Emily Wilde a strong voice and curmudgeonly characteristics. She's the fantasy equivalent of Eleanor Oliphant or Ove--awkward and seemingly rude, but with a heart of gold that even she doesn't know exists. Narrator Ell Potter provides Emily with a slightly fussy, sometimes bewildered, but generally exacting, intelligent, and knowledgeable voice that seems just right. Michael Dodds has less narration time and appears later in the book. This might have been a jarring transition, but Dodds perfectly matches Wilde's impressions and descriptions, and his voice and mannerisms come as no surprise at all. The stakes are high, the romance with exasperating colleague Wendell Bambleby is full of banter, and the worldbuilding is sure to bring joy to any lover of folk tales. VERDICT This is The Love Story of Missy Carmichael with fairies and snow. A sure win for believers in the value of story.--Matthew Galloway