Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries

This is not a debut novel, but it is a first adult fiction novel for the author, Heather Fawcett, whose previous books are middle-grade and young adult, and does seem to have brought her a new level of (deserved) recognition.

One of the risks of reading-while-revising, amplified by critiquing other writers, is that it's hard to sink into a novel. This one let me forget I was anything but a reader. (Even Kate Atkinson's latest couldn't do that.) So delicious, that feeling, taking me back to childhood. It seems fitting that I was led to this book by a Critique Circle member on a thread about Howl's Moving Castle. I started reading Dianna Wynne Jones as a teenager and wanted to write like her when I grew up, which Heather Fawcett might now be able to claim!

The novel is told in first person through the eponymous protagonist's journal, hijacked for one chapter by her academic colleague/beautiful-irritant Wendall when Emily is incapacitated. First person worked for the story, and even better, I didn't find myself wondering how it worked. Culture clashes, of both the human and faerie variety, abound, as well as interpersonal dynamics that run the gamut from humorous to tragic, all accomplished with a deft touch.

The romance may not be everyone's cup of tea. I appreciate that the practical, unsentimental Emily's turn toward lovesick blushing mostly happens internally so that the arrogant, Howl-like Wendall can't be sure of her affections. Their default to squabbling in each other's presence is refreshing and humorous, even if it leaves me in doubt as to their long term compatibility (not that there aren't plenty of other more interesting barriers to that!).

The sequel is due in January.