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Dueling Review: Emily Wilde Trilogy by Heather Fawcett
4 Plays13 minutes ago
Holly and Ingrid buddy-read Emily Wilde's Encyclopedia of Fairies, Emily Wild's Map of the Otherlands, and Emily Wilde's Compendium of Lost Tales.
Now they're discussing such hard-hitting questions as: Is this a satisfying romance? Is Wendell a himbo? How scary are fairies?
Full show notes at smutreport.com/podcast (includes some bonus recs that we didn't think of until later)
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction to the podcast and Emily Wilde trilogy
00:00:00
Speaker
guard but Well, that was that was that was intense, Ingrid. I'm sorry. I be i got excited. Ingrid's ready. Ingrid is very ready. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. Smart Report. Hello, and welcome to a dueling review edition of the Smart Report podcast. I'm Erin. I'm Ingrid. And I'm Holly. And today, the thing that Holly and Ingrid are very ready to talk about is the Emily Wilde trilogy by Heather Fawcett.
00:00:28
Speaker
That trilogy includes Emily Wilde's Encyclopedia of Fairies, Emily Wilde's Map of the Otherlands, and Emily Wilde's Compendium of Lost Tales, which will be released in February of next year. So just for the elementary schoolers and all of us, I'm going to say that Ingrid started the fight.
00:00:46
Speaker
and And so I'm gonna ask Ingrid to explain what these books are without opinions, just like what's the story? Okay, well, so here's the situation.
Ingrid's reading transition and the series overview
00:01:01
Speaker
So I was coming off of my romanticy binge and which I blame on Holly. You're welcome. Thank you. and ah so I found this one. I grabbed the first book, sat down and read it, and then had extremely feelings, bafflement and bewilderment when I finished the first one, and then immediately turned to my friends here to complain about it. i Basically, the the series follows the journals of Emily Wilde, who is a like Faye scholar, Dryadology.
00:01:34
Speaker
And it follows her adventures in doing research to secure funding. That's how it starts. But it's kind of a theme throughou throughout all the books, I would say. Well, the first two books. To secure funding so that she, cause like she is a devoted scholar. And basically this colleague of hers, Wendell Bambilby, kind of attaches himself to her research expedition and hijinks ensue. That's the quick and dirty. Yeah. I mean, so Ingrid read the first thing and then was like, Holly, you should read this one.
00:02:04
Speaker
Right? I feel like you weren't like, well, you both should read this. You were like, specifically, Holly, you should read this. Yeah, which I now believe Aaron should also read it. oh gosh so so But I was livid, so I remember like closing the first book, I was in bed and I closed the book and just like stared into space and was like, what?
Initial reactions and need for discussion
00:02:23
Speaker
And then got on the the blog chat and I was like, I want you to explain to me what just happened because I am baffled and bewildered by what I just experienced.
00:02:35
Speaker
because ah You expect certain outcomes and I was like, did this even happen? I literally like put the book down, stirred into space, picked the book up, went back a chapter, skimmed it, went, flipped to the end, read the end again, closed the book, stirred into space. What just happened? That's basically how I i felt about the first book. Huh.
00:02:53
Speaker
Well, anyway, yeah, i so I knew this and I read the first book and was like, that book was fucking awesome. ah um And I was like, you read the second one to tell me if it will fix the first one for me. ah Yeah. And so then we like just read the whole trilogy together, basically. And we're going to talk about it and our feelings about it, I think as a romance.
00:03:16
Speaker
as a romance trilogy? Maybe also as a fantasy book? I don't know. We'll see.
Journal format and genre debate
00:03:20
Speaker
We'll see where we'll see where our conversation. takes We'll see where it goes. And I Aaron will be your moderator. So these if these guys get too feisty.
00:03:29
Speaker
I don't know. I'll probably just let she' go to lay the law down.
00:03:34
Speaker
Classic enabler. Yes, exactly. So we've established that this book is, a it's in journal format, right? It's written like Emily Wilde's journal. yeah In journal format, yes. So that's one interesting thing about it. And then I will say on those places where you find book categories, um,
00:03:57
Speaker
It is maybe first marketed as fantasy and then secondary is the romance category, but it is like very clearly indicated as fantasy romance for readers. So I think that it it's in crowdsourced categories.
00:04:17
Speaker
Emily Wilde is shelved as fantasy romance. Romance is an integral component. If you go to Barnes and Noble, for example, it doesn't look like it's necessarily shelved in romance. So that means that the publisher the publisher that's true The publisher might not. That's where I found it. The publisher has categories that indicate where like booksellers should list the book. and sometimes those are like misleaid Part of the argument in romance is sometimes that's mislabeled, but this might not actually be indicated by the publisher as a romance. But that doesn't change what people think. Right.
00:04:55
Speaker
And interestingly, the Goodreads Choice first first list just came out yesterday, I want to say. And Emily Wilde's map of the other lands, book two, is an opening round nominee in fantasy.
00:05:10
Speaker
fantasy, and also not in romanticy and not in romance. It was ah Emily Wilde's Encyclopedia of Fairies was also a nominee for fantasy in 2023. Not romanticy. And last year was the first year that romanticy was a category. So it was an option last year and it was not included. Right. Now I have I have thoughts on this categorization and and I would argue that actually I think the bafflement and bewilderment that I experienced was because of this.
Emily's perspective and narrative style
00:05:39
Speaker
There's layers here. and I have been sitting with this and I think that there there's like a two-pronged approach for my opinion here. one
00:05:45
Speaker
I think that it's important to examine the narrator and the structures of the, of structure of the books because the narrator is a very kind of like rigid scholar type. And so the only impressions you're getting are what she's giving you because it's a journal format. So one, we have the actual presentation of the romance through the narrator. That's what you're getting is her view of it.
00:06:15
Speaker
And so there's that. So you're getting the filter through which you're seeing the romance, which I think makes it challenging. And also that you have the romance spreading out over three books. It's a trilogy, which I think is where it really toes the line but whether it's romance or not. So on the one hand, I feel like you can't necessarily say like this isn't a romance because the narrator isn't presenting it that way because people are all different and maybe to her, this is very romantic. Do you know what I mean? So there's that. And also just because it takes place over three books, like are we going to be flexible with that as romance readers? I don't know.
00:06:51
Speaker
Right, so maybe we should should we do some one sentence summaries before we like really get into? Structure hey go ahead. Okay, so Emily Wilde's encyclopedia of fairies Emily Wilde goes to Iceland and that's nice Iceland it's lost land the okay, but basically she goes to Scandinavia to research the ferry people there to do field research and Her colleague inserts himself into her expedition and Emily, thinking that she is very smart about fairies, gets in a little over her head.
00:07:37
Speaker
with the local fairy population. All right, mine is Emily Wilde goes on a field expedition and is interrupted by the unwelcome presence of her eccentric colleague Wendell.
00:07:51
Speaker
who begins saving her repeatedly from terrible decisions that she makes, even though she's kind of cool. Fair. She's pretty cool. I'm not gonna lie. She's pretty cool. That girl gets herself in some messes. Yeah. Well, you know, she has a savior complex and also is really smart. So she doesn't understand. She doesn't know what she doesn't know, but because she's so smart, she thinks she knows more than she does. That's is how I would describe her. Accurate. Yeah.
00:08:18
Speaker
ah Who wants to
Character exploration: Emily and Wendell
00:08:19
Speaker
give me the first one sentence in summary of Map of the Otherlands? i will I will do it. So in the second book, Wendell and Emily, now inexplicably dating, go on a quest to find the door to Wendell's kingdom. And Emily, again, tries to get herself killed in repeatedly gruesome ways. The end. Uh, no notes. I agree with that. I mean, like, except they're in the Alps. Yes, they're in the Alps this time. They're in the Alps. They like the cold. Okay, that's kind of funny.
00:08:52
Speaker
all right and Okay, so I'll summarize book three. So, book three, Emily Wilde's Compendium of Lost Tales, Emily and Wendell inexplicably affianced, go to Wendell's kingdom and try to win it back. Get into trouble. I mean, Emily gets into trouble.
00:09:15
Speaker
But also fairies are fucking scary. So scary. So i I really I have to agree. I don't actually have any notes on that one. I have to agree on that. Correct. Yes. What she said. Although I think, actually, I want to go back and add an addendum note to book two, is that it's not just about finding the door, it's also about saving Wendell from a mysterious wasting disease. disease Oh, yeah, that's true. that is that's ah I think that's a really important factor. Yeah. Yeah. No, you're right. Poor Wendell.
00:09:45
Speaker
Poor Wendell. Poor Wendell. I don't know if I would say poor Wendell. He gets so mad when they keep trying to kill him and and he's so tired. like And on his birthday, how dare they? I forgot about that. Just disgruntled he is about it. It's very rude to try to assassinate someone on their birthday.
00:10:12
Speaker
um would be assassins, please take note. yes do not do it on part do it on Do not do it on a birthday? It's just poor form. It's just bad form. It is. It's poor form. All right. so Did we establish, is this book a romance? Ingrid already said book one was not a satisfying romance. like Can we say more about that or like can you justify your argument that it would be a romance?
00:10:37
Speaker
So, I have strong feelings about this and I think that there is some degree of reader interpretation that kind of needs to happen and I think that it is kind of a really cool conversation to be honest because, listen, it's not like the author says that Emily Wilde is autistic, but it kind of reads that way. And even if she's not,
00:10:58
Speaker
you know, people experience romance differently. So who's to say that just because Emily is interpreting this budding romance the way that she is, that it's not romantic. But I will say that it was very interesting as a reader to read it and just be like, what is happening right now? Because like, I don't know if you experienced this, Holly, but like, when I read the first book, it took me a really long time to realize that the weird looks that Wendell kept giving her were, were romantic looks.
00:11:28
Speaker
do you know what I mean? Because Emily is the one telling you and she keeps being like, why does he keep looking at me like that? And you're just like, I don't know Emily, why? Why is he looking at you like that? And then it's like, he's like, what do you mean you didn't know I loved you? Like, you're just like, what? Oh, see? ah No, I definitely got very early on that Wendell just like really had it bad for her. You know, he shows up and I mean, so he shows up and he's like,
00:11:55
Speaker
you know doing his charming thing, charming all the villagers that she's like already alienated, and bring the ladies back to his room. I'm like, okay, that's weird, but we're going with it. But by about halfway through I was like, oh, ah got know he he likes her. Yeah. So like basically, the the gist, as we said, is that she goes on this expedition and the whole ah the whole book, you're getting all of it through her filter. It's her journals. And so like she goes into this tavern and immediately insults everybody. And she's like, I don't understand why everyone's mad at me. And then she's like, well, I know they're mad at me, but I don't really know how to fix it. And it's one of those things where like yeah like the author doesn't sit there and say, like this character is autistic. But like it's one of those things where you're like,
00:12:40
Speaker
Socially, like she's just not it's not clicking in place. like She's not getting it. And then Wendell comes in and he's like, I got you. And he like smooths it over and like convinces everyone. And all of a sudden, she's got all the support that she didn't have before. And then he also makes it so that like her talents are able to be put to use in a way where the villagers start to like interact with her better. Do you know what I mean? So it's it's like, and this is where I struggle. Because I didn't feel that the first book was like a satisfying romance in any sense. I didn't find it. It was so baffling and bewildering. But I also feel like I have not really read a lot of books that came from ah this kind of perspective. do You know what I mean? That we're like, I'm here for the science and only the science. And I'm confused by my feelings for this man who is very bewildering, but makes everything beautiful. And, you know, complaints on every walk we go on, like,
00:13:31
Speaker
right? He complains on every walk they go on, but also is still like coming with her through the snow if it oh yeah hates the cold. yeah He complains the whole time. And it's so hilarious. Like, yeah, Wendell when I read it, that's Wendell is the reason I was like Holly needs to read this book because every ridiculous hero we've ever read Holly's like, I like that guy.
00:13:50
Speaker
like, ruffled collars, super crazy velvet waistcoats. I was like, Wendell is so holly. Like, I've never read a character I've been like, Oh, yes. So, um, this, I guess this is maybe a tiny bit of a spoiler, but not really, because it's revealed quite early on. And I guess it should be clear that since they witnessed a fairy to steal his kingdom back, Wendell is actually a fairy and a king and a fairy and exiled fairy king from a kingdom in Ireland. Um,
00:14:17
Speaker
The name of his kingdom is where the trees have eyes. So you know that it's a fun place. Creepy as heck. So bad. I don't know about that. So like, no, it's so bad. This is the thing. Like this book made me so this whole series. It's not. It's like so one, it made me think about like, OK, well, is it a romance? Because like it's one of those things where like I don't find the first book romantic at all. But as the series progressed, I was like, oh, it's so sweet. You know what I mean? Like oh I love each other so much.
00:14:46
Speaker
But in the first book, I was so bewildered because I was like, what are you what are you feeling, Emily? Because it doesn't seem like you're feeling anything. She gets all excited about Moss. Well, yeah, but you know these are her scholarly journals. Yes, they're her scholarly journals. She doesn't want to talk about... her very confusing feelings for Wendell. who she has like She has kind of a scholarly rivalry with him, and then she she's worried that he's there because he he's going to like come scoop her project, but she knows his research is shoddy. like ok right He's a fairy, and he's like, well, I'm exiled into the human world, so I'm going to become a Dryadologist and study myself.
00:15:25
Speaker
Yeah, so basically that's how he does it. And he he also like makes up some of his research because the point for him is he's trying to get, insert himself because he gets exiled and she, the stepmother like takes away the door that he went in. This is another thing that's important I think for readers to know is that basically there's like, it's our world, but there are these like doors like fairy doors and stuff and they everything moves around and none of it makes any sense. It's basically like a fun house mirrors type situation. So like the only way that he's going to be able, it's not like he can go and be like, knock, knock, knock, excuse me, can I come back to my kingdom? like No, the doors like move around and they're like in all these
Fairy world and relationship challenges
00:16:02
Speaker
it's all this weird shit going on. So basically the only way for him to ever get back to his kingdom is if he hangs out with a bunch of experts, like nerdy experts who know where all these fucking doors are,
00:16:12
Speaker
or who can figure out where the doors are and that's how he's going to get home. So that's what he's doing. So that's why she's sitting there and she's getting a read on the situation and she was like, this guy is not legit. He sucks. And there's a reason for that because he's not in it to be ah so like a scientist and a scholar. like He just wants to go home. So anyway, he but he immediately is like, this chick is amazing. like He's like, she is so smart. She is so capable. He thinks that she is magic.
00:16:37
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. So he like really thinks that she can do anything and that's why he kind of latches onto her, but he's also kind of in love with her, obviously. And so it's really interesting to watch that unfold because you're getting it through Emily's perspective and she has pretty serious, like emotional limitations when it comes to interpreting what's actually happening to her, like interpersonally.
00:16:55
Speaker
Yeah. So it's an interesting book. Yeah. So and for me, I mean, so I knew that it was going to be just like a hint of an H.F.N. that this was a three book trilogy. But I thought book one was a pretty satisfying romance and like and right. And I felt so there's a ah bit in the book where Emily gets taken into the local fairy court.
00:17:19
Speaker
um and is kind of stuck in limbo based on some bad decisions that she made, or maybe eventually worked out for the best, but it's kind of unclear. And Wendell therefore writes in her diary, while she in her journal, while she's gone.
00:17:34
Speaker
and like that so cute it's so i mean And that moment, which is near the end, is basically he doesn't say I love you in that, but it's very clear that he does in the way he writes to her and about her and what is going on while she's missing, that I felt in the text that it served as a love declaration and therefore for me tied it together as a satisfying romance. But I don't know. I mean, like I looked at the Goodreads reviews of the first book after I read it and I thought they were so funny because everybody's like, man, and like that that last bit at the end just comes out of nowhere. It's like a cozy roommate situation. And then all of a sudden she gets kidnapped. I'm like,
00:18:19
Speaker
That is not, like it is not a cozy book for the first two starts. No, it's creepy as hell. It's like so creepy. There's just building, like Emily isn't really creeped. I mean, she's a little bit creeped out, but it's like, it's a step back because she doesn't like write about her emotions as much. But no, the stuff that's going on is terrifying. There's all this foreshadowing about the creepy stuff that's coming. Ooh, it's bad.
00:18:48
Speaker
No, there's this there's this part, like the part where I was like, I i don't like this anymore. what I mean, I did, I kept reading it, obviously. But the part where there's that kid, so like one of the things that fairies do- Oh, the changeling. Yeah, the changeling. This is the other thing the author does, I think that's really cool, is like che a dry she had to have become kind of a dryadologist herself, because she pulled all these like folklore and stuff. it got It has it all in there. But anyway, there's this changeling, and I guess you know like the old stories or whatever that like the fairies would swap out a human child for a fairy child.
00:19:15
Speaker
to like protect the fairy child or whatever and most of the time why that by the time the child has been stuck in the fairy kingdom long enough like they just go insane like it's so anyway there's this couple and they have a kid and it's a changeling kid so like it's like this little farmhouse this winter farmhouse creepy winter farmhouse and then there's this like creepy exorcist child upstairs like doing like blood and i just it's so creepy like so creepy but who can like make illusions right yeah so you like try to walk up the stairs to where this like ice fairy kid is hanging out and there's like wolf packs chasing you around like yeah in the farmhouse and like everything's covered in ice and and he's like yelling and
00:19:58
Speaker
eight Yeah. It's creepy. So the point is every day everything is creepy. So these people who are like, oh, it's a roommate situation. What roommates are you living with is what I want to know because it's not. And then that's the other thing is, is that yeah, like Emily is super self-sufficient. And to be fair, she is probably the most capable, scott like she's very capable. Like she can take care of her stuff and she's very smart and she can think on her feet.
00:20:22
Speaker
Because the thing about the face stuff is that like right there tricksters like they'll trick you and they'll mess with you and like she's she figures all these ways to like negotiate and work with them and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. So it's very interesting. But um, yeah, so the first book I it was very hard for me because I felt like it was very abrupt. And I agree with Holly, I disagree with people who thought that the section with Wendell in her journal was bad because I feel like there was no i other way. The the Ice cake oh therop well King situation i think situation is tough because that's the other thing that I found really interesting about her. like The writing style is that like there are all these enchantments. so like If you're a human in the fairy kingdom, right
00:21:00
Speaker
they enchant stuff so that you don't know which way is up. Like time has no meaning. Like you, it could be like 600 years and it feels like two days. Like nothing is real. Everything is like, so all the descriptions are like, well, I thought I saw someone with feathers on their face, but then it was gone. Like it's just kind of like, it's creepy. Like everything is like wishy washy wobbly. it It feels like the way that she writes about it, it feels like you're trying to look through a world, like through a glass of water. Do you know what I mean? Like nothing feels right.
00:21:27
Speaker
So because that's the nature of the fairy world, when she's in it, she's sitting there and she's trying, because she's a scholar, she's like trying to write down what she experienced and she can't. So like that section where she's like trying to describe what it was like or whatever. And then you have Wendell, who's like, you've really inconvenienced me. I had to, I had to like take this form and it was hideous and I had to, my, but you know, like, it's like, he's just so inconvenienced, but like through it, you're seeing like this absolute devotion to her safety. He'll do anything to get her back, but she isn't like that. So it gives you that like, oh, you're able to creep towards that moment of connection better. It's just that it goes back to Emily afterwards and you're like, oh, she's going to be so transformed by this. And she was like, so about that next study.
00:22:08
Speaker
time to get on the boat. like She isn't really transformed. She's still Emily because you'd hate it if she wasn't. like It would feel like a betrayal if she turned into someone who wasn't who she is, but it that it was so disorienting because I was like, wait, are you in love with him? Because like i he's in love with you. What's going on here? The second book cleared it up, but the first book ended and it was very disorienting and that's how I feel about it. All right. I'm going to get this train back on the rails.
00:22:37
Speaker
And you guys, I feel like maybe have already touched on this. Well, it's like we're in the fairy kingdom, Erin. Nothing makes sense. A little bit. Everything's topsy-turvy. All right. So if this is a romance, or in some capacity a romance, is Wendell a good romance hero? I mean, it sounds like you guys are talking about a lot of stuff that we see in a lot of modern romance where the hero is totally enamored of the heroines.
00:23:04
Speaker
big beautiful brain and just really wants to be there for her that's what I'm getting from you is that correct and is he a romance hero and does the question mark maybe come from what Ingrid is seemingly saying but like because it's in a journal format and we're getting Emily's scientific POV, we're not getting the same feedback from her. so Here's the thing about Wendell. Wendell is the most amazing character. ok I think he's a really interesting character. because let Let me just like lay out like a list of facts about Wendell.
00:23:39
Speaker
Okay, so we know he's a fairy king. We know he's trying to get home and is therefore opposing as a scholar. And he's very charming. Wendell is also part house elf or like brownie. And can you define brownie for those individuals who have not It's the little house elf who, like when you're not looking, cleans things up and makes them beautiful and pretty. so like This is another reason why he's so hilarious. this is I'm jumping in because like so he's this ridiculously like vain, froofy, loves everything to be pretty, but like part of that is because he's part brownie. so like When he gets frustrated, he like cleans everything. It's so cute. Anyway, go on. Right. so ah so right and so like For example, Emily, when she's in the ice country, is living in this hovel and Wendell comes in and he kind of just sweeps the floor a little bit with the broom and then all of a sudden it's like really nice and then she'll like come in the next day and are those current like are those curtains new?
00:24:37
Speaker
And part of it is that she like she's not really aware of her material surroundings in this way, right? She kind of doesn't care about what her office looks like or what her home looks like. But then when Wendell, she's sharing a space with Wendell. She's like, wait a minute. He puts some flowers on the mantelpiece, but then all of a sudden, like the whole room is cheerier. It's like he does these little tidying up things, but that are actually just like magically, like functionally changing the feeling of the room to the better.
00:25:07
Speaker
And like people will walk in from the town and they'll be like, huh, huh, the owner will really fix this place up. It used to be a big dump, right? And so that's part of it. um He also sews. This is part of his and magical brownie heritage. is like You know like the story of the elves and the shoemaker where like the elves are the ones that are like making the shoes at night? um He's kind of like that, right? Where he like he kind of has magical sewing skills.
00:25:33
Speaker
So when he's upset, he tailors her clothes for her. So she'll like put on her her cloak and then it'll like do weird fairy stuff. And she's like, Wendell, damn it, Wendell. Why did you do that? Or to protect yourself when you're going into fairy places, you turn your coat inside out.
00:25:51
Speaker
But she can't do that with her cloak anymore because Wendell tailored it. And so it gets mad when she tries to turn her cloak inside out. And so she can't use that protection anymore. I'm getting way off base. I was describing Wendell. Oh, okay. So, you know, so most of the time he's like charming and he's sewing, and he's like cleaning up her space, but then sometimes when he gets angry, he gets he like gets real scary. And so like if Emily's being threatened, then he turns into a kind of cold murder beast and just like to kill everybody and kills everything around him. And then he's like, oh, I need a cup of tea. Yeah. And Emily will be like, whoa, what just happened? And he'll be, and he just like doesn't even bat an eye at it. He's like, oh, he's just like, he'll be like covered in covered in blood.
00:26:42
Speaker
like corpses all around him and then he'd be like, all right, let's go get some sandwiches and just like totally unfazed and Emily is very, I think deeply uncomfortable with this as far as she can be. And so that was a very long winded way of saying that Wendell is super entertaining.
00:27:01
Speaker
wonderful to read about. like what i and like Would I want to have him as a partner? Never. Never. Do I think he's a good partner for Emily? Not really. like He really likes her, but he's also flighty and sometimes goes on murder binges. Right now they're all for her protection, but I'm really unsure about their future.
00:27:27
Speaker
basically. Yeah. So that is that I'm super glad you're saying that because that was one of the reasons why I was, I've really thought about this. And the other thing is, is that as the series goes on, you expect there to be some kind of like their issue. Do you know what I mean? Like the issue throughout the books, it's very external. It's that like they're trying to save Wendell's life or retake his throne or whatever, but like they never sit down and they're like, Hey, so there's never been an example in fairy history of a king taking the throne or a queen taking the throne and not being like very negatively changed by it. like Should we sit down and talk about what we're going to do here or no? They never sit down and they're like, hey, so fate at their core is like incapable
00:28:13
Speaker
theoretically, of not being tricky and empathetic. like There's like major emotional issues between mortals and fae, but they never actually talk about any of these interpersonal issues. She's like, I know Wendell. Wendell would never hurt me. But then she's like, or would he like in the text? And you're just like... And then Never at any point are they like, let's sit down and have this conversation. But I feel like they can't, though. like Emily can't because she doesn't really have the um the emotional capacity to like really dig in to have these kinds of conversations. And Wendell, because he's fae, can't plan for the future, basically. because the future is forever, like he does, yeah, like. Yeah, because because he lives in the constant now. So he he's like, they're basically functionally incapable of having any kind of conversation about like, here's what our relationship is going to look like. And they don't. And so they don't. They really don't. All that you get is he doesn't want to live without her. And she she just feels better when she's with him. Yeah. That's the gist. And they end they're like, and they make a good team. They're like, we make a good team.
00:29:21
Speaker
kicking fairy butts all over the place, I guess. Okay, so because Holly posed the question, and I do love a good himbo, we must answer the question, is Wendell a himbo? Oh, that asking the real questions here. ah Yes, i interesting I think he could be. I think he could be. Not necessarily. I think he's borderline. he It could be because there's a huge disconnect because he's a fairy and she's not.
00:29:50
Speaker
hu Well, even then, the way he handles it afterwards, it's not like he's like, I should really reflect on my actions. He's like, now I've got blood all over my flip favorite cloak and i and I want a cup of tea and it's too cold and you've made me go out in the cold. So let's go back to the tent and warm up. You know what I mean? Like, that's the gist. I wish there was, there's, I don't know. He's not stupid. He's just completely dependent on Emily for thinking through things.
00:30:13
Speaker
yeah he's not like i i see that's what This is why I asked because I also think he's borderline because he's not stupid. There's a bit in the third book where he like sets up a surprise for her. He like sets up a door from his kingdom into the mortal world that like goes from there.
00:30:30
Speaker
fairy castle bedroom to a cottage and like get in like there's a ton of preparation that goes into this and she's like she's like wow you like did that for me and he's like well yeah just because I don't like putting in a lot of effort into doing things doesn't mean I'm incapable of doing so like that's kind of so I feel like he kind of comes across as a himbo a little bit more in the first book than in the later books Yeah. Well, I think part of that too, though, is the more he's immersed in the fairy world, like then he becomes the one who knows what's going on. Right. She doesn't.
00:31:09
Speaker
right So like, I think that the first book is definitely more himbo when he's setting up his fort and stuff like that. She's like, you should be picking people who are like really, and he's like, I just wanted to put some humans on it. And it's like indiscriminate. He's not like thinking it through. And she's realizing that like, but it's not necessarily him. She's like, fairy people in general suck at this. They they don't rule like kings in our world. They just do whatever they want.
00:31:32
Speaker
Right. You know, and so then she's the one who's like, maybe pick some people who actually think about things and like, consider the little people and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And and so she's like positively influencing him because she's, but is it because she's smarter? Or is it because she's human? I mean, right. Because she's kind of bold.
00:31:50
Speaker
Yeah. Well, and I think there's a little bit of that himbo energy just because he's like so in awe of her all the time. Right? Like he's just like, man, if anybody can figure this out, Emily can figure this out. Yeah. And I feel like that is a very himbo energy to bring up. It is. Yeah. Yeah. I don't know. I could, I could hear arguments on both sides of that and be like, okay.
00:32:13
Speaker
So the last thing that you guys included in our discussion questions substantively is about storytelling, like, and I feel like it would be very challenging to present a an immersive adventure romance story as a journal but from what I'm hearing like whatever you're getting interpretation wise or like dialogue within quoted within the journal or whatever like is telling you a very clear adventure romance kind of story about these characters and what they're doing so how does the journal storytelling device
00:32:56
Speaker
work here and how impact the narrative. And Ingrid one was asking about how does the POV affect the story. So maybe two sides of the same coin, like what are we seeing here and how is it affecting the narrative and how you guys respond to the narrative. Right. So here' here's kind of my opening thought on this is you know we have There's a thing right now in contemporary romance for like the first person, ah single single perspective narrator is like very popular. and Sometimes when I read one of these books, I'm like, wait a minute, is this narrator meant to be unreliable? Because the things she's telling us about what's happening are not how I understood the scene that I just saw.
00:33:45
Speaker
And I think when I read kind of a so straightforward genre romance that does that and then has these moments, it's very ah like confusing for me and ah difficult for me because i I don't go into a romance novel expecting an unreliable narrator. Whereas since we're in the journal format, it's kind of like first person POV.
00:34:09
Speaker
except it's framed in such a way where you know you're not getting the full scene. Maybe this is why I wasn't like so bothered by the first book and like the way the romance unfolded and I thought it was great is because I was primed to say okay I'm in a journal so I know that I'm not getting the full story.
00:34:27
Speaker
Yeah, well, and she says explicitly often, she's like, I want to focus on this. So I'm going to just say, and it's very transparent. I think that the POV, I think it forces a different understanding of It really made me think about whether about this as a romance because we so often, how do I say this? POV is kind of baked for a lot of romance. We expect certain things. And in this case, it really made me think about the fact that romance is different for different people. And by the time I hit the second and third book, I was looking for it differently than I was looking for it when I was going into the first one with a normal romance.
00:35:08
Speaker
lens. Do you know what I mean? There are some strong benefits to it, because like I said, you know how we talk about like willing suspension of disbelief? I think that it helps when Emily is not bothered by certain things, then you're just kind of like, all right, I guess we're not worrying about the future right now. And that's fine. You know what I mean? Like it's whatever. So it kind of helps you sink into her story the way that she wants it told, which is kind of a cool perspective.
00:35:33
Speaker
But I do think it makes the romance a little bit more wishy-washy. I'm not sure that's a bad thing. I firmly believe this is more of a fantasy than a romance. I think it's a quest. the Because otherwise I think that the relationship issue, like the more and interpersonal dynamic, would have been more clearly addressed in some way. It would have been and a more integral part.
00:35:50
Speaker
of the plot, but then with Emily being who she is, I could see that being taken into question. i just I think that romance is a part of it. I just think that in this case, it's more of a marketing tool than it is a clear indicator of what it is. yeah i mean and What you said about it being a quest, I think is really important. like I think these are quest books and I think like the fuzziness comes in because the quest in book two and book three I mean, I guess even like the minor quest in book one where Wendell comes and rescues her, but book two and book three, both the quests are very tied up in Wendell in her relationship with Wendell. ah right So yeah I agree that it's like very firmly a quest book, but the quest is save save this man yeah from disease or in the third book, kind of like save him from himself.
00:36:41
Speaker
and the future he might the future monster he might become. me yeah it's Very true. and know Well, and, you know, not to get too deep in it, but you could analyze because I'm not going to spoil the ending of it. But because Emily is who she is, you do have to read between the lines a lot. And some of the actions Wendell takes at the end of the third book suggests that he has changed substantively enough for their relationship to actually have a decent fighting chance. So don't be turned off if you want it to be really romantic. I think that it can be. And I think this is a great book. I keep being like, Aaron, you got to read this because like,
00:37:15
Speaker
people who who are a little bit more like they don't like let it all show feelings wise might really like having a heroine who's like, I care about the the my studies and my scholar and I you know, like he's really great but you know, like he's not my be all end all like I think it's kind of cool. Okay, so I was i think we should wrap it up. So I just wanted a flag for readers. Emily Wilde is kind of a four star read pretty much everywhere. Do you guys agree with that assessment?
Commendation and genre comparison
00:37:44
Speaker
Like, would this be something that you might say, yeah, invest some time in it, if you think it might
00:37:51
Speaker
Yes, I will say that of the trendy series that are like romanticy that I've been reading lately, like ACOTAR, Fourth Wing, um even like that I'm on the Tower of Glass series right now, I think that this series, this three book series is stronger plot wise and writing style than all of those series. Even though I'm totally hooked on Tower of Glass right now, I have to say that from like an execution standpoint, I think the Emily Wilde series is a is a very tight, fantastic series. It's very good. That's my opinion. um yeah i also i mean I really enjoy these books. um they They do read a little slow, especially in the beginning of the first and second one. you're like yes yeah They read a little slow. You have to kind of live in it.
00:38:39
Speaker
But if you like being ah just a little bit horrified by monsters, these are so awesome. And there's absurdity. There's so like absurdity. You'll sit there like kind of scared and then Wendell will say something just a little bit off color or absurd and then you're like laughing but scared at the same time. I don't know how to describe it. Yeah, I mean, I think and Like I think the voice especially is very strong and very consistent. um So if you're somebody who likes kind of voicey books, I would recommend them. But can I just describe but my favorite fairy monster is yeah the guardians. ah The guardians serve the king of where the trees have eyes and they are owls.
00:39:23
Speaker
um But they're like they're like really bedraggled and like kind of ah murder owls. But also instead of owl feet, they have eight spider legs. And so they just cut and they're huge. And so they just come and land on your shoulder and then they put their spider legs around your shoulders and they're like, hey, what's up? Right? And like the leader of that the Guardians serves Wendell, has accepted Wendell as the king, so like spends a lot of time on Wendell's shoulder. And Emily's just like,
00:39:52
Speaker
Yeah, it's crazy. It's nuts. Yeah, they're all like, ain't none of it cute. Ain't none of it cute. Like the Fox fairies, you think they might be cute, but I think they have baby faces. And like yeah, they have, and they like and they have long, yeah everybody has long talon claws. Like everyone's like, yeah, they're creepy as hell. like I don't know that I want to read this book, guys, but I'm glad you enjoyed it. I don't know, maybe. But Emily is the narrator. emily's the and so and so Emily is like, well, that's horrifying. On to the next scholarly pursuit. So like,
00:40:27
Speaker
she spends a lot of time being like, I couldn't, I didn't look directly at them. Like, Wendell has a cat that you just like, It's a cat, but like not really a cat. This is how you know they're meant to be is because Emily's a dog person and Wendell's a cat person, and they still find a way to love each other. Oh my gosh, that's adorable. Okay, okay so then to wrap up this duel, on a scale of one to 10, how terrifying are fairies?
00:40:56
Speaker
Like 7,000. There's no rating. They're creepy as fuck. I mean, it's like it's bad. yeah All this like shit with like the glowing skin and stuff. Wendell's really good looking, but I'm 99% sure that he's just good looking because he's enchanted himself. It's creepy.
00:41:12
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. So like all these other romanticy books where they're like la la la, fairy court looking at you Sarah J Maas. No, this is not this is not how it works. This is not how it works. Fairies are terrifying. Yes, pretty much. I agree. On this degree. Is there anything um that you guys want to add like further recommendations or anything? Are we we done?
00:41:38
Speaker
I that's it. This one was ah this was a challenging one for me. ah But I have to say that in the end, it was successfully pulled off and I do really recommend it. It's just, you know, I don't want people who like read the first one and are like, this is bewildering. To be fair, I didn't even read the back when I bought it. I just started reading it. And I think that I do regret that a little bit. Yeah, I would say in terms of romance books, I don't feel like there are a lot of books that are like this.
Final recommendations and sign-off
00:42:04
Speaker
Right? And we argued a lot about, you know, is it is it a genre romance or not? ah But there aren't a lot of other books like it. The book that I felt was most similar to it was um Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susannah Clark. um But that's like
00:42:19
Speaker
That's like not romance at all. That's just kind of pure fantasy. But maybe it's just because that book also has footnotes and is about scholars and has really scary fairies in it. So that could just, that that might just be that might be the whole comparison. thank so But anyway, i got I got no other recommendations for romances if you like this one. I'll have to think on it. It's one of a kind friends. It's one of a kind.
00:42:46
Speaker
That's kind of cool. Now Erin's going to have to do a review revisited. Yeah, I guess so. Thanks Ingrid for dueling with me. I'm glad um it didn't go like Windows duels with anybody went. That would have been horrifying. Could have been horrifying. And if you like our content, please rate and subscribe. We're on Spotify and Apple podcasts. I think that's it right now.
00:43:10
Speaker
And you can give us a follow on the socials. We're everywhere but not on X anymore. And you can find full show notes at smutreport dot.com slash podcast. Keep it smutty folks.