Halloween Bingo 2024
All work and no play makes Emily Wilde a dull girl. But Emily is an introverted academic who wants to talk to the Folk, but not to her fellow humans. She is happiest when immersed in her research or tracking faeries in the field. She is annoyed when her feckless colleague Wendell Bambleby invites himself along on her expedition to learn about the Hidden Ones who live in proximity to the village of Hrafnsvik in the far north.
Emily has suspected for some time that Wendell is himself a member of the Folk, yet he understands the villagers better than Emily does. He eases her way, which is both fortunate and infuriating to Emily. This expedition provides major life lessons to our obsessed academic. She learns to accept help, to be diplomatic, and to have friends. In short, to be less introverted. She also experiences empathy, learning to care for the villagers and even Bambleby, who is exiled from his home and misses it desperately.
I found myself impatient with the depiction of the Fae in this book. They weren't as tricky as I expected and their dealings with humans seemed very impersonal. I am used to powerful Fae who still treat people as potentially threats or allies. Fawcett's Folk seem to barely pay attention to humans or consider them to be easily controlled pets. I haven't fathomed the attachment that Bambleby feels for Emily—we are given no reasons for his fondness for her. That Emily sometimes wants to respond is more believable, as it's difficult to resist the lure of a determined suitor.
I buddy-read this with Moonlight Reader, without whose assistance I would likely have dnf'd. This qualifies it for the Wind in the Willows wild card. It will therefore fill my Home for the Horrordays square
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