Emily Wilde’s Compendium of Lost Tales Audiobook Review: The Magic Is Back
Book three makes a full comeback: the wintry, crystalline world-building from book one is back, plus the circle of friends from book two.
My Rating: ★★★★☆ (4/5 stars: Great)
- Author: Heather Fawcett
- Category: Fantasy
- Published: 2025
- Runtime: 12 hours
If you’ve read this series, you already know the thing that makes it unusual: Fawcett doesn’t just build a faerie world, she describes it the way a poet might, in images so specific and strange that they lodge in your head. Ice-crystal places. Unhurried passages that let you inhabit her faerie realm. That’s what made book one an unexpected delight. Book two traded some of that for momentum, which was a fair trade but a noticeable one.
Book three has both.
Emily and Wendell return to his kingdom, navigating the aftermath of the evil stepmother who formerly ruled it, and the story moves with purpose. But the pace has settled. The world gets room to breathe again, and Fawcett describes it delightfully: “Faerie has all the spatial integrity of a dream. A mountain may be in one place on a Tuesday and decide to spend Wednesday in a more favorable locale.” That quality of imagination makes this series special.
The wider circle of friends that was introduced in book two is back here. Coming into this one, I’d half-forgotten those additions to Emily’s circle, but they give book three warmth and texture. Reading this made me more generous about book two in retrospect, because it was laying groundwork.
You’ll want to read this series in order if you can; there’s minimal recap of earlier events, and the story is richer if you start with book one to learn about this faerie world.
The Audiobook Experience
★★★★★
Ell Potter narrates the main storyline, with Michael Dodds in a supporting role. Potter’s narration is lovely; her voices are distinctive enough to heighten your sense of the world without ever pulling you out of it. This is one of those audiobooks where the narration adds to the experience rather than just delivering it.
Typical fiction multitasking. Easy to follow during a commute or chores.
Audio or print? Audio. The narration truly adds to the experience.
Read It or Skip It?
Read it if: you loved book one, even if you felt book two was missing something. This one brings the enchanting descriptions back. Also read it if you want fantasy that leads with beauty and imagination rather than action.
Skip it if: magic is a firm no, or you’re looking for literary fiction with weight.
Related: Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries, which is book one of this series (definitely start at the beginning if you can) and Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands (book two). Agnes Aubert’s Mystical Cat Shelter by the same author for a cozier, warmer companion read.
Book Club Guide
A fun pick for a group that’s read the series together.
- The first book was atmospheric and unhurried; book two leaned into action; this one balances both. Which approach did you prefer across the series, and what does that tell you about what you value in fantasy?
- How did you feel about Wendell and Emily’s relationship in this book and how it evolved?
- The supporting characters introduced in book two return here with more depth. Which of Emily’s wider circle did you like most, and why?
- Fawcett also wrote Agnes Aubert’s Mystical Cat Shelter, which has a completely different atmosphere, cozier and warmer where this series is wintry and elegant. If you’ve read both, which world would you rather visit and why?
Listen Now
I only recommend audiobooks and resources I’ve personally experienced. This post contains affiliate links — if you purchase through them, I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.
