Emily Wilde's Compendium of Lost Tales

I've been trying to pinpoint exactly what is so charming about the Emily Wilde series and I've come to the conclusion that the same magic found in Shirley Barber's faerie illustrations sits within these pages. The magic in those drawings that enchanted me for hours as a child has woven itself through Fawcett's stories and into Emily Wilde's adventures.

This is how I imagine the faerie realms to be: full of mischievous folk hanging from trees, riddles within words within tales, doors that lead to unexpected places and fair folk who specialise in everything from death to butter magic.