In the second book, we see Emily working on a map of faerie doors and borderlands. 

This book shows just how much Emily has grown as a character from her experiences with the fae as well as how Wendell has given her a new perspective on life. 

It’s an interesting contrast the author creates where somehow Wendell is great at socialising and is more approachable, despite being a fae who doesn’t actually care about humans; while Emily, who has trouble interacting with people, being an extrovert and even seems detached and bothered by people’s opinion of her or their concerns, she’s actually more of an empathetic person than even she herself realises. 

The addition of the character of Ariadne, Emily’s niece and assistant, was also an intentional way of moving forward Emily’s emotional growth. Ariadne becomes another person in Emily’s close-knit circle of people she genuinely loves, as well as someone who is as passionate, curious and driven as Emily about dryadulogy 

With her niece tagging along. Emily is now responsible for another person‘s life. She has to be mindful of how she works and what danger she chooses to risk. 

We also see the deepening of the relationship between Emily and Wendell throughout the story. As much as she tries to sideline the thought, Emily ruminates on the big decision she has to make regarding Wendell (ifykyk). We also realised just how much she has grown to love and care for him. How far she will go to protect him. 

This expedition in a way was also crumbling of Emily’s hubris. After publishing her own encyclopedia, going to Faerie and escaping the clutches of the Winter King of the Fae, and living around Wendell, she grows overconfident and imprudent. She overestimates her ability to deal with the cunning features, often landing into trouble facing and dire consequences. I think it was a fascinating angle to take with her character 

Apart from Emily’s character, the other elements like the overall plot, stakes, the burst of humour in conveyed through a sarcastic and sardonic tone of Emily as she journals as (that definitely got a lot of troubles out of me), remained strong throughout the story. 

The tone overall, despite the juxtaposition of certain gruesome events taking place, maybe because Emily as narrator doesn’t dwell on them a lot, allowed it to remain a blend of cozy, whimsical and sinister .