An Enchantment of Ravens

i don't know why, but this was giving me the vibes of a regency romance meets lord of the rings and i absolutely LOVED IT

first of all? the main character? once again, chef's kiss. isobel is smart, calculated, and stubborn and we loved to see every trait of that throughout the story

the plot twist? fire. i didn't see it coming (though i should have in retrospect)

ugh. the exploration of the immense power of human emotion and creativity. that was incredible to witness on both the human and fair folk side. as book lovers, i'm sure we can all cringe at the idea of not ever being able to read again, even if it meant living forever. why live forever if you can't read every book in existence?

it got a little silly goofy ok let's stop wasting ink and trees y'all at some points but otherwise, had a smashingly good time

It grieves me that I couldn't give this a higher personal rating. I loved the beginning – it started out so strongly and interestingly, but then devolved into Yet Another Typical Tale where a very talented, very smart young woman becomes achingly boring after falling in love almost instantly with (who else) a prince. The ending was also quite rushed, I feel, and ... well, apart from the first ~20% of the book, the story was sadly disappointing.

This book was entertaining but I had a few issues with it. Rogerson seems to be making up her own rules of Faerie instead of sticking with what's pretty well established. For one, you should never thank fae or apologize as they're empty words and can be twisted - the characters in this book say ‘thank you' or ‘sorry' constantly, even the fae. Also the obligatory curtseying by the faeries and the fact that they couldn't create a single thing, even holding a hunk of meat on a stick over fire, or they would DIE was weird and new. However, the lack of true emotion and glamour was more “accurate”. It's hard to argue about what should and shouldn't be done in an imaginary world but to completely go off the path from what's an established baseline was hard for someone who reads so many books based in or on Faerie. Besides that, the obvious and predictable romance following the fish out of water and forbidden love tropes to a tee are a little old. Overall, it was an easy, diverting read.

I'm not quite finished this yet, but I feel like I need to get some thoughts down. First off, a large part of me choosing this book was the fact that Charlie Bowater did the cover art, and she is just fantastic. This book is so beautiful, so I automatically give it a star just for that.

The writing is very well done, it's very clean, descriptions are nice, dialogue is clever. I enjoyed many of the technical aspects of this book. I just found that I had a hard time reading it. I can sit down and read a 500+ page book in a night (see Illuminae, though formatting is different). But this mere 297 has been so tough. I find myself slogging through the journey that Rook and Isobel go on, dragging my feet, getting distracted.

These lovebirds went from 0 mph to MADLY IN LOVE BREAKING ALL THE LAWS in like 2 seconds. But that's not even my main issue. It's the fact that Isobel doesn't want to drink from the well and become fae because she will lose her ability to paint. But um...ahem....Isobel darling, won't you lose the ability to paint if you are dead? Which is what you will be if you refuse to drink? I just think this book was too much of a journey story, not enough action, and as clever and funny as Isobel can be at times, first person may not have been the best narration choice because her mind isn't interesting enough to keep me engaged when not much actually happens throughout the story.

Regardless, I definitely didn't hate the book. I just didn't love it as much as I had hoped to, and that's ok. Glad I read it, really appreciated the writing and definitely appreciated the cover art. I'll keep an eye out for more from Margaret Rogerson.

So this book was fine. Going in, I already knew I wasn't going to be the right audience for it, seeing as I was just okay with Rogerson's other book, Sorcery of Thorns. Although since I had read Sorcery of Thorns earlier and with much more hype on my part, and had then gotten disappointed, I went into this book with my expectations much more managed, which actually helped me enjoy it more.

Isobel is one of the best portrait painters in her town of Whimsy, and so she is constantly patronised by the fair folk, or fairies, who are incredibly vain and love seeing themselves represented on canvas. The relationship between fairies and humans is both mutually beneficial but also steeped in distrust. When she is approached by Rook, the autumn prince of the fairies, to paint his portrait, Isobel seems to make a grave mistake that might cost him his reputation. She is swept off by Rook to stand trial in the autumn courts but along the way face threats and dangers from unexpected quarters.

Things I liked about this book: the world, the fae, the lore and rules governing these people (they perpetually use glamour to hide their true appearances, which somehow have a lot to do with rotting wood and other plants, they cannot tell lies, they must be polite, and if someone bows or curtseys to them, they must return the favour). I'd have loved the book even more if these curious rules were further explored and explained, but alas, the book is more interested in the romance between Isobel and Rook to do that. I liked how fairies are so completely fascinated with human Craft (basically anything that creates things, like painting, cooking, tailoring) as well as their complete inability to undertake them (Rook literally almost dies when Isobel hands him a cooking pan). I liked the different fairy courts and would've loved to see more of the politicking between them.

What I didn't enjoy: I wasn't really compelled by any of the characters except perhaps the goat-kids, March and May, whom we unfortunately didn't see enough of at all. Also, interestingly, Gadfly - I called it right from the earlier chapters that he was orchestrating everything all along. Although it was the Alder King who was the main villain in the end, it was really Gadfly who was one level above that. I didn't particularly care for Isobel or Rook. Rook was wasn't too annoying, but we barely know much about him as a character/person besides whatever related romantically to Isobel. I was borderline annoyed with Isobel quite often, she seemed to flip-flop between all kinds of ideas and emotions a lot, and she was just way too dramatic about everything. Since I was annoyed to indifferent about the two main characters, it was really hard for me to get behind the romance. Furthermore, the attraction between Isobel and Rook happened too quickly for me and I just wasn't convinced by their chemistry throughout the book. The dramatic moments were really cringey for me.

Some parts in particular just felt a little laughable, such as when our two main protagonists are apparently being threatened by another character, and their only way out is to “stop loving each other” (not a quote, it's just so hilarious that I felt like I needed to quote it). There was some rationale behind it in that it was apparently against some kind of law that fairies and humans can't love each other while still remaining as both fairy and human, but man...

Whole book spoilers (and more about Gadfly): Gadfly's talent of seeing the future could've been put to way more interesting use in the plot, imo. There didn't seem to be a huge point to him having such a talent except perhaps to orchestrate the whole plot that he did, but there's so much more potential there. I had expected him to be the mastermind villain in the end (which turned out to be the Alder King) but that actually made Gadfly much more interesting. Instead of being a straight up villain, we don't really know what his true motivation is in the end. The revelation of him having "lured" Isobel and Rook to do all his dirty legwork for him as well as what he said at the end about how the spring court will hopefully get its turn ruling the fairy world one day makes me think that maybe he has a bigger plan in motion. If this book was gonna be a series, I'd expect to see Gadfly definitely play a huge sinister role at the end of it all. Even as a standalone, at least Gadfly's presence kinda makes the ending slightly greyer and more interesting than just a straight up happy ever after.I also kinda wish Isobel had been Rook's ex-girlfriend but enchanted so that her memories were altered and blocked. She thinks she's a 17 year old human girl living with her aunt, but she's actually an immortal fairy living with a jailer/caretaker whose mission it is to keep her memories from coming back for whatever reason. It'd be a lot more interesting than just a straight up "super-old immortal being kidnaps and falls in love with teenage girl" plot anyway.

Overall, this was a short and decent read. Some parts were cringey and laughable, but the world and some of its lore was pretty interesting.

This was a nice read, but I wasn't that impressed with it. I would give it around 3,5 stars right now. I didn't feel like I connected with the characters that much. I really liked the writing style, the pace of the book and everything that happened, but I felt the romance a little bit rushed. I feel like they didn't even get to know each other and suddenly they were in love and they would've done everything for each other - a little bit too fast, in my opinion.

Heel mooi geschreven. Vooral de natuurscènes en de weerswisselingen zag ik zo voor mijn geestesoog tot leven komen.
Het verhaal zelf was wel ok, maar een beetje plat en ontwijkend naar mijn goesting. Veel potentieel, dat uiteindelijk verviel in een standaard romance.

Het feit dat the fair folk geen emoties voelen volgens het verhaal deed me op momenten te veel nadenken. Ze voelen geen emoties, maar ze worden wel kwaad, ze zijn rancuneus, ze vinden dingen mooi, etc. Waar ligt de grens voor emotie en geen emotie?

Yes I know that this book was very predictable, but I couldn't help but love it! I love Margaret Rogerson's writing style, the world she created felt so magical and beautiful! And I honestly really liked Isobel and Rooks characters, and although we didn't see much of them, I really liked Isobel's sisters as well! I'm excited to try out her other book!

It also reminded me of Cinderella is Dead by Kaylnn Bayron, for some reason. So if you enjoyed either, I would recommend the other!

I can understand why many people might not enjoy this, but I'm a sucker for a happy ending. I know a lot of people only like to read books that make a statement or deal with some real-world issue, but why not just read some Th omg for the sake of reading a literal fairy-story, a happy ending for the sake of a happy ending? It's not as if it's poorly written.

I've been very excited to read this book. I mean, look at this cover. However, this book wasn't for me. I really enjoyed A Sorcery of Thorns, so thought I would love this book. However, i found myself getting bored multiple times through this short novel.

First off, the writing is incredible. Rogerson does a phenomenal job of really getting you to feel like you're in this world, experiencing it for the first time.

However, the plot was unoriginal and boring at times. There is the dreaded insta-love trope. Isobel, a level headed human woman, creates amazing paintings. When she paints the high prince of Autumn with human emotion in his eyes, he comes to kidnap her and put her on trial. She's mad for about 3 seconds, and then they're kissing. There was no basis to their relationship. You hardly learn anything about Rook's personality or his backstory, besides he's loved another human girl. It just felt unjustified and made for a boring plot.

All in all, I think some people would definitely like this book. The world of the fair folk is incredibly detailed and awful, and Isobel is a likable character. It just wasn't for me.

Rating: 3.4 leaves out of 5
Characters: 3/5
Cover: 4/5
Story: 2.5/5
Writing: 4/5
Genre: Young Adult/Fantasy/Romance
Type: Audiobook
Worth?: Kinda

I have had this in my TBR for a while and when I got the excuse to read it I was beyond happy... happy that is until I actually started reading it. For most of the story I have said cringe and crappy romance maybe one too many times. Would I pick this book up again? NEVER. I think one line in this whole book saved it from being a 1.5 or 2.

There were some very clear comparisons to A Court of Thorne and Roses. One of them being that the main girl can paint. I liked where Margaret went with Isobel's skill though her downfall was never explaining how she got the skill. It was above human level of painting. Second was there being something terribly wrong with each court. All of them were forever in one season. Third is the girl having to save the main guy's life. Though they had these same points both stories are very different and I recommend you don't base this review on whether or not you read ACoTaR

The way the story was written has really screwed the pooch for Isobel. She started off strong and fell face first onto the cement. We weren't shown their build up of their feelings but instead told so and in doing so it didn't create any kind of connection. So whenever the two had a romantic moment it was cringe and annoying.

Besides that the rest of the story just seemed moldy and old. We were stuck in the spring court for a good bit, didn't think that would ever end. The one line that saved the book was when Rook patted Isobel's foot to calm her down. It was cute and a mess all at once.

Also let's talk about Gadfly and his Mary Sue self. He could tell the future? Talk about some Twilight crap.

4.5 ⭐️
Ah, what a beautiful story!
- Interesting and funny characters;
- Mesmerising , yet creepy world;
- A romance that wasn't too brazen and complimented the story in a quiet and respectful way;
- Strangely realistic for what it is.

Please keep in mind that the magic system is extremely soft, so if that is something that bothers you, you might want to be aware before you decide to read it.

As far as Fantasy Romance goes, probably the best I've read so far.

P.S.: March and May are my favourite duo ever!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!! That was INCREDIBLE!!! I Deeply love Margaret's writing style and the way she writes dialog!!! I'm honestly having a hard time putting into words how much I LOVED this book!!! I have so many feelings right now!!! Both of the main characters are Insufferable, and if anything bad ever happens to either of them again I will 100% cry!!! There was so So much to love about this book!!! For a debut novel this was STUNNING!!! Definitely read this if you like high fantasy books!!!!

This is the perfect case of going into a book with the wrong expectations. I really enjoyed Sorcery of Thorns and I was expected a more story-driven adventure with romance as the backdrop and more developed characters. 

Sadly, An Enchantment of Ravens is a YA romantasy, a genre that I have learned recently I just cannot stomach for the most part (with exceptions). Now, i do like romance but I do need the build up, here unfortunately we get instalove which is another one of my pet peeves. This, along with the fact that the characters weren't fleshed put enough just didn't make for a good read for me.

One thing I did really enjoy about the book were the vibes. The setting and the atmosphere were something I really wanted more of. It's perfect for an autmn romance read. 

All in all, it was just not a book for me and I shouldn't have went with high expectations solely because of Sorcery of Thorns.