An Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson

September 22, 2017     erinthebooknut     Book review

An Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret RogersonAn Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson
Published by Margaret K. McElderry Books on September 26th 2017
Pages: 304
Goodreads

Isobel is a prodigy portrait artist with a dangerous set of clients: the sinister fair folk, immortal creatures who cannot bake bread, weave cloth, or put a pen to paper without crumbling to dust. They crave human Craft with a terrible thirst, and Isobel’s paintings are highly prized among them. But when she receives her first royal patron—Rook, the autumn prince—she makes a terrible mistake. She paints mortal sorrow in his eyes – a weakness that could cost him his life.

Furious and devastated, Rook spirits her away to the autumnlands to stand trial for her crime. Waylaid by the Wild Hunt’s ghostly hounds, the tainted influence of the Alder King, and hideous monsters risen from barrow mounds, Isobel and Rook depend on one another for survival. Their alliance blossoms into trust, then love, violating the fair folks’ ruthless Good Law. There's only one way to save both their lives, Isobel must drink from the Green Well, whose water will transform her into a fair one—at the cost of her Craft, for immortality is as stagnant as it is timeless.

Isobel has a choice: she can sacrifice her art for a future, or arm herself with paint and canvas against the ancient power of the fairy courts. Because secretly, her Craft represents a threat the fair folk have never faced in all the millennia of their unchanging lives: for the first time, her portraits have the power to make them feel.

5 Nuts!

Man, I’m having incredible luck with September titles this year.

AN ENCHANTMENT OF RAVENS is a fabulous take on the mythology behind faeries and their courts. Set in a part of the world that sees no change in season called Whimsy, AEOR is one of the best faerie stories since ACOTAR. High praise indeed. When it comes to the Fair Folk, Margaret Rogerson knows her stuff.

Like Feyre before her, our main character Isobel is a painter. She’s such a good painter that the Fair Folk come from all over to seek her Craft. In this world, Craft is something only humans can do, making things like art, food, and beautiful clothes. Faeries are obsessed with it even though they understand very little about the nature of it and humans.

This brings about one of the best, and probably most amusing parts of the book. The confusion of faeries trying to understand human thinks like hunger and cooking had me in stitches. Just the idea of this gorgeous, all powerful creature having no clue what to do with a hungry human for some reason hit me right in the funny bone. But I digress.

Isobel is very clever, and from the beginning makes a better impression on me than Feyre did. She doesn’t bumble around, even when out of her element. Instead she keeps her wits about her and her head on her shoulders, making her a more respectable main character in my eyes.

Then there’s Rook, easily my favorite character in this book. As lovable as Rhysand but with the added bonus of being from Autumn my favorite season, Rook just makes me happy every time he’s on the page. Not gonna lie, the way faeries are described is kind of ridiculous at times, which the book totally addresses. Regardless, the moment he is described as smelling of leaves and cool nights I was ready to love him. If I were to smell the love potion Amortentia from Harry Potter, that is exactly what it would smell like.

I was in love with the world building in AEOR from the word go. The way the author makes absurd things seem both humorous but entirely ordinary at the same time had me completely entertained the whole book. Sisters who were once goats? Yep, ok, I can buy it. That has everything to do with how she builds the world, that I can accept it and suspend my disbelief without taking everything so seriously. It makes the book a joy to read.

I could easily read 30 more books in this world, just from how enjoyable the experience is. AN ENCHANTMENT OF RAVENS has a brilliant humor to it, even at its darkest parts. I love the lore and the wonderful care the author takes in her craft that shows in the writing.

I recommend this book to fans of the A Court of Thorns and Roses series, anyone who is a fan of faeries or brilliantly written fantasy. Also a swoony love interest always helps. NEW BOOK BOYFRIEND!

Have an opinion of AN ENCHANTMENT OF RAVENS? Share in the comments.

From my shelf to yours,

Erin

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