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An Enchantment of Ravens: Beautifully Crafted


SYNOPSIS

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.

Page Count: 300 pages

Genre: Fantasy // Young Adult

Rating: 4 stars

Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books

Release Date: September 26, 2017

MILANA'S REVIEW

Before I get into why this was a complicated read for me I want to mention that I enjoyed An Enchantment of Ravens, I LOVED the writing and I read it quickly. Where it fell short for me was the believability in the characters chemistry. Although this didn’t take away a full star from my rating it did leave me craving more from the characters.

The writing was beautiful. I couldn’t inhale the words any faster, I kept making myself slow down to appreciate the writing even though I could have finished it in one sitting. The descriptions of the woods and the creatures and just bones and food in general was amazing. Wonderfully complete in terms of writing.

The characters however, I did not feel a single emotion for their struggle. I found myself questioning whether they liked each other at all or if it was the magic itself forcing them together? I’m still not sure what the intention of their relationship was and what it was missing. One other tricky part of the book was the fact that Craft was not explained until well into 100 pages of the book. I was confused as to what the Fae considered Craft from the human world. It was explained later but I would've preferred it to be clearer at the beginning.

But! I recommend this to you all! Read it! Bask in the beauty of autumn through this enchanting story. I really want more from Margaret Rogerson, so excited to see what her next project is!


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