Title: An Enchantment of Ravens

Author: Margaret Rogerson

Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books

Release Date: September 26th 2017

Pages: 300

Rating: 5 OUT OF 5 STARS!!!

 

~ Goodreads Synopsis ~

A skilled painter must stand up to the ancient power of the faerie courts—even as she falls in love with a faerie prince—in this gorgeous debut novel.

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. 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—and that love violates the fair folks’ ruthless laws. Now both of their lives are forfeit, unless Isobel can use her skill as an artist to fight 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.

~ ~ ~ ~

This is my fourth five star read of the year, and I have read them all in a row – I do have to say, it is one of the greatest feelings on this Earth. I do think that this one is my favorite of all of them, though, for reasons I will get to throughout this post. I am going to try my best to avoid spoilers at all costs, although I really need to rave about every single sentence in this book with someone.

If you have read this book, let me know down below what you thought of it!

This novel is super short, it’s only 300 pages, and I was able to fly through it in two days. Because it was so short, it was really fast-paced and was able to keep my attention the entire time since there was really no room in the book for anything that wasn’t absolutely essential to the story.

I have to start with our main character, Isobel, who is a prodigy in the craft of art, of which only humans are able to produce. We pick up with her being a renowned artist among the Fae beings, or the fair ones, and because of her talent, she often thinks as if she is painting in a way. The story is told in the first person, so we read as Isobel sees such different sides of people and locations and objects, and the descriptions of colors and textures is beautiful. The sensory additions is one of my favorite parts of the book. I also love Isobel herself as she is so utterly average outside of her talent. I related to her personality very well with her stubbornness and fragility, and it was nice to see in YA fantasy since the genre is generally overloaded with badass killer girls – which I also very much adore. Her feelings and path of falling in love are also very natural; there is a hint of insta-love in the beginning, but it is entirely understandable as most people would feel the same way in similar situations. In all, Isobel is such a down to Earth and distinctive character that quickly became one of my favorites.

Rook is absolutely adorable, by the way, and I love him despite his arrogant and oblivious tendencies. He is so pure amid the other fair ones, and he remains true to himself throughout the entire novel while being nearly entirely self-less. He is always up front about his feelings and what he believes, and I really appreciated it. I really enjoyed watching all of his pieces come together throughout the book.

The fae as a whole were really interesting. I was expecting a civilization much like that of the fae in A Court of Thorns and Roses, but I found something else entirely. Every single fair one is severely arrogant and self-conscious and strictly cares about themselves more than they care about anything else. Now, I actually really enjoyed this aspect of the book because it really set some of the characters apart and it went along well with the fact that they cannot produce art. Because they cannot make literally anything, their lives are portrayed as empty and meaningless, which is entirely different from the fae of ACOTAR – in that series we saw the fae as far more fulfilled and able than the humans. So, in this book it’s a lot more empowering to be a human lol.

Also, the plot was beautiful – it was one of those forbidden love stories that just makes your heart wish they could be together. The ending really encompasses the entire story and really brings out its meaning, and it is such a satisfying end… even if I crave a sequel.

Again, let me know down below what you thought of AEOR!

Thanks for reading!

Taylor