My friend bullied me into buying this.
Okay, I should probably start at the beginning.
My friend, Sarah (@realmofsarah on Instagram), read this book first. Sarah finished the book and immediately texted me that “the kiss scene needs to be studied academically.” That was a very compelling argument, so I added it to my TBR.
Then we went to Barnes & Noble, and they had one copy of the book left. She’s a little rough because some of the pages are messed up near the top and apparently someone else had already returned her once. So, me being me, I decided that she just needed some love and that it was my responsiblity to provide her with a loving home.
Thus, I acquired my very own copy of An Enchantment of Ravens. All that was left was to actually, y’know, read the book.
The Review
An Enchantment of Ravens is a solid fantasy book. It features a really chill version of enemies-to-lovers, forbidden love (that’s actually forbidden), hot fae, and a protagonist who’s an accomplished artist.
The romance is a bit of a whirlwind, so don’t go into it thinking you’ll get a slowburn because you will be disappointed. The romance felt a tad fast to me, but overall the emotional depth of their relationship made it feel realistic that it would all happen that fast.
I’d highly recommend the book to fans of fast-paced fantasy with whirlwind forbidden romance and excellent worldbuilding.
Content Warnings
Alcohol, animal death, blood, body horror, cursing, death, death of a parent, injury/injury detail, murder, sexual content, suicidal thoughts, and violence.
What I Loved
Rook. What can I say? I’m a sucker for hot fae princes, apparently. *shrugs* Rook was a delightful little brat, and I will defend him with my life. *heart hands* I particularly loved how he’s so much more than a broody little guy. He has internal conflicts and we know why things matter to him, which is huge for me when it comes to love interests.
Isobel’s convictions. Something that annoys me are female characters who are willing to throw away everything they believe in for a love interest. So, it was really refreshing to see Isobel hold tight to her beliefs, values, and convictions. She knows what she wants (and what she doesn’t want), and she doesn’t change that just for a man.
The worldbuilding. I feel like this is a requirement for fantasy book reviews. The author did a fabulous job of building the world and inviting the reader into the experience alongside Isobel. I never felt confused or lost, and I loved that I wasn’t just constantly being bombarded with info-dumps. So, yeah, worldbuilding was top tier.
What I Didn’t Love
The writing style. Personally, I wasn’t a huge fan of the writing style. I tend to expect first-person POVs to be really intimate and close to the protagonist, but this one had a certain distance to it that I hadn’t expected. The style ultimately grew on me, and I don’t hold it against the author at all, but I did want to let you know in case this might be off-putting.
Favorite Quotes
“I was alive in a way I never had been before, in a world that no longer felt stale but instead crackled with breathless promise.”
“Why do we desire, above all other things, that which has the greatest power to destroy us?”
“Walking along a blade’s edge was only fun until the blade stopped being a metaphor.”
Listen to my An Enchantment of Ravens playlist
My Rating
About the Book
Every enchantment has a price.
With a flick of her paintbrush, Isobel creates stunning portraits for a dangerous set of clients: the fair folk. These immortal creatures cannot bake bread or put a pen to paper without crumbling to dust. They crave human Craft with a terrible thirst, and they trade valuable enchantments for Isobel’s paintings. But when she receives her first royal patron—Rook, the autumn prince—Isobel makes a deadly mistake. She paints mortal sorrow in his eyes, a weakness that could cost him his throne, and even his life.
Furious, Rook spirits Isobel away to his kingdom to stand trial for her crime. But something is seriously amiss in his world, and they are attacked from every side. With Isobel and Rook depending upon each other for survival, their alliance blossoms into trust, perhaps even love . . . a forbidden emotion that would violate the fair folks’ ruthless laws, rendering both their lives forfeit. What force could Isobel’s paintings conjure that is powerful enough to defy the ancient malice of the fairy courts?
Isobel and Rook journey along a knife-edge in a lush world where beauty masks corruption and the cost of survival might be more frightening than death itself.
About the Author
Margaret Rogerson is the New York Times and internationally bestselling author of Sorcery of Thorns and An Enchantment of Ravens. Her newest book, Vespertine, released October 2021 from Simon & Schuster. When not reading or writing, she enjoys watching more documentaries than is socially acceptable (according to some) and creeping through the woods in search of toads and mushrooms. She lives near Cincinnati, Ohio with her one-eyed cat Commodore. Her books have been translated into over a dozen languages.
Let’s Talk!
Have you read An Enchantment of Ravens? What’s your favorite fae fantasy novel? Do you prefer first-person or third-person POVs? Let’s talk all things fantasy in the comments below!
The Long Voyage 