WILD IS THE WITCH BY RACHEL GRIFFIN | BOOK REVIEW

 This review contains spoilers. They will be marked.

Wild is the Witch (2022) by Rachel Griffin is a contemporary young adult fantasy about loss and belonging. It is a hetero enemies-to-lovers between Iris Gray, a witch, and Pike Alder, a witch-hater. The book is barely 300-pages, easily read and followed. While the characters are in the older YA audience age-wise, the book reads to me more suitable for a young YA or even middlegrade reader. The main character feel much younger than her years. 

The book follows 18-year-old Iris Gray who has shut the world out after an incident two years ago that turned her community fearful of witches. Now, she has settled down with her mother at Foggy Mountain Wildlife Refuge in Washington. Being a Lunar, Iris has a strong connection to animals. Despite this, she's wary of anyone learning her true identity as a witch. Her father is behind in their previous town, her best friend got stripped of her power, and the only person her age at the refuge is the witch-hating, aspiring ornithologist intern, Pike Alder.

When Iris concocts a curse for Pike she never meant to unleash, she is set on hiking the Pacific Northwest to find the owl who stole the curse and dispel it for her own good. Forced into proximity with Pike on the trail, their hatred for each other slowly turn into understanding, and some of the walls Iris have built around herself start to unravel. Still, time is of the essence: if the owl dies before she gets the chance to unbind the curse, Pike and the entire region are in danger and Iris may lose the only thing that makes her feel like she still belongs somewhere: her magic.

Read The StoryGraph synopsis here.


Magic system

There are three types of witches: Lunars, Stellars, and Solars. Lunars have magic that more strongly impacts animals while Stellars impact humans. Solars, though not specified, have qualities that can improve agriculture. Based on the name, I would assume their magic impact the weather or plants.

Their magic is in everything around us - electrons, atoms -, but not everyone is able to tap into the source. Witches are able to decide how much magic they want to channel, and their ability to regulate how much magic they pull towards themselves from the environment is what stops them from burning alive. Their magic has limitations as it works with the natural world, and not against it. They can request an animal to do something, like trusting them or feeling calm, but they can't compell it to do it. As Iris explains in chapter two, "there's a balance between the need for science and the need for magic."

All witches and mages are connected under the Witches' Council. There are two primary things we learn about witch culture. One, endangered animals can be strong amplifiers of power. Two, turning a human into a witch is close to a death sentence. It can be done, but if the human die, the witch or mage will be stripped of their powers, and likely jailed by a human court.

A note on the witches' society: the witches and mages felt more like a race than a wide arrange of people with powers in the way they are being treated. 


The Owl

Owls are a common symbol of wisdom and knowledge. In the book, a Northern spotted owl is what forces Iris onto her journey. Throughout the story, she comments on if the actions of the owl are deliberate. The northern spotted owl is a powerful amplifier, and an endangered species both in the book and in real life. The movement of the owl reflects Iris's progress as she maneuvers through her relationship with Pike on the trail. If the owl has an agenda, it is to bring them closer together and help them, and especially Iris, to open up about who she is.


Imagery 

Similar to Griffin's first book, The Nature of Witches, Wild is the Witch also keeps a commentary on an important environmental challenge of our time. This time, it's the loss of old-growth forests to deforestation and the endangerment of species. Wild focuses particularly on the Northern Spotted Owl which lives in The Pacific Northwest, North America.

While the imagery is beautiful and you feel pulled into a misty old-growth forest from the start, it also feels somewhat repetitive how often it is mentioned. While it can be argued that it serves to remind the reader of the beauty and importance of such forests, it is also slightly disturbing. I love forests, but I also want the book to move on and focus on its main promise: the relationship between Iris and Pike. Btw, they were somewhat annoying characters even though it made some sort of sense (more in that below the spoiler mark).


Cover & design notes

I got the first edition of this book because the hardback is carrying a stunning blue, pink, and purple print of feathers and ferns. The dust cover is not my favorite, but it's not bad either. Inside, the book carries a darker design than what I was expecting from it. The chapter headers are in black with two white feathers hovering in the air. After having gone into some depth with this book, I understand it more than if I just read it swiftly. It's definitively a book carrying a heavier burden than what might be obvious at first sight. If you wonder how it looks, you can take a look at Rachel Griffin's Instagram post.


Conclusion

I liked this book, but I can't say I loved it. I desperately want to thought because I adored The Nature of Witches. Wild is the Witch read as a more straightforward book for me where the only thing I didn't expect was the plot twist. It was a book I swallowed in two days, but I didn't fall in love with any of the characters or felt too attached to them. Not in the way I wish to commit to characters. I love that Griffin uses the book to feature causes that are important to her, wildlife refuges, loss of old-growth forests, and the Northern Spotted Owl. Yet, a day or two on the trail didn't feel too realistic as enemies-to-lovers for me. I wish the relationship took longer to develop.

Major spoilers beyond this point.

My rating for those who do not want to read on: 3\5.


On the theme of loss

Loss is not only a theme when it comes to the different impacts of deforestation. The theme of loss is woven through Iris's story from start to finish. It opens with her losing her best friend, her hometown, then her father, and a lack of safety in the world around her. She's terrified of anyone finding out she's a witch and working with Pike Alder is a constant action of hiding who she is. She also misses her father, who she's fallen out of touch with when he refused to move to another town. The growing distrust of witches after her best friends, Amy's trial and jailing, also made her shut herself down, and made her live in her head. 

Pike has also experienced loss at the hands of a witch, something that made him hateful of all of them. What they both learn on the trail is to understand more of each other's feelings and reasoning.  

On the theme of belonging

Belonging was always the flip side of this story, the thing Iris needed to regain and which the Owl helped her achieve - conscious of its actions or not. Wild is the Witch is an enemies-to-lover, but the plot takes a turn at the end and might not leave you exactly where you imagined. Still, Iris finds the courage to be herself with Pike. She also finds a way to reconnect with Amy. While I don't think she's ever rid of her guilt, she's starting to bring love back into her life when the book ends. 

Pike is deliberately word-sparring with Iris to keep her out of her head. Iris doesn't know this herself before Pike points it out on their hike, and then she starts to see him as someone who wants her something good. When it comes to the ending, Iris made a sacrifice to right her own wrongs with the curse, but it was Pike's own willingness to accept magic as a part of his life that gave this story a sort of happy ending.

I am not sure how I really felt about the ending though. From my perspective, Iris shouldn't have been so easily "forgiven" for what she did. I think it would make more sense if they parted as friends, at least temporarily, instead of being separated for a few months of recovery and going back to "lovers." Yet, Pike's choice reflects his own commentary earlier in the book "he chooses which grudges to hold," and becoming a mage was something he wanted to learn to enjoy instead of continuing to curse. 


Rating: 3\5

My The StoryGraph review.

Trigger warnings 

Injured animals, death of animals. Fire injury. Broken bones. 

Information 

Format: Hardcover, 1st ed.     Pages: 304     Genre: Contemporary fantasy     Demographic: Teen     Year of Publishing: 2022     Series: Standalone

THE DARKEST PART OF THE FOREST | BOOK REVIEW

The Darkest Part of the Forest (2015) by Holly Black is a teen novel about growing into your childhood dreams. The book follows the siblings, Hazel and Benjamin who lives in a small town adapted to the frequent visits by the dangerous and trickery Fae Folk. In the forest, a fay prince rests in an unbreakable glass casket. Both Hazel and Ben dream about waking him up and falling in love, just as in the fairy tales. When the fairy attacks on the town intensifies and the casket finally breaks, Hazel and Ben must figure out the truth of the fairy court’s relationship with the town and their prince, and step into the heart of the forest before it is too late.


The Darkest Part is part fairy tale, part romance. It offers up two relationships to cheer on – a gay one and a straight one. Both are great and satisfying for the reader. The queer relationship isn’t bolded out in any way, but skillfully braided into the world as the most natural thing that could happen. However, there is a minor instance of homophobia from parents in the book in their past. 


One of my favorite things about this book is the large amount of different fae and creatures introduced. There are tons of them and I love to see the twisted curses the fae put on people. It feels surprisingly believable when it is already rooted in a small, cursed-blessed town where well-founded superstition run through its marrow. The whimsical nature of it all kept me turning the pages.


The characters are wholesome. I think if I’d read this book when I was thirteen, I’d want to be exactly like Hazel – a knight who fights monsters, falls in love, and get to experience a grim and enchanting fairy court. Or maybe Ben, who plays enchanted music, and longs for a prince to love him back. Or maybe, Severin or Jack. All the characters were fantastic! 


As a sibling myself, I highly enjoyed the close sibling relationship. It shows how far siblings are willing to go to protect each other, and the undeniable love and trust between siblings that is often hard to understand for only children. While we mostly experience Hazel and Ben in the now, we also get to learn about how they grew up together with neglectful parents, and how it shaped them and their relationship to each other and others. For this book to only be a little over 300 pages, we get a lot of content in all the good ways.


The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black is a slice of whimsical and creepy magic I’m happy I picked up, and wish I’d picked up sooner. I loved the knighthood tale of Hazel, and the love stories. I loved the relationships and all the characters. The fae court is terrifying, but stunning. The bargains unpredictable nature makes you want to keep reading. I throughoutly enjoyed this read.  


This is a book fitting the lower YA/Teen demographic. It has a somewhat childlike expression that should be expected if you're a older reader. 


Rating: 5\5 stars.

 

Information

Format: E-book     Pages: 336 Genre: Fantasy       Demographic: Teen      Year of Publishing: 2015  Series: Standalone. Unfolds in the same universe as The Folk of the Air and Modern Faerie Tales. 


Trigger warnings

Child neglect. Animal death. Homophobia (minor).

THE JASMINE THRONE BY TASHA SURI | BOOK REVIEWS

The Jasmine Throne (Burning Kingdoms #1) by Tasha Suri was sold to me as a part of the "sapphic trifecta" of adult fantasy on Twitter last summer. While I acquired it and its sisters a year ago, I only got the time to dig into The Jasmine Throne this month. To summarize: It blew past my expectations. 


The Jasmine Throne is a 534 pages-long book filled with a deathly magic system and a magical blight, political intrigue, and birthname prophecies. It's a lesbian, enemies-to-lovers story. 

The book offers up a large cast of characters deriving from the different nations around the Indian-inspired universe, mainly taking place in the nation, Ahiranya, where our characters reside. The book is narrated from nine different points of view, focusing on three strong-willed female characters - Priya, Malini, and Bhumika. The Jasmine Throne is definitively a novel about women. Especially, how women are perceived, and the masks women have to wear and hide to not be considered "monstrous" in the eyes of men.


"But you’re no hare, are you? You are a night flower if anything, precious only for a brief time before you decay.” 

 

The story begins in Ahiranya, an empire that in the ancient Time of Flowers had nearly conquered the entire continent. Now, it's being crushed under the dictatorship of the Emperor Chandra of Parijatdvipa. To quell the threat of magic and opposition, he "purifies" women on the pyre, and immolated the Temple Children of Ahiranya. 


A few years later, Malini finds herself exiled and imprisoned on the Hirana: an ancient temple that was once the source of the powerful, magical deathless waters — but is now little more than a decaying ruin. 


Priya is a maidservant, one among several who make the treacherous journey to the top of the Hirana every night to clean Malini’s chambers. She is happy to be an anonymous drudge, so long as it keeps anyone from guessing the dangerous secret she hides.


But when Malini accidentally bears witness to Priya’s true nature, their destinies become irrevocably tangled. One is a vengeful princess seeking to depose her brother from his throne. The other is a priestess seeking to find her family. Together, they will change the fate of an empire. - the storygraph synopsis.

"As if a choice, carefully bred into your nature by grief and training and hardship, was any choice at all." 


While romance is not a extensive part of the book, its sapphic tones are there from the beginning, being both prohibited and a tradition where the cultures of two different nations meet and bend to keep the peace in Hiranaprastha. However, what one might find more interesting about the women in this book is that none of them find that it matters. They dare to love who they love without shame regardless of the laws of the empire. This also ensures that the reader get their fill of romance scenes. 


The strong wills of all the female characters to reach their goals are something that makes this book stand out. None of their motives are in any way a hero's pure motives. They are selfish, and gray, aiming to preserve and improve their worlds, no matter the cost, but they are also in no search of a perfect solution. No such end exists. If its anything this book begs you to understand, is that there are no ways to power that do not corrupt a person at all. Power comes at a cost. 


Bhumika - is the pregnant wife of Ahrianya's Parijat regent and a twice-born temple daughter in hiding. She took Priya in and gave her a job at the Mahal when she was left at her doorstep by her sick brother. Bhumika wants to keep the peace and shed as little blood as possible, and knows the ways culture is tarnished under foreign rule.


Priya - is a temple daughter, once-born, and a maidservant of the Mahal. She takes the job as a maidservant in the Hirana when Malini arrives for her imprisonment. She has a soft heart, taking in orphans suffering from the blight and gifting them sacred wood, but she also has faces to hide away if she wants to stay alive. Priya is in search of family and identity after the immolation of her temple family.


Malini - is the exiled princess of Parijatdvipa. Finding herself in Hirana, she's desperate for a friend, anyone who can help her get out. Behind the scenes, Malini still works to see her own goals completed: to see her cruel brother, Chandra, off the throne, and reinstate her bigger brother as the true emperor.


While these are whom I consider the main character, there are sub-plots and details that expands the world. The magic system, for once, is intricate and deadly, and the reader, like the characters, are still missing pieces to unerstand how the existence of the powers, the blight, and the might of the nameless gods will coil into the plot and affect the outcomes. It's definitively a slumbering force. 


To conclude, I loved this book. The Jasmine Throne exceeded my expectations and gifted me the pleasure of meeting inspiring female characters in the many stages of life. The Jasmine Throne is a book where the ruthless battles the soft and the necessity of monstrousness in the search for power. I also find that the book has a strong dialogue on queer relationships, one that is of acceptance and rebellion of the better sort. 


If you're thinking of picking up a epic LGBT fantasy right now, The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri is a phenomenal choice


Rating: 5/5.


Information

Format: E-book Pages: 534 Genre: Epic Fantasy Year of publishing: 2021 Series: Burning Kingdoms #1

Trigger warnings

Immolation, execution by elephants, strangelation, homophobia. Melting faces. Grotesque blight turning people into trees. Blood. 



POISON STUDY BY MARIA V. SNYDER | BOOK REVIEW

Poison Study (2005) by Maria V. Snyder is the first book in the fantasy series, The Chronicles of Ixia, spanning three main novellas and three short stories. The book is a captivating tale of a young woman learning to step into her power, and regaining her will to live in the lethal profession as the Commander's new poison taster.


Poison Study is accompanied by Assasin Study(#1.5) and followed up by Magic Study (#2).

The StoryGraph summary: Choose a quick death or a slower poison. About to be executed for murder, Yelena is offered an extraordinary reprieve. She'll eat the best meals, have rooms in the palace—and risk assassination by anyone trying to kill the Commander of Ixia. And so Yelena chooses to become a food taster. But the chief of security, leaving nothing to chance, deliberately feeds her Butterfly's Dust—and only by appearing for her daily antidote will she delay an agonizing death from the poison. As Yelena tries to escape her new dilemma, disasters keep mounting. Rebels plot to seize Ixia and Yelena develops magical powers she can't control. Her life is threatened again and choices must be made. But this time the outcomes aren't so clear.

Review.
Poison Study definitively lived up to my expectations. It brought its fair deal of fighting, romance, and betrayal to the table, and made for a solid and enjoyable fantasy read. The book has little downtime, always moving between different plots and angles, and leaving no time for unnecessary scenes. If the plot wasn't built upon, we dived deeper into character relations or learned pieces of information that would help expand our knowledge of the world. In total, it offers good world-building, a complex military system, and strong character dynamics. The ending is also tied up satisfactorily, leaving room for the next novel to unfold on its own. 

Prose.
The author uses clear and direct language. The use of simple language makes it accessible to younger readers, which is beneficial as it is often recommended for early teens and up. The hardest word I encountered while reading this book was "rendezvous [meeting at an arranged place and time, often secretly]," and it likely worked to establish the age and rank of a character as it is only used sparingly in dialogue, and otherwise felt out of place.

Characters.
I think many readers may find their love for Valek, an assassin and poisoner, and the love interest - or rather, the romance brewing between them, if you ask me, who falls for the emotions evoked in me as a reader over the characters themselves. Yet, Yelena is more than capable on her own. She's a quick learner, acrobat, literate, and with urgency - all skills which serve her throughout the story. She's neither the only female character with skill. We also meet Irys who is a Master Magician from the neighboring country, Sitia, and Maren, a highly-skilled archer who only tutors women to help them get into the army. Yelena also obtains two close-knit, skilled, and loyal male friends, who come in handy as tutors, friends, and fighters. Some may also take notice of the Commander's true identity, and how the book introduces us to a diverse cast of loveable characters.

Some might find the relationship between Valek and Yelena upsetting due to their age gap and the power relations. I leave the decision and discussion up to the individual reader to answer for themselves, and how they interpret the maturity and life situation of the characters whether they find it appropriate or not. Their age is not explicitly stated in the book, but Yelena is confirmed as 19 years old and Valek in his early 30s by the author. (I have yet to discover the original source of this confirmation. However, Yelena's age seems correct based upon her own narration in the book.) 

Magic-system.
The magic system in this series is yet to be properly flushed out. In Poison Study you get to know what Yelena needs to know to be able to complete her task and little more as magic is prohibited in Ixia. I am expecting a deeper dive into the magical aspects of the world in Magic Study.

Trigger warnings.
Poison Study deals with short mentions of suicidal ideation and sexual harassment, quick descriptions of attempted sexual assault, and descriptions of rape and torture. The book also includes two minor scenes where the transition of a character is described as an "aberration" and "mutation" and is misgendered in a memory. It might be a sign of the times, as otherwise the trans character is treated respectfully.

If you like the Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas you will find a companion in this book as they have stark similarities.

Rating: 4.5\5.
I will definitively be picking up the next book in the future.

THE GODDESS OF NOTHING AT ALL BY CAT RECTOR | ARC REVIEW

 I was approved for an e-arc of The Goddess of Nothing At All by Cat Rector in trade for an honest review of the book. 


"The price of happiness was the end of everything."

The Goddess of Nothing At All is a complex and heart-wrenching story spinning decades. It aims to give an explanation to Sigyn's erasure in Norse Mythology, and tell her story. In the tales, she's remembered as the wife of Loki and little more. How this came to be, and what happened to her life before and after is not preserved. 


Sigyn has pursued the title of a goddess all her life. Yet her father, Odin, The Allfather, refuses her one. No amount of work or study seems to satisfy him, pushing Sigyn further away from him as the decades' pass. In a desperate attempt to obtain her title, Sigyn seeks out Loki and brings him back to Gladsheim.  As her relationship with the gods keeps her unhappy, she grows closer to Loki, and her tale starts spinning. Blessed and cursed by their fates, Sigyn is an admirable character showing great strength and endurance, a will to love, and be true to her feelings as she faces the consequences of prioritizing her own happiness in Asgard, and becoming the wife of the trickster god. 


One of my favorite parts about this book is how fully it seems to wrap up Sigyns life and tell her story. We meet her as a relatively young goddess in everything but title. However, as you get closer to the end, it feels as if you've stayed with her entire lifetimes (which we just might have.) The good and the bad that happens in her life, how fates and prophecies come into play, and the spectacular use of known stories from the lore makes the universe and Sigyn's lifestory a fresh and believable reading experience. Not to forget, emotional.


Loki's character is the second most interesting one as it shows a rebellion against the status quo, but also an incredibly diverse character dealing with trauma, bad fate, and his own nature. Before I move on, it has to be said, while not everything he does is redeemable in my opinion, the fault of the cruelty he causes on others, and endures can't solely be blamed on Loki. The Asir does have a strict agenda against him and has abused him earlier, especially Odin who knows his role in Ragnarok. Thus, one has to wonder if the gods did not choose to belch and attack the people they feared, they could have changed the fates enough to prevent Ragnarok. In that way, the book offers an interesting dialogue on how to meet what we fear: if it so is through hatred or love, and the toll of choosing hate may put on others and oneself. 


The book is an adult fantasy that does not shy away from the ugly, and thus requires its trigger warnings. Obtained from the author's site, the goddess of nothing at all features scenes with or of: "vulgar language, gratuitous violence and torture, mental, emotional, and verbal abuse, unhappy situations for LGBTQA+ characters, mentions of sexual coercion and rape, death and violence towards animals, discrimination and fantasy slurs, and death." More details can be found here.


In The Goddess of Nothing At All, Cat Rector spins a surprising, heart-wrenching, and complex story of what it takes to choose your own happiness in a society set on alienating anything going against their own preferences. It does not shy away from the ugly of the Old Norse culture, nor critique of what is right or accepted simply because it is decided by the people in power. I loved Sigyn's character, and the gray aspects of Loki, and their life together. The way known tales are vowed into Sigyn's story creates a believable universe. I would not be mad if this was the real story of Sigyn Odindotter. 

4\5 stars.

 

The Goddess of Nothing At All releases October 1st, 2021.

SUSTAINABLE & CONCIOUS TRAVELING

Picture by me

Travel should be more than pictures. More than how we present it and ourselves to the outside world.  Yet, many seem to pick their travel destinations on the basis of beauty and not knowledge to be gained and experiences to be had. This is not exclusively; many travel consciously, but many also travel blindly; not taking their time to learn anything about the places they visit, yet leaving more stress on the local population and buying into romanticism about cultures when they leave. Tourism in itself can be both a curse and a blessing, creating both an income and raising the economy in a place but also disfavoring the poor who no longer can afford to live where they do, polluting air and water, affecting local biodiversity or wearing out old architecture. This year, as many of us are bound to stay home or travel within our own country, maybe we could take the time to profoundly experience the places we visit and live(?) 
-
What makes a sustainable experience? 
"A sustainable experience is an experience that leaves you with deep individual emotions and memories. As well is it awareness about how your presence affects the environment you're visiting." 1 The four main elements of a sustainable-memorable experience are:
-
i. to be in nature and feel a part of it
ii. to see the art and culture of the places you visit
iii. a view with insight
iv. activities by the sea, in the forest or ontop a mountain
-
You should be willing to experience something new and be present and linger in the places you travel instead of rushing onwards. Only by having the space to look outwards, will you be able to also create insight about how you affect the places you travel and experience how they really are.
-
Which places can I visit or what can I do?
Visit museums, historical places, monuments, architecture, libraries. Walk trails in the forest, climb mountains, walk on beaches, experience wildlife in its natural habitat. Support local companies, stores, art, restaurants. Learn from the local population. Learn about the place, culture, history, art. See the place by walking or bicycling your local area or do a day expedition to a place further away. Take some pictures to make the memories last. Visit farmer's markets, festivals, etc. (if any.)
-
How can I travel more sustainably?
i. support smaller local-owned inns, restaurants, travel companies, and stores instead of big, global ones
ii. walk, bicycle, or take the train as often as you can
iii. reduce the waste you're creating, and by all means, don't leave your waste flying! Use a refillable water bottle, bring reusable bags, don't buy things you don't need, and pack as lightly as reasonable. Make food at the house to go and bring reusable cutlery and a lunchbox or home compostable paper bags (if needed and possible.) Bring shampoo bars instead of bottles instead of bottled (also saves space), use a bamboo toothbrush, etc. Bring what you already own instead of buying new "over there."
iv. travel locally - discover your own local environment or travel broadly inside your own country.
v. if you have a lot of online influence, don't share the exact locations of where you are traveling as that has proven to be disastrous for some "instagrammable" locations. 
vi. indulge in ecotourism.
vii. be respectful. Don't act like you own the place. Show respect for the local population. Also, animals, beliefs, and the natural environment.

This post is just a glimpse into how to travel conscious and sustainable. The tourism industry faces many sustainability and ethical problems worldwide. Hopefully, this post may be a push for many of us to educate ourselves and open the discussion on which travels truly are worth it, and how we can make those trips as fulfilling as possible.

Sources:
Kester Moe, Windy. (2020.) Bærekraftig Norgesreise [Sustainable Travelling in Norway] Høgskolen i Innlandet.  https://forskning.no/hogskolen-i-innlandet-partner-reise/baerekraftig-norgesferie-hva-er-det/1674207 Accessed: May, 2020. 

AN ENCHANTMENT OF RAVENS BY MARGARET ROGERSON | BOOK REVIEW

I have anticipated Margaret Rogerson ’s debut novel, An Enchantment of Ravens, for some time now. Getting to it was like adding a flicker to my dreadful reading mood. In short, Enchantment didn’t let me down. It had clear characters, an interesting plot, beautiful scenery and, I believe, about every substantial plot parts tied up in less than 300 pages.

In a good way, this book is different. It is one of those innocent ones that turn out to not be as gentle as you though, because the phrasing didn’t put a storm where it only should rain so it doesn’t always appear to be large defeats and feats when it actually is. It was more likely it holds back on emotions and let the action portray the toll than bring you into the storm at the main characters heart.

An Enchantment of Ravens takes you into the fairylands from the small town of Whimsy. Isobel is a seventeen years old, talented painter of the Craft. Occasionally she takes fairy customers who worship Craft, since making it themselves is against their primary way of existing. As payment she gets enchantments. In the first chapter Gadfly, a fairy, tell her that the Autumn prince is coming to inquire a portrait from her the next day. He’s not been seen in mortal lands for over 300 years. Over the days creating his portrait, Isobel came to adore him, but she has done one terrible mistake; painted mortal sorrow in the fairy prince's eyes. A mistake that may cost him his life. In the night, she’s dragged to the Autumnlands to stand trial for her betrayal.

One of the easiest characters to make out is Rook, the autumn prince. He’s haughty and in some aspects like a child. He’s also kind and protective which makes him a more likable character. I wasn’t over the canopy about him at the start, but he improved through the book and I came to enjoy his particular charm. My favorite nonetheless is the main character, Isobel. She’s such a down to earth character with a passionate heart. In most except painting, she’s inexperienced, and I think this is one of the things that make her such a great character in this book.

The romance in this book is of a noteworthy sort. It isn't abusive or has a threatening situation written as romantic - something that appears often with Young Adult romances. Instead, Isobel put up her line and make her romantic counterpart promise to not violate her. This is like… healthy? *shook* It’s actually pretty great to read since it forces emotions through different actions.

The imaginary is otherworldly! “A breeze stirred the wheat and sighed through the grass, chilling the dew on my toes. The wind blew from the forest’s direction and for a moment I imagined I caught a whisper of that crisp, wild, wistful smell… I knew what it was. Autumn.”

The book also had its philosophical moment, giving insight into the eternal life of fairies, but also a frame to mortal life. The values of them both got put to the test which I loved.

Rating: 5\5.


Simple and true. It feels closer to the heart. It's not a spectacle or full of blazed up emotions. It’s clean, lovely, painful and has a shockingly beautiful imaginary. I absolutely adored it.