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.
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