Book: An Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson
Read From: 27th January - 31st January 2022
Rating: 2/5 stars
Summary: Isobel creates stunning portraits for the dangerous fair folk, who crave human Craft and trade valuable enchantments for her work. 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 life. Furious, Rook spirits Isobel away to his kingdom to stand trial for her crime. But something is amiss in his world and they are attacked from every side. Depending on each other for survival, their alliance blooms into trust, perhaps even love... a forbidden emotion that would violate the ruthless laws of the fair folk, rendering both their lives forfeit...
I really wanted to love this book but I just couldn’t get into the plot or characters no matter what! Saying that though, the writing style was absolutely gorgeous and I was definitely swept away into this magical and atmospheric world. Whilst the world-building for me was somewhat lacking, I don’t necessarily need a detailed world and magic system to get lost in the writing, and that’s definitely what happened here. Whilst I would have appreciated more context and explanation, it wasn’t really the be all and end all.
What I do need to enjoy a reading experience though is loveable characters or, in the absence of that, a gripping plot. Sadly, An Enchantment of Ravens fell flat on both of these in my opinion. To me, it didn’t seem like there really was a plot - it was incredibly slow moving and mainly followed Isobel and Rook as they travelled around the magical (and dangerous) forest, meeting various kinds of enchanted beings along the way.
Because of this, it felt extremely character focused (which I don’t normally mind)! However, neither of the main characters in this book stuck out to me at all. Whilst I liked them, I have no doubt that in a couple of months I’ll likely forget about everything they did in this book. They weren’t bad protagonists, just unforgettable. Even if I had absolutely loved the characters, I think even then I would have found it hard to invest myself in the romance. I’ve absolutely loved the ‘forbidden love’ trope in previous books I’ve read but here I definitely felt a lack of angst and tension, which is what I love most about the trope.
I wouldn’t necessarily not recommend this - but it definitely wouldn’t cross my mind as a recommendation to others. I personally think there are other Fae books that are done better, with better world-building and that don’t leave you coming away from the book with any questions. I definitely preferred Rogerson’s second novel, A Sorcery of Thorns, and I’m still keen to get around to Vespertine (her most recent book) in future.