I received this ARC from Publisher for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
An Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson Published by Simon and Schuster on September 26th 2017
Pages: 304
Amazon-Indiebound
Goodreads
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.
My Thoughts:
Some of the first YA books I read were faerie books and I’ve been hooked ever since. Holly Black’s Modern Faerie Tales and Melissa Marr’s Wicked Lovely had me searching for more faerie stories. There have been a few I’ve loved over the years (like Aprilynne Pike’s Wings and Julie Kagawa’s Iron Fey) but I always want more. As you can imagine, I was thrilled to hear about An Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson. I so enjoyed reading it. It totally reminded me of Neil Gaiman’s Stardust and Holly Black’s faerie books.
I got the Stardust vibe from the setting. Whimsy is a place for humans, yet it is close to the faerie world. Faeries come and go in Whimsy, and humans have to be careful in their interactions. I loved the fantastical and historical feeling of it all! And that was before we even got to the faerie lands!
Of course the faeries had me interested! I always love seeing how different authors create their own version of what the fae are like, how they live, and their lore. In this book I loved the idea of Craft. Basically, faeries can’t create and change things like humans can. This makes human creations, or Craft, coveted objects. Isobel’s genius with a paintbrush makes her the center of much attention… and places her in danger! This really kept me reading. I had to know how it all turned out.
An Enchantment of Ravens is a strong and promising debut. I would totally read more books, set in this world or totally different, from this author.
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