Release Date: September 26, 2017
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, violating the fair folks’ ruthless Good Law. There's only one way to save both their lives, Isobel must drink from the Green Well, whose water will transform her into a fair one—at the cost of her Craft, for immortality is as stagnant as it is timeless.
Isobel has a choice: she can sacrifice her art for a future, or arm herself with paint and canvas against the ancient power of 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.
So I went to ComicCon International in San Diego in July and rushed to the Simon & Schuster booth to ask about this book (because faeries, duh) but I wasn't able to attend the day they were giving them away. HOWEVER, the awesome people there told me to email them and very kindly sent me a copy!
An Enchantment of Ravens follows Isobel, a gifted painter in a world where the powerful, i.e. the Fae, are unable to actually create things. The people in the town of Whimsy use their Craft to create things of beauty that the Fae from the World Beyond want, mostly to appease their vanity. When Isobel's gift reveals weaknesses in powerful Fae, including the Autumn Prince, Rook, she is taken into the World Beyond to face punishment. However, the Faery world is in chaos, and a little bit of humanity might be exactly what they need.
I had such high expectations of this book, and in most ways it met them. I love the ethereal yet dark style that books about Fae usually have. The world that Margaret Rogerson has created has all that - a town on the border of magic that only experiences summer, beautiful and yet incredibly cruel creatures that come out of the forest to buy (and trick) humans into giving them what they want. Names and words mean everything and Isobel is incredibly adept at keeping herself and her family safe. I loved the idea of Craft, that things of beauty can only be made by people who can experience the full spectrum of feeling and emotion (which, arguably, most Fae cannot), that humans and these mythical creatures are inevitably tied together somehow. I liked Isobel and thought she was so intelligent and cunning and resourceful. I liked the development of Rook as he realizes that the thing that makes Isobel such a good artist (her ability to understand people) isn't a weakness, but something beautiful.
There were also some things that didn't meet my expectations. I wished there to be more development between Isobel and Rook. While I was on board for their interactions and thought that the progression of their relationship made sense, I was left feeling like there could have been more depth and nuance to their changing feelings, especially considering the end. That being said, their chemistry was believable and you are rooting for them almost from the beginning. I also felt there was a strange balance of action and world building. I thought that the world was well developed and unique and that Isobel and Rook's journey had some great action scenes. However, a good part of the story also happens in the Faery court and it felt a little laggy to me. There were parts I liked there, such as going back to Craft and the price of immortality, and seeing Isobel become really strategic, but the story lost my attention at times.
Overall, I loved the world and characters that Margaret Rogerson has created. I have been waiting for a haunting and lovely Fae story for a while and this totally met that need. I think the real strength of the story is Isobel (and Margaret's) experience with creation and art and the important place it has for people. An Enchantment of Ravens is a floaty and romantic story, with a resourceful, headstrong artist unafraid to use her passion for painting to save her family and the world she loves (no matter how messed up it may be).
** I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Thanks S&S! **
Check out more about Margaret Rogerson here: http://www.margaretrogerson.com
Margaret Rogerson has worked a variety of jobs ranging from canoe livery counter girl to graphic designer. She has a bachelor's degree in cultural anthropology from Miami University. When not reading or writing, she enjoys sketching, gaming, making pudding, and watching more documentaries than is socially acceptable (according to some). She lives near Cincinnati, Ohio. An Enchantment of Ravens is her debut novel.
Happy Reading!
Jasmine
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