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ollieshark's review
adventurous
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Doing this on mobile so it'll be short.
If you enjoyed harry potter but want a properly ya-aged version of it written by someone who is not a raging transphobe, sot is a good candidate. The grimoires act as whimsically as they probably would in hp, except the magic system in sot isn't redundant and outdated. The bantering and charm between elisabeth, nathaniel, and silas is very entertaining and frequent yet not overbearing.
However, i have two glaring issues with this novel. The first is that there's no challenges the main characters have to face. Almost every obstacle is overcome within ten pages. Apparently elisabeth has sucked up so much residual magic from the grimoires that no bad magic can debilitate her as it does other humans, such as lorelei glamoring her. Bc of the magic succ, she can also easily overcome magical puzzles, like the codex daemonicus. Bc of elisabeth's magical properties, everything is extremely easy to accomplish and as a result a chore to read, as she is overpowered compared to people who have been actual sorcerers for decades longer than she has been alive. My second issue is that nathaniel serves no practical purpose. If he was removed and silas bound to elisabeth, then there would be no difference in the story. There'd be no shoehorned romance either, which is a plus.
Overall i did enjoy this novel's setting and the humor it provides, and that's enough for me to look over the holes margaret wrote herself into with elisabeth's weird grimoire powers that break all of the rules of the magic system she came up with. But as is stands, an enchantment of ravens remains my favorite novel by her.
If you enjoyed harry potter but want a properly ya-aged version of it written by someone who is not a raging transphobe, sot is a good candidate. The grimoires act as whimsically as they probably would in hp, except the magic system in sot isn't redundant and outdated. The bantering and charm between elisabeth, nathaniel, and silas is very entertaining and frequent yet not overbearing.
However, i have two glaring issues with this novel. The first is that there's no challenges the main characters have to face. Almost every obstacle is overcome within ten pages. Apparently elisabeth has sucked up so much residual magic from the grimoires that no bad magic can debilitate her as it does other humans, such as lorelei glamoring her. Bc of the magic succ, she can also easily overcome magical puzzles, like the codex daemonicus. Bc of elisabeth's magical properties, everything is extremely easy to accomplish and as a result a chore to read, as she is overpowered compared to people who have been actual sorcerers for decades longer than she has been alive. My second issue is that nathaniel serves no practical purpose. If he was removed and silas bound to elisabeth, then there would be no difference in the story. There'd be no shoehorned romance either, which is a plus.
Overall i did enjoy this novel's setting and the humor it provides, and that's enough for me to look over the holes margaret wrote herself into with elisabeth's weird grimoire powers that break all of the rules of the magic system she came up with. But as is stands, an enchantment of ravens remains my favorite novel by her.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Forced institutionalization
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders and Vomit
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