A review by howl
Half a Soul by Olivia Atwater

adventurous funny lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

*Mr. Darcy voice* This is a charming book. Described as “Pride and Prejudice meets Howl’s Moving Castle” with “the spirit of Susanna Clarke or Erin Morgenstern but with less commitment,” this little novel perfectly embodies a fantastical Regency setting and throughly cheered me while reading. It takes no time in getting started, immediately introducing the reader to the confines of Regency England and to the wild and unpredictable fantasy element, opposing forces which produce an intriguing setting that still seems fresh despite the fair amount of Regency fantasy stories I’ve previously encountered. The novel follows a young woman named Dora, whose childhood encounter with an evil fairy (from whom she was saved by her close friend and cousin Vanessa, brandishing a pair of steel scissors; insert Bernie Sanders meme here) has changed the course of her life. When the two travel to London in search of a cure for the fairy’s curse, they encounter a difficult but highly skilled young sorcerer named Elias who might be persuaded to help. The plot is admittedly rather thin, as you might expect from a novel under 250 pages, but I couldn’t bring myself to care much given the interesting and unique heroine and a romance that really ended up getting its hooks in me. There was one scene in particular near the end that nearly made me sigh dreamily; if the sequel manages to be as good then I’m in danger of turning into a cartoon character. Note: If you’ve only been exposed to the movie version of Howl’s Moving Castle, be warned that the love interest in this starts off much more like book Howl, i.e. a bitchier and more arrogant version of the beloved wizard. He gets better the more you read, as you would expect given the Pride and Prejudice comparison :3
Expand filter menu Content Warnings