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A review by eesh25
An Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson
2.0
An Enchantment of Ravens has a beautiful cover but a low rating average, so I went in with moderate expectation. I still came out of it disappointed but not for usual reasons.
Right off the bat, you have to suspend your disbelief to some extent because of the premise. Isobel is a painter. She lives in the town of Whimsy, one often visited by the Fair Folk because they love Craft (a.k.a. art) but are unable to create their own. Isobel's Craft is highly coveted and, one day, the prince of the Autumn Court comes to commission a painting. Isobel sees something in him that she never expected, human emotion. When she paints his sorrow into the portrait, his reputation is threatened and he takes Isobel to Faerie to stand trial.
There are a few things about this synopsis that I wanna discuss. First off, if you didn't understand all the things in it, maybe because you've never read stuff related to the Faeries, then I suggest avoiding this book for now because it doesn't take the time to explain how the fae work. Second, the fact that her act of painting emotion on his portrait starts the whole charade should tell you enough about plausibility.
Moving on to the reason I was disappointed by the novel, it's because of the potential. I so badly wanted to like it. Near the end, I just wanted to get it to three stars somehow but I failed. One thing I really liked were the fae. I mean, I always love Fair Folk but I'm talking about the ones in this book specifically. They have some features that matched the norm, like not being able to lie and the nature thing. But there were also differences. For one, they turn to dust on performing Craft. Like, they can't even write their own names. They're immortal but they lack the animation that would be needed for a fulfilling life. I liked the balance that was created between the fae and humans. One is not better off than the other, even if it might seem that way.
But except for this one thing, I'm having difficulty coming up with many redeeming qualities. The writing was fine, I guess, but the visual imagery and action were lost in the attempt to make things "magical". Fantasy writing 101 should be to not compromise the important stuff for pretty prose.
The character development was also minimal. Isobel... there's not much to her. She's not annoying, thank god but the author makes her too composed. Nothing seems to phase her and she's always wise. Her narrative sounds like it belongs to an old woman who's telling the tale of her youth (think Rose in Titanic). Rook, the Autumn prince and the love interest, is pretty much useless. He's supposed to be one of the most powerful creatures in the world and hundreds (if not thousands) of years old, but you would never be able to tell. He has no clue what he's doing, ever, and his so-called power is highly inconsistent through the novel. I didn't buy him as a powerful faerie for a second.
Another things I didn't buy for a second: the romance. This novel relies on the romance a lot. Supposedly, Isobel and Rook fall in love during the sessions in which she makes his painting. Afterwards, many complications arise because of their feelings for each other since it's against fae law for a faerie and a human to fall in love (no clue as to why). You could say that the romance was the main plot. But there was no chemistry. It never once felt like they had feelings for each other, much less strong feelings like love.
The believability factor was flimsy at best, because the characters motivations were very weak. Not just for Rook and Isobel's feelings or for why he wanted her to stand trial, but for the villains too. There were a few bad guys thrown in but why they were doing what they were... not very clear on that.
Finally, the plot is supposed to be the answer to the question "why am I reading this book?" and, in this case, the answer was "to finish it". I didn't care about the events or the characters enough to read for them. There were gaps in world-building, story and characterization and the few good things weren't able to balance them. I would've liked having a level-headed protagonist but Isobel was one-dimensional instead. Her and Rook were the biggest disappointments and because of them, alone, I don't recommend this book.
Right off the bat, you have to suspend your disbelief to some extent because of the premise. Isobel is a painter. She lives in the town of Whimsy, one often visited by the Fair Folk because they love Craft (a.k.a. art) but are unable to create their own. Isobel's Craft is highly coveted and, one day, the prince of the Autumn Court comes to commission a painting. Isobel sees something in him that she never expected, human emotion. When she paints his sorrow into the portrait, his reputation is threatened and he takes Isobel to Faerie to stand trial.
There are a few things about this synopsis that I wanna discuss. First off, if you didn't understand all the things in it, maybe because you've never read stuff related to the Faeries, then I suggest avoiding this book for now because it doesn't take the time to explain how the fae work. Second, the fact that her act of painting emotion on his portrait starts the whole charade should tell you enough about plausibility.
Moving on to the reason I was disappointed by the novel, it's because of the potential. I so badly wanted to like it. Near the end, I just wanted to get it to three stars somehow but I failed. One thing I really liked were the fae. I mean, I always love Fair Folk but I'm talking about the ones in this book specifically. They have some features that matched the norm, like not being able to lie and the nature thing. But there were also differences. For one, they turn to dust on performing Craft. Like, they can't even write their own names. They're immortal but they lack the animation that would be needed for a fulfilling life. I liked the balance that was created between the fae and humans. One is not better off than the other, even if it might seem that way.
But except for this one thing, I'm having difficulty coming up with many redeeming qualities. The writing was fine, I guess, but the visual imagery and action were lost in the attempt to make things "magical". Fantasy writing 101 should be to not compromise the important stuff for pretty prose.
The character development was also minimal. Isobel... there's not much to her. She's not annoying, thank god but the author makes her too composed. Nothing seems to phase her and she's always wise. Her narrative sounds like it belongs to an old woman who's telling the tale of her youth (think Rose in Titanic). Rook, the Autumn prince and the love interest, is pretty much useless. He's supposed to be one of the most powerful creatures in the world and hundreds (if not thousands) of years old, but you would never be able to tell. He has no clue what he's doing, ever, and his so-called power is highly inconsistent through the novel. I didn't buy him as a powerful faerie for a second.
Another things I didn't buy for a second: the romance. This novel relies on the romance a lot. Supposedly, Isobel and Rook fall in love during the sessions in which she makes his painting. Afterwards, many complications arise because of their feelings for each other since it's against fae law for a faerie and a human to fall in love (no clue as to why). You could say that the romance was the main plot. But there was no chemistry. It never once felt like they had feelings for each other, much less strong feelings like love.
The believability factor was flimsy at best, because the characters motivations were very weak. Not just for Rook and Isobel's feelings or for why he wanted her to stand trial, but for the villains too. There were a few bad guys thrown in but why they were doing what they were... not very clear on that.
Finally, the plot is supposed to be the answer to the question "why am I reading this book?" and, in this case, the answer was "to finish it". I didn't care about the events or the characters enough to read for them. There were gaps in world-building, story and characterization and the few good things weren't able to balance them. I would've liked having a level-headed protagonist but Isobel was one-dimensional instead. Her and Rook were the biggest disappointments and because of them, alone, I don't recommend this book.