Scan barcode
A review by ngreads
An Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson
4.0
This was exactly what I needed: a light, fun, standalone YA fantasy as a palate cleanser after a long, heavy epic fantasy.
Here's what was good:
- Rogerson's writing is absolutely beautiful. It's very much on the poetic side, which really lent itself to the artistic, whimsical, and fairy-tale-like quality of the story. I quite enjoyed reading it.
- As an artist, I don't often see artistic characters portrayed all that well or in that much detail. Isobel was the exception. I really liked how she was so in tune with her art, and that Rogerson seemed to have actually done her research on both old and traditional painting practices (use of egg tempura as a binding agent, what colours natural pigments create, how long oil paint takes to dry and the stages of painting, etc;).
- The romance between Rook and Isobel was cute and sweet, which was what I wanted. Even though a lot of the 'falling in love' part was technically off-page, I still had a good sense of their affection for one another.
- I really loved how the fairies were done in this world. The idea of these horrific creatures shrouding themselves in false beauty and being so alien to humans was great. I always like seeing fae creatures done as beings that are not just pretty humans with magic, and Rogerson nailed it.
The Few Negatives:
- The ending felt a bit abrupt to me. I would have liked a bit more time to wind down after the climax and let the ending sink in.
- I really would have liked a bit more explanation about the Good Law, aside from 'it's bad,' since it plays such a big role in the story. As it was, the stakes felt a bit low as the consequences of breaking the Good Law became more and more important, since they weren't fully established and foreshadowed for me.
Overall:
This was a fun read, and it was a solid debut novel. It's awesome seeing standalone fantasy novels, and I'm excited to read Rogerson's other work, since I've heard it's even an improvement from this. For a short diversion with a cute romance and neat fairies, I definitely recommend it.
Here's what was good:
- Rogerson's writing is absolutely beautiful. It's very much on the poetic side, which really lent itself to the artistic, whimsical, and fairy-tale-like quality of the story. I quite enjoyed reading it.
- As an artist, I don't often see artistic characters portrayed all that well or in that much detail. Isobel was the exception. I really liked how she was so in tune with her art, and that Rogerson seemed to have actually done her research on both old and traditional painting practices (use of egg tempura as a binding agent, what colours natural pigments create, how long oil paint takes to dry and the stages of painting, etc;).
- The romance between Rook and Isobel was cute and sweet, which was what I wanted. Even though a lot of the 'falling in love' part was technically off-page, I still had a good sense of their affection for one another.
- I really loved how the fairies were done in this world. The idea of these horrific creatures shrouding themselves in false beauty and being so alien to humans was great. I always like seeing fae creatures done as beings that are not just pretty humans with magic, and Rogerson nailed it.
The Few Negatives:
- The ending felt a bit abrupt to me. I would have liked a bit more time to wind down after the climax and let the ending sink in.
- I really would have liked a bit more explanation about the Good Law, aside from 'it's bad,' since it plays such a big role in the story.
Spoiler
Even some dialogue or thought about "when a fairy and a mortal fall in love, it destroys them both' would have gone a long way. Just some kind of explanation that the Alder King sent out as a way of making people afraid of breaking the law. Or even a conversation about what happens when a fairy and mortal fall in love, and a line like "why must they die?" "Because the Alder King demands it, and we don't question him." Something like that would have gone a long way for me in raising the stakes, personally.Overall:
This was a fun read, and it was a solid debut novel. It's awesome seeing standalone fantasy novels, and I'm excited to read Rogerson's other work, since I've heard it's even an improvement from this. For a short diversion with a cute romance and neat fairies, I definitely recommend it.