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A review by lbarsk
An Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson
4.0
Aw I had a lot of fun with this! I'm here for Fair Folk/Fairy mythology, I'm here for "broody dudes who have hearts of gold," and I'm DEFINITELY here for capable lady heroes with stubborn streaks. Plus, Rogerson's prose made for really lovely reading.
I've seen some criticism in reviews on Goodreads that things happened "too quickly" in the book--be it the romance or the plot advancement--and that there was too much "traveling" to be enjoyable. I can definitely see why people feel that way, and of course everyone's going to like different kinds of stories! But to me, it felt appropriately "fairytale-esque" for the plot and romance to move so fast, and all kinds of "travel" happens in most of the fairytales I'm familiar with, so that didn't seem out of place either. If a central plot point of the book is "fair folk and mortals can't fall in love," well, you kind of have to have your characters fall in love to advance the plot.
Actually, this book REALLY reminded me of a Miyazaki movie and the way pacing/storytelling works in Miyazaki's worlds. Plot points happen FAST and characters form deep connections PRETTY QUICKLY and it doesn't seem out of place at all. I would love to Studio Ghibli adapt this book; I think they'd do an amazing job with what Rogerson has written. I haven't read the novel version of Howl's Moving Castle so I can't speak to that, but this book gave me A LOT of Miyazaki Movie Howl's Moving Castle vibes, and I love that movie so I'm sure that helped me enjoy the book a ton.
Finally, I think Rogerson's take on the Fair Folk/Fairy World is a fresh one -- her concept is that fairies can't do "Craft," aka like any human tasks at all. They can't write, can't cook, can't sew, can't paint (which is Isobel's Craft), and as such they rely on mortals to do that work for them. That premise is what interested me in the novel in the first place, and Rogerson's exploration of these rules held up as interesting throughout the book.
I've seen some criticism in reviews on Goodreads that things happened "too quickly" in the book--be it the romance or the plot advancement--and that there was too much "traveling" to be enjoyable. I can definitely see why people feel that way, and of course everyone's going to like different kinds of stories! But to me, it felt appropriately "fairytale-esque" for the plot and romance to move so fast, and all kinds of "travel" happens in most of the fairytales I'm familiar with, so that didn't seem out of place either. If a central plot point of the book is "fair folk and mortals can't fall in love," well, you kind of have to have your characters fall in love to advance the plot.
Actually, this book REALLY reminded me of a Miyazaki movie and the way pacing/storytelling works in Miyazaki's worlds. Plot points happen FAST and characters form deep connections PRETTY QUICKLY and it doesn't seem out of place at all. I would love to Studio Ghibli adapt this book; I think they'd do an amazing job with what Rogerson has written. I haven't read the novel version of Howl's Moving Castle so I can't speak to that, but this book gave me A LOT of Miyazaki Movie Howl's Moving Castle vibes, and I love that movie so I'm sure that helped me enjoy the book a ton.
Finally, I think Rogerson's take on the Fair Folk/Fairy World is a fresh one -- her concept is that fairies can't do "Craft," aka like any human tasks at all. They can't write, can't cook, can't sew, can't paint (which is Isobel's Craft), and as such they rely on mortals to do that work for them. That premise is what interested me in the novel in the first place, and Rogerson's exploration of these rules held up as interesting throughout the book.