Book Review | An Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson

 

An Enchantment of Ravens

Author: Margaret Rogerson // Published: September 26, 2017

★★★★

A skilled painter must stand up to the ancient power of the faerie courts—even as she falls in love with a faerie prince—in this gorgeous debut novel.

Isobel is a prodigy portrait artist with a dangerous set of clients: the sinister fair folk, immortal creatures who cannot bake bread, weave cloth, or put a pen to paper without crumbling to dust. They crave human Craft with a terrible thirst, and Isobel’s paintings are highly prized. But when she receives her first royal patron—Rook, the autumn prince—she makes a terrible mistake. She paints mortal sorrow in his eyes—a weakness that could cost him his life.

Furious and devastated, Rook spirits her away to the autumnlands to stand trial for her crime. Waylaid by the Wild Hunt’s ghostly hounds, the tainted influence of the Alder King, and hideous monsters risen from barrow mounds, Isobel and Rook depend on one another for survival. Their alliance blossoms into trust, then love—and that love violates the fair folks’ ruthless laws. Now both of their lives are forfeit, unless Isobel can use her skill as an artist to fight the fairy courts. Because secretly, her Craft represents a threat the fair folk have never faced in all the millennia of their unchanging lives: for the first time, her portraits have the power to make them feel.

 

Goodreads

---

 

“Why do we desire, above all other things, that which has the greatest power to destroy us?”

 

Margaret Rogerson has made it on my list of auto-read authors. After reading Sorcery of Thorns I’m convinced that she can do no wrong when it comes to books. The fact that she writes standalones is great and also not because as much as I love a quick read I can’t help but fall in love with her worlds, and that make me want more.

Margaret Rogerson always adds that rare touch of magic to her stories. They always turn out simple but in the most beautiful way possible. At least this book was. I’m not sure if that makes sense to you but it does in my head. I loved the Fae mythology that was in this. I’ve read up quite a lot on Fae over the years (for book purposes) and although the elements are small they added a lot to the story. I loved that the Fae weren’t shown to be absolutely beautiful as they usually are these days. Not that I mind it’s just nice to see a different take. They are portrayed as vain but while also hiding what they truly look like under glamours.

I loved Isobel. I loved her character and her love for art. I loved reading about her thoughts and the way she describes her craft, especially when she explains the art itself and the things that work for her and the things that don’t. I found that I could relate to those parts because I understood what she meant and the wording couldn’t have been better. Rook was also easy to love. He was a bit arrogant at first but in truth he was a big softy. I listened to the audiobook and the narrator did such a wonderful job at portraying them both.

This book just feels like it speaks to every type of art out there. The way each person has their own creations regardless of how different they are from each other it’s still considered art. And there’s no better feeling than when you’ve created something. The creator in me just loved this about the book. Truly looking forward to the authors other works in the future.

 

---

 

About the author

 

 

Margaret Rogerson is the author of the New York Times bestsellers An Enchantment of Ravens and Sorcery of Thorns. She has a bachelor’s degree in cultural anthropology from Miami University. When not reading or writing she enjoys sketching, gaming, making pudding, and watching more documentaries than is socially acceptable (according to some). She lives near Cincinnati, Ohio, beside a garden full of hummingbirds and roses. 

 

 

 

---

Have you read An Enchantment of Ravens?