An Enchantment of Ravens

Spoiler-free review!I was gladdened by the sight of those vicious thorns more than I could say, and wondered whether the stories would have gone any differently if the princesses had been the ones telling them.A book about star-crossed lovers, art, and a fae prince who shape shifts into a raven? YES, please!✘ plotIn Whimsy, humans practice Craft: cooking, artistry, writing stories, even designing clothing - all of which the fair folk are drawn to, despite their own lack of capabilities to create. Isobel is a brilliant portrait artist, so it's no surprise when the prince of the autumnlands, Rook, visits her for a painting. Isobel makes a fatal mistake, however, when she chooses to depict the haunting sorrow she sees in his eyes.As fae folk must never be shown with mortal emotions, Isobel is forced to visit the lands of the fair folk, to stand trial for her crimes against the prince. Everything shifts, though, when their relationship shifts into a beautiful love - for love between mortals and fair folk has been banned as long as time has stood, and the punishment is death.✘ isobelIsobel is such an enjoyable narrator, right from the very first page. Her thoughts are full of quips and snide remarks, and there's a down-to-earth sense about her that I feel like gets lost easily in the high fantasy genre. She feels wise beyond her years, yet at the same time, it's believable to think of her as a seventeen-year-old girl who's just had to grow up a little too fast.I was especially fond of her no-nonsense attitude and outlook on life, particularly when the story progressed and her character developed into a young woman who had to learn that not every dilemma in life can be faced with pure logic; sometimes, you have to just go with your heart.He tried to turn away, but I touched his shoulder. Marvelously, he stilled. He was a head and a half taller than I, and the forest leapt to obey his power, but with that one touch I might as well have clapped him in irons.✘ rookRook. ROOK. What can I even say? He's so adorable and haughty and self-obsessed and childlike and fun. Despite being a prince (which he reminds Isobel of often in his own self-satisfaction), he is so bewildered by human lives, and some of his assumptions and questions are so freaking cute.As the book progresses, there's such a tender and kindhearted aspect of his personality. His kindness is seen as a weakness among the fair folk, and it makes him a target, but he's just trying to get by in life, doing what is right and living with the fearful knowledge that everyone wants to dismantle his throne. If you like those "precious cinnamon roll" types like I do, Rook's your guy."Is that so terrible? You say it as though it's the most awful thing you can imagine. It isn't as though I've done it on purpose. Somehow I've even grown fond of your - your irritating questions, and your short legs, and your accidental attempts to kill me."✘ side characters & fair folk- Gadfly, who is Isobel's oldest and most prominent patron. There is so much I want to say about him, but I can't, because it would be a huge spoiler. All I will say is that I loved Gadfly from the moment we met him, and he made me cry like the big baby I am by the time it was all said and done. What a delightfully written character.- March and May, Isobel's younger "sisters". They're actually goats in human form , and they're freaking ADORABLE. They butt heads, and eat everything, and destroy things, and bounce around on tops of cabinets, and basically act like... well, goats. I loved them so much.- I also want to touch on the lore in this story and how it affects the fair folk. They can't touch iron, they're held to a standard of politeness that reaches compulsive levels, and they cannot lie. They pay for favors through enchantments rather than money, but are mischievous, wicked things who tend to trick the other parties into enchantments that go sour. All of these things are so prominent in the story and it showed that Margaret Rogerson actually did her homework. As someone who was obsessed with fairy lore as a kid, I'm so here for this.✘ final thoughtsThis book was a delight from start to finish, and I could barely stand to put it down for anything. I already am desperately hoping for more stories set in this world, because I could not get enough of the precious romance, or the world and magic system, or the fun characters. My only complaint was that it came dangerously close to insta-love, but even as someone who hates that trope, it didn't really bother me due to the way the relationship progresses.I loved this story so much, and I would highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good high fantasy/fae romance. This was easily one of my top reads of 2017 so far and I can't wait to see what Margaret comes up with next!

An enchanting debut. With beautiful pose and vivid world building, this is a fae book who's world I wanted to explore more of. I am a sucker for a good fae story, and this one was the perfect fall read.An Enchantment of Ravens has the kind of world building I absolutely love reading about. The imagery of this world is stunning. It's the alluring, and easily drew me into it. Rogerson's detailed descriptions make it incredibly easily to visualize. It has this old world setting I absolutely loved. The magical elements were great. I like that this world is both all it's own, yet also one had some slight touches of the traditional fae world. I would have liked to know more about the traditions of this world, vs being told about them. There's a lot that gets mentioned, but not enough follow through, and it would have been nice to see see things in action, vs just being told about them.Isobel is a character I liked from the get go. I liked seeing the world through her eyes as an artist. She looks at things and people with open eyes, and notices so many little details that most people wouldn't. She also has this reserved, inner strength that fit her her. She's what I'd call a silent heroine. She's not loud, or outspoken, yet she definitely won't back down when things get interesting.... I also like that she thinks before she acts. Which is crucial with journey into Rook's dangerous world.Rook is an interesting character. I liked him, though I never really felt like I got to know him. I guess that's fitting since he's a fae, and for much of the story he wears a glamor. I felt like that was symbolic of his own journey. I liked Isobel's reaction to seeing the real him. She sees past both the outward glamour and fae appearance, to the real him. These two have an interesting relationship. It definitely develops in a short about of time, but it also fit given all that is going on. Being hunted by 'The Hunt' also forces them to learn to trust each other rather quickly. The Hunt was an interesting element to the story.I liked the twists in this story. Especially when it comes to a certain fae, and Isobel's unknowingly part in it all. One of the things I really liked about this fae world, is that not all fae have a magical power or talent (called a craft). That's where the humans, like Iosbel, play a big role in the story. The fae are drawn to humans for their craft. Isobel's craft is that of an artist. Though young, she's very talented in her craft of painting portraits. The fae, being vain, love what she can do. It also sets into a motion some very interesting turn of events I didn't even see coming.Though I loved the world building, and the old world/timeless feel to the setting, I have a love/dislike relationship with the writing. Rogerson's prose and language for the story are beautiful, and lush. It fits perfectly with the old world charm of the Fae world, and that of Isobel's world. At the same time, I felt like it also got a little overbearing. I feel bad saying that, because it is gorgeous writing. It just held something back from the story for me. Over all, yes, I did like the book, and I would recommend it. In the end, I just felt like some minor things needed to polished up a little bit better for me to really love the book like I wanted to.On a side note, I absolutely LOVE this cover! It's a perfect match for this book.

I bought this book for my sister, it is a great book for readers that are into fantasy (books like “the cruel prince”) The book is very pretty and glowy, I haven’t read the book yet, but the summary seems very interesting. I have included the summary for those of you who want to read it.

'An Enchantment of Ravens' by Margaret Rogerson is the story of Isobel, a human master artist working her Craft for the Fair Folk. She is commissioned to paint the portrait of Rook, prince of Autumn, and finds herself drawn to him. While painting his portrait, she sees human sorrow inside him and when his court sees this displayed in the painting, it threatens his throne and his life as any human emotion within the Fair Folk is considered a weakness.This is the second book I've read by Margaret Rogerson (following 'Sorcery of Thorns'), and it's clear to me that there's something about the author's style and ideas that just delivers everything I'm looking for in a fantasy novel. She writes strong female characters who find ways to go after what they want without compromising their ideals. She writes really interesting fantasy stories that suck me in and leave me wanting more. She writes couples that just WORK together perfectly. And whatever the setting of the story (magical libraries like in 'Sorcery of Thorns' or the land of the Fae like here, she always add a fresh perspective and depth to the world so what you get is never just a rehash of other books.I can't wait for anything else that Margaret Rogerson writes - I just love her style and ideas and can't wait to dive into another one of her worlds!

Rispetto ad altri libri della Rogerson, qui ho trovato delle atmosfere più cupe e diverse, con una variazione #darkfantasy e una particolare focalizzazione sulle creature del mondo fatato (che ho trovato affine a Holly Black, per intenderci: se avete amato Il principe crudele, sentirete risuonare le medesime vibrazioni).Isobel è una giovane pittrice talentuosa e vive al limitare del bosco con la zia e due sorelline "magiche" (dovete leggerlo); si mantiene creando opere per alcuni clienti difficili, ma munifici, ovvero proprio quel popolo fatato e immortale che coesiste accanto agli umani, approfittandone nel bene e nel male.Ma tutto precipita quando il suo ritratto per il principe dell'autunno rivela la realtà oltre la magia, le emozioni al di là dell'indifferenza secolare; c'è stata una violazione e occorre una punizione o un risarcimento, che non è che l'inizio di un viaggio avventuroso (e rischioso) proprio nelle terre dei boschi precluse agli umani, imparando a conoscere chi si cela dietro al glamour e resistendo a incantesimi e tranelli.Ovviamente, ho amato Isobel, tosta come tutte le protagoniste della Rogerson, con il solo potere del proprio vero nome e dell'arte di dipingere cogliendo ogni sfumatura senza magia.Davvero degna di essere una regina, e non una semplice pedina. E, ovviamente, ero infatuata (sarà il glamour?) di Rook fin dal suo apparire. Una fiaba, ma godibile.

Love the book. Great characters, interesting storyline, the cover is beautiful too

As seasons and strangeness unfold in this book, wonder dawns on you : beauty and magic don't always come from where you expect... And love can blossom from understanding seemingly unsurmountable differences.