“No. You surpass us all.” Beside me she looked colorless and frail. “You are like a living rose among wax flowers. We may last forever, but you bloom brighter and smell sweeter, and draw blood with your thorns.”
~Margaret Rogerson
Let me preface this blog by saying that I am a huge fan of fantasy books, but for some reason, I am not always a big fan of books about fair folk. For some reason, they don’t seem to be able to reinvent themselves as easily as other fantasy.
But An Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson took me completely by surprise. I was completely captivated by this book within the first chapter. It was probably one of the few books that I have read this fall that I have binged.
We begin this story with Isobel, an incredible painter who fashions portraits of the fair folks. She exchanges these portraits for magical favors. Fair folk are obsessed with “Craft”, anything that is made, for they can not make anything without it falling to dust. She is highly acclaimed among the fair folk but is still startled and nervous by the idea of receiving Rook, the Autumn Prince, for the first time. She sees sorrow into the eyes of Rook and paints it into his portrait despite the fact that the fair folk do not have human emotions. When Rook presents the portrait for the first time in the Autumn court, the display of a human emotion on his portrait is taken as a display of weakness and he takes it as the greatest betrayal. Rook demands that Isobel come with him and stand trial for her crimes.
This is the beginning of a magical and dangerous adventure through the land of the fair folk. Along this journey, alliances are broken and reformed, emotions flare between hate and love as Rook and Isobel try to stay alive and find their way to the Green Well. If a human drinks from the Green Well, they will become a fair one and this may be the only way for Isobel to save herself from the others. But the catch is, if she chooses this path, then she will have to give up her Craft forever.
Margaret Rogerson’s writing is absolutely lovely and magical. Just like Isobel beautifully paints portraits, so does Margaret paint this rich world with words. The language paints a perfect picture of Isobel’s world and any reader will feel like they have just stepped up next to Isobel as she picks up her paints.
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