REVIEW: AN ENCHANTMENT OF RAVENS (Margaret Rogerson)

Listen, I will personally fight anyone who didn’t like this book. Meet me in the back of the Chili’s parking lot in the next three minutes and bring your sharpest sword. The time has come for justice.

This book was absolutely spectacular. My real rating is a solid 4.5, with .5 taken off only for the fact that the ending was a touch rushed and that it wasn’t 200 pages longer (...but that’s a me-thing). Margaret Rogerson is so talented that it makes me sick. I never laugh out loud when reading, but by god, did this thing have me howling on the subway. My minor issues with pace (which is usually a thing I can’t get past) are completely eclipsed by her phenomenal writing and characterization. I wouldn’t even care if nothing happened at all in this book, so long as I got to bear witness to Isobel and Rook’s back-and-forth.

Speaking of Isobel. What a breath of fresh air! It’s been so long since I’ve read a lady YA protagonist that made choices and thought critically. And that’s not knocking other YA – it’s just a narrative habit the community has fallen into. Isobel felt different. I devoured this book as quickly as I could manage, since I was so involved in her thought process and insights (and very Austenian humour). God, please give me more Isobel.

And Rook, honestly. Is the conceited fey thing overdone? Sure, but it literally has been since the beginning of myth and literature. Rook breathed new life into an old character, and I loved how he didn’t necessarily sacrifice those characteristics for love – even when it was a point of contention.

Let's talk about that cover for a minute because GOOD LORD. I stan Charlie Bowater's artwork as much as I stan Margaret Rogerson's unfailing ability to make me squeal like a goddamn pig in delight. Match made in book heaven? Yes.

All and all – MARGARET ROGERSON, IF YOU’RE READING THIS, GIVE ME MORE. Yes, yes, I know, “My publisher and I don’t have plans for a sequel,” but what if I could offer you my last $12 and, like, two bags of Doritos? Would that work?

Please?

(Originally posted on Goodreads: Nov 11, 2018)