Uptown Oracle Reads… An Enchantment of Ravens | An Enchanting Love Story with The Fair Folk

An Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson

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Every enchantment has a price.

With a flick of her paintbrush, Isobel creates stunning portraits for a dangerous set of clients: the fair folk. These immortal creatures cannot bake bread or put a pen to paper without crumbling to dust. They crave human Craft with a terrible thirst, and they trade valuable enchantments for Isobel’s paintings. But when she receives her first royal patron—Rook, the autumn prince—Isobel makes a deadly mistake. She paints mortal sorrow in his eyes, a weakness that could cost him his throne, and even his life.

Furious, Rook spirits Isobel away to his kingdom to stand trial for her crime. But something is seriously amiss in his world, and they are attacked from every side. With Isobel and Rook depending upon each other for survival, their alliance blossoms into trust, perhaps even love . . . a forbidden emotion that would violate the fair folks’ ruthless laws, rendering both their lives forfeit. What force could Isobel’s paintings conjure that is powerful enough to defy the ancient malice of the fairy courts?

Isobel and Rook journey along a knife-edge in a lush world where beauty masks corruption and the cost of survival might be more frightening than death itself.

The book is for sure a YA Fantasy, but the focus and driver for the plot is all about the romance which is similar to Magraret Rogerson’s other book, Sorcery of Thorns. Isobel and Rook are thrown into meeting one another and they both struggle to come to terms with the feelings they have. I like that Rook has an actual respect for Isobel, for example how she tells him he’s not to touch her without permission unless she’s in peril – he not only listens to her wishes but his intentions are to follow this request to the letter. 

Isobel was a smart protagonist, and knew all of the things to avoid when it came to the fair folk. I loved how she acted level-headed even in the situations where she would be scared, because of self-preservation. Her narration was clever and witty in places, and she knows her own strengths allowing her to act accordingly too. 

Rook is not a unique character, but he becomes endearing by the end of the book. The prince of the autumn court is stubborn, arrogant and a show off, like many fairy princes before him. However the emotions he feels are what Isobel see’s in him, and these add some complexity to his character. An Enchantment of Ravens is named for his raven form and the enchantment he gifts to Isobel too. He also has a past, which doesn’t cause conflict that I did initially expect but adds layers to Rook which builds him as a character. 

The world building was based a lot around the fair folk but we also see the society of humans in Whimsy who have built their lives to provide craft for fae who visit. This is most notable when Isobel visits town and walks past a dressmaker whose clients are solely the fae because what money could be worth the craft when enchantments are available.  My one big question is whether the rest of the world really knows about fae as Whimsy is a unique place in that it’s under multiple enchantments. 

The use of craft, particularly painting for Isobel, and the way the fair folk can’t use it are built on folklore but have been written really well with a clear understanding of the limitations. The fae can use magic to renew things, but not to create. They can’t leave a mark on this world without the help of the humans, and this also brings up a lot of interesting questions. On top of this, reading about Isobel painting was so well written because it didn’t feel boring, as she focused on something she worked hard at. 

I loved how the story explores the fair folk as a society, and not just the impression they make on humans. The Spring Court is the main one we visit, where Gadfly, Lark and Foxglove are all very different, but at their core are fae of the Spring court. We see snippets of how they act around one another, the hierarchies around Gadfly and Rook, and that any sense of weakness lowers their rank. 

Other folklore aspects are the inclusion of the different fae courts, the Wild Hunt, glamours and enchantments, thanes and barrow lords. I do think there’s a lot about the world building that we miss, although this is because our narrator is Isobel, and she just doesn’t think of these things. Things like why has no one ever challenged the Alder King, what exactly is wrong with the summer court, why did they pass the Good Law and more. 

Overall, An Enchantment of Ravens reminded me why I like Margaret Rogerson’s writing so much, but definitely has a couple of negatives most debuts would have. I’m now excited to read her upcoming book, Vespertine, even more!

Positives of An Enchantment of Ravens

• Endearing characters and romance plotline
• Strong focus on the fair folk and their society

Negatives of An Enchantment of Ravens

• Some world building creates questions that aren’t answered

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