Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by cassroberts89
A River Enchanted by Rebecca Ross
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
The short and sweet: I absolutely loved A River Enchanted!
This was such a pretty book. That’s the best word I can think of. The descriptions were so lyrical and beautiful. The words “lyrical prose” are thrown around a lot in reviews, but that really fits this book well.
I loved the parallel storylines of Jack/Adaira and Torin/Sidra. Both stories explored underlying themes of two very different people discovering if and when and how to come together. I also appreciated the strength of the women throughout the book. At times it felt a little at odds with the time period I imagine this taking place (it’s never clear just what time period it is, I just had a preconceived notion of it being sort of akin to medieval life, maybe 1500-1600s-ish). But women’s power and strength comes across as perfectly normal, even expected, and it works very well for this book.
The air of mystery and tension is perfectly paced. Secrets are revealed at just the right moments. Surprisingly, I did not find myself working to discern what the reveal would be before it was revealed. I think I was just enjoying the story and the language so much that I didn’t even worry about it; let Rebecca Ross tell me what I need to know when the time is right.
Just an all-around beautiful, enjoyable, and readable fantasy. I can’t wait for the second book to come out.
Reread: Ditto 👆🏻 and now I’ll finally pick up the second book
This was such a pretty book. That’s the best word I can think of. The descriptions were so lyrical and beautiful. The words “lyrical prose” are thrown around a lot in reviews, but that really fits this book well.
I loved the parallel storylines of Jack/Adaira and Torin/Sidra. Both stories explored underlying themes of two very different people discovering if and when and how to come together. I also appreciated the strength of the women throughout the book. At times it felt a little at odds with the time period I imagine this taking place (it’s never clear just what time period it is, I just had a preconceived notion of it being sort of akin to medieval life, maybe 1500-1600s-ish). But women’s power and strength comes across as perfectly normal, even expected, and it works very well for this book.
The air of mystery and tension is perfectly paced. Secrets are revealed at just the right moments. Surprisingly, I did not find myself working to discern what the reveal would be before it was revealed. I think I was just enjoying the story and the language so much that I didn’t even worry about it; let Rebecca Ross tell me what I need to know when the time is right.
Just an all-around beautiful, enjoyable, and readable fantasy. I can’t wait for the second book to come out.
Reread: Ditto 👆🏻 and now I’ll finally pick up the second book
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood and Kidnapping
Minor: Sexual content and Death of parent
Quite a few instances of self-inflicted cutting for purposes other than self-harm