“Her faith was still some strange, broken mirror in her chest, the pieces sharp and jagged, reflecting years of her life out of order.”
A River Enchanted by Rebecca Ross follows one of our four main characters, Jack, as he travels back to his homeland on the isle of Cadence. Jack has been summoned by his childhood nemesis, Adaira as she desperately searches for answers to why the girls of the island are going missing, and only a bard may get answers from the spirits that look over their land. As the two try to uncover the mystery of the disappearing girls, they stumble upon darker and more sinister secrets lingering on the isle that threaten to shake Cadence to its very core.
“Welcome home, my old menace.”
A River Enchanted heavily features magic, from the spirits guarding the isle to the plaid woven with the ability to protect the wearer, to magical herbal healing. The Tamerlain clan have powerful magic in their veins and are able to use it to protect themselves, though not without a cost. I really liked how the magic was constantly there, although subtle in the background because it felt like it was always there in the back of your mind.
The setting of the island is just breathtaking, I loved the way that Ross really made the isle feel like a living breathing character in the background of the book from the wind whispering gossip across the land to the hills changing and misleading characters as they try to find their way home.The setting was as enchanting as the name suggests and was like a vivid painting in my mind, so much so that even days later as I’m coming to write this review I can’t get the pictures out of my mind.
I adored this book, the writing is just beautiful and truly feels magical, the way that Ross weaves the story together is as magical as Mirin weaving her plaid. Even the spirits had so much depth to them, the background felt fully fleshed out on all of the characters and the lore felt really strong, which is impressive in the first book in a new series. I’m really excited to see where this leads in the sequel because I can only see it getting stronger as it follows the plot more.
I think my favourite character has to be Sidra, who is quiet and reflective and devout to the spirits. I really loved the journey her character went on over the course of the book and truly understood her motivations and desires, so I felt really connected to her. Throughout the book Sidra questions her faith in the spirits and I really loved the way that Ross explored that, especially in contrast to her husband, Torin. The juxtaposition between the two worked incredibly well, Sidra the healer and Torin the captain of the guard, a murderer. The way they both struggled and explored those struggles I found fascinating and loved how their relationship was explored and developed. In the context of community as well, the book felt really close knit as you learnt how close the community is so you feel embedded within it, which was a lovely touch.
The main themes of the book are definitely duty, to the wider community and to oneself. And I would say that this is felt deeply by all of our main characters, as they all have various duties to their community on the isle, and all are explored and pushed to the max. But also love, which is explicitly tied into the duty aspects but also separate as we find two enemies slowly becoming friends, and a married couple truly opening up to one another. I really liked the way that Ross write the relationships as they felt realistic and equal, in both it was clear that equality is a big part of what it means to be a partner which I adored.
“There is no failure in love. And I have loved without measure.”
I also really enjoyed the Scottish inspiration and it has only made me all the more desperate to travel up to Scotland soon and visit those gorgeous Scottish Highlands. I said it before, and I’ll say it again but Ross really did paint such a vivid picture of the isle and of the tricksy spirits in my mind that I am desperate for any more Scottish or British mediaeval inspired fantasy books. It was just perfect to read in early spring too, when the weather is just temperamental, because it really added to the atmosphere of the book, and those tricky spirits messing with the weather.
At the start I found the plot immediately intriguing but also fairly slow, but then it really picked up and it felt like I couldn’t put the book down, and I just wanted to keep reading it and not put it down. The writing definitely picked up, but also you could feel the desperation of our main characters increase and so the pace felt faster, as the stakes grew higher it felt as if you were there with them, in on it and racing to the conclusion. There were certain elements and surprises that I did see coming, but it didn’t detract from the overall enjoyment of the book for me.
All I can do to finish this review is to apologise for the lack of coherence in this, as I’ve been writing I just kept thinking of how much I loved it so might have to come back and edit so that it makes sense! But also to say that I need the sequel, A Fire Endless, and I need it now- December 8th is just too far away!
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