Now Rook is out to save face, for human emotion is seen as a weakness by his subjects, and such weakness is likely to cost him his life. Unfortunately, Rook does not agree with Isobel’s assessment of the painting, for she has painted him with an expression of human sorrow. It doesn’t take her long to finish the portrait, and, in her opinion, it’s her very best work – Rook seems to practically leap from the canvas.

Plus, there’s something about Rook that speaks to Isobel’s very soul, something that sets him apart from the other Fair Folk she’s painted. After all, his magic is far greater than any she’s previously encountered, and Isobel’s aunt and two younger sisters are sure to benefit from whatever enchantment she convinces him to cast as payment. Rook is her first royal client, and she wants desperately to please him. When Rook, the prince of the Autumn Lands, approaches Isobel to have his portrait painted, she’s caught off guard. Her family will never want for food, clothing, or shelter, due to the many enchantments her clients have cast for her. The Fair Folk pay her in magic rather than actual money, something that suits Isobel just fine.

Since early childhood, Isobel has been a masterful portrait artist and her portraits are highly sought after by Fair Folk and humans alike. If they so much as put pen to paper, or thread a needle, they’ll turn to dust. Although the two races will never be friends, the Fair Folk tolerate humans in order to avail themselves of human craft because they are unable to create even the simplest of things without magic. Isobel and her family live in the village of Whimsy, a human settlement not far from the lands ruled by the Fair Folk. It looked like exactly the kind of dark paranormal romance I usually love, and it was every bit as grand a reading experience as I was hoping it would be. From the moment I heard about An Enchantment of Ravens, I knew I had to read it.

Isobel an enchantment of ravens