He’s a prince of the autumnlands and has not been seen for centuries. One day Gadfly, Isobel’s oldest and most trusted patron, sends Rook her way to have his portrait painted.

I’d certainly have appreciated more information on the World Beyond, and how it differed from the world Isobel lives in.

The rest live in the World Beyond, a place which (I gather) is free of magic. But all I could tell was that for some reason, some humans live in this land where the fair folk can mix freely among them. Forests, mountains, seasons – Rogerson definitely has a gift for gorgeous, evocative prose. The bits which were described were done excellently. What land, you may ask? It’s not specified, which was Problem #1 with the book: limited worldbuilding. Seventeen-year-old Isobel is the best portrait painter in the land. This one has a couple of issues, but I still quite enjoyed it. I’ve been intending to read AEoR ever since I got my hands on an ARC of Rogerson’s next book, Sorcery of Thorns. It’s really been a while since the last time I reviewed a backlist book! Because secretly, her Craft represents a threat the fair folk have never faced in all the millennia of their unchanging lives: for the first time, her portraits have the power to make them feel. Now both of their lives are forfeit, unless Isobel can use her skill as an artist to fight the fairy courts. Their alliance blossoms into trust, then love-and that love violates the fair folks’ ruthless laws. Waylaid by the Wild Hunt’s ghostly hounds, the tainted influence of the Alder King, and hideous monsters risen from barrow mounds, Isobel and Rook depend on one another for survival. She paints mortal sorrow in his eyes-a weakness that could cost him his life.įurious and devastated, Rook spirits her away to the autumnlands to stand trial for her crime. But when she receives her first royal patron-Rook, the autumn prince-she makes a terrible mistake. They crave human Craft with a terrible thirst, and Isobel’s paintings are highly prized. Isobel is a prodigy portrait artist with a dangerous set of clients: the sinister fair folk, immortal creatures who cannot bake bread, weave cloth, or put a pen to paper without crumbling to dust.

An enchantment of ravens 2