A River Enchanted by Rebecca Ross | Book Review

【 A RIVER ENCHANTED 】

A whimsical story that stays with you.

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Author: Rebecca Ross
Published: February 2022
Publisher: Voyager
Pages: 480 (paperback)

It’s been some months since I read this, but I just realised I somehow didn’t write a review for it. Which is a crime because this is so good!

I took my time with A River Enchanted and found it to be such an intensely atmospheric and absorbing story, making it a perfect cosy read. It’s slow and gentle and has all the kind-hearted characters that make up a good fantasy story.

There’s something just a little bit different about this one – Ross hasn’t focused her efforts on making an extravagantly new world with complicated lore. The book is simple, feeling almost real, but there’s this magical island and a curious river dividing two nations. It’s not so hard to image this could be just across the shore from your own city.

I really loved the characters in this and particularly the way it seems to take a step away from the young adult feel, with the characters hedging towards their twenties and the pressures of new-found responsibilities (if I remember rightly). It’s delightfully relatable in that sense if you’re an ‘older’ YA reader.

The story and the mystery behind the disappearing girls gives the narrative a real sense of urgency that keeps things going along. And the sense that not everyone is telling everything they know – holding back when it might be more helpful to divulge all – makes you wary as the reader, as to who to place your trust in.

And the romance, because of course there is one, is a glorious slow burn that gives you all the warm fuzzies.

So worth the read, and I cannot wait to read the sequel.