A River Enchanted by Rebecca Ross - Book Review

A River Enchanted by Rebecca Ross

Elements of Cadence #1
Genre: Fantasy, Romance 

3.2 Stars 

One Liner: Great premise; needed stronger world-building. 

The Isle of Cadence and enchantments go hand in hand. The ‘folk’ are the spirits belonging to the sea, earth, and wind. They can help, save, or kill you, and you never know what they’ll do. The Isle is divided into the East and West, where enmity runs deeper than the river that flows between them. 

Adaira is the Heiress of the East and the last of the Tamerlaine clan. Her people are suffering, and little girls started to go missing. Not knowing what to do, she sends for Jack, her childhood nemesis, to bring his harp and play for the ‘folk’. 

Jack, the bard, has left Cadence and moved to the mainland ten years ago. He doesn’t want to go back to where he was hated and doubted for being illegitimate with no father’s name to back him. He visits Cadence with a firm intention to get back to his life as soon as possible. But when he and Adaira begin to work together, Jack realizes Cadence is more than his birthplace. 

Torin is the guard of the east coast bound to the land by blood. He does his duty without remorse or doubt. But when a tragedy befalls, Torin has to choose between his past actions and his future. Sidra, his wife, is a warm, generous, skilled, and wonderful healer. But their relationship has its issues. Can the couple build a bond that keeps them together? 

How do the four of them solve the mystery of the missing girls? What happens to the feud between the West and the East? What’s the price to pay for a better future? 

What I Like: 

• The element of magic is beautiful and interwoven into the storyline. The enchanted plaids, weapons, etc., are interesting. 
• Torin and Sidra’s relationship arc is handled very well. It added a lot of emotional value to the book. Adaira and Jack’s arc doesn’t feel as good but is believable. For me, Torin and Sidra are the main characters of the book.  
• The characters are pretty decent. None of them were boring, though there’s scope to add to the depth. 
• The book says adult fantasy, but it can be read by (older) teens. They might enjoy it more than I did. 

What Didn’t Work for Me: 

• The writing is slow. I was prepared for it when I saw a couple of reviewers mentioning it. Imagine reaching 50% of the book, and nothing major happens. It’s just a combination of smaller incidents. 
• There could’ve been more tension between Adaira and Jack. While romance is not the main focus of the story, their relationship plays a vital role. 
• The world-building could be better. We know it’s an enchanted land, but it doesn’t feel alive or compelling except when the ‘folk’ appear. The setting should be prominent in fantasy. 
• The concept feels like historical fantasy. However, the writing is almost modern. It didn’t affect me much, but it might put off some readers. 
• This is a big book (480 pages), and the writing meanders quite a bit. I didn’t know it was the first book in the series until a couple of days before I started reading (that part was updated later on GR). 
• The ending, ugh, reminded me of Indian daily soaps. Not the kind I like at all! 

To sum up, A River Enchanted has a beautiful premise but needed a more compelling setting and a crisper narration. 

Thank you, NetGalley and HarperVoyager, for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. 

*****

P.S: I love the cover (the UK version, I think). The other one is meh.