ARC REVIEW: HALF A SOUL BY OLIVIA ATWATER

• STAR RATING:  4 stars
• PAGE LENGTH: 304 pages
• DATE PUBLISHED: April 5th 2022 
• PUBLISHER: Orbit 
• WHAT SERIES?  The Regency Faerie Tales series
• WHAT BOOK DO I START WITH? Half A Soul
• HOW MANY BOOKS IN THE SERIES? 3
• CONTENT WARNINGS: Emotional abuse, ableism, child abuse, blood
• IF YOU LIKED THIS, TRY:  A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske

Thank you to Netgalley and Orbit Books for providing an ARC copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

SYNOPSIS

It’s difficult to find a husband in Regency England when you’re a young lady with only half a soul.

Ever since she was cursed by a faerie, Theodora Ettings has had no sense of fear or embarrassment – a condition which makes her prone to accidental scandal. Dora hopes to be a quiet, sensible wallflower during the London Season – but when the strange, handsome and utterly uncouth Lord Sorcier discovers her condition, she is instead drawn into dangerous and peculiar faerie affairs.

If Dora’s reputation can survive both her curse and her sudden connection with the least-liked man in all of high society, then she may yet reclaim her normal place in the world. . . but the longer Dora spends with Elias Wilder, the more she begins to suspect that one may indeed fall in love, even with only half a soul.

Bridgerton meets Howl’s Moving Castle in this enchanting historical fantasy, where the only thing more meddlesome than faeries is a marriage-minded mother.

Half a Soul pushed so many of my buttons in the best way. I love a good historical romance, and when you throw any element of fantasy romance in a book, too? You have my attention. Half a Soul had been recommended to me about a million times recently, by fantastic reviews written by other bloggers, to people just basically shoving the book in my face going, YOU WOULD REALLY LIKE THIS, I PROMISE. Well, you were right, people.

You were right.

I thoroughly enjoyed Half a Soul, and have plans to continue right along on to the next book in the series. How could I not, when this one was so good? I adored Dora, and her practicality, and complete disregard for the societal rules. She did what she wanted to, and rarely let anyone else make her feel bad about it. (I guess that’s a pro to having half a soul? You don’t really care what anyone else thinks.) Vanessa, Dora’s cousin, bothered me a bit as she was so very concerned about fixing Dora, instead of loving her for who she was. But it was Elias that I loved most of all.

Elias is the Lord Sorcier, a young man who was so very Angry with a capital A at society. I loved him. He was uncouth, he was mean, a tiny bit cruel, and well, he was so different than any other romantic hero I’d ever read before. And beneath all that rough, gruff exterior, well, Elias was spending his time trying to help the poorest, most unfortunate children. He is not a bad man, the complete opposite, in fact.

I loved watching these two navigate their blossoming relationship. Neither one of them really let the other get away with anything, which I really liked. Elias and Dora were perfect for each other. Four stars because there was just a little something missing. I’m not sure what, but there you go.

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