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A review by luluwoohoo
Half a Soul by Olivia Atwater
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Half A Soul by Olivia Atwater
☀️☀️☀️⛅
A sweet, simple tale that blends romance and fantasy relatively well, but fails to heed its own rules to its detriment.
The worldbuilding was relatively lackluster but easy enough to follow along with: Dora's interaction with a faerie as a child left her with only half a soul, which resulted in her emotional response to things being stifled to the point of awkwardness. She is the black sheep of her family and only tolerated by everyone besides her cousin. When she attracts the attention of the only magician in England who can possibly solve her curse, things get interesting.
The first half of this novel - setting off to London for the season, connecting with the Lord Sorcier, learning about the strange plague - all worked really well and I enjoyed the setup. The second half managed to lose its way in a few respects, mostly owing to the emotional growth and personality change in Dora which shouldn't have happened due to the rules laid out earlier. The moral message was lovely but a bit heavy handed, though that's common for the YA genre.
The romance was sweet overall but very rushed towards the end, particularly from Dora's perspective. I did enjoy their banter but there wasn't enough of it. Elias was moderately interesting but there wasn't enough time spent fleshing out his character to truly connect.
If you want 'Emily Wilde' Lite, this might be for you. As it stands this felt a bit underbaked and juvenile in comparison, but it's still a decent read.
☀️☀️☀️⛅
A sweet, simple tale that blends romance and fantasy relatively well, but fails to heed its own rules to its detriment.
The worldbuilding was relatively lackluster but easy enough to follow along with: Dora's interaction with a faerie as a child left her with only half a soul, which resulted in her emotional response to things being stifled to the point of awkwardness. She is the black sheep of her family and only tolerated by everyone besides her cousin. When she attracts the attention of the only magician in England who can possibly solve her curse, things get interesting.
The first half of this novel - setting off to London for the season, connecting with the Lord Sorcier, learning about the strange plague - all worked really well and I enjoyed the setup. The second half managed to lose its way in a few respects, mostly owing to the emotional growth and personality change in Dora which shouldn't have happened due to the rules laid out earlier. The moral message was lovely but a bit heavy handed, though that's common for the YA genre.
The romance was sweet overall but very rushed towards the end, particularly from Dora's perspective. I did enjoy their banter but there wasn't enough of it. Elias was moderately interesting but there wasn't enough time spent fleshing out his character to truly connect.
If you want 'Emily Wilde' Lite, this might be for you. As it stands this felt a bit underbaked and juvenile in comparison, but it's still a decent read.
"I am sure that every evil man believes himself to be charitable," she told him. "In that respect, at least, you are a true Englishman."