Half A Soul by Olivia Atwater Review

Title: Half A Soul

Author: Olivia Atwater

Genre: Historical Fantasy romance

Publisher: Orbit

Pages: 320

Release Date: 30 June 2022 (Paperback reprint)

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Hello Fellow Book lovers! Today I’m sharing my review of the wonderfully whimsical regency romance, Half A Soul by Olivia Atwater. It’s an enchanting debut full of charm with characters that stole my heart in this spellbinding, Bridgerton meets Howl’s Moving Castle historical fantasy.

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 Castlein this enchanting historical fantasy, where the only thing more meddlesome than faeries is a marriage-minded mother.

Review

It was such an enjoyable and unique take on the regency romance genre, and delves head first into exploring class, privilege, empathy and neurodiversity in such as nuanced and sensitive manner. Dora was an absolutely incredible protagonist, her curse prevents her from feeling her emotions strongly. I loved how honest she was and her scenes with Elias were my favourites.

Elias, the Lord Sorcier is rather surly but as he and Dora spend more time together he becomes a good friend and supporter for Dora, who’s never had anyone besides her cousin to confide in. Their dynamics were soo sweet, we get just the right amount of romance to keep things interesting and I was satisfied with how things play out.

I loved Atwater’s writing style which was very detailed and beautifully whimsical —and gave me magical Jane Austen vibes which I’m a little obsessed with. My only negative is that we don’t get much time in faerie or explore the Fae in nearly enough detail—their fascination with ‘Englishness’ was definitely interesting.

Overall this was a really enjoyable romantasy and I’ll definitely be picking up the rest of this series, if you love regency romance and Jane Austen or books with magic and Fae then I definitely recommend checking this out!

Also, a huge thank you to Orbit and Netgalley for the e-arc.

Rating:⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

About The Author

Olivia Atwater writes whimsical historical fantasy with a hint of satire. She lives in Montreal, Quebec with her fantastic, prose-inspiring husband and her two cats.

When she told her second-grade history teacher that she wanted to work with history someday, she is fairly certain this isn't what either party had in mind. She has been, at various times, a historical re-enactor, a professional witch at a metaphysical supply store, a web developer, and a vending machine repairperson.

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