Kat's Reviews > A River Enchanted

I have a hard time understanding how someone who based their book on the folk tales of the country that produced Ewan McGregor, David Tennant, and Gerard Butler, managed to make it this effin’ boring.

The plot is set on the fictional island of Cadence, on which there live two clans. The people of the East and the people of the West. Their animosities run deep so that the island is split in two. Crossing the border is illegal. Since moving to the mainland, Jack Tamerlaine wants nothing to do with his former island life, and yet, he heeds the request of a mysterious caller who wants him to return to Cadence. Reluctantly, Jack returns to his island home and does not only hear that young girls have been going missing from his clan, but he also reunites with his childhood nemesis, Adaira, who is now heiress of the east. His original plan only saw him stay for a few weeks, but as he is drawn deeper into the mystery of the missing girls, Cadence’s spirit folk, and to Adaira herself, he begins to question his fate and that of his people and family, too.

A River Enchanted is described as the author’s “brilliant entry on the adult fantasy stage”, yet the book felt very YA to me. In her review, the author acknowledges the struggle she and her team had with deciding how to categorise this. Still, I thought the two main protagonists being in their 20s and the addition of two POVs by adults in their 30s didn’t manage to firmly situate this novel on the adult shelf.

Part of why I felt that way is because Jack and Adaira and the plot and setting lacked depth. Checking my goodreads statuses, I can see that at the book’s 27% mark, I clocked, “there’s no reason for this book to be so long”, and it’s true. It felt like the first 2/3 were painfully devoid of meaningful conversation. The island’s history was discussed, though not explored as deeply as I would have liked.

The same goes for Jack and Adaira’s backstory. The book was marketed as an “enemies-to-lovers” story, and listen, I’m no expert in that trope, but the only thing that made them “enemies” was a shared childhood in which they would play mean pranks on each other. When Jack comes back to the island, there’s no trace of them being enemies. More like old, though distant acquaintances. I could have done very well without the whole “xy-to-lovers” trope, but if you advertise a book saying it’s “eNEmiES-tO-lOvERs”, you should, you know, make the characters genuinely hate and want to kill each other. Otherwise, it’s just bullies-to-lovers or whatever you want to call it. But hey, I can understand why marketing slapped “enemies-to-lovers” on this. We all know it’s what they think makes a book sell better.

Even though Jack and Adaira are the novel’s main characters, I found much more enjoyment in reading about Torin and Sidra. Torin is the captain of the guard of the West, and Sidra, his wife, is a skilled healer. Their story is strongly interwoven with the rest of the plot, and we get to know them at a point where they have both lost faith in their marriage and essentially believe that the other doesn’t love them anymore (this trope will always have my heart, oh, my God). They are very unsure of each other, and it’s only when tragedy strikes that they start confiding in each other again. I don’t know what it is about me and preferring fictional middle-aged couples over teenagers in love, but Torin and Sidra really pulled at my heartstrings. They are why I wanted to continue reading to see how they would resolve their issues. Even though they are married, there was a decent amount of slow-burn, and I’m always here for THAT.

Unfortunately, the semi-interesting mystery of the missing girls and Torin and Sidra’s relationship couldn’t save what was otherwise a disappointing read with a considerable pacing issue. I’m someone who usually never has a problem with a slow plot. I like them. But I don’t like it when I have to read pages upon pages of unnecessary filler words that neither contribute to the plot nor to the atmosphere or setting.