trigger warning
<spoiler> kidnapping, child disappearance, trauma, grief, mention of death of a parent </spoiler>

The bard Jack is called home on urgent business, but only goes out of duty. He'd rather stay at the university, where he is on the way to become a professor - a steady job with steady income in an unsteady world.
But it turns out there still is something for him on the magical island of his youth.

The island Cadence is split in half: The east is ruled by the Tamerlaines, who live in fear of the people of the West, because they are unpredictable and prone to raids when their stores run low.
Magic is a very real thing on this place, as are spirits tied to the four elements. You either know the island very well, or you are in danger of becoming a plaything for powers beyond your ken.

Girls are going missing. No traces of the deed are left, so of course, people think the spirits are to blame. This book is about the search, while Jack has to come to terms with old problems, left as he was sent to the university, but never solved.

While overall I think this was an okay read, I feel the characters have grown on me a lot, and I look forward to the next installment. The world just felt so real, and you never knew what would be coming next. I am eager to learn more about the dreaded enemies of the West, if they're really as bad as the legends and rumours make you think.

Recommendation if you want adult fantasy but without the mainstream Tolkien-knock off. No dragons and dwarves here, so far.
The arc was provided by the publisher.

A River Enchanted was a lyrical read full of magic, relationships and character depth.

The folklore inspiration and magic systems felt refreshing without stepping too far from common fantastical elements, which makes this an easy to read and engaging story.

The importance of working with others and understanding others, putting aside prejudice is a main theme running through and one important to see reflected in books.

While it’s an adult novel, it felt somewhat YA to me so I would say it might be accessible for new adult readers.

Overall, a fun fantasy and a strong start for this series!

Thank you netgalley and publishers for letting me read this.

Sadly this was a DNF for me. It was just not my cup of tea

A River Enchanted is a sweeping tale of romance, magic, and mystery. Set on the enchanted island of Cadence, a place heavily inspired by Scottish myth and legend, bisected by two ancient clans locked in an everlasting and bitter rivalry.

Jack has been away from Cadence for ten years studying and teaching music at the mainland university, but when young girls begin vanishing from the island, he is compelled to return and help his childhood nemesis, Adaira, uncover the truth behind their disappearances. With the aid of two other Cadence natives, Torin and Sidra, Jack and Adaira will not only unravel the dark secrets of the island and the clan rivalry, but also their true feelings for one another.

There were many things I loved about A River Enchanted, but the atmosphere and sense of setting Ross created with her rich and sumptuous prose was at the top. Ross swept me away entirely to the Highland setting; I could feel the salt spray of the ocean and smell the woody scent of heather on the wind as I turned the pages. This book was a true portal to another world.

I loved all four of the main characters, as well as the secondary cast. Every character was well developed, with backstories and relationships that pushed the stakes of the plot higher, and built a sense of community that comes from living in such an insular setting.

The slow burn romance between Jack and Adaira was a delight to watch unfold. The pair share a backstory that layered their relationship with passion, humour, and the perfect amount of angst. I also enjoyed the fact that we got to see an established relationship in the book between Torin and Sidra. Sidra being Torin’s second wife, raising the child of Torin’s late first wife. A wonderfully complex pairing full of emotional weight.

A River Enchanted is an atmospheric light fantasy read that is perfect to get lost in this season.

I loved this book. I really didn’t know what to expect but as the story grew my intrigue grew too. I really liked the strong female characters especially Sidra. And I felt each character was unique and not at all stereotypical. I am hyped for the sequel and delving into Adaira more.

This sounded really intriguing but unfortunately I ended up not enjoying this book as much as I thought I would. I got bored and had to force myself to continue reading.

Thanks for my earc of this book. I loved the premise but the pacing was a little too slow to engage me. I unfortunately didn’t finish but think this was more that it wasn’t my style of book.

A River Enchanted by Rebecca Ross - 5/5 stars! Another late one sadly, and I really wish I'd not put this off - I think I avoided it due to the hype at the time, but it feels well deserved now I've read it.

This complex tale is woven around Celtic tales of the folk, around magic and bonds of blood & land. There was some nice diversity in some side characters, and the romance felt rich and real (with lots of yearning!). I loved Jack and Adaira, seeing them develop as characters and slowly learning their stories. The plot is gripping and twisty, and I stayed glued to the pages wanting to know how it would end!

I believe there will be a second one, based on the ending (though it may have been officially announced by now!), and I'll definitely be picking that up, if there is.

There is a lot to like here, but it wasn’t the book for me. There is a lot of detail and emotion, but the pace was too slow for me (though did improve a little towards the end). It ended on a cliffhanger, but I can’t imagine I will pick the next one up - I just wasn’t the right reader for this book.

such an interesting and great book to read! I can't believe its taken so long to read it. its been on my TBR forever and I'd highly recommend. I am not normally a fantasy lover but this was perfect. Thank you to Rebecca and Netgalley for allowing me a copy.

A river enchanted by Rebecca ross

I had my wish granted for an advance review copy for free ipon its release, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Thank you to netgalley, harper Collins uk and Rebecca Ross for the opportunity to read this book.

Let me start by saying this author is an autobuy author for me, I own all their books including a special edition of this one. I'm a huge fan of the queen rising duology and so I was very excited to get my wish granted to read this upon its release, it did not disappoint.

The world building is really well done, informative but not boring and well placed between plot and action. Both main characters are fleshed out and I felt I had an understanding of each of them. The pacing is even with a mix of romance, mystery and action. That being said it is actually sidra that became my favourite character. She felt like the heart of the story for me.

I cannot think of a single thing that I'd changed and so this is an easy 5 stars for me. I look forward to reading the sequel upon its release.

Ross has cemented herself as a fantasy force to be reckoned with. Despite a slow narrative start, this latest is a rich and beguiling story full of threads of magic, folklore, and compelling human notes that bring the book to life.

Unfortunately I had to dnf this book about halfway through, as I got very bored. It was very atmospheric, but the plot was way too slow for my liking.

4.75 - but would rather give it 5 stats over 4.5

<i>Thank you to Netgalley and HarperCollins for accepting my wish for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.</i>

I'm going to preface this by saying that the ONLY thing I didn't like in this entire book, was that Whisky was spelt wrong. Yup. That's it. That's what made me mark this as a 4.75 because it bugged me that much. I know that the Isle is fictional, but the Scottish elements weren't and Whisky is different from Whiskey - so its a thing.

Other than that, I loved the musical elements to this book, I loved the elemental magic and the Scottish lore. I loved the inclusions of thistles (note that the Illumicrate version is stunning!). My Scottish, elemental magic loving heart was just super happy reading this cosy, home grown mystery adventure. I also loved that she took the time to write out why it was classified as Adult, the themes and triggers on her website and on goodreads. That was handled in such a way that it was tastefully done.

Honestly, I just need book #2 (A Fire Endless) right now. If anyone can get me an ARC, this Scot would be so happy!!!

This novel surprised me, I must admit I hadn’t seen very favourable reviews for A River Enchanted so after initially being excited I lowered my expectations but now I’m surprised and excited for the sequel. There was definitely a pacing issue with this story which is why it isn’t five stars, it just felt a little sluggish at times, but all in all I thoroughly enjoyed the story and I can’t wait to read more!

A River enchanted is a fantasy novel that tells the story of two childhood enemies who must team up in order to find out why girls are going missing from their clan.

This was a gorgeously written fantasy which felt like a comfort read. Not much else to say other than I loved it


Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of the novel in exchange for an honest review

Thank you to Netgalley for giving me an eARC to review.

First of all I love Rebecca Ross's books. I think she writes beautifully and I very easily become settled into her worlds. I also really appreciate that on Goodreads she left a review with any triggers in the book as well as a general overview.

This is her first adult fantasy book and I think it went well. I liked how she incorporated clans and spirits as well as rivalries. All of this world building however did take up a lot of the book and was slightly confusing but I think that is more my fault as I read this book over the span of a few months.

I enjoyed the use of Jack being a bard and it reminded me very much of playing dnd with friends, but I liked how he could play for the spirits and tried to work out who was stealing the girls that way.

I would say the pacing was slightly strange as the vast majority of the book was world building but with some problem solving and also action sprinkled in. I think as this is the first book in the series though this is to be expected and I feel like there will be a lot more action in the second book.

To finish I would say I did enjoy this book and I will be reading the sequel. I think that Ross did well with her debut into adult fantasy and I look forward to how the character's journeys will develop in the future.

I loved reading this book. It took me onto a journey to the island called Cadence where things are slightly different and nature has powers of its own.

We first get to see the island through one of its former inhabitants, Jack Tamerlaine, who has been called back to assist his chieftain in a matter of urgency. His mastery of music, specially playing the harp and composing music, he has in the last ten years attained by studying at the university on the mainland will be very much needed.

Returning to the island opens up to the islanders understanding of their being within this island that is defined and driven by the spirited natural forces of earth, air, water and fire and also by a schism that runs right through the island in form of two clans that have drawn the line and are wary and suspicious of each other.

Jack returning finds things changed, and the chieftain who called him back is his former childhood nemesis Adaira who has taken over the leading of her clan from her father.

Together they have to find a way to get the children that mysteriously disappear back.

[Their story is accompanied by another's couple story who have weathered some storms in their relationship, but are fixated in who they are to each other. Recent events break up these old habits and make them query for change and a new understanding of who they are to each other. (hide spoiler)]

I found this book to be an engrossing, immersing read that let me live in Cadence with all its natural magic and the magic humans hold in form of words and song and music and community as they live through challenging times and maybe, just maybe find new answers in relation who they are to each other and their neighbours.

I look forward to see how this story concludes in the sequel that comes out later this year.

When I read the description I knew that I would love this book and I was correct. I adored this world and magic system. I loved the interactions between Adaira and Jack Tamerlaine. I was hooked from the very first page and I will definitely be rereading in the future.

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for access to this bloody beautiful book!

What a dream this was to read.

What I loved:
- The way this felt like a dreamy magical historical folk tale; the tone felt as if a bard was telling it. Ugh, so lyrical, gorgeous and comforting.
- Jack and Adaira, Torin and Sidra - both pairings are wonderfully different and beautiful; it was nice to see relationships in different stages/dynamics. The enemies to lovers in this was subtle but effortlessly done! The romance felt realistic.
- The exploration of family dynamics, particularly between Jack and his mother; the unease felt about returning after a long time away and how to pick up - if you can - from where you left off.
- The reveals just creep up and really took me by surprise!
- The world building; the spirits, the folklore, the rich history interwoven into the narrative.
- The ending!!!!!!!! Give me book 2!

What I disliked
The ending! Give me book 2 NOW!

Read if you love
- Enemies to Lovers
- Marriage of convenience x 2!
- Healthy step-parent relationship rep!!!
- Folklore / mythological roots.