Half a Soul by Olivia Atwater . Charming, whimsical and original story.

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.

Pick up HALF A SOUL, and be stolen away into Olivia Atwater’s charming, magical version of Regency England!

Audiobook Review

4,5 stars

What a charming, whimsical and original story! I think the narrator’s voice suited Dora to a perfection.

I loved so many things in that novel.

I loved Dora’s character. She is a kind person but unable to feel great emotions, just the tail end of these as a result of half her soul being stolen by a fairy lord when she was a kid.

That made her struggling with proper comebacks and shunned in social life. She looked even more bizarre with her mismatched eyes.

But her cousin Vanessa was determined to always do what was best for Dora! Even asking for Dora to accompany her on a hunt for a good husband in London.
That’s where we get that Bridgerton vibe with matchmaking hens.
If Vanessa’s mother is determined to marry her well, Dora is even more determined to have Vanessa marry a worthy man.

Vanessa is obsessed with meeting Lord Sorcier, the king’s magician as she hopes that he could help Dora become her old self one again.

But when Dora meets the magician, witty comebacks fly and she is not impressed by his gruff and grumpy behavior like other ladies would be.

You guessed it, it will be a grumpy / not really sunshine trope amidst Victorian London with a magic twist!

It’s easy to read, very enjoyable thanks to Dora’s quirks and witty comebacks. Elias is the perfect handsome, broody male hiding a heart of gold under his deterring manners.

I totally recommend the book!

Thanks for reading.

Sophie