Beautiful writing. Compelling characters. Elemental and fairy magic. Slow burn romance. You just can’t go wrong with anything Rebecca Ross writes.

A beautiful, whimsical, magical story that I absolutely adored! Lush writing style and strong world building - felt very immersed into it because it was so atmospheric. My only complaint is the pacing. I felt like sometimes parts felt quite slow and dragged on a bit while the last third of the book felt very rushed.

This was a great, cozy read. I liked the fairy tale like nature of the book. Thanks for the review copy,

Yes, I am very late to reading this book. Sadly, there is a reason for it. Finally, on the 4th attempt at reading it, I made it through.
Have you heard the term, no plot just vibes? This book very much felt like that for me. I wasn't as invested in the characters as I hoped to be. I wanted to care about what was happening, but I didn't. This book felt like a slog, and I am sad that it did. I think this one needed to be 100-150 pages shorter, and to be more precise in what it wanted it's characters to do for me to enjoy it more. This book clearly has a readership. I just wish it were me.

I previously read The Queens Rising by Rebecca Ross and really loved it so I had high hopes for this one. I think because this felt more like a folklore fantasy and the stakes didn’t feel as high, I wasn’t as excited or invested as I thought I’d be. That doesn’t mean this isn’t a good read though, I just think it didn’t really match my expectations and what I personally enjoy in fantasy books.

Another beautiful written story by Rebecca Ross! She just gets better and better! Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for the opportunity to read !!

Rebecca Ross is an auto buy for me! I love her rewriting and this book sucked me in and I fell in love with these characters! Talk about feeling joy and hurt and all the feels! The mystery in this book was so good and how the story ended I'm dying to read the next book! So definitely read this! Like right now, go!

This was a very rich world. I could see the spirits hiding in the corners out of mortal eyesight and I found Cadence a fascinating world to live in, at least the East side, despite that curse. I am looking forward to seeing the west side in the next book. I hope the curse can be broken! And I wish the best for Jack and Adara! They have some tough times ahead of them!

I enjoyed this book. I felt like the writing was quite lyrical, which I enjoyed. The characters were interesting, and the story had me engaged on the beginning to end.

I started this book in 2022 but only read about 45%. I wasn’t in the right mental space to enjoy it. I restarted it in 2023 as an audiobook and finished it all in one day. It was AMAZING as an audiobook. I appreciated the POVs so much more and the accent the narrator used made it that much more of an experience.

Like The Drowned Empire series, this is another series that I’d recommend for YA readers who want to dive into adult fantasy.

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I really enjoyed the lore that was written into this book. The premise was great and I think Rebecca Ross did a good job of creating a story that was well-written and cohesive. I did have issues with the pacing but it was still a good story.

A River Enchanted almost felt like I was reading a Classic. The storytelling was beautiful, and the story flowed well enough to keep me invested.

Rebecca Ross will forever and always be an auto-buy author for me. I was especially excited when I saw she would be releasing her first fully adult novel!

This book is nothing like anything I've ever read before. The writing is absolutely beautiful and the multiple romances are very slow build. Even the established romance experienced beautiful growth.

There's so much I could say about this book, but I feel like it would not do it any justice unless you experience it for yourself.

My one and only issue with the story is it felt like a huge lack of urgency to actually find the missing girls!

There is a reason why Rebecca Ross is one of my favorite writers. Her ability to wrap readers in a story of magic and mayhem is a true gift. It isn't often that the hero of a fantasy novel is a skinny kid who plays music. Allowing the music to be the path to conversing with the folk is a brilliant move.

As a lover of all types of music, A River Enchanted really spoke to me. I often feel as the folk do when Jack plays for them. Music heals the soul and carries us away to our own magical realms.

I also adore the love that blooms for Jack and Adaira. Torin and Sidra's love story is also a genuine tug on my heartstrings. It is easy to see how Ross ties music and love together in all its shapes and forms is nothing short of spectacular.

I love A River Enchanted so much. I never saw the twist coming, and my heart is completely broken right now. I am thrilled to award A River Enchanted a full 5 out of 5 stars.

I liked this but didn’t love it as much as I had hoped. The general setup reminds me somewhat of Juliet Marillier in terms of the Scottish setting and this being more of a historical fantasy, However, the characters here didn’t impact me as much as Juliet’s often do, and I just didn’t attain the same level of enjoyment with this one.

I did like the setting on the island and having the 4 elements/spirits. It’s interesting how the two different sides of the island have different pros and cons in terms of people’s powers. I enjoyed the premise and structure of different songs for the elements and liked how magic has a toll on the half of the island where Jack is from.

The pacing is on the more meandering side of things. It feels almost more like a slice of life story, even though there’s this mystery of these missing girls. I just never really felt like there were high stakes or that there was a ton of plot. That being said, it’s easy to read and mostly engaging. I did think this was a standalone, but it definitely seems to be the start of a series given the ending.

Jack starts off the book by being somewhat resentful about coming home, but he slowly realizes how much he missed his home and family. He has a lot of pent up resentment because he feels unwanted, so I did like him working through that and feeling like he belongs more. It’s nice to see him playing his harp and composing music - even though it can cost him, he’s still willing to do it because it’s the right thing to do. I didn’t initially love him but definitely grew to like him more. I did like some of his family members - one in particular was very earnest and sweet overall.

We also have Adaira, this heiress, who seems nice overall. She’s more focused on the future and trying to mend things with the other half of the island, even though it hasn’t worked out in the past. I liked her optimism and seeing her just try to make things better because most people think it’s not even worthwhile. I liked how she and Jack were rivals growing up, but I wouldn’t classify this as a true enemies to lovers romance. I felt a little ambivalent about the romance overall. I mostly liked them together, but I’m not sure I really felt the chemistry.

The other character we focus on more is a healer named Sidra. I liked how her relationship with her husband started off more as a friendship and then developed into something more - this does feel like a marriage of convenience in a way. She wants to help out with searching, and she goes through a bit of an identity crisis throughout the book which was kinda interesting to see her work through. Her husband is pretty harsh at first but steps up a bit with his relationships and understanding his niece’s point of view.

In general, this book was pleasant but I wanted more from the story. I don’t think I’ll be continuing this series, but if you’re interested in a slower paced book that’s Scottish-inspired, this might be worth a look.

It took a little time to really get into the cadence (yes, I picked this word on purpose) of this tale, but wow, once it got its hooks in me, it just wouldn't let go. I felt myself being drawn into this tale of an isolate isle - divided into two lands at odds with one another, and filled with all sorts of enchanted (yes, again, on purpose) beings and items - and the folks that live there facing the struggles that haunt them in this tale. It was absolutely a slow burn experience for me, but I was tumbling headfirst into being invested and caring so much about these characters and the outcome of their tale before I even knew it was happening. It really felt like another magical reading experience, recalling to mind the times I first read stories like Spinning Silver, Daughter of the Forest and The Bear and the Nightingale. I'm absolutely dying to read the sequel -- I really need to know what happens next!

Excellent book. Solid writing. Engaging plot. Interesting characters. A lyrical folksy quality. Highly enjoyable.

Rebecca Ross is one of the most imaginative and lyrical writers of this day and age and no one can convince me otherwise. I have the hardcopy of this book because I sometimes just open chunks and reread when I want to feel something. It might sound dramatic but this book means everything to me, it is a place that I want to live but am grateful I get to exist in while reading.

This book was great! It takes a lot for me to get that into a quieter book that doesn’t necessarily have conflict at every turn, but the characters and what was going on with them really kept me reading.

*eARC provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review, though I read the Illumicrate edition*

A gentle love story for all.

I love the rotating points of view. They all work really well.

I do not like the way certain people are treated at the end. So unfair.