Book Review: Olivia Atwater’s ‘Half A Soul’ is the Perfect Whimsical Cozy Fantasy for Regency and Traditional Faerie Fans Alike
I don’t know why this makes sense, but if Pride & Prejudice, and Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell had a book baby, it would be Half a Soul by Olivia Atwater. If you love the Regency period, young ladies hunting for eligible husbands, and Mr. Darcy’s judgy vibes, but you also love traditional, slightly scary Faeries, you will probably love this book. It was an absolute delight to read. I found myself giggling multiple times—the dialog was so great. Plus, it’s a super quick read, so if you’re looking for a book to get you out of a reading slump, it might be this one. I highly recommend it!
Things to Know:
Book One in a series of interconnected standalones
Multi-POV
Traditional Faeries
Regency Setting
Grumpy MMC
Cozy fantasy
We meet Theodora aka Dora Ettings as a young girl when a very bad Faerie Lord attempts to steal her away to Faerie because apparently her mother sold her to him before she was born (WHAT?!). He’s thwarted by some aggressively wielded iron scissors and only manages to abscond with half of her soul. It leaves Dora changed though. She can no longer feel emotions as others do, and becomes quite an odd duck in society. It absolutely gives neurodivergent, and after doing a bit of research, it seems that was exactly the author’s intention, which I found to be so well done.
Her cousin reminded me SO MUCH of Jane Bennet from Pride and Prejudice. She’s the perfect eligible young lady, beautiful and charming. When they head to London for the season, Dora has a chance encounter with the Lord Sorcier (aka a Sorcerer), who works for the King. And wow is he a grumpy, disagreeable fellow. But I absolutely loved him. His bestie, Albert, is also very Charles Bingley coded. Her cousin her determined to find a way to mend her soul and make her whole again, and she’s convinced Lord Sorcier can help.
When I tell you the banter in this book is so clever and cute…I was obsessed. I also loved the alternate London vibes, and we even get a spend some time in Faerie. No spoilers though—you’ll just have to read it yourself!
This was an easy five star read for me. I’m looking forward to checking out the other books in the series, which apparently are all standalones, but take place in the same alternate, historical location.
Fave Quotes:
“Listen here, Miss Ettings! I am in love with you. You deserve to hear that. I love your wit and cleverness. I love that you are kind but almost never nice. I love your eyes and your hair and your freckles, and the fact that you smell like some monstrous floral perfume all of the time…And I love to dance with you. That is the worst of it by far.”
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“I did not come here only to dance. I came here only to dance with you. It is quite a different thing.”
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“We will not be making her a gown from moonlight, you cretins!” the Baroness said sternly. “That has not been popular since last week at least!”
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