Reviews with content warning for War - Un Río Encantado

Reviews tagging 'War'

Un Río Encantado by Rebecca Ross

30 reviews

readingwithasha's review against another edition

lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I am not a huge fantasy person, so this book was certainly a departure from what I usually like to read. It took me awhile to get into it and to understand the world-building, but once I got into it, I enjoyed it!
I particularly enjoyed the middle of the book, which does a nice job of illustrating the intricacies of the landscape and the magic that happens there.
I am giving this book a 3.75 because I really disliked the ending!

It felt like the last 50 pages were forced and resolved all of the tension so quickly! I felt like the Adaira-is-actually-from-the-West plotline came out of nowhere, and it felt like the author wanted to TELL the reader rather than SHOW the reader. I also thought it was strange that Adaira leaves without Jack. I felt like we lost a lot of the beautiful, unspoken parts at the end.

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madam_tatas's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I need to start off this review by saying that my daughter and I actually picked this book together. We were looking at my stack of unread Book of the Month books, and I was trying to find something to read after the mystery and thrill of The Rule of Three by Sam Ripley. (If you haven’t read that one, I highly recommend it too. Even if you don’t normally like mystery/thriller books like myself.) She was looking at the books and making faces at the stack of romance novels in my pile. She then looked at A River Enchanted and said “I think you should read this one. Something about the cover…” I looked up at her and said, “That’s actually why I ordered it when I saw it on Book of the Month.” Anyway, now that we’re done discussing the background of how I ended up reading this book, let’s move on to the review.

Words are not enough to describe how I feel after finishing this book. I want more. I want the sequel. I almost cried at the ending. I haven’t cried over a book in so long, and this one nearly made me do it. The relationships between the characters could be felt in every word. There were some areas where one of the marriages reminded me of my own. I could feel the strain, the frustration, the longing to build something beyond what they currently had. I was so happy they were successful in the end. Watching the characters grow through the course of the book was amazing. Although the entire thing took place in only a few weeks, like one of the characters even commented, it felt like years had passed.

I feel changed after reading this book. I feel like I found a piece of myself that I didn’t even realize was missing. I feel like I’ve found new friends and family members that I didn’t know existed. Every pain they felt, I felt. Every joy they celebrated, I celebrated with them. I am now eagerly downloading the sequel onto my Kindle using my Kindle Unlimited subscription, but I will be purchasing a physical copy as soon as I possibly can.

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laura_hart15's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Loveable characters? Yes

3.75

it took me a while to warm up to the story. Now that it is over, my heart aches for Jack and Adaira. Will read the 2nd book to see where the story leads.

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marjeannguyen's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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brewdy_reader's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Magical Realism • Cozy Fantasy • Belonging
Fantasy Romance • Duology • Folklore
Published • 15 February 2022

Divine Rivals may have been the book to catapult Rebecca Ross to instant bookstagram stardom, but I'm here to tell you that A River Enchanted (which was published first!) was my top read between the two. Some will say that it is unfair to compare them, but that's just what I'll be doing, as I assume most of you have already read Divine Rivals.

A note: Divine Rivals was one of my top YA Fantasy reads of 2023, along with Belladonna and Legendborn. I gave all of these books a 5 ⭐ rating in the YA category.

Having said that, A River Enchanted enchanted this reader! It is a bit slower paced to the higher action Divine Rivals, but has such a cozy, folklorish vibe set in the world of Cadence which feels very British isles. Unlike DR which centers largely around a romance between two newspaper rivals, in A River Enchanted we get many more in-depth side characters in addition to the prominent ones. DR is more angsty, as is typical in the YA genre, while A River Enchanted features more mature characters and targets an adult audience. Despite its coziness, its plot is highly engaging with high stakes, and although it is the first half of a duology, ends with a satisfying conclusion rather than a cliff.

What is similar: readers who love Ross' atmospheric poetic writing will find a consistency here between the two books, as well as a magical universe, themes of belonging, and warring gods.

Read this one if you loved the Emily Wilde series or cozy fantasy as a genre!

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styxx's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

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grace_b_3's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

This book had lush prose and compelling characters. The Celtic-inspired setting and interesting magic system are definitely draws. It lost me a bit with the ending, but I enjoyed the ride.

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