Half a Soul

3.5 stars

“...when you cannot force the world to come to its senses, you must settle only for wiping away some of the small evils in front of you.”

This was a pretty cozy and warm read in this gloomy, dark, and rainy weather. The writing was decent, and the characters were likable. There was a certain cuteness in the exchanges between the main characters, which was quite enjoyable to read. From the starting of the book, I was hooked by the story, and flipped through the pages with a rapidity that would put the fastest locomotives to shame. I came to love Dora and Elias and their adorable banter, and kept craving for more of it. As expected, everything works out at the end in this warm, feel-good, heart touching romantic fantasy set in the regency era. Unlike most of fantasy romances, the book goes above and beyond to shed light into the English society of that period, and the plight of the poor, orphaned, and homeless. In fact, the obsession of the protagonists with the conditions of the people in the workhouses forms a central part of the novel.

If not for certain things, I am sure to have rated the book 4 or even 4.5 stars.

The entire premise revolves around the fact that Dora, the protagonist only has half a soul, and as a result cannot feel certain emotions like fear, surprise, embarrassment, etc in a way a human being with a full soul may feel them. Despite this, I felt there was a certain contradiction to this basic premise as the writing progresses. For example, initially it is explained how Dora does not feel startled even when someone addresses her from behind suddenly. However, later in the book, at some point she is startled by something similar. Also, the whole thing about her not being able to feel properly, and yet at places feeling things leave the entire premise sort of hazy and ill thought. Personally, the ending also felt slightly disappointing. I don't know exactly what I was expecting, but it was not what it turned out to be. At the very least, I expected more clarification on the background about how Dora came to lose half of her soul, or even how her belated mother came into contact with the faerie lord who took her soul. Lastly, at times it feels like the author is overdoing the anger the protagonists feel towards poverty and injustice in the society.

At any rate, keeping aside the things mentioned above, there is no denying that overall the book was enjoyable to read, and I do not regret reading it even a bit. In fact, I may even venture to try the other two novels in the trilogy at some point in my life!