By Mattie Lugar
Even though spring has come and gone, the whimsical nature of the season can still be experienced all year long with the help of books. One of my favorite spring reads, hands down, has to be “Half a Soul” by Olivia Atwater.
This takes fairytales and whimsy to a whole new level as we follow Theodora, aptly nicknamed Dora, through her escapades in Regency-era England while she tries to help her cousin get a match. An interesting thing to know about Dora is that she lost half of her soul to a fae lord hellbent on revenge to reclaim what he believes is rightly his. With only half of her soul, Dora is unable to feel most emotions, which can put her in jeopardy with the most eligible bachelors in the London Season.
Along the way she meets the elusive and highly uncouth Lord Sorcerier Elias, who for some reason has been pulled into Dora’s orbit, much to the dismay of her aunt. Sparks fly between the two of them into what I would call one of the dreamiest connections akin to Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy from Pride and Prejudice.
But while the setting may be fantastical and the romance swoon-worthy, there is another threat lurking just beneath the surface. While most of London society is busy trying to secure successful matches, Dora and Elias are hurrying to find a cure to an elusive plague that is only affecting children. Turns out, these children are being given over to the same faerie lord who is after the rest of Dora’s soul. Dora eventually finds a way into the land of faeries holding the trusty iron sewing shears that saved her life all those years ago to ultimately try and reclaim the missing half of her soul.
Truth be told, I could only see Mr. Bobinsky from Coraline as the main antagonist simply because of the sheer absurdities he is described with, but wacky characters aside, I really did enjoy this book. I will always be fans of incredibly whimsical books or ones that read like fairytales, and this was everything and more for me!