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Regency Faerie Tales #1
Media alma
En plena época de la regencia, Inglaterra no está preparada para lidiar con una joven como Theodora Ettings.
Dora, que de niña perdió media alma a manos de las hadas, a sus veinte años está muy lejos de ser la señorita casadera que su familia querría.
Incapaz de sentir miedo o vergüenza, causa innumerables escándalos a su paso provocando el bochorno entre los londinenses.
Para colmo de males, el insufrible sorcier real, despreciado por toda la sociedad, será el primero en descubrir el secreto de su infancia.
Ambos se verán envueltos en los siempre peligrosos asuntos de las hadas, cuyos engaños tan solo son comparables con los de la alta sociedad inglesa y Dora tendrá que demostrar hasta donde puede llegar una joven con tan solo media alma.
Dora, que de niña perdió media alma a manos de las hadas, a sus veinte años está muy lejos de ser la señorita casadera que su familia querría.
Incapaz de sentir miedo o vergüenza, causa innumerables escándalos a su paso provocando el bochorno entre los londinenses.
Para colmo de males, el insufrible sorcier real, despreciado por toda la sociedad, será el primero en descubrir el secreto de su infancia.
Ambos se verán envueltos en los siempre peligrosos asuntos de las hadas, cuyos engaños tan solo son comparables con los de la alta sociedad inglesa y Dora tendrá que demostrar hasta donde puede llegar una joven con tan solo media alma.
368 pages, Paperback
First published March 29, 2020
3,339 people are currently reading
145k people want to read
About the author
Olivia Atwater
15books3,055followersOlivia Atwater writes whimsical historical fantasy with a hint of satire. She lives in Montreal, Quebec with her fantastic, prose-inspiring husband and her two cats. When she told her second-grade history teacher that she wanted to work with history someday, she is fairly certain this isn't what either party had in mind. She has been, at various times, a historical re-enactor, a professional witch at a metaphysical supply store, a web developer, and a vending machine repairperson.
Searching for more Regency faerie tales? Sign up for the Atwater Scandal Sheets at oliviaatwater.com and get ongoing updates, along with the exclusive novella The Latch Key.
Searching for more Regency faerie tales? Sign up for the Atwater Scandal Sheets at oliviaatwater.com and get ongoing updates, along with the exclusive novella The Latch Key.
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December 27, 2022I don't review my own books, of course—but here are some facts you might not have known about Half a Soul and the Regency era in general!
FUN FACTS ABOUT HALF A SOUL
- A great deal of this novel was written during work lunches at a nearby cafe, about thirty minutes at a time.
- The first scene I came up with for the book was . This scene remains almost entirely unchanged in the final draft.
- The Regency Faerie Tales were originally published independently. They were later picked up by Orbit for rerelease, with fresh edits and lovely new covers.
- Theodora's half a soul is indeed a metaphor for neurodivergence. She shares many of my own neurodivergent qualities, along with a few from my friends.
- Some people theorise that children historically suspected to be stolen by faeries were in fact neurodivergent all along, and that faerie involvement was simply a fanciful method of explanation for this phenomenon. I love this idea, and therefore enjoy calling myself faerie-cursed.
- At one point, Lord Hollowvale This is another reference to this bit of folklore.
- The original draft of Half a Soul was even darker in tone. Ultimately, despite the fact that I found this plot development to be realistic, I decided it was slightly too much. I believe I still have the redacted scene in my notes somewhere.
- Mr Albert Lowe's personality is based partially on one of my husband's tabletop roleplaying characters. If I'm somewhat in love with him, therefore, readers will need to forgive me.
- For anyone confounded by the last line of the novel, in light of the messages about self-acceptance:
AMUSING FACTS ABOUT THE REGENCY ERA
- Regency vocabulary being slightly different, "dress" connotes an entire outfit or style of dress, while "gown" or "frock" connotes an actual article of clothing. In every book, I have always had to do an entire editing pass purely dedicated to fixing this difference, as it's far too easy to mix up while writing.
- Lord Hollowvale's five coats are not nearly as outlandish as reasonable people would probably like to believe. In fact, there was a style during the Regency era where wealthy men would wear two coats at once. One suspects that the only reason human aristocrats stopped at two was pure logistics; thankfully, faeries have no such limitations.
- The faerie obsession with English culture is based on the English aristocracy's obsession with East Asian culture, and its collection of arbitrary East Asian objects. If English aristocrats can marvel over Chinese teacups, it seems only fair that faeries should marvel over English gravy boats.
- A real hazard of Regency era balls was the candlelight. Not only did it make balls incredibly hot and stifling, it also posed a danger to women and their gowns. At least one woman is recorded to have died from burns after catching herself on a candle at a ball.
- During this time, the waltz had recently been introduced to society, but it was still considered slightly scandalous. The Regency waltz uses a different dancing position than the modern waltz, with which I am actually very practised—and for the life of me, I can't imagine how that tangle of arms actually worked.
- Ladies at balls were expected to be polite and not hog the same dance partner indefinitely. This led to the understanding that a woman who danced twice with the same man was possibly infatuated beyond good sense and decorum, and probably about to become engaged to said man (if she wasn't already).
- Visitation between households of means had fairly strict social rules which would be dizzying to anyone who had not grown up surrounded by them. Men were not supposed to write letters to women in whom they were interested, but were allowed to send flowers, perhaps with a name card.
- Traditional English magical beliefs from around this period included such things as the four humours, dowsing, alchemy (both literal and metaphorical), necromancy/nigromancy (which I absolutely omitted from this book, due to its often gruesome ingredients), ritualised prayers and commands to both angels and demons, and several miscellaneous concepts like tobacco being used to reveal black magic and evil spirits. I decided to humour historical magicians and make it all real, and proceeded from there.
FAR LESS FUN FACTS ABOUT REGENCY ERA MEDICINE
- English medicine during the Regency era was... questionable. Physicians believed that sicknesses came from "miasma" and that bad smells could lead to illness. Sometimes, at least, this resulted in the right actions for the wrong reasons. Several well-respected physicians almost certainly killed people with their treatments, rather than helping them; nevertheless, many people paid physicians a small fortune for the privilege of being bled until they were too weak to fight off their illness. Despite this, as always, some medical professionals still stumbled upon common sense observations about which treatments led to more reliable results and quietly practiced better medicine.
- Army surgeons, like Albert, could not generally be promoted to the highest medical ranks in the army unless they had degrees from Oxford or Cambridge (neither of which actually had a medical program at the time) as well as a membership with the College of Physicians in London. This led to intense acrimony between surgeons and physicians, partially justified by stories of inept aristocratic physicians whose theoretical knowledge made them worse than useless in hospitals. Nevertheless, some surgeons with the means (like Albert) acquired physician credentials after returning to England, in order to remedy the lack of respect they had been shown during the war.
- English hospitals and medicine during the early Napoleonic Wars are understood to have been horrific, with very high mortality rates. Ironically, previous wars had long since led to a better understanding of how to run hospitals sensibly—but almost all of these lessons had since been forgotten and required relearning. There is evidence that some surgeons and physicians on the English side understood the necessity of good hospital and patient hygiene, but were woefully under-equipped and under-resourced to offer it until far later in the war, when Wellington and his advisors dedicated more effort to reforming hospital logistics.
INTENSELY AWFUL FACTS ABOUT REGENCY ERA WORKHOUSES
- The first recorded instance in Britain of the term "workhouse" dates back to 1631. In 1601, something very similar was known as a "house of correction", per the Elizabethan Poor Law. Both of these institutions were always envisioned as a place where those "unwilling to work" would be forced to do so. From the very beginning, workhouses have had a tradition of hard labour and inhumane punishments.
- The Cleveland Street Workhouse was a real workhouse, originally built in 1775 and known by several different names throughout history (among them the Covent Garden Workhouse and the Strand Union Workhouse). Charles Dickens spent five years living next to this exact workhouse, partially during his adolescence in the Regency era, and it is suspected that he based Oliver Twist on several of the things which he witnessed during that time.
- During the Regency era, the workhouses were already desperately crowded, between ongoing enclosure, grain tariffs, industrialisation, and the recent war—and several of the worst workhouse conditions normally attributed to the Victorian era were actually already present in the Regency era. As mentioned in the epilogue, Master Ricks observes that , however, and this is somewhat prophetic, as
FUN FACTS ABOUT HALF A SOUL
- A great deal of this novel was written during work lunches at a nearby cafe, about thirty minutes at a time.
- The first scene I came up with for the book was . This scene remains almost entirely unchanged in the final draft.
- The Regency Faerie Tales were originally published independently. They were later picked up by Orbit for rerelease, with fresh edits and lovely new covers.
- Theodora's half a soul is indeed a metaphor for neurodivergence. She shares many of my own neurodivergent qualities, along with a few from my friends.
- Some people theorise that children historically suspected to be stolen by faeries were in fact neurodivergent all along, and that faerie involvement was simply a fanciful method of explanation for this phenomenon. I love this idea, and therefore enjoy calling myself faerie-cursed.
- At one point, Lord Hollowvale This is another reference to this bit of folklore.
- The original draft of Half a Soul was even darker in tone. Ultimately, despite the fact that I found this plot development to be realistic, I decided it was slightly too much. I believe I still have the redacted scene in my notes somewhere.
- Mr Albert Lowe's personality is based partially on one of my husband's tabletop roleplaying characters. If I'm somewhat in love with him, therefore, readers will need to forgive me.
- For anyone confounded by the last line of the novel, in light of the messages about self-acceptance:
AMUSING FACTS ABOUT THE REGENCY ERA
- Regency vocabulary being slightly different, "dress" connotes an entire outfit or style of dress, while "gown" or "frock" connotes an actual article of clothing. In every book, I have always had to do an entire editing pass purely dedicated to fixing this difference, as it's far too easy to mix up while writing.
- Lord Hollowvale's five coats are not nearly as outlandish as reasonable people would probably like to believe. In fact, there was a style during the Regency era where wealthy men would wear two coats at once. One suspects that the only reason human aristocrats stopped at two was pure logistics; thankfully, faeries have no such limitations.
- The faerie obsession with English culture is based on the English aristocracy's obsession with East Asian culture, and its collection of arbitrary East Asian objects. If English aristocrats can marvel over Chinese teacups, it seems only fair that faeries should marvel over English gravy boats.
- A real hazard of Regency era balls was the candlelight. Not only did it make balls incredibly hot and stifling, it also posed a danger to women and their gowns. At least one woman is recorded to have died from burns after catching herself on a candle at a ball.
- During this time, the waltz had recently been introduced to society, but it was still considered slightly scandalous. The Regency waltz uses a different dancing position than the modern waltz, with which I am actually very practised—and for the life of me, I can't imagine how that tangle of arms actually worked.
- Ladies at balls were expected to be polite and not hog the same dance partner indefinitely. This led to the understanding that a woman who danced twice with the same man was possibly infatuated beyond good sense and decorum, and probably about to become engaged to said man (if she wasn't already).
- Visitation between households of means had fairly strict social rules which would be dizzying to anyone who had not grown up surrounded by them. Men were not supposed to write letters to women in whom they were interested, but were allowed to send flowers, perhaps with a name card.
- Traditional English magical beliefs from around this period included such things as the four humours, dowsing, alchemy (both literal and metaphorical), necromancy/nigromancy (which I absolutely omitted from this book, due to its often gruesome ingredients), ritualised prayers and commands to both angels and demons, and several miscellaneous concepts like tobacco being used to reveal black magic and evil spirits. I decided to humour historical magicians and make it all real, and proceeded from there.
FAR LESS FUN FACTS ABOUT REGENCY ERA MEDICINE
- English medicine during the Regency era was... questionable. Physicians believed that sicknesses came from "miasma" and that bad smells could lead to illness. Sometimes, at least, this resulted in the right actions for the wrong reasons. Several well-respected physicians almost certainly killed people with their treatments, rather than helping them; nevertheless, many people paid physicians a small fortune for the privilege of being bled until they were too weak to fight off their illness. Despite this, as always, some medical professionals still stumbled upon common sense observations about which treatments led to more reliable results and quietly practiced better medicine.
- Army surgeons, like Albert, could not generally be promoted to the highest medical ranks in the army unless they had degrees from Oxford or Cambridge (neither of which actually had a medical program at the time) as well as a membership with the College of Physicians in London. This led to intense acrimony between surgeons and physicians, partially justified by stories of inept aristocratic physicians whose theoretical knowledge made them worse than useless in hospitals. Nevertheless, some surgeons with the means (like Albert) acquired physician credentials after returning to England, in order to remedy the lack of respect they had been shown during the war.
- English hospitals and medicine during the early Napoleonic Wars are understood to have been horrific, with very high mortality rates. Ironically, previous wars had long since led to a better understanding of how to run hospitals sensibly—but almost all of these lessons had since been forgotten and required relearning. There is evidence that some surgeons and physicians on the English side understood the necessity of good hospital and patient hygiene, but were woefully under-equipped and under-resourced to offer it until far later in the war, when Wellington and his advisors dedicated more effort to reforming hospital logistics.
INTENSELY AWFUL FACTS ABOUT REGENCY ERA WORKHOUSES
- The first recorded instance in Britain of the term "workhouse" dates back to 1631. In 1601, something very similar was known as a "house of correction", per the Elizabethan Poor Law. Both of these institutions were always envisioned as a place where those "unwilling to work" would be forced to do so. From the very beginning, workhouses have had a tradition of hard labour and inhumane punishments.
- The Cleveland Street Workhouse was a real workhouse, originally built in 1775 and known by several different names throughout history (among them the Covent Garden Workhouse and the Strand Union Workhouse). Charles Dickens spent five years living next to this exact workhouse, partially during his adolescence in the Regency era, and it is suspected that he based Oliver Twist on several of the things which he witnessed during that time.
- During the Regency era, the workhouses were already desperately crowded, between ongoing enclosure, grain tariffs, industrialisation, and the recent war—and several of the worst workhouse conditions normally attributed to the Victorian era were actually already present in the Regency era. As mentioned in the epilogue, Master Ricks observes that , however, and this is somewhat prophetic, as
November 5, 2023
Half a soul by Olivia Atwater has been my steadfast traveling companion for the last few days and I had such a nice time with it!
⠶⠶⠶⠶⠶⠶⠶⠶⠶
This story, a romantic regency fantasy, follows 20 y/o Miss Theodora Ettings. Dora has a chance encounter with a faerie which leaves her changed and unable to feel emotions like other people. As a result her debut into society leaves much to be desired personally, but she is determined to ensure that her beloved cousin, Vanessa, has a wonderful season in London for her debut. It’s here that Dora encounters the King’s Magician Elias Wilder. Sparks and playful banter fly and they’re unable to leave each other’s orbit.
⠶⠶⠶⠶⠶⠶⠶⠶⠶
This was just so fun, the right mix of all of your favorite historical romance moments, the balls, the gowns, the matchmaking mamas, the witty repartee between love interests. But it also had so much depth, with a lot to say regarding the trauma of war, and it was a surprisingly class conscious narrative for a genre that tends to rely on elitism and romanticization of the peerage. I won’t say too much more for fear of spoiling any element of surprise for you but it was a really great read and I’d recommend it for anyone searching for some cozy and/or romantic fantasy
⠶⠶⠶⠶⠶⠶⠶⠶⠶
This story, a romantic regency fantasy, follows 20 y/o Miss Theodora Ettings. Dora has a chance encounter with a faerie which leaves her changed and unable to feel emotions like other people. As a result her debut into society leaves much to be desired personally, but she is determined to ensure that her beloved cousin, Vanessa, has a wonderful season in London for her debut. It’s here that Dora encounters the King’s Magician Elias Wilder. Sparks and playful banter fly and they’re unable to leave each other’s orbit.
⠶⠶⠶⠶⠶⠶⠶⠶⠶
This was just so fun, the right mix of all of your favorite historical romance moments, the balls, the gowns, the matchmaking mamas, the witty repartee between love interests. But it also had so much depth, with a lot to say regarding the trauma of war, and it was a surprisingly class conscious narrative for a genre that tends to rely on elitism and romanticization of the peerage. I won’t say too much more for fear of spoiling any element of surprise for you but it was a really great read and I’d recommend it for anyone searching for some cozy and/or romantic fantasy
December 17, 2022
4.5. I needed this
July 12, 2022
The book had me at: Pride and Prejudice meets Howl's Moving Castle
September 3, 2024
“I have known many human beings with a full soul to their name who do not have half so much compassion or practicality as you.�
oh this was a DELIGHT to read. the regency setting, a unique plot, the pacing, the banter, and the buildup of the romance... *chef's kiss* i'm really loving historical fantasy these days and this is easily one of my favorite reads this year so far, all genres included.
“Pleasant-mannered people are simply the worst sort of people. Decent people become properly angry when presented with miserable injustice, but pleasant-mannered people never do.�
“But sometimes, 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.�
i loved elias. i will admit i was even put off a bit by his introduction bc of his attitude, but we learn about him quickly and it's impossible to not warm up to him. he is angry at the injustices of the world and wants to make it all better, but feels powerless to fix it all. dora is the perfect balance to him; she is calm and collected, but unintimidated to return his banter. watching this romance blossom had me kicking my feet and giggling in bed. très romantique!
side note, i did also adore albert. i'm happy he found his own happiness as well.
i will definitely be reading more of atwater's books, i can't wait to see what else is in store in this world!
“Was there anything else you were curious about, while we’re at it? Shall I take off my trousers and let you take my measure?�
“I did not come here only to dance. I came here only to dance with you. It is quite a different thing.�
“I think I am happy. What a lovely feeling. I am dreaming, and I don’t want to wake up.�
“I don’t want to wake up either,� he whispered.
oh this was a DELIGHT to read. the regency setting, a unique plot, the pacing, the banter, and the buildup of the romance... *chef's kiss* i'm really loving historical fantasy these days and this is easily one of my favorite reads this year so far, all genres included.
“Pleasant-mannered people are simply the worst sort of people. Decent people become properly angry when presented with miserable injustice, but pleasant-mannered people never do.�
“But sometimes, 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.�
i loved elias. i will admit i was even put off a bit by his introduction bc of his attitude, but we learn about him quickly and it's impossible to not warm up to him. he is angry at the injustices of the world and wants to make it all better, but feels powerless to fix it all. dora is the perfect balance to him; she is calm and collected, but unintimidated to return his banter. watching this romance blossom had me kicking my feet and giggling in bed. très romantique!
side note, i did also adore albert. i'm happy he found his own happiness as well.
i will definitely be reading more of atwater's books, i can't wait to see what else is in store in this world!
“Was there anything else you were curious about, while we’re at it? Shall I take off my trousers and let you take my measure?�
“I did not come here only to dance. I came here only to dance with you. It is quite a different thing.�
“I think I am happy. What a lovely feeling. I am dreaming, and I don’t want to wake up.�
“I don’t want to wake up either,� he whispered.
January 11, 2023
4.5 stars
Whew. I’m still swooning, I think. It’s been a day since I finished listening to Half a Soul on audio, and the butterflies have yet to stop fluttering in my stomach.
Half a Soul is the first book in Olivia Atwater’s Regency Faerie Tales series, a fun mash-up of historical fantasy and Regency romance. This first tale, centered on the blossoming relationship between Dora, a young woman cursed by an evil faerie, and Elias, the grumpy and off-putting Lord Sorcier of England, is a gem of a novel.
I may be slightly biased, though. You see, historical fantasy mixed with Regency romance is kinda my thing. When the genre is done well, as it is in Atwater’s capable hands, I find it to be a lovely, whimsical escape.
Especially when the love story makes me swoon. Me, a 46 year-old woman, literally swooning over a romance novel � can you imagine? It happens so rarely these days that when I do feel that familiar twist in my belly, I know I’m reading something good.
If you’re interested in giving Half a Soul a try, you should know that the writing does have a younger feel to it. I wouldn’t go so far as to say it’s Young Adult, but it’s definitely adult-lite.
And don’t be surprised if you REALLY dislike Elias at the start of the novel. Initially, Atwater is almost too heavy-handed with his crankiness, to the point where he’s downright mean. It’s short-lived, however, and you’ll soon find that he redeems himself quite well.
Needless to say, I cannot wait to get my hands on Book #2, Ten Thousand Stitches. Let’s see if Atwater can make me swoon a second time.
Whew. I’m still swooning, I think. It’s been a day since I finished listening to Half a Soul on audio, and the butterflies have yet to stop fluttering in my stomach.
Half a Soul is the first book in Olivia Atwater’s Regency Faerie Tales series, a fun mash-up of historical fantasy and Regency romance. This first tale, centered on the blossoming relationship between Dora, a young woman cursed by an evil faerie, and Elias, the grumpy and off-putting Lord Sorcier of England, is a gem of a novel.
I may be slightly biased, though. You see, historical fantasy mixed with Regency romance is kinda my thing. When the genre is done well, as it is in Atwater’s capable hands, I find it to be a lovely, whimsical escape.
Especially when the love story makes me swoon. Me, a 46 year-old woman, literally swooning over a romance novel � can you imagine? It happens so rarely these days that when I do feel that familiar twist in my belly, I know I’m reading something good.
If you’re interested in giving Half a Soul a try, you should know that the writing does have a younger feel to it. I wouldn’t go so far as to say it’s Young Adult, but it’s definitely adult-lite.
And don’t be surprised if you REALLY dislike Elias at the start of the novel. Initially, Atwater is almost too heavy-handed with his crankiness, to the point where he’s downright mean. It’s short-lived, however, and you’ll soon find that he redeems himself quite well.
Needless to say, I cannot wait to get my hands on Book #2, Ten Thousand Stitches. Let’s see if Atwater can make me swoon a second time.
March 3, 2022
Half a Soul started off really strong! The premise was very original : a Regency romance mixed with magicians and faeries.
While the first half was gripping and funny, the second half felt more childish, the plot was more simplistic. I was disappointed because I had high hopes for this one!
I thought I would rate it 4.5, then I was sure it would deserve a strong 4... And I end up giving a 3.5-star rating: an interesting and sweet story, but one that didn't hold my interest until the end.
I think I'm going to read the following book of the series, but not right away.
While the first half was gripping and funny, the second half felt more childish, the plot was more simplistic. I was disappointed because I had high hopes for this one!
I thought I would rate it 4.5, then I was sure it would deserve a strong 4... And I end up giving a 3.5-star rating: an interesting and sweet story, but one that didn't hold my interest until the end.
I think I'm going to read the following book of the series, but not right away.
Read
June 20, 2021A highly enjoyable fairytale take on the Regency, with a woman missing half her soul, and a foul-tempered and overstressed sorceror. The worldbuilding is lightly handled, the characters are fun and engaging, and there's a lot of depth and thought in the issues, lightly handled. Hugely readable.
Slightly shonky editing, and I wish North American authors writing Regency would get an actually British reader to pick up the jarring words like gotten and fix-meaning-make and brunch (older than you think, late Victorian, but still not Regency). Grumble mutter. Notwithstanding, I wolfed this down with great pleasure.
Slightly shonky editing, and I wish North American authors writing Regency would get an actually British reader to pick up the jarring words like gotten and fix-meaning-make and brunch (older than you think, late Victorian, but still not Regency). Grumble mutter. Notwithstanding, I wolfed this down with great pleasure.
January 26, 2025
�3.5! This was so so cute!! Short (great to binge hehe) but still manage to deliver a sweet romance (the side characters' romance is so adorbs too) and super good plot!! 🤭 (The faerie lowkey scare me tho - they're so creepy...) It's super unique with regency + faerie vibes, but more cozy in a way <3 Dora is such a silly bur relatable main character and Elias might be my favorite emo victorian lord sorcier 🫣 The little things he did for her ajdkjwiedx ~ Let me tell you I was GAGGED. Can't spoil too much, but it's a fast and very well worth it read 🫶🏼
["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 I love to dance with you. That is the worst of it by far."]
["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 I love to dance with you. That is the worst of it by far."]
September 3, 2024
if u hear me not shutting up about this for the foreseeable future � i apologize ౨ৎ � � i can’t stop thinking about this� i think it’s a six �
Read
January 14, 2023admittedly not my typical kind of read but my subscribers apparently really liked this. i sadly did not.
December 29, 2024
How do you manage to CAPTURE MY HEART IN 238 PAGES??? I was so obsessed with this book it's not even funny. Dora was one of the most endearing FMC's that I have read in a long time which is funny because the girl literally is missing half of her soul. There was nothing cringey or cheesy or rushed about the romance in this and it somehow gave me a mad-at-the-world MMC that I didn't hate. Elias and Dora were just perfect. I really had close to zero complaints about this book I have to give it a full 5 stars!!!!
February 20, 2021
3.75 stars. Pretty much the quintessential Regency romance/fantasy mix, with elves (of the cruel sort) supplying the magical element. It's clean and on the lighter side - it feels like a YA romance - but it does do a quite good job of delving into social issues relating to society's treatment of the poor.
Full RTC.
Full RTC.
April 13, 2023
4.25 this was absolutely delightful
May 20, 2023
finally got around to reading this after i dnf’d it earlier this year and i will say reading the ebook helped me out so much, for some reason the audiobook makes this book so dreadful. i liked Dora as a character, i thought she was kinda funny at times though that wasn’t the point. i think i found her funny because i think she’s relatable mostly but� the romance, for some reason i found it meh. they had cute moments for sure but that’s it, it wasn’t much there for me
March 19, 2022
Half a Soul is equal parts well-intentioned and tedious. It's partly a reader/book misfit: this is a fluffy pink glazed donut to my salt-and-vinegar kettle chip proclivities, but it's also that the writing's not very good and the early 19th century setting appears to have been researched by reading second tier Regency romances.
The concept was fine. Dora Ettings had an unfortunate encounter with a Faerie lord as a child, lost half her soul (but only half, thanks to quick thinking from her cousin and a pair of steel embroidery scissors), and has now grown into a rather odd young woman whose emotions, senses, and ability to navigate social situations are muted. She and her cousin, improbably named Vanessa (not a name in common circulation during this time period), are heading to London to find husbands (Vanessa) and cures for Dora's condition (also Vanessa; Dora's happy to just be tagging along). The most likely source of a cure is the Lord Sorcier of England, Elias Wilder: gorgeous, talented, and also probably the rudest man in England.
OK, but rude is Mr. Darcy's snubbing of Elizabeth Bennet as 'tolerable,' not this:
Aww...hell no. Author Olivia Atwater tries to explain the behavior of her protagonists by Dora's condition and Elias's infamous rudeness, but no one who has spent any amount of time reading early 19th century writing (or even Georgette Heyer, FFS) could find any of the circumstances Dora and Elias find themselves in remotely credible. Their mannerisms, diction, and cultural practices are all firmly of modern people - and not Brits at that - in fancy dress.
The writing is a mess of anachronisms, unnecessary adverbs, and italics; people sigh heavily, think dimly, and smile wryly with such frequency that the eye begins to jump from tag to tag.
Dora's half-a-soul condition also leads to some conveniently malleable symptoms. She mostly doesn't feel strong emotions (but she does at times...because love). She seems intellectually unimpaired, yet after 19 years of life as gentility, it doesn't occur to her that taking her dress off to wash in a fountain might not be socially acceptable. She doesn't notice physical sensation - again, unless predicated by the romance. (Also: given that sensory processing issues, social awkwardness, and difficulty with emotion recognition are typical of autism spectrum disorders, I'm a little uncomfortable with the implication these traits come from being half a soul short. Then again, I haven't seen any good evidence for the existence of souls.) Other characters are maybe more consistent but equally one-note. Elias as the rough-edged but heart-of-gold sorcerer is eyeroll-inducing for the romantically disinclined.
I'd recommend this one to romance fans only. 1.5 stars, rounding up because I finished it without chucking it across the room once (only partly because it's a library book).
The concept was fine. Dora Ettings had an unfortunate encounter with a Faerie lord as a child, lost half her soul (but only half, thanks to quick thinking from her cousin and a pair of steel embroidery scissors), and has now grown into a rather odd young woman whose emotions, senses, and ability to navigate social situations are muted. She and her cousin, improbably named Vanessa (not a name in common circulation during this time period), are heading to London to find husbands (Vanessa) and cures for Dora's condition (also Vanessa; Dora's happy to just be tagging along). The most likely source of a cure is the Lord Sorcier of England, Elias Wilder: gorgeous, talented, and also probably the rudest man in England.
OK, but rude is Mr. Darcy's snubbing of Elizabeth Bennet as 'tolerable,' not this:
"You were very curious?" Elias repeated, in that low, sonorous voice. He added a soft laugh, which also seemed friendly, but now Dora wasn't quite sure whether she should take it as such. "Well then. That makes it all better. Was there anything else you were curious about, while we're at it? Shall I take off my trousers and let you take my measure?"
Aww...hell no. Author Olivia Atwater tries to explain the behavior of her protagonists by Dora's condition and Elias's infamous rudeness, but no one who has spent any amount of time reading early 19th century writing (or even Georgette Heyer, FFS) could find any of the circumstances Dora and Elias find themselves in remotely credible. Their mannerisms, diction, and cultural practices are all firmly of modern people - and not Brits at that - in fancy dress.
She frowned vaguely at the fountain in front of her. That is a lot of water, she thought. Enough to soak my dress properly. Perhaps I can scrub out the worst before the party is through..
Dora got to her feet and wriggled the dress over her head. Only a moment after she'd dunked the whole thing in the fountain, however, she heard a man's voice utter a foul swear word behind her.
"What are you doing, you mad little twit?"
[...]"I would have thought the situation was self-evident," Dora said calmly. "Does a man of your formidable knowledge really require the concept of laundry to be explained to him?"
Elias pinched at the bridge of his nose with his fingers, sucking in a breath. "My dear Miss Ettings," he said slowly. "You are standing in a viscount's back garden in your unmentionables, washing your dress in a fountain. Have you truly no concept of the strangeness of your situation?"
The writing is a mess of anachronisms, unnecessary adverbs, and italics; people sigh heavily, think dimly, and smile wryly with such frequency that the eye begins to jump from tag to tag.
Dora's half-a-soul condition also leads to some conveniently malleable symptoms. She mostly doesn't feel strong emotions (but she does at times...because love). She seems intellectually unimpaired, yet after 19 years of life as gentility, it doesn't occur to her that taking her dress off to wash in a fountain might not be socially acceptable. She doesn't notice physical sensation - again, unless predicated by the romance. (Also: given that sensory processing issues, social awkwardness, and difficulty with emotion recognition are typical of autism spectrum disorders, I'm a little uncomfortable with the implication these traits come from being half a soul short. Then again, I haven't seen any good evidence for the existence of souls.) Other characters are maybe more consistent but equally one-note. Elias as the rough-edged but heart-of-gold sorcerer is eyeroll-inducing for the romantically disinclined.
I'd recommend this one to romance fans only. 1.5 stars, rounding up because I finished it without chucking it across the room once (only partly because it's a library book).
March 29, 2025
Why does every other chapter feel like RuPaul asked Olivia Atwater to read the English?
A favorite for sure.
A favorite for sure.
February 23, 2023
Super lovely, though I'm confused why people are talking about this as cozy fantasy vs. fantasy romance? Seems pretty straightforwardly fantasy romance to me with strong community elements but... regardless, very much enjoyed!
January 16, 2024
Not too much historical, not too much fantasy, this was a great story about someone who never felt as if they were enough. Honestly had such a great time listening to this book, would love to see more fae/faerie books like this one.
April 26, 2022
� 5 stars
It's been many years since Theodora Ettings lost half of her soul in an unfortunate meeting with a faerie in the woods as a child. Ever since that moment, she has lost any sense of fear or embarrassment, which, in regency era England, spells scandal. Entering the upcoming London Season, Dora attempts to remain on the sidelines, but when she draws the attention of the mysterious and irritable Lord Sorcier, she inevitably becomes entangled with the world of the fae she has tried her whole life to ignore. As Dora and Elias continue to work together to uncover the mystery of her past, the two are at risk of falling in love, regardless of the circumstance of her soul.
The first thing that came to mind when I started this series was how much it reminded me of Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. There's nothing I love more than a snarky love interest and a heroine determined to make a way for herself. Dora and Elias were truly serving grumpy sunshine trope and my romance-obsessed heart was along for the whole ride. Between the search for the clues to her past and figuring out the cause of the mysterious plague inflicting children across the city, these two form a connection that is truly genuine. When the final act of the book hit, there was nothing left for me to do but become completely enamored with our main couple and immediately embark on a read of the rest of the series. Along with an epilogue that made my heart yearn, Half a Soul is a historical romance debut I'm unlikely to forget for quite some time.
Trigger warnings: violence, war, death, kidnapping, emotional abuse
It's been many years since Theodora Ettings lost half of her soul in an unfortunate meeting with a faerie in the woods as a child. Ever since that moment, she has lost any sense of fear or embarrassment, which, in regency era England, spells scandal. Entering the upcoming London Season, Dora attempts to remain on the sidelines, but when she draws the attention of the mysterious and irritable Lord Sorcier, she inevitably becomes entangled with the world of the fae she has tried her whole life to ignore. As Dora and Elias continue to work together to uncover the mystery of her past, the two are at risk of falling in love, regardless of the circumstance of her soul.
The first thing that came to mind when I started this series was how much it reminded me of Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. There's nothing I love more than a snarky love interest and a heroine determined to make a way for herself. Dora and Elias were truly serving grumpy sunshine trope and my romance-obsessed heart was along for the whole ride. Between the search for the clues to her past and figuring out the cause of the mysterious plague inflicting children across the city, these two form a connection that is truly genuine. When the final act of the book hit, there was nothing left for me to do but become completely enamored with our main couple and immediately embark on a read of the rest of the series. Along with an epilogue that made my heart yearn, Half a Soul is a historical romance debut I'm unlikely to forget for quite some time.
Trigger warnings: violence, war, death, kidnapping, emotional abuse
June 7, 2023
Reading Vlog:
I honestly and seriously do not understand the hype.
I've come to realize recently that I don't like 'cozy'. Not cozy fantasy. Not cozy mystery. Not cozy romance. None of it. So that could sum up a lot of my apathetic feelings toward this book.
Let me take a second to say - WTF is wrong with Elias? He's a bully. He's a jerk. He's rude for no reason and we're supposed to think that's hot? This is giving me the Carden ick. Where a guy falls for a girl because she 'puts up with him'. Basically, Dora, our main character in this book, has half a soul. Because of this, she doesn't react/feel things as intensely as others. Elias is crude and surly and usually scares people away swiftly. But he can't seem to ruffle Dora. Oh but he sure tries. When he realizes that he can be an ass and she'll just deal with it, he starts falling for her.
I'M SORRY!
I understand that I am not viewing the intentions of this book or it's romance the way it's supposed to be perceived. Clearly I'm in the minority for a reason. But I didn't like the romance and I found it very unhealthy.
Let's talk about the star of the show - VANESSA. What an absolute gem of a character. A god's honest true friend. A loyal-to-her-marrow gal who stabs a fairy with sewing scissors cause he scared her cousin. Everyone needs a Vanessa.
Again, I am not steering anyone away from reading this book. I just don't understand the adoration for it personally
I honestly and seriously do not understand the hype.
I've come to realize recently that I don't like 'cozy'. Not cozy fantasy. Not cozy mystery. Not cozy romance. None of it. So that could sum up a lot of my apathetic feelings toward this book.
Let me take a second to say - WTF is wrong with Elias? He's a bully. He's a jerk. He's rude for no reason and we're supposed to think that's hot? This is giving me the Carden ick. Where a guy falls for a girl because she 'puts up with him'. Basically, Dora, our main character in this book, has half a soul. Because of this, she doesn't react/feel things as intensely as others. Elias is crude and surly and usually scares people away swiftly. But he can't seem to ruffle Dora. Oh but he sure tries. When he realizes that he can be an ass and she'll just deal with it, he starts falling for her.
I'M SORRY!
I understand that I am not viewing the intentions of this book or it's romance the way it's supposed to be perceived. Clearly I'm in the minority for a reason. But I didn't like the romance and I found it very unhealthy.
Let's talk about the star of the show - VANESSA. What an absolute gem of a character. A god's honest true friend. A loyal-to-her-marrow gal who stabs a fairy with sewing scissors cause he scared her cousin. Everyone needs a Vanessa.
Again, I am not steering anyone away from reading this book. I just don't understand the adoration for it personally
January 4, 2025
Hey good news this healed me i'll never be depressed again
April 4, 2025
🌙 � � 3 stars
it's me, hi, I'm the problem, it's me
at first I was enjoying it since it really pulled me in, but at around 70% in, I kind of lost my interest in it :( it was such a warm and comfort read nonetheless!!
it's me, hi, I'm the problem, it's me
at first I was enjoying it since it really pulled me in, but at around 70% in, I kind of lost my interest in it :( it was such a warm and comfort read nonetheless!!
March 30, 2023
3.5 stars
August 10, 2023
”It may be true that you have only half a soul, Dora,� he whispered, with a surprising abundance of empathy in his voice. “But that does not make you half a person.�
rating: � � � ½
Half a Soul is a very cozy and whimsical historical fantasy story that immediately transported me to the Regency era. I enjoyed reading this book, it certainly gave such warmth and comfort, but I wanted more from it.
I loved the fairytale feel of the story, it provided the much needed escapism that I'm always looking for when reading. Dora is a great main character, and despite only having half a soul, she showed more empathy than anyone else who was whole. I really enjoyed her interactions with everyone, especially the Lord Sorcier, Elias, as they were very entertaining and made me laugh. Speaking of Elias, he's a charming man, a somewhat complex character, though I wish we could see more of him. He and Dora were very cute together. I liked the whole cast of characters because they felt real to me and added something to the story.
I thought the premise of the story was very interesting, but the execution was not quite right. The book is very short and there isn't enough explanation about the world and the magic system. The resolution of the story was not well done in my opinion. The last chapters were rushed and very confusing, not to mention that the epilogue didn't satisfy me. I also think the story suffers from some pacing problems, some chapters were very long and, to be honest, boring because nothing happened.
The romance was sweet, it made me swoon a bit, but there wasn't enough depth to it.
What I really liked was the criticism of society and the lack of empathy that people often show. Everyone is so concerned with proper etiquette and appearing so perfect that they put on rose-coloured glasses and ignore anything that might tarnish their world.
All in all, it's a sweet, charming story. The mix of fantasy and historical fiction made for a fascinating and magical world. I loved the book for the way it made me feel, but I can't help but be dissatisfied with the plot.
sometimes, 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.
rating: � � � ½
Half a Soul is a very cozy and whimsical historical fantasy story that immediately transported me to the Regency era. I enjoyed reading this book, it certainly gave such warmth and comfort, but I wanted more from it.
I loved the fairytale feel of the story, it provided the much needed escapism that I'm always looking for when reading. Dora is a great main character, and despite only having half a soul, she showed more empathy than anyone else who was whole. I really enjoyed her interactions with everyone, especially the Lord Sorcier, Elias, as they were very entertaining and made me laugh. Speaking of Elias, he's a charming man, a somewhat complex character, though I wish we could see more of him. He and Dora were very cute together. I liked the whole cast of characters because they felt real to me and added something to the story.
I thought the premise of the story was very interesting, but the execution was not quite right. The book is very short and there isn't enough explanation about the world and the magic system. The resolution of the story was not well done in my opinion. The last chapters were rushed and very confusing, not to mention that the epilogue didn't satisfy me. I also think the story suffers from some pacing problems, some chapters were very long and, to be honest, boring because nothing happened.
The romance was sweet, it made me swoon a bit, but there wasn't enough depth to it.
What I really liked was the criticism of society and the lack of empathy that people often show. Everyone is so concerned with proper etiquette and appearing so perfect that they put on rose-coloured glasses and ignore anything that might tarnish their world.
All in all, it's a sweet, charming story. The mix of fantasy and historical fiction made for a fascinating and magical world. I loved the book for the way it made me feel, but I can't help but be dissatisfied with the plot.
sometimes, 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.
February 23, 2025
It was such a cozy read, exactly what I wanted.
Mysteries, plague, fairy curses.
I smiled so much while reading these short, sweet moments 🤭
The heroine doesn't have half of her soul, which makes her unemotional and unaware of many things.
I give a big plus for addressing the topic of people with differences; despite being a book, everyone deserves happiness!
There were moments when I even got a little misty-eyed.
Every time the heroine didn't know how to feel in certain situations, I felt everything for her.
This book ends as a standalone, but I would happily read more stories set in this world.
Mysteries, plague, fairy curses.
I smiled so much while reading these short, sweet moments 🤭
The heroine doesn't have half of her soul, which makes her unemotional and unaware of many things.
I give a big plus for addressing the topic of people with differences; despite being a book, everyone deserves happiness!
There were moments when I even got a little misty-eyed.
Every time the heroine didn't know how to feel in certain situations, I felt everything for her.
This book ends as a standalone, but I would happily read more stories set in this world.
February 10, 2025
3.75 stars
Bridgerton meets old school faeries and an FMC that screams neurodivergent? Sat.
Bridgerton meets old school faeries and an FMC that screams neurodivergent? Sat.
May 17, 2024
It gave Emily Wilde but for people with shorter attention spans (AKA me). It's really just a cutesy Fae read. Not a lot of substance.
Pre-read: The last time I LOVED a Fae book was in 2011. Fae books have been okay, bad, or just good since then, so I need something to redeem Fae romances for me! 🤞🏼
Pre-read: The last time I LOVED a Fae book was in 2011. Fae books have been okay, bad, or just good since then, so I need something to redeem Fae romances for me! 🤞🏼
December 19, 2023
“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.� He paused, now looking somewhat offended at himself. “And I love to dance with you. That is the worst of it by far.�
This was very cozy and cute 🥹 lord sorcier is my lover 🤍
This was very cozy and cute 🥹 lord sorcier is my lover 🤍
Read
January 17, 2023The blurb caught my interest immediately, a regency fantasy romance story!!
Well, I found the characters uninteresting, the execution was not good while it had great potential, the pace was very slow that bored me and there were a lot of contradictions and inconsistencies
Dnf @ 31%
Well, I found the characters uninteresting, the execution was not good while it had great potential, the pace was very slow that bored me and there were a lot of contradictions and inconsistencies
Dnf @ 31%
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