Book Review: Half a Soul

By Olivia Atwater  

5 Stars 

When I was picking up Half a Soul by Olivia Atwater, I was a bit skeptical. I am not usually an enjoyer of the regency genre, but I am so happy to say that this book has completely changed that. Half a Soul features Dora Ettings, a girl who had half her soul taken away by an elf. Because the elf took half of Dora’s soul, she doesn’t quite feel emotions the way others do, and she also doesn’t express herself the way others do. This is a problem when she goes to the London season with her cousin Vanessa, who is looking for a suitor. Here in London, she meets the notoriously ill-mannered court magician Elias Wilder. Threads start to intertwine in the most beautiful ways when Vanessa asks for Elias’s help to “fix” Dora. 

Firstly, I think this book handles Dora’s “condition” extremely well. Yes, she doesn’t feel things the same way others do, but she isn’t heartless or incomplete in any way. The way she responds to other events of the book is very cleverly written. It is encapsulated in the quote, “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.”  

Elias and Dora’s romance is perfectly timed and beautifully executed. They actually take time to get to know each other before falling in love. Elias, despite having a harder exterior, does not fit the shell of other conventional cold love interests. He is vulnerable at the right times and has a motivation that actually makes sense.  

All in all, Half a Soul has changed my perspective on the regency genre for the better, and I will never move on from the captivating characters. 

Reviewed by Avni 

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