This story was so much fun. Dora is a brilliant protagonist, with half her soul and emotions stolen away be a faerie when she was young. She enters society at the insistence of her cousin, her staunchest supporter, only to find herself caught up with the Lord Sorcier and his physician assistant.

Although I had instinctively felt that the Regency era and magic wouldn't mix (and who has magic and what governs it isn't really dwelt on here), the stifling requirements of etiquette impose themselves on the use of magic perfectly.

The steady growth of affection and attraction between Dora and Elias is actually perfect - the right quantity of steamy looks and shy touches, but also the underlying question of 'can I feel what I want to feel' which was so lovely to read. We see the two characters grow in esteem for each other in a way that felt genuine, romantic and quite passionate, as well as being just a delight to read.

The faerie Lord Hollowvale is also a great character - his obsession with virtue hold up an uncomfortable mirror to contemporary attitudes, despite seeming to be more of a parody.

It's a short novel, with most of the plot-related decision-making happening in the last section of the story. The conclusion felt a little neatly rushed (and the Epilogue quite abrupt) it was still fast, fun and a little-swoon-worthy.

4 stars.

To be honest, the blurb makes this quirky, enjoyable offering sound more ordinary than it actually is. Dora is an interesting heroine, given that she has sustained a terrible injury right at the beginning of the book and throughout, she is successfully portrayed as someone who is slightly at odds with social expectations. It’s technically a tricky characterisation to pull off – if she is too weird, then it just gets embarrassing and a tad annoying, yet if she isn’t odd enough, then the whole premise falls flat. I think Atwater does a really fine job in portraying someone who is constantly struggling to find the appropriate social persona without compromising the character, or silting up the pace.

I also enjoyed the anger against the yawning gulf between rich and poor that is expressed within the story. There were, indeed, well-born men and women of the day who felt outraged at suffering of those less fortunate than themselves and it’s refreshing to see a social reformer as a main protagonist in a Regency romance. It certainly gives the story a bit of heft, especially when we come to the fae and their reactions to the land of mortals. This became a real page-turner that I couldn’t put down until I reached the end – which tied up the story very satisfactorily. I’m delighted to note that there are other books available in this entertaining series, which I’ll certainly be tracking down. Highly recommended for fans of historical romance with a fantasy twist. While I obtained an arc of Half a Soul from the publishers via Netgalley, the opinions I have expressed are unbiased and my own.
9/10

fantastic world building and well thought out characters. HI had a wonderful time reading this and felt very immersed in the world

This book is basically half a Fairy-Tale and half a Regency-Period romance novel.

Offering a magical twist on historical romance.

Thanks to Orbit and Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was such a charming read, my heart is so full!!

Half a Soul is about Theodora "Dora" Ettings, who, as a child, had half of her soul stolen by a faerie. As an adult, she now gets introduced to society in London with her cousin. Dora doesn't have much hope for a match, however. Since she lost her soul, she can't feel emotions like embarrassment, fear, or even happiness. All she wants is to see her cousin settled. But when she meets the rude yet handsome magician Elias Wilder, her outlook changes. Fascinated by her problem, he agrees to help her get her soul back. Problem is, Elias is the biggest scoundrel in London. If she isn’t careful, Dora's reputation might not survive the season.

Half A Soul was a quick, engaging read that fans of Jane Austen or Bridgerton will adore. This being a fantasy romance, the plot focused a lot on Dora and Elias, but their relationship didn't dominate the story. We got an equal balance of romance, mystery and friendships, which I really enjoyed.

Elias' and Dora's banter was genuinely up there with that of Elizabeth Bennett and Darcy. We all know the dance scene in Pride and Prejudice, right? One scene in the book reminded me of that and I'm not ashamed to say I squealed. Give me a Lizzy/ Darcy dynamic any day. The misunderstandings, the begrudging respect, the slow sympathy and then falling in love? I ate it up. Whenever Dora and Elias interacted, sparks flew.

They also formed a profound connection. With Elias being of low birth and an ex-veteran, polite society excludes him just like it excludes Dora for being different. The kinship and compassion between them led to some tearjerker scenes. Now, I hate the "misunderstood hero". Sue me. Mostly because the "misunderstood" heroes are just jerks. Here, however, I was rooting for Elias and understood what he was going through. Him being quite rude in the beginning made sense once you got to know him better.

Oh, Theodora, I loved her so much! She was an amazing heroine. Her bluntness and lack of shame led to some awkward yet funny scenes. Dora is not perfect. Letting her loose on English society was like letting a bull loose in a china shop. She messes up every time she gets courted and impedes her cousin’s prospects while doing so. Throughout the book, Dora makes a lot of funny observations about the courting process in English society that had me laughing out loud. Her narration was the gift that kept on giving. It reminded me of Jane Austen's dry humor, which shows Atwater's skill with language and the amount of research that went into the story.

Talking about research, Atwater blends traditional Faerie lore and Regency England with ease. The worldbuilding elements fit together nicely and I loved Atwater's approach to faeries. It reminded me a lot of Susanna Clarke's books. Without spoiling too much, the faeries in this book are tricksters. Their deceiving and cruel nature had a similar feel to Holly Black's faeries. While that is my preferred type of faerie, it might not be for everyone. Meaning, don't expect any sexiness or smut here. The book keeps it very PG and reads mostly like young adult fantasy.

Another point I liked was the commentary. Without being too in your face, Atwater also included some criticisms about "polite English society". Usually authors overlook problems in historical romance, so I was happy seeing them acknowledged here. Atwater showed the privilege of the wealthy class in England, as well as the horrifying conditions in workhouses. Elias' and Dora's compassion for the less fortunate was endearing.

Yes, we also get a love confession. And it was hilarious. Honestly, one of the funniest and heartwarming confessions I have read so far. If you're looking for a quick, whimsical fantasy romance, you will love Half a Soul.

Theodora or Dora is the main character in this excellent Regency tale with a twist. As a child Dora lives with her Aunts family and has close ties with her cousin Vanessa. Whilst in the grounds of her relatives house Dora meets Lord Hollowvale a Fae nobleman who has been promised her soul. However whilst in the process of stealing her soul, Lord Hollowvale is stopped by Vanessa using iron scissors. This leaves Dora bereft of her stronger emotions living in a muted world where she struggles personal interactions and niceties expected of a young woman in Society.
When Vanessa and Dora come of age to have a Season in London, Vanessa advocates that they both go (although her mother would rather leave Dora behind). Vanessa believes Dora to be cursed and is fixated on seeking the help of the Lord Sorcier magician to the Crown.
The cousins enter the Season in full swing with balls, tea parties and social outings during which time Dora accidentally meets the Lord Sorcier, Elias Wilder, a brash, grumpy, uncouth man who does not phase her one bit. Their story continues with Elias seeking a cure for Dora and their combined efforts to halt a sleeping plague spreading through the workhouses and leads to finding the other half of Doras soul.
This was the first book I have read of this author and spurred me to seeking out all her other works. I thoroughly enjoyed the narrative and found a great deal of resonance with my experience of neurodiversity as Dora deals with life. Dora has to learn what a normal reaction is to a given scenario and mimics this as best she can, she also recognizes when her response is off key - but who is to say that her response is not the correct one, it certainly is more honest.
I recommend this book and my thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for access to this ARC, all opinions are my own.

I gave it 3 out of 5 stars because t was advertised as the magical version of Bridgerton but it wasn’t. This is a magical faerie version of most Regency novels and none of the scandal or someone divulging everyone’s secrets behind a disguise. So, I was disappointed to find that what I expected was not what I received. Nonetheless, I was impressed by the concept of the story. I loved the writing style which seemed simple to me for a regency style; the conversations with the characters as well were not as rigid as regency novels sometimes are. I loved the friendship and family bond emphasised in the story. It was the right level of eccentric to scandalise the English ton.

I'm not a particularly huge fan of novels set in the Regency period as I don't tend to find reading about rich people particularly interesting but this sounded like a fun riff on the genre.

The book tells the story of Dora, a young woman who lost half her soul to a faerie Lord when she was a child. The supernatural is an accepted part of life in this interpretation of Regency England. The abduction of half her soul means that Dora doesn't feel things quite as strongly as others. She feels emotions but they tend to be muted and makes Dora more straight spoken compared to the average Regency lady of means and leads to much misunderstandings. I'm not sure if the author meant Dora to be a representation of a neurodivergent person, (I'm assuming not as this might suggest they only possess half a soul!) but it did read that way sometimes.

Dora and her beautiful cousin Vanessa go to London for the Season and Dora soon encounters the aloof and caustic Lord Sorcier. You can see immediately where this is going. The relationship between Dora and Elias reminded me a bit of Howls Moving Castle (the film not the book) maybe due to Elias' description and it was cute and charming to read.

In the first half of this book I was thinking it would be a 5 star read based on my own enjoyment alone but things took a bit of a dive in the second half. The story element of the workhouses wasn't portrayed very effectively in my opinion and the villain was very lacking. The pacing towards the end and the way the story progressed in the latter half of the book felt like a bit of a damp squib compared to the first half of the novel.

Overall a fun read and some enjoyable summer escapism which makes for a quirky take on the Regency genre.

I really enjoyed this book it's a whimsical romance of dreams with a sharp edge of fantasy.

We start off with our main character Dora who encounters a faerie called Lord Hollowvale who has his eye set on her soul but only manages to snatch half hench the title. Because of this Dora is left with a sort of melancholy state of mind as her emotions have gone away with the other half of her soul. Vanessa Dora's cousin dupes her mother into taking them both to London in search of a husband but this is not Vanessa's intention after all, she wants to find the Lord Sorcier in the hopes to cure her cousins condition.

This is a slow burn romance story with a beautiful fantasy element which I really enjoyed. I was hoping this might be a series but the way it ends its definitely a standalone novel. 100% recommend.

There’s something about historical fiction when it’s fantasy that just makes it extra magical?! I really enjoyed this book, it was easy going but offered enough escapism to keep me really entertained. The characters are brilliant also!

This was such a fun book!
Fairytales and Regency era? Count me in!
It was a good mix of classic romance in the Regency era mixed with fantasy. The fantasy elements were brought by fae and magicians,
The book started off great - had an intriguing premise and such a cool idea. Dora is a fun protagonist and I loved how she describes herself as having "long-tailed" emotions and feeling incable of "in the moment" emotions.
The banter in this book was amazing (and it would've been 5 star worthy if only a Brit had given sugestions), the dialogue, while great, realistic and fast-paced, still could've benefited from a British editor/beta reader or even a friend, as at times it felt a little too Americanised.
The book is more concentrated on charachter and reltionships development, which fits perfectly in the Regency era setting. It was fast-paced and enganging.

It's a good book for people needing more Bridgerton-like stories in their life!

This is an honest and voluntary review in exchange for a copy of this book, thanks to NetGalley.

A lovely, compelling, and highly entertaining mix of fantasy and historical novel that I throughly enjoyed.
There's something that made me think of "Jonathan Strange and Mr Norris" but on a lighter and more romance oriented tone.
Dora and the Lord Sorcier are an unlikely and lovely couple of underdogs who have to face the rules of the Ton and the rules of the magic world.
Great character development, lots of humour, interesting world building.
Can't wai to read the next story by this author.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

I loved this sweet, enchanting YA fantasy! This book was fast paced, and I loved it from start to finish! At first I wasn’t sure how I would connect with a character who didn’t feel emotions, but as the story builds..that wasn’t the case! Dora was a great main character who does feel things, but not as normal people with a complete soul do! I also feel like as the story progressed she started to feel more and more of her emotions again. She starting to feel anger for how the workers were treated and then started to feel affection for Elias! I absolutely loved Elias’s character and his relationship with Dora! The ending was very satisfying and I can’t wait to read more books from this author!

I received an advanced reader copy of this book in return for my honest opinion. Thank you to Olivia Atwater and Little Brown books for giving me the opportunity to read Half a Soul before its release.

After a Faerie steals half of Dora’s soul she grows up as somewhat of an oddity to the people around her; not thinking and feeling as others do. This would be difficult at any time, but in Regency England where so much importance is placed upon a woman being marriageable? Life is even more difficult.

Going to London for the season in order to find her cousin a suitable match on the marriage mart, Dora soon finds herself running into Lord Sorcier- a specialist in all things magical. The pair attempt to find a cure for Dora’s unusual situation; but when more and more children fall into seemingly irreversible sleep they quickly focus their efforts on saving the children.

This was a sweet regency romance featuring a grumpy hero. I loved the inclusion of magical elements and I really grew to like Elias over the course of the book.

Don't you just love it when one of your most anticipated reads of 2022 lives up to the hype?

What a joyous, magical, exquisite story mixing pure ethereal magic and romance with the world of Faerie in Regency England! Dora is a wonderful protagonist and her journey to reclaim "Half A Soul" was just the pick me up I needed.

Oh - and one of my favourite romantic relationships of recent years! Totally swoonworthy with all the Lizzie/Darcy vibes!!

A cute, quick, cozy read, Half a Soul made me smile the whole way through.

When Dora and her cousin are carted off to London society, Dora is not expected to find a husband. All her aunt really wants, is for Dora to not be there or, failing that, to keep quiet and not ‘ruin’ her cousin’s chances of marrying the most eligible bachelor she can find. Dora’s adorable bumbling through London society enamoured me immediately, and I loved seeing her attempt to interact with people who are very much unused to hearing someone speak their mind.

The characters are imperfect but lovable, the plot covers some dark aspects of society as a whole, but in a helpful and hopeful way.

I adored Half a Soul, and would recommend it to anyone looking for a cute fantasy romance, with a somewhat unconventional main character. I hope you love Dora and her friends as much as I did.

This was sweet and charming and warm. The story is meandering and not overly high stakes or action-packed but it works great. The characters are interesting and balance each other well and I adore the romance at the center of it. I loved this and it exceeded all of my expectations.

Half a Soul was the exact book I needed, it's funny, charming and quirky and the perfect read for when you need a pick me up. I love a grumpy love interest and Elias was no exception, the romance between him and Dora was perfect. I loved that it wasn't just a fluffy romance too, there was a focus on class and privilege and the characters trying to make a difference which I found really refreshing. Would definitely recommend for fans of regency romance with a fantastical twist.

Half a Soul tells the story of Theodora, a young woman in dire need of a husband to settle her family's finances. But as it is wont to do, life has other ideas. And she gets pulled into a world of fae and magic. A lovely romance with wonderful characters that introduces the world of Olivia Atwater's Regency Faerie Tales. Dora finds out that she was part of a bargain her late mother had made with the faerie Lord Hollowvale - and has to contend with a copy of herself, retaining her autonomy and ensuring her and her family's future. And of course there's also a good dash of romance. I devoured this book and immediately went on to read the second in the series of standalones - I highly recommend these wonderful stories as light, comforting reads, especially for vacations and times when you want to relax.

Half a Soul is a fun regency romance with a fairie twist! Following Dora, a young woman who only has half a soul and therefore doesn't feel emotions as strongly and doesn't really feel fear or embarrassment - leading her to often accidentally provoke scandal and is commonly misunderstood by the ton. Entering her latest season she is drawn to the mysterious and strange Lord Sorcier (Elias) and is plunged into a world of dangerous fairie affairs.

This was a really enjoyable book, I'm always a big fan of historical romance and this was no exception! Dora is a really loveable protagonist, it's really interesting to explore how only having half a soul/not experiencing emotions as strongly affects her. I loved Elias as well - he is one of my favourite kind of histrom/magical love interests; where they are grumpy and a bit mysterious but also have an absolute heart of gold. I also thought their romance was really sweet and their banter was iconic!

I really liked the fairie elements of the book and how they tied in with the regency era England setting (the two just work very well together in my opinion!! - I would also reccomend Zen Cho's sorcerer to the crown/the true queen if you like this combo!). The fairy lands were very atmospheric and the stolen children storyline, whilst very stereotypical of a fairie story felt very nostalgic, creepy and moving.

In summary this is an excellent book if you are looking for some light summer reading and you like historical romance. Full of loveable characters, a slightly unconventional romance, magical hijinks and a story for those who feel misunderstood by society and just want to be loved :')