DNF’d at 100 pages. I found the premise to be very intriguing but I’m sorry to say I simply did not enjoy this authors writing style and could not imagine sticking with it for another 400 pages. I think others may enjoy it more than I did, and I will consider ordering it for the store for that reason.

This was not what I was expecting. Kiss of Deception Is one of my favorite books so I had really high hopes. I love the concept of this book, there is so much potential with the characters and the world. But honestly I don't understand how the world works. It just didn't make sense. There were a lot of instant relationships, not just the love kind and it felt a little flat in that way. I will still read the next book, but I had been hoping for a more finessed version of this book

As for spice 🌶️: it is there for sure. It isn't insanely long and detailed, but it is descriptive.

Finally one of my most anticipated reads of 2024 that did not disappoint. I fell in love with Mary E Pearsons writing back when the Dance of Thieves duology came out. And now with “The Courting of Bristol Keats” she’s done it again with an amazing new romantasy.

First off I want to say I can’t believe I was one of the lucky few to read an ARC of this book. Hopefully my review does it justice and convinces everyone to read this when it releases later this fall. I suppose we should start with the bad, and trust me there’s not a lot of bad. One of the hardest things I struggled with reading this was the multiple POVs. In some chapters we have multiple characters storylines happening. And I found that to be a bit confusing. Eventually I got the hang of it but be advised if you also struggle with this. My other major gripe comes more towards the end and since so want to keep this spoiler free all I’m going to say is communication and leave it at that.

Now for my favorite parts of the story. The world building and magic system are excellently done and easy to follow. Which I was ecstatic for especially since this is marketed as adult fantasy. Because we all know sometimes adult fantasy novels can just be way too much. Can’t forget to mention our lead characters. I freaking loved Bristol. She is a kick ass with a smart mouth and I can’t wait to see how she continues to grow into the next book. And let’s not forget our shadow daddy, Tyghan. Even though I want to punch him, I still enjoy his relationship and banter with Bristol.

Last but not least let’s talk about tropes! Literally all my favorite tropes are present. We have found family, enemies to lovers, reluctant allies, high stakes magic and betrayal. If you haven’t already guessed, I highly recommend this book! I can’t wait to add a physical copy to my collection later this fall!

A big thank you to Flatiron Books & NetGalley for providing me an arc in exchange for my honest review!

Mary E. Pearson.....Well done. That was everything I wanted and more. My only regret is that the book is not out yet, which means an even longer wait for the next book.

Welcome to my latest obsession. This was salve for my Cruel Prince-loving heart, but now I’m in the midst of a brutal book hangover.

First off, it must be said that I read The Kiss of Deception and then DNF’d that series, so I’m familiar with the author, but I didn’t consider myself a fan of her writing. However, I deeply enjoyed this book, which I do believe is quite different from that series.

This starts off slow; at the beginning, it read like wordier YA. Then the politics, lies, found family, hidden powers, family drama, betrayal, secrets, and romance simmer and boil over. There’s so many great scenes that I had to bookmark.

The world of Elphame (similar but dissimilar to the world of Elfame in FOTA) has all of the familiar faerie fixings. The romance is a well-developed (and there is spice) relationship between two fairly mature-seeming characters. Bristol does not have tantrums (except when it’s warranted), and she’s scrapy and sharp; she gives off Feyre in ACOTAR energy. Tyghan is complicated and tortured; he does some extremely questionable things, but so do other characters: this book’s theme is the morality of desperate choices. He can be soft, and he can be commanding; he’s very protective of the people he cares about and rules over. He’s kind of like Max from the War of Lost Hearts trilogy (my heart) meets Xaden from Fourth Wing?

I'm eagerly awaiting the next book.

Was quite excited to read this and quite exited to finish. This was a very uneven rambling read and the characters were under developed. The cliff hanger ending felt forced and didn’t make me want to read the next one to see what happens. I think this will find a home with those that love sweeping bulky fantasy duologies and trilogies but I have read better versions of this same story.

First, I would like to thank NetGalley and Ms. Pearson for giving me the opportunity to read an advanced copy of the book.

"The Courting of Bristol Keats" by Mary E. Pearson is an intriguing mix of mystery, fantasy, and romance that draws you into a unique world where the mortal and Fae realms intertwine.

The story begins with three sisters wrestling with their mother's disappearance and their father's tragic death by a hit-and-run driver. As they struggle to cope, Bristol starts receiving mysterious letters from an unknown aunt, which leads her down a path filled with secrets, bargains, and discovery.

One of the standout elements of Pearson's writing is the seamless incorporation of both the mortal and Fae worlds. She introduces a captivating cast of mythical characters, each with their own story. The banter between Bristol and King Ty is delightful, bringing humor and warmth as their love story unfolds.

While the novel is compelling and engaging, there is one drawback: the abrupt ending. It left me flipping back, wondering if I had somehow missed a chapter. A bit more would have made the story even more satisfying.

Despite this, I devoured all 500+ pages of "The Courting of Bristol Keats" in just a few days, captivated by its unique blend of myth, mystery, and romance. Pearson has gained a new fan in me, and I cannot wait for a second book. There is a second book?!?!

3.5

This one is a tough rating because the writing was lush and descriptive and the second half of the book was so engaging but the first half I felt like I could’ve put it down and not picked it back up.

Bristol was such a fascinating character because I felt like she really grew into herself. Her quest stopped being completely about finding her father and shifted as she started to care about Danu.

The world was incredibly immersive and I loved the little chapters were we got snippets of another character’s pov.

I loved the growing relationship between Tyghan and Bristol and felt their chemistry. I think love may have been thrown out too early for my tastes at least.

This is a great set up for a killer second book but I do find myself wishing we had gotten to the steady action and pacing quicker. It was only the great writing and love of Pearson’s other books that kept me reading until about 40%.

There were also some really unique bits of magic and the tick in Bristol was genius and once that was revealed I couldn’t stop reading. I also thought Bristol’s dead parents histories were super engaging.

The ending was really abrupt and I found myself thinking there must be another chapter.

Overall, great writing, interesting world, good chemistry between the characters but I needed faster pacing for my personal tastes; however I think this book will be a big hit for others.

Listen enemies to lovers will always deliver. And when I say enemies to lovers I mean TRUE enemies to lovers because this is exactly what this book gave. Like the MC is looking to find her father, and the love intrest is looking to find him for not so good reasons. And she blames her supposed love intrest for his disappearance. Like genuinely you cannot tell me that this does not intrigue you because every page I turned was eye opening, amazing and addictive. I literally could not put the book down. I already loved this authors other work but I think this one genuinely might take the cake for me!

3.5 stars, rounded up to 4

The Courting Of Bristol Keats by Mary E Pearson

Honest review alert!

I hated the first half of the book and loved the second half. Let me explain.

First half:
-Very confusing and messy
-Tons of missing and incomplete information
-So chaotic with introductions to too many characters and creatures at once. We need a guide at the beginning for characters, creatures, kingdoms and leaders, and locations. There is ALOT of information and it’s impossible to keep up.
-Next to no info on magic and abilities. Some of them just have certain magic but it’s never really explain who has what and why.
-There are tons of different POV’s and they aren’t labeled with a name so it’s hard to know whose POV it is right away which takes you out of the story. This happens mid chapter very often.
-Everything is abrupt and random. Random things happen that seem to be filler to make the story longer that have no impact on what is actually going on.
-A silly title for the book honestly. It doesn’t really fit the story and sets up a story expectation that doesn’t really happen. What are they courting her for? She goes willingly and then joins a training program basically.
-Very generic side characters.
-Everything is very telling, and not showing. We are told all these important things are happening, and little side quests, but we never get to see them.
-What is the Sun Court? Why is it called that? What does any of that mean?
-Unbelievable romantic connection. The two MC’s have hardly any page time together. The author TELLS us they have these meet ups, but we don’t actually get to see the scenes, the dialogue, the tension, absolutely nothing. She just tells us they are happening.

Second half:
-The story is dialed in! We’re on track. I know what’s going on now.
-The romance is starting to sizzle. We finally see them having page time and actual interactions. Multiple yummy spicy scenes. Very well done.
-Politics! Secrets! Lies! Betrayal!
-The side characters are getting time to shine and their individual personalities are dialed in.
-Lots of beautiful friendships and found family.
-I was hooked in the last 40% of the book. I couldn’t wait to see what happened next. Much more dialogue and actual showing scenes happening between characters instead of just telling us they happened.

I do recommend this book. I think the first half is very messy but if you can stick through the frustration, the second half makes up for it. The first half feels written by a teenager, and the second half feels written by the Mary we know and love. I think this book could do with more editing and sharpening up the first half it the book. There’s so many unnecessary parts, while it’s missing a ton of important detail about the world. I am the type of reader who really needs lots of detail and to sit and imagine the world and feel IN IT as I’m reading, and for the first half of the book, I couldn’t do that.

Thank you to Netgalley and Flatiron books for the arc!
Pub date: 11/12/2024

I was so very excited to read this book. This is one of my favorite authors, and I was thrilled she had a new book. All that changed once I started reading. This book was so confusing I’m still not sure what I read. I didn’t relate to the main character at all. The world building was very murky. I didn’t understand at all even after reading what the deal with her parents was. There were too many characters and povs to keep up with. Even the romance was lacking. We are told too much about feelings without the author putting the emotion into the language and characterization. This was sadly a miss for me.

I gave this 4 stars after I finished it, but as I’m writing this review I realize that was entirely too generous. Bristol is new to the world of Elphame, and so she is a bit confused and understandably short on explanations she doesn’t have. However, the POV’s of other characters didn’t provide an ounce of help in the descriptions and explanations department. I don’t think some of the POV’s were even necessary as I was bored waiting for Bristol and Tyghan’s chapters. I found myself confused for most of the book and other times felt it spent way too long to explain unnecessary plot points. I appreciate that the author wanted to make this unique with how many faerie fantasy books there already are, but I think the world and magic and characters needed to be more established before we got thrown into the action. I actually would’ve liked more time spent at Bristol’s hometown because the atmosphere and vibes were nice. After she went to Elphame is where the book lost me. I knew why she was there, she wanted to find her dad if he is still alive. But why did the other characters seem to want her there? I wouldn’t have minded the lack of explanations and descriptions if I knew the why of it all. As we go through the book, I was hoping another reason would come that didn’t have to do with her dad but it didn’t. The romance was the best part which is why I originally gave it 4 stars but it didn’t wow me enough to overlook my issues with the rest of the book. I liked the monsters and creatures of Elphame and wish we had more of this fantasy aspect versus politics and side characters. Overall, I think this book was too long for the plot and too short for the world building. I can understand why people are loving this though. It’s definitely a unique fae fantasy with tropes everyone loves, it just didn’t hit the way I wanted it to.

Bristol Keats has been tricked into going to the fae world.

Her human life has been moving frequently from town to town with her parents and sisters, poverty, and both of her parents dying within a short amount of time of each other.

Now, it's up to her to save Elphame, however, her parentage makes her, technically, an enemy of the people. (Those who know, anyway). To the others, she's just a useless human.

What I really enjoyed was the fae weren't a bunch a beautiful sparkling beings with wings. Sure, some were, but a lot were grotesque monsters.

There are some good little twists in the story which was great because it would slow down in parts. Sometimes I would have to go back and re read a part because the writing would be a little unclear.

I liked the romance tropes, enemies to lovers, forbidden romance, slow burn... I was there for it.

I thought it was going to be a stand alone so the story just stopping... so abruptly threw me off. And I thought it was at a strange place but it was at a sweet moment.

I feel really conflicted on this review because I loved the characters and the plot, but the scene changes were confusing and that was a really weird place for it to end. Honestly it didn't really end? It just stopped. Regardless, I enjoyed it overall and I'll definitely read the next book.

A captivating plot with a fresh and imaginative universe. It keeps you on your toes, questioning the decisions of characters and anticipating the next revelation and its motives. The dynamic between characters is intriguing, though frustrating as we are privy to information before the main character - the anticipation killed me! Despite its length, the pace never lags for long before exploding with new revelations. The romance is a slow burn, but well worth the wait.

My absolute, number one reason to read this book is the creatures. In this world, almost all of the creatures are humanoids to at least some degree. There is the human/mortal world and beyond the veil the leads to various fae kingdoms. Our main girl Bristol gets the shock of her life when she discovers the Fae, and other monsters that creep in the night, are real, her parents are big ol’ liars, and her whole life has been a facade. About here is when we meet the very mysterious Tyghan. (Insert mischievous eyebrow raises because we know where this is headed.) Tyghan and Bristol are oil and water, neither giving any leeway to the other which makes some fantastic banter.

I had a really good time in this story. It’s no secret, I’m here for the creatures. I want to know so much more about absolutely everything. The ending, not satisfying in the least – Pearson did it on PURPOSE! WTF left my mouth several times in those last handful of pages. I have so many questions. I full heartedly recommend picking this one up.

Thank you to NetGalley, Mary E. Pearson, Flatiron books, and Macmillan audio for this eARC and audiobook ARC.

Thank to NetGalley and Flatiron Books for the eARC.

When I heard Mary E. Pearson was releasing a new fantasy duology, I was thrilled. I absolutely adored The Remnant Chronicles (still haven't made it to Dance of Thieves yet). It was one of my favorite reads of 2023.

Unfortunately, this book did not work for me. Like many other reviewers, I have to say it does not feel like a finished book.

The worldbuilding in the first half is messy. We are constantly introduced to new characters and settings, but we are given very little information to build a complete picture. Everything gets muddied, and all the characters blend together. I spent the first half assuming the mortal setting was England, but I think it was actually set in the US. As for faerieland, we learn very little about how that world works. Who is the current king/queen? What are the names of all the courts? We know that the main character is in the Sun Court, but what does that actually mean? I wanted more from this. Especially when the worldbuilding and ensemble cast were so strong in Mary E. Pearson's other series.

The book had WAY too many characters and POVs. I cannot tell any of the knights apart except for (maybe) Tyghan's sister and her lover. The only recruit I really remember is Julia. (Side Bar: Why is this group of recruits so much more important than all the ones that came before? Shouldn't the more highly trained ones go to the ball?) All the names just blended together. And the POV switches were downright confusing. I highly recommend the publisher adding headers to chapters before publication, so we know going in whose POV the chapter is from. Sometimes, I had to just guess.

I also found this book suffered a lot from telling versus showing. We skipped a lot of major moments such as Bri navigating through the Wilds for the first time or Tyghan going to meet with Jasmine or even Tyghan just getting to know Bri. We were told these things happened, but we didn't get to see them. It felt like when an author skips over a scene in their first draft with a "To be filled in later" and then it was just never filled in. I wanted to see those moments.

This book had a lot of interesting pieces to it, and I really do think there is a great romantasy story in here. But it just needed a little more time for the author to develop the story and work out the kinks. I'm curious to see how much is changed before publication.

I read and listened to this one, and it was absolutely fantastic. So enchanting and captivating… it had me hooked from the very first page!

I absolutely love this author, but this book isn’t it. I was about 40% through, and when the FMC who grew up in the human world, started waxing poetic about laundromats, I couldn’t take it anymore. Apparently, they are the places for new beginnings. So admittedly, I loved the idea behind this story. Her parents are dead/missing, and she gets yanked into this magical world where she is mayyyybe the only person who can find this magical door. Not a lot is explained, and it is rather boring. The romance doesn’t sizzle, either. I spent most of the 40% I read confused. Also, the audiobook is only one narrator - a female - whose voice is rather pleasant, but she also reads for the male chapters. I’m so disappointed… 😔

I absolutely loved this book! Mary e Pearson is my favorite author. And I have been waiting to read this book for so long! And I was not disappointed! The world building is so good! And the romance was the perfect amount. I was not a huge fan of the spice but not for me. But everything else was amazing!