is nobody else as mad as I am about that ending??? Like, hello??? This was one of my most anticipated reads of the year. I’d heard a lot of amazing things about DOT by this author, and I love to pick authors secondary works after they’ve become comfortable and cemented themselves in the publishing world. It was going great at first, then started getting less great, then got okay, and then you get to the end and it just nosedives. The world building was good and unique, which is impressive with how many different fae novels exist nowadays, but this is one of those books where stuff is happening and yet nothing actually happened, ya know what I mean? Characters were introduced with no description, our main characters were very “copy-paste” and not super likable, and there was a severe plot hole (the portal in the study… how could it have been there for that long and Tyghan never heard the girls doing laundry or just.. living???). There’s so many questions that pile on top of pre-existing questions, and literally not a SINGLE thing gets answered. You’re just as clueless at the end of the book as you were in the beginning. Not even a smidge of something to let readers hang on to. Anyway, thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

I enjoyed it but not as much as I wanted to. I felt it was predictable but still a wonderful storyline

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.
I first discovered Mary E. Pearson through her Dance of Thieves duology, so once I saw this was coming out I was very excited! This was a fun read, I enjoyed our main character and the journey she had to go on. The fae world that she included was a fascinating concept that I enjoyed. Looking forward to whatever Mary writes next!

For fans of ACOTAR, this is New Adult style romantasy—adult in terms of the level of spice and the length, as well as the tropes, but with a heavy influence of YA (young naive main character must go on a journey of self-discovery to save a parent, text that very explicitly explains all of the twists, sometimes more than once, to ensure that the audience understands what is happening). There is some action, a lot of betrayal, lies, intrigue, and romance. I personally had a hard time buying into the romance due to all of the extra POV chapters which gave so much more context to the situation than the FMC had, including how much the MMC was lying to her and manipulating her. Still, I suspect a lot of readers will be totally fine with it, given his tortured back story. For me personally, I wanted a lot more resolution/apology/working through their issues.

I knew this was the first in a series but I found the cliffhanger at the end so abrupt I actually checked my file to make sure I wasn’t missing a chapter.

Rating: 3.75 stars
Spice: 🌶️🌶️

Tropes:
🦟Betrayals and secrets
🦟Reluctant allies
🦟Enemies to lovers
🦟Slow burn
🦟He falls first and falls harder
🦟Forbidden love
🦟Hidden powers
🦟Morally grey characters abound
🦟Court intrigue/politics
🦟Found family
🦟Fae/Fae adjacent
🦟Zombies/Undead

This book promised to be one of my top reads of 2024, by an author I’d grown to absolutely love with her Remnant Chronicles and Dance of Thieves books. And while for the most part this book did live up to the hype I gave it in my own mind, it’s not without its problems.

Let’s start with the good. I love the Elphame world Pearson has created here. I love the depth, the varying species of fae and fantastical creatures, the complexities of relationships and politics between those creatures, all of that is excellent. I even loved the glimpses Bristol got towards the middle of the book of just how intermixed her mortal world is with that of Elphame. This really felt like a more fleshed-out, adult Cruel Prince type world, and not only because of the name. I loved the relationship between Bristol and her sisters, and even the love her parents had for each other and their daughters. The found family that develops between Bristol and her team of recruits is lovely. I loved the forbidden romance that blossoms between Bristol and Tyghan (after they’re already established, them getting together was a tiny bit too sudden for my tastes, but that’s minor). I loved the magic and whimsy and yet the underlying current of unease that permeates the whole court and world in general.

Sooo, what didn’t I like then? Well, I think Pearson truly shines as a YA author, and her stories have always leant a little more towards the lyrical, metaphorical style. Those strengths don’t always lend themselves well to a story like this one. At times, both Bristol and Tyghan felt far less mature than they were meant to be, particularly Bristol. This could be partially explained by her own slightly emotionally stunted upbringing, but it also just felt like she was written to be a younger character initially. She made certain decisions that would have a grown adult shaking their head. And the ever-changing POV, from a main character to a side character to a copse of trees, while for sure granting an air of mystery and magic to the overall story, felt like they were spaced too far apart. We’d have so many chapters back and forth between Bristol and Tyghan that I would even forget there were other POVs, and then these shifts would pop back in for a paragraph or two and then dip out, never to be heard from again. It was slightly jarring. And don’t even get me started on how this book ends. We’re in the middle of a somewhat spicy makeup scene when the POV suddenly shifts to a side character outside the room, and then everything just shuts down? That’s it? No resolution whatsoever to any of the plot lines? Not a fan of that.

This is still a great book and I still highly recommend it. I’m so torn as to how to rate it, which is why it’s fallen where it has for me. I enjoyed reading it and I mostly loved the characters, but that ending really sucked a lot of the joy out of it for me. It felt like we were finally getting somewhere and then, bam. Done. It was beautifully written with extremely evocative imagery, and yet it brought very little new to the table. That’s not always a requirement for me in my books, I’m just listing reasons I feel so conflicted. Maybe I’ll come back and change my rating after I’ve had some time to really think on this one. I’ll definitely be checking out the sequel and anything else Pearson puts out. She’s a fantastic storyteller and I have every faith this will develop into a series I’ll have to have about 4 book trophy editions of on my shelves.

Thank you to NetGalley and Flatiron Books for providing me with this free eARC in exchange for my honest review!

I feel myself getting sucked back into Romantasy now because of this book. O M F G it’s so good! It is literally giving every comfort read vibe possible and I could not put it down.

Bristol is THE FMC we’ve all been waiting for, a young woman just trying to survive in not the best circumstances who tries to make the best out of a ridiculously fantastical situation. Her mother left, then her father is found dead on the side of the road, she’s left holding the pieces together for her two sisters (who you’ll actually care about) in a small town that isn’t quite what it seems. When an unknown aunt sends a letter suggesting a significant ‘inheritance’ , Bristol isn’t shocked to learn it’s closer to a scam as she suspected, but for the sake of her family she takes a leap of faith and enters into a bargain with the fae.

Pearson’s jump into new adult is spot on, everything just hits. At first I think I was trying to compare elements to the big hitters like ACOTAR, FBAA, …Serpent Wings, maybe a lil Hunger Games, but then I realized that it was what was making it perfect. The story takes all of the loved and familiar romantasy high notes and twists them into something fresh and new; an urban’ish fantasy shoved through a portal into a near high fantasy world. Now, I’m just really sad I have to wait for finish the story.

This is definitely one of my top top reads of 2024 and a revitalization of romantasy for me.

Mary E Pearson won my heart with her YA Romantasy "Dance of Thieves." I was thrilled to learn that she was writing her first adult series and to have the opportunity to read it early. thanks to Flatiron Books and Netgalley. It does not disappoint!

First off, the special first edition is looking absolutely gorgeous! However, I have found that as these beautiful extras become more and more popular, the book itself rarely measures up to the expectations, especially in the romantasy genre. i have been very disappointed recently with some stories that seem to rehash old plots and have the barest of a fantasy world around the two main characters. I am happy to say that The Courting of Bristol Keats stands out above these in some important ways.

Pearson knows how to build tension and world build at the same time. Set in a faireworld at war, Bristol is recruited as a human with potential faire power because of her parentage. Unknown to her, both her mother and father were key players in the fairy realm before her and her sisters were born. She agrees as part of her own quest to find out what happened to her parents. But as she and the king of the Fae become more attracted to each other, he must hide from her his own knowledge about her father and the role he played in the story.

The plotting beautifully builds an impossible situation that takes its time unfolding. As a result, the characters in the story are wonderfully fraught and complex, and Bristol has a heavy burden to carry. While the story takes a bit of time to take off, it is well worth it. The ending will make you long for the next book immediately.

Cruel Prince lovers unite!!!

We’re so back - dark fae machinations + an enemies to lovers sitch?? Sign me UP.

This book is perfectly paced - I haven’t felt this on the edge of my seat in a looooong time.

You’re gonna want to read this ASAP!!!!

That ending?? Wow

I am a huge fan of Pearson’s previous YA books so I was very excited for the chance to read this one a little bit early. Unfortunately it just didn’t get my attention the way her other works have. I wanted to sink into it and get lost in a new world but unfortunately I ended up kind of bored and dreading going back to it. The world building was a bit confusing and the pacing was too slow for me. The only thing that really caught my attention were the characters. Bristol’s family dynamic and motivation were interesting I just haven’t decided yet if it was interesting enough for me to keep reading.

I have enjoyed every book I have ever read by Mary Pearson, but this one just didn't hit the same as the others. There were several plot points that felt under-developed, and I had difficulty buying in to this fae world.

Content note: the language and content in this book were simply not something I can hand off to a teen reader, and I was really disappointed by that. This is an open door book, with a generous smattering of profanity. While I have shared Mary Pearson's books with teen readers in the past, this one is clearly an adult novel.

I received an arc from netgalley, all opinions are my own.

Having been a fan of Mary E. Pearson's young adult series, like The Remnant Chronicles (which I still think about), Dance of Thieves, and Jenna Fox Chronicles, I was really intrigued and excited to see Pearson's entry into full-fledged adult fantasy.

Bristol Keats and her sisters are struggling after the loss of both their parents. When Bristol receives letters from an unknown "aunt," she discovers that her family history is a complete fabrication — and that her father may still be alive, kidnapped by creatures from another realm. Determined to find him, Bristol enters a world of magic with gods, fae, and monsters. There, she makes a deal with the fae king, Tyghan, unaware that he’s the one behind her family's troubles and just as intent on finding her father —whether dead or alive.

Because of my familiarity with both YA and adult fantasy and with Pearson's work — I was doubly disappointed here. I'm not sure what the impetus for making the shift to adult fantasy could have been, but I am not sold on it having been Pearson’s intention. The Courting of Bristol Keats retains all the earmarks of a young adult fantasy (particularly those from a decade ago), but with some sex scenes and adult language sparingly peppered about. Bristol herself is only 21 (nay, begging pardon — she turns 22 during the narrative), and yet she still felt every bit as "grown up" as the sixteen-year-old protagonists of typical YA fare. Additionally, there's a lack of freshness, with echos of series that have come before, like Holly Black's The Cruel Prince.

This is one of those books where the story itself is interesting, but the execution doesn't quite able to hold up the weight of the full narrative.

This was amazing. I love Mary E Pearson’s other books, so I couldn’t wait to read this. This book was fantastic. I read an ARC and also ended up requesting the audiobook ALC as I’m trying to branch out with my audiobook genres and I loved listening to the story even though fantasy can be harder for me on audio.

What I struggle with these days when it comes to adult Romantasy/fantasy romance is finding a book that truly balances both and still makes you root for the couple while also being invested in a million other plot points. I think the author did a tremendous job with the balance in this book. It was a coming of age story about Bristol, a romantic journey, and also an adventure in a new world with conflicts, magic, secrets, and deceit. I felt invested in everything.

This did have open door romance and wasn’t YA. Bristol was in her 20s, but I feel like the way the spice was written could be considered appropriate for younger audiences to some degree. It wasn’t closed door, but it also wasn’t graphic. I got the whole sense of what was happening without it being one of those books I have to turn down when I’m driving in the car. If you’re specifically looking for spice, this isn’t for you. It’s like black pepper, not chili peppers. I think this specific detail is important to know since many Romantasy readers are specifically looking for chili peppers and will be disappointed that this has none and also that the romance does sometimes take a back seat to the plot.

I highly recommend this book! I can’t wait to see what happens next in the series/duology.

This book was pitched to me as an adult Cruel Prince which...sure. I can see how that's an accurate description. You get a well-developed fae world that intertwines with a mortal world. You get an enemies to lovers romance and you get courtly intrigue! I found it to be a really fun, fast-paced read and I'm excited to read the sequel. This was my first Pearson, but based on this one it won't be my last!

Pain, longing, betrayal, love, honor and finding your place in the world are some of the significant themes that make an appearance in The Courting of Bristol Keats.

Let me begin by saying that I have thoroughly enjoyed the previous books that I have read by Mary Pearson. I knew that this book was a jump from young adult publishing to the adult market. To me that generally means that the author intends to slow down the pacing of the story and devote more time to developing deeper themes. In this case it seemed like it was primarily a means to add profanity and sexual content. The sexual content was particularly disappointing to me as it was obviously a deliberate choice rather than just lazy writing. The author was skilled enough to have been able to communicate passion without resorting to gratuitous description that reduced the scenes to cheap voyeurism, but instead she chose to include this content.

The book was dark, maybe not as dark as the mythology of the fae realms would warrant, but dark enough to illustrate that the author is well versed in fae mythology. And as I previously admired in her books, Pearson knows how to draw you into a story and illustrate how complicated people can be. The characters are multi-faceted and complex. I appreciated that.
But my biggest complaint about the book is that it doesn’t end, it just stops. There is no wrapping up, no winding to a close, not even a true cliffhanger ending. The book just stops. It’s a long novel to begin with and the ending felt like the author just got tired of writing and walked away. There are numerous ways to wrap up a novel waiting for its sequel that honor your reader’s investment in the narrative and this one failed in that regard.

Will I read the sequel? No. Do I recommend the book? No. Do I hope that Pearson reverts to her previous style of writing? Yes. If you like complex fantasy that explores the way people inhabit the world around them then I would recommend you take a look at Mary Pearson’s young adult novels, which are complex and interesting without the sexual content, profanity and incomplete writing. But personally, I’d skip The Courting of Bristol Keats.

The Courting of Bristol Keats was a solid read. It was a tad longer and slower than I’d like, but the plot was interesting and the romance was spicy 🌶️ There wasn’t anything particularly exciting or surprising that happened, but still found myself gravitating towards the story. I liked the relationship between Bristol and Tyghan, and I also enjoyed the friendships that Bristol formed with the other recruits. It did feel like the book could have been shorter and faster paced, but it helped that the perspectives change with each chapter and the chapters are short. I will read the sequel when it comes out, there are certainly loose ends to tie up. A solid fae romantasy.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Flatiron Books for an advanced reader's copy of this book.

I mostly enjoyed "The Courting of Bristol Keats" by Mary E. Pearson. The set up is familiar: a seemingly human girl who actually has ties to the fae which her parents have kept hidden all her life. I liked Bristol as a character- strong head on her shoulders, loyal, and curious to learn about the fae. I thought her relationship with Tyghan had enough push and pull to the readers interested. I just thought the execution of this story was too convoluted and it most definitely did not need to be 500 pages long. There was a lot of telling instead of showing, which is surprising because the author's YA books are tightly plotted. I also hated that the characters knew what was going on with Bristol but Bristol herself and by extension the reader did not. The book ends on a sort of cliffhanger, but I am not interested enough in continuing the story.

I would, however, recommend it to readers who are interested to dip their toes into the romantasy genre.

Cute- a little confusing on the pov of each chapter it would be helpful if the title names were the character s pov we are at

Mary Pearson did it again!! I absolutely loved the Dance of Thieves duology and The Courting of Bristol Keats did not disappoint! An enemies to lovers story with Fae, magic and lots more. Perfect for readers who liked The Cruel Prince and A Court of Thorns and Roses. Amazing world building that sucks you into the story. Great characters with lots of personality. Bristol Keats makes a deal that lands her in the Fae realm. Though she was raised as a mortal she quickly learns her parents both had ties to Elphame. She learns that everything she thought she knew was veiled in secrets and lies. As she learns the truth she also learns more about who she is and her own strength.

Where is the sequel!! I was entranced by the world of Elphame. This book is written beautifully and has a new take on the world of Faeries. It felt fresh and new even with all the Fae books already out there. I enjoyed the switching of perspectives throughout the story and the twists that I attempted to see coming but still surprised me.

Bristol and Tyghan are *chef's kiss*

Really enjoyed this one! I’ve seen it called adult Cruel Prince and I definitely think that’s fitting. There’s crossover between the mortal and fae worlds, different creatures and kinds of magic, faerie bargains, and a fae king love interest (with a lil added spice). I loved all of the secrets in this but at the same time the irony was absolutely killing me.

I had small issues such as the length making it drag a little, not enough differentiation between side characters, and most of the characters started to irk me by the end. The ending is also very awkwardly abrupt and not in a cliffhangery way, it literally just ends. There are tons of things I’m looking forward to finding out about in the next book though so I will definitely be continuing!

Thank you to Flatiron and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.