Thank you Netgalley and Berkley for the free e-arc. My opinions are being left voluntarily. This is a book that was recommended for 12 by 12 friends and I loved it. The world building, the main characters the side characters just so so well done. I am excited for book 2 and wherebit goes next. I have enjoyed all the books the author has done.

Suggest givingnirna try if you read fantasy books

4.5/5☆

Servant of Earth
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

“That was what love was. Not just romantic love, but any type of love. It was caring so much for another person that you would do anything to see them happy and whole.”

Thanks so much to @acebookspub for the free book! #BerkleyPartner #Berkley

It’s been about a week and I have thought about this book every day since I finished it. I can’t even express how much I loved this book.
This is easily in my Top 5 reads of the year, and I don’t see it leaving that list.
This was INCREDIBLE. It was nothing like I expected and I mean that in the most wonderful way.
This is a high fantasy book that follows Kenna, a human, as she enters the territory of the fae.
I was obsessed with the world-building in this book. The concept of having the different houses with their different powers was so well done. You can tell that so much thought and planning went into this story. Everything was so detailed and easy to understand.
I actually enjoyed reading about how politics worked there because the author did such a good job explaining it in an entertaining way.
There are a lot of characters to keep up with in this book and I found that so fun! These characters were all so complex and I loved getting to know each of them.
This story is packed full of trials and adventures and it was so much fun to read! I loved it so much! The stakes were so high, and I was OBSESSED.
There is also romance of course! The tension was DELIGHTFUL. OMG. The romance did not overpower the story. I would say the balance between romance and adventure was perfect. Seriously, the author did such an amazing job with this and the ending was fabulous. I truly cannot wait for the next book. This series is going to be my new obsession.
You can read Servant of Earth on November 12th! (also it’s a wonderful gorgeous hardback that does not have a dust jacket and I love it so much)

Read If You Like:
🗡️fae and fantasy worlds
🗡️magic and intrigue
🗡️morally grey characters
🗡️trials and adventures
🗡️high fantasy books

What a well written and engaging dark fantasy romance!

All of the characters are wonderfully developed. I love the complexity of Kenna, she is a great character that has a lot of depth. She is morally gray, but she is also so many things, she’s brave, kind, resilient, confrontational, and a little sneaky. And though I’m not typically fond of the MC that has too much going for them, she was made likable, and never displayed in a cocky manner. I also really admired her character growth, and though throughout she does mostly think for herself, at the end she stands up for her beliefs and stands firm.

And though it is apparent where the plot was headed and the twist was predictable like something familiar already read, I never once felt bored and a lot stood out as its own. I’m excited to see where this goes and I’m looking forward to hopefully seeing a relationship develop between Kenna and one of the other characters.

Perhaps the cruelest and kindest thing a good book does is make you believe you live inside it for the space of a few hundred pages. That you’re not merely an observer but a part of its pulse and rhythm, seamlessly entwined with its world. And then it ends, the spell breaks, like a candle snuffed out and you find yourself stranded, aching for the warmth and light that only moments ago felt infinite. From the opening line, Servant of Earth sweeps you into its realm teeming with fae intrigue, fierce friendships, rebellion, monstrous threats, and harrowing trials. Its lush world-building and indomitable heroine make this book utterly impossible to put down.

Sarah Hawley’s writing is wholly immersive and hooked me with vivid imagery, the kind that conjuring scenes that leap from the page and settle deep into your mind. Yet, what sets this story apart the most was the emotional core of the story. It’s a tale of violence and hope, magic and jaw dropping action, all generously peppered with wtf moments.

It’s a perfect balance of moments that will make you laugh and moments that will make you gasp. And yes, there is spice that is perfectly timed and deliciously charged. Lastly, the ending. That ending left me both traumatized and extremely gratified, and I’m ready for more pain in the next book. I’m already bracing myself for the heartbreak and triumph sure to come.

Servant of Earth is a journey that stays with you long after the final page, a rare gem that doesn’t just ask for your attention but demands it.

Servant of Earth by Sarah Hawley is a dark fantasy novel that follows Kenna, a human woman who lives on the border separating the human world from the fae world. One night, there is a ceremony which sends four chosen human women across the border into the fae world. Kenna’s best friend Anya is chosen in this ceremony, and Kenna chooses to go with her. Within the fae realm, Kenna is tasked with aiding her new mistress, Lara, in six deadly trials, one for each branch of magical fae house. If she succeeds, Lara will gain immortality and become the heir to the Earth House. If she doesn’t, the punishment is death for both Lara and Kenna.

This was much darker than I expected, but that’s not a bad thing, just be sure to read trigger warnings before diving in. The story was fast paced, and action packed, but was predictable. The characters were easy to love, but Kenna was a bit whiney and hard to take seriously. We are in her POV for this book, so we get a lot of development of her character, but only her reactions and thoughts about others. This makes me think that there is a lot more to see with these characters than what meets the eye. It’s hard to know who to trust and if everything is what it seems.

Overall I enjoyed this book and I’m looking forward to the next in the series! Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for this e-ARC! Thoughts are my own.

I LOVE THIS BOOK SO MUCH. this was an unexpected gem that I randomly picked up. The world is so lush and descriptive, I was there the entire time. I’m so excited this series is continuing.

Thank you NetGalley, Sarah Hawley, and Berkley for this 24 hour download of this book! I actually just finished reading my library loan of this book, but I loved it so much I wanted to download it again.

*my review contains minor spoilers*

Kenna Heron is known to most in her village as “half-feral” and she doesn’t shy away from that title. After losing her mom, she spends most of her time away from their decrepit hut and near the bog — which is the only thing separating her human village from the faeries. While Kenna doesn’t care for the faeries, despises them really, she does find peace in the bog and hunting for trinkets that she could sell.

The morning of the winter solstice, Kenna goes to the bog like always. Only today, she finds a strange dagger — that she hopes to sell and make enough money to leave her town with her best friend (Anya) ant become traveling tradespeople. Her plans go awry when Anya is chosen to go through the bog and to the faeries. Kenna knows the bog better than anyone, so she decides that she’ll lead the group of women through. When it becomes a mad dash to from their lives, the dagger leads them through the bog, but Kenna is the only one that survived, and passes out on the other side.

Kenna awakes in the faerie court and soon finds herself as a human servant to the Earth House. The princess of the house tasks her with the job of making sure Lady Lara passes the fae trials, which each fae must go through in order to gain immortality and the full use of their magic. If Kenna fails, the consequence is death. Over the next 6 months, Kenna learns more about the faerie court, their tyrannical King, and plans for a revolution to overthrow said king. Kenna is finding out who she can, and cannot, trust and hopes to live through the trials.

Although I felt like it had a slow start (maybe the first 30ish pages) once Kenna got into Mistei and the trials started, I could not put the book down. I loved reading and learning about a new magic system and world — and the world building was definitely manageable and didn’t feel so overwhelming that the story suffered.
Kenna is a great heroine — she isn’t entirely fearless, she must overcome fears a lot in the book. She is flawed, but cares deeply for the humans enslaved by the faeries and the underfae who are also mistreated. She grows into herself throughout the book which is amazing.
I also loved the supporting characters and can’t wait to see more of them in the next book. Although I do want to slap more than a few of them and give big hugs to others.
Servant of Earth is definitely more fantasy than romance, which I ended up really loving (I’m a huge romantasy heavy on the romance girl) and thought that the story shined more due to less romance. Anyone who loves Sarah Hawley’s previous works and loves fantasy and wants to read about a new magic system should definitely give this book a read!!!

5 ⭐️
2 🌶️

Servant of Earth💎🗡️❤️‍🔥
5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

EEEEK GO READ THIS BOOK! @bringyourownbooks had been begging me to read this for a while and I finally caved. WHY DIDN’T I READ IT SOONER?? First of all, the world building was magnificent! I had such a clear picture of everything and it wasn’t too complicated. The first chapter had me hooked and I didn’t ever want to stop reading. 🤩

The plot was so intriguing and I loved all of the characters. The men in this book, especially Drustan❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥 WHEW!! Kenna was such a strong female character and I truly adored her. There were a lot of characters to keep track of but it was well worth it. It was so entertaining and I loved getting to know everyone. The author packed so much good stuff into this book and it was written so well!!! Not a single page was wasted, that’s how you know a book is good😍 I loved how this was a bit darker than normal fantasy books, there was lots of gore! But that didn’t bother me🤪

This was truly such a magical read! The magic, the politics, the tension, the trials, the different houses, the morally gray fae, it was all crafted so well. In my opinion, this had bits and pieces that reminded me of my favorite books like ACOTAR, Hunger Games, The Cruel Prince, and Goblet of Fire!🤩 With that being said, nothing felt like copy and paste! Everything was so unique and I just loved this book so much. Might even be a SIX star book if I keep thinking about this🖤

Really enjoyed this unique take on the realm of the fae. Games and trials but not in the typical way. Fae houses with different gifts. A human with no magic. An evil king. A potential rebellion. I suspected the direction things were going to go but that didn’t at all detract from the story. Can’t wait to read book 2!

Servant of Earth is a dark fairytale that is mostly a cautionary tale, with a dash of feminine rage and romance. Kenna is a human trapped among a group of fae led by a sadistic bastard. The story of her suffering sets up a fantastic ending that will leave readers impatient for the next installment.

I really enjoyed the premise of this book. A market of heavily saturated far romantasys I was excited to add another favorite to my collection. Right off the bat the FMC had so much potential. I love having a strong and smart character to immediately get behind from the beginning. I love that she was brave and showed herself through the story. Unfortunately I felt the romance was lacking. This was more high fantasy than a fantasy romance I wish there was more development even with the two potential matches. What really saved this story in my eyes were the trails and how we watch her navigate them with her wit and smarts.

I do wish this book was written more from showing me then just telling me what she was doing. I do think that it needed a bit more depth into really understanding the characters and why they seemed to do the things they did in this one.

I am looking forward to reading the next story as I believe there is so much left unsaid and the end was so gripping I can’t seem to forget this story.

When a human woman finds a way into the fae underground where she is forced into the life of servitude. Kenna meant well to help her friend travel through the bog when she was chosen but when her bestie didn't make it and only she did she is forced by the fae king into servitude to the Earth house and its princess. In this you have games that turn deadly in the quest for that princess to obtain her power and immortality, an uprising against a tyrannical king, and so much more.
I have been eyeing this book in stores every time I go into Barnes and Nobles. I knew I had to grab it while I could on NetGalley when it came up as read now! Thank you Berkley for this gifted copy all thoughts and opinions are my own. I have been eyeing this authors works for a while but this is my first encounter with Sarah Hawley's writing and now that I have read one...I am going to need to read them all.
The world building was fantastic and the characters well developed. I have read a lot of Fae type fantasy and this one reminds me of the more ruthless type fae, specifically the King and that characters like him, I would find in the Merry Gentry series by Laurell K Hamilton when she is writing about the Unseelie and Seelie courts. But you do not have that system here. Here you have the Light, Void, Earth, Fire, Illusion, and Blood branches of magic. Each have their own prince(cess) and each have to go through a trials eventually to obtain their power/immortality to be judged in the end by the shard of each branch,
I really liked how this was set up. I appreciated the thought and time it went in for each trial and how the author worked each one out individually. I really thought I had everything figured out when in fact I didn't...well not completely and that doesn't happen to me often, I had the general idea but what I thought was going o be the answer to get me me there was, in fact, not correct. Now that I have reached that ending of this first book I really am dying to know what Sarah Hawley has planned for book 2, Princess of Blood. Here is hoping I can find out sooner rather than later!

5 stars.

This was such a magical book! The world is great, the houses with their powers and dynamics are awesome, and the descriptions of everything from dresses to magic is so beautiful - and I loved the names like Underfae and Nasties because it's just so magical. It's clear that the author is a lover of fairytales and it's amazing when that shines through in every page. The book reminded me of the first ACOTAR while also giving serious The Cruel Prince-vibes but more... mature. I liked TCP but it lacked something for me. This one had that something and felt more high stakes which I really enjoyed.

And speaking of ACOTAR... Imagine if Feyre had fallen for Lucien instead of Tamlin? Yeah, that's this book. Drustan is (for the majority of the book) very Lucien-coded and it was so exciting and fun to see Kenna get swept up in his charms. SPOILER INCOMING: Don't get me wrong, it's obvious from the beginning that Kallen is going to be the real love interest in this story (just like with Rhys), but I still really enjoyed seeing everything play out with the redheaded prince of fire. I was unsure how their relationship would end and I actually liked how that was done. I was scared he was going to betray her in a “he faked everything, was a tyrannical horrible person and he was just using her” kind of way and I was glad to see that wasn't the case. He did care about her but he was also willing to sacrifice anything (and anyone) for his goal. And he's definitely power hungry, so there's that. Excited to see what happens with him in the next book! END OF SPOILER.

None of the plot twists really took me by surprise but it actually didn't matter. I still loved how everything played out, and ooh that ending... It was so good in the most horrible kind of way.

I am looking so much forward to more scenes between Kenna and Kallen in future installments. Their chemistry is amazing and even though we don't see him that much throughout the book I honestly love him already. There are so many possibilities with his character and I just know it's going to be good.

The only negative thing I will say is a certain scene with the Nasties. SPOILER INCOMING: It was so stupid and weird for her to go visit them... And how on earth is she able to kill so many of them AND outrun them? She has zero combat training and only a dagger against their swords - and yet she doesn't get hit once and manages to outsmart the generals in actual combat. That just seems impossible. END OF SPOILER.

So I was a bit frustrated with that whole scene. But everything else was awesome! Really looking forward to continuing this story.

Tfw you know a book is going to be 5 ⭐️ when you’re only halfway thru. Sarah freaking KILLED IT again, in a totally different genre! The world-building of Mistei and the human villages was gorgeous and visceral and darkly fae! The trials for fae to gain their magic and immortality were brutal and unique. The tension and banter and tension and terrifying moments were amazing! The lore kept me guessing as more was revealed, and I am so excited to learn more about the sixth house and all that comes with it in the second book! Did we mention there is a sentient blade?! ✨😍

Kenna is a human from a small village. After trying to save her friend from the cruel fae, she finds herself in their grasps instead. Forced to serve her mistresses, she is tasked with helping her survive six trials.

Wow, I really enjoyed this story! I loved Sarah Hawley’s take on the fae and how she built up this world. This is what a Romantasy should be! A good plot and world building with just the right amount of romance. I really enjoyed Kenna as well as the development of the side characters.

I’m excited to see where Sarah Hawley will take this series in the next book!

I need to sleep on what I just read. My jaw is on the floor, my book thrown across the room, and my mind is scrambled. This book is action packed, mind boggling and a little bit spicy and it was honestly perfection. The elements basically having a society built around them in this way was so original and addictive. Also THIS is a story with the true Fae. None of this overly romantic stories we’ve been seeing.

All I can say is I can’t wait for book 2.

OH MY GOD THIS BOOK!!! Spoilers incoming!!

THIS is the kind of fantasy book ive been looking for since reading anything SJM. i swear i’ve read a lot of fantasy/romantasy, but nothing has quite hit like this one did. when a fantasy book has me TWITCHING for the last 50 pages, you know it is good.

we have kenna, a human girl, who lives on the border separating the human world from the fae world. the border is a dangerous bog, which she often explores & searches for lost items in. we start the book with kenna finding a special dagger in the bog. she then meets with her bff anya, and that night, there was a ceremony which sends 4 “chosen” human girls across the bog to the fae world. anya is one of the chosen, and kenna at the last second chooses to go with her across the bog.

kenna enters the fae world and is thrust into the earth shard to be a servant for lara, a noble mistress of earth. she has to help lara survive six trials for each shard, and if lara is deemed to be worthy after the trials, she will gain magic and become immortal.

this book is filled with dangerous trials, friendship, love, and betrayal. kenna starts to get close with two noble fae men - drustan of fire shard & kallan of void shard - and i seriously was questioning throughout the book WHICH OF THE MEN DO WE TRUST? even after finishing this book, i don’t know which to trust but i fear a tamlin situation is forthcoming!!!!

i’m so excited to learn more about the blood shard/house and to see what kind of house kenna can build (now that she is a princess and is immortal!!!). i saw the plot twist of anya becoming a servant to the king from a MILE away so i’m happy i was right about something. i’m kinda shook that the king actually died at the end of this book, so im expecting the next book(s?) to be about restoring order in mistei and traveling to other fae territories.

FIVE STARS!

What. A. Banger! I have no idea why this book is not being hyped all over the place. This digs its claws into you, pulls you in, and refuses to let go. I was up until 2am with the first half of the story alone!

The story is SO good. The writing and storytelling is SO compelling. I felt drawn into the world and was rooting for the main character almost instantly.

If you love strong female leads, violent magical objects, and fae as they were meant to be (with malice, spite, and a whole lot of shenanigans), this book is for you. This story also includes a unique and unconventional take on trials, as well as a strong focus on the value of friendship, which I really enjoyed.

That ending, too! It wrapped with the near-impossible combination of a cliffhanger, but also somehow still a satisfying conclusion. (Maybe this author has some magic of her own at play, who knows.) I really, really need to know what kind of plotting and scheming is going to happen next.

OBVIOUSLY I am reading the next book in the series.

Servant of Earth has it all - cruel fae, courtly intrigue, deadly trials, espionage, masked balls, corrupt royalty, and SENTIENT WEAPONRY?! There are elements from all of our favorites woven in and I was here for it! Our human protagonist Kenna is just trying to tread the treacherous waters she finds herself in and I was wildly speculating from beginning to end! I was immediately sucked in as we follow her exploits in the underground realm, and found the story to be thoroughly addicting. I cannot WAIT to see what happens next in book two!!

I have pretty mixed feelings about this book. It definitely leans into a familiar blend of tropes that have dominated the fantasy romance space over the past decade—it’s got that recognizable formula, for better or worse.

That said, the beginning actually worked for me. It hooked me in with the classic setup: a poor girl seen as strange and out of place, a best friend she’s fiercely protective of, a risky decision that lands her in a Faerie world she has to navigate as a human outsider. It’s the kind of opening that’s very typical, yes, but it was executed well enough to hold my attention and make me curious about where it was going.

The middle section, though, is where things started to fall flat. We’re introduced to a brooding, mysterious “Void daddy” type - cold, powerful, and emotionally unavailable - and the flirty, charming second male lead who takes to the FMC a little too quickly to be convincing. The trials the FMC had to assist with didn’t feel particularly tense or exciting, and where I expected the heroine to grow more layered and compelling, she instead became kind of passive and frustrating. Her choices often felt more naïve than believable, and it made it hard to stay emotionally invested.

I don’t mind a heroine who isn’t a total badass - it’s not about that. But in a story that feels this familiar and doesn’t offer a ton of surprises, I need a main character who at least feels fresh and engaging. Unfortunately, I just didn’t find that here.

The fae world itself also didn’t quite land for me. It lacked the otherworldly strangeness or danger that usually makes these settings so captivating. The fae felt mostly human, with a touch of cruelty, but not much else to set them apart.

By the time I hit the 40% mark, I was honestly ready to be done. But I pushed through - through the sex scene that felt like a weaker version of others I’ve read, through the familiar betrayals and antagonists - because I’d heard the ending was worth it.

And in some ways, it was. The ending was about what I expected, but I genuinely appreciated the focus on platonic love and support. That was a really nice note to end on, and it gave me something to walk away with that felt warm and satisfying.

Even though this ended up being more of a mixed read for me, I’m still curious about where the story will go next. The heroine ends in a stronger place, and I’m hopeful that the next installment will dig deeper into the fae realm and give us more intrigue, more depth, and hopefully a bit more originality. There’s definitely potential here. I’m really hoping it finds its stride, because I did enjoy enough aspects to want to continue on with this series.



Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for the opportunity to read this title in exchange for an honest review.