SIX DEADLY TRIALS. ZERO ROOM FOR ERROR.
🗡️ If you have not picked up this book, do yourself a favor and go buy it now!!! 🌹 I DEVOURED this book in a day and it was everything!!! 5/5 🌟 2 🌶️ This plot sucked me in from the very beginning and THAT ENDING! I need book 2 NOW!

I loved this book so much! I was exactly what I wanted in a dark romantasy genre. I devoured this book in two days and I was left wanting more, NEEDING MORE. This book doesn't get the hype that it does and I really can't wait to get my hands on book two!

AND PLEASE, bring me more Kellan (yes, I am shipping them)! Thank you!

This is absolutely my favorite read of 2024 and the sequel, Princess of Blood, is my most anticipated read of 2025!
The writing, the characters, the magic system, everything was PERFECT. I have not stopped thinking about this book since I read it.
Turning the new adult fantasy genre on its head and setting the bar high, for sure!

Servant of Earth follows human Kenna as she gets thrown into an underground faerie kingdom, forced into serving a lady of Earth House as she undertakes six trials to gain her immortality and become the heir to Earth House. If she doesn't, the punishment is death for both.

Kenna is a strong and smart heroine, and it seems a lot of her strength comes from the sentient dagger she found before making her way to the faerie kingdom - and I am HERE for the stabby dagger making its presence known!
The world building is pretty great and draws you in immediately, the whispers of rebelling against the tyrannical king and not knowing who you can trust keeps you turning the pages, and watching Kenna do anything in her power to survive this world shows her courage.
This book gives off a lot of your favorite fantasy tropes but it WORKS and the climatic ending ensures that I will need book number 2 as soon as Sarah Hawley can write it

Thank you Sarah Hawley and Berkley for an ARC in exchange for a review!

Rating 5/5

What a banger of a book to start the new year off with! Kenna is such a strong-willed, smart mouthed human woman who ends up becoming a servant to the earth princess's daughter.

Loved that the magic system for the fae was set up differently than other fantasy books. This who world was set up differently and just unique!

There were two parts that I called out (unfortunately, only my partner heard them cause i don't know anyone else who has read this book..) but my brain didn’t pick up on the third on until right before it happened!

Overall HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!!

While impatiently waiting on Onyx Storm to release and needing my romantasy fix, I loved this book sm! There was everything I love in my fantasy - easy to follow world building, action/adventure, spice, and UPRISINGS. I was so invested in the story and inhaled this book. I NEED BOOK TWO IMMEDIATELY!!!

Thank you so much to Berkley- Ace, Sarah, and PRHA for the advance physical copy, e-galley and audiobook!

I was introduced to Sarah Hawley’s writing with her lighthearted paranormal rom-com series Glimmer Falls, including A Witch’s Guide to Fake Dating a Demon. But Servant of Earth, the first in the author’s The Shards of Magic series is a grittier fantasy story with romantic elements that had me spellbound right from the start.

Kenna Heron spends her days treasure hunting in the bog next to her small village of Tumbledown. On the morning of the Winter Solstice, the day that her village chooses four young women through a lottery every year to cross the bog, led by fairy lights, to live out their days in luxury (or so it’s believed) in the Fae land of Mistei, she draws from the water a gorgeous, bejewelled dagger that she knows will fetch her a good price. The dagger is odd – it has an unearthly shine and when it accidentally cuts her skin, the blood disappears into the dagger. But she can’t ponder it for long. Her best friend Anya is one of the chosen women and Kenna is determined to follow along behind in secret, to protect her if needed.

Crossing the bog quickly becomes a nightmare as one by one the women disappear on route, leaving only Kenna left to make it safely to the other side. And when she does, she discovers what she has always feared – that there is no wonderful life in Mistei. Instead the humans who make it across become slaves, and Kenna is given as a servant to Princess Lara of Earth House. There are five Noble Fae houses – Fire, Earth, Light, Void, and Illusion. There used to be a sixth house, Blood House, but the current tyrannical King Osric had obliterated that house so no Fae remains who belongs to it. As Kenna learns how to survive in her new life, she also becomes friends with Prince Drustan, a Noble Fae of Fire House. And she discovers that not everyone is happy serving King Osric. Tasked with helping her mistress pass a series of challenges to become fully immortal, Kenna must use all of her wits for both of them to survive. But will the alliances she’s made aid her or lead her to ruin?

The first sentence of the book is as follows: “The winter solstice crept in cold, wet, and heavy with dread.” This captures the dark and mysterious mood of the story precisely. Kenna is poor, she’s an orphan, and her day to day existence is always fraught. And she seems to be the only one in her village who is suspicious that the Noble Fae are not as lovely as the stories tell, and indeed they are not. This novel isn’t for the faint of heart as there are scenes of gore, violence and sexual assault and the author includes a warning note for content. But the worldbuilding is thorough and interesting and the characters, especially some of the Noble Fae, are not as clear cut as good or evil as they might appear at the beginning. The reader learns as Kenna does, who she can really trust. Prince Drustan becomes Kenna’s love interest and they share some intimate scenes but whether he will remain long term as her partner remains to be seen as there are other Fae princes who are interested in Kenna as well. The story is action packed and the pace is swift, leading to an exciting conclusion. There is no cliffhanger, but there are still many things to be resolved, and I am excited to continue the series!

Review will be posted at All About Romance and feedback updated with the link.

I enjoyed Sarah’s writing in Glimmer Falls but I loved her writing in this one. The story line was extremely engaging and the characters were just so well written.

I got halfway through this book before DNFing. The world building was interesting, but the characters weren’t compelling. I found myself bored with the dialogue, with the main character’s narrations, and even with the trials the main character was left to navigate. I was hoping to see some of this author’s trademark humor incorporated into this book, but ultimately it fell flat.

This one caught me off guard in the best way. I went in expecting court politics and the usual romantasy intrigue, but it turned out to be darker and more layered than I anticipated. The worldbuilding pulled me in, the political maneuvering kept me hooked, and the characters—while not all equally compelling—held my interest the whole way through.

Now, I won’t say the romance was the standout here. It existed, but it didn’t quite sizzle. If anything, it felt secondary to the larger narrative, which honestly worked in the book’s favor. The power plays, shifting alliances, and high-stakes maneuvering at court were what really drove the story.

While some parts felt familiar to the genre, the execution was strong enough that it didn’t feel tired. I was fully invested by the end and can’t wait to see where the next book takes things. If you love political intrigue,dark fantasy, and a world that feels rich with history and danger, this is absolutely worth picking up.

Thank you to NetGalley & the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is one of my favorite reads of the year so far. I didn't feel like it was the most original book I've ever read, but it hit all the highlights of a fantasy romance for me. And it was really well-written!

Wowowowowowow this may end up being my top book of the year! This was such an amazing journey of a book, and a solid start to what could be a top tier series.

I love the main character Kenna. She's cunning, kind, and scrappy. I loved seeing her progression as she adjusted to the political environment was she thrown into. The friendship that grew between Kenna and Lara was amazing to see, especially because it easily could have written as them never really going past forced allies.

The romance was such an interesting aspect because I rooted for it and yet was also so skeptical about who could be trusted, and who had ulterior motives. By the end of the book, I was left really excited about where Kenna's romance could end up turning.

The last bit of the book had me so on edge too! I was listening to it in my car on the way to work and I was fully screaming at some of the twists.

This novel is filled with unexpected twists and morally ambiguous fae, leaving me uncertain of who to trust at every turn. In addition to the trials, a war and rebellion are brewing, forcing Kenna to carefully determine her loyalties. The intrigue surrounding the court politics and espionage was particularly engaging. Despite being human in a fae-dominated world, Kenna proves herself to be resourceful, intelligent, and determined.

While the pacing occasionally felt uneven, with my interest primarily piqued by the trials themselves, Kenna’s naiveté regarding relationships was at times frustrating. However, the potential for a love triangle in future installments is intriguing, and I’m eager to see where the story goes from here. Can’t wait to see how book 2 is. Thank you

Sarah Hawley was already one of my faves (if you haven' read the Glimmer Falls books, do that ASAP) and when I found out that she was writing a fantasy book, I NEEDED it. And goddamn did she deliver.

The writing in this book was SO GOOD! It was immersive, addictive, and set the stage for a lush new fantasy world. I’ve always had a hard time putting Sarah’s books down, but this book was especially unputdownable. I’ve read a lot of fantasy books and this was one of the most unique takes on the fae I’ve read in a long time. The story had me hooked from page one and the action just kept building and building. The story itself was gritty and violent at times which served to make the stakes feel all the more serious and high.

I loved Kenna as a main character - I was rooting for her from chapter one. She was well developed to the point of feeling real. Even in her darkest moments (and she really went through the wringer) she was brave and had the cunning to navigate her very life or death situation. I also liked getting to see glimpses of her softer side via her romance subplot (which was delicious but I don’t want to spoil it).

If you're a fantasy reader or looking to get into the genre, you should definitely check out Servant of Earth - between its high stakes, unique world, and excellent main character, this is a series to watch (and I am dying for book two)!!

I was provided an ARC of this book via Netgalley, all opinions are my own. I did end up listening to the audiobook which I borrowed from my library as this has been sitting on my TBR for a while. I'm sorry it took me so long to read this as this was really great! This is the kind of fantasy that I love to get lost in.

I don't know why more people aren't talking about this book! It had everything I look for in a fantasy. There are some dark moments, trials, interesting magic, interesting fae creatures and characters, betrayal, and a bit of romance.

Kenna is not well liked in her village. She is always collecting things from the bog to sell or trade to survive. Her best friend is selected along with several other women to be sent to the fae in Mistei as tribute. The people of Kenna's town believe this to be a great honor, but Kenna isn't so sure. She offers to help her friend and the women travel the dark path on their journey only to become trapped in the fae land her self and find herself enslaved. She is assigned to a fae who is about to undergo trials to prove her worth and grant her immortality and power. Kenna must aid her mistress or face death. Armed only with her wits and a strange magical dagger she found in the bog before entering Mistei, Kenna finds that the world she has entered is wrought with secrets and plots to overthrow the mad king. She also finds herself being courted by a handsome fae prince.

I really enjoyed this. Kenna develops so much as she helps Lara through the trials. She is always wandering around gathering information wherever she can to ensure that Lara will successfully pass. Kenna is always getting herself into sticky situations, but she is clever and finds a way out of them. I loved the addition of the dagger, which is sentient, and a character in its own right. I expect we will see more out of the dagger in book 2 as there were some pretty big revelations at the end of this book. I really enjoyed the characters and the world building. I can't wait for book 2 out later this year and to find out where Kenna the now Princess of Blood ends up in this magical world.

If you enjoyed the emotional complexity and compelling relationships of Hawley’s Glimmer Falls series and want a new series with added intrigue, suspense, and twists, this book is exactly it. Servant of Earth has expansive world building and slowly revealed histories, with relational twists and incredibly well-timed rug-pulls. I thought I knew what was happening (and guessed a few surprises!) but the ending was thrilling and fun and the satisfactory (“for now”) ending was so well earned and deserved. Can’t wait for the second.

I loved loved loved this book. I will confess I listened to this as an audiobook and I don't know I think that added to the story.

SCREAMING this book was so good. I was immediately sucked into the story, fantastic world building and magic system. Full of political intrigue, rebellion, and shifting alliances, betrayal and friendship and spice. It gets dark and violent and the heroine is not afraid to get her hands bloody and I love that for her (and me).

It’s kind of like ACOTAR meets Hunger Games meets Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Whatever it is it WORKS and I am desperate for book two. The climactic ending sees some resolution, no major cliffhanger, but it’s clear there’s a lot more story to unfold.

I thought this was very good and I will have to add this to the shop shelves. Thank you for the chance for us to review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for the ARC!

I absolutely loved and devoured this book! I've very much enjoyed Sarah Hawley's Glimmer Falls supernatural romance series (with a bit of a rocky start, admittedly). This is a much more serious series, and I wasn't sure what to expect in the beginning, but once the shoe dropped and our main character Kenna ran across the swamp, this book had my attention.
Kenna is a fantastic morally grey character, willing to do whatever is needed to survive, even if she knows it's against the mores of the society. It's a heck of a rollercoaster storyline as Kenna tries to navigate Fae society, not get killed at every turn by scheming faeries or her own new head of House. Making bonds, finding herself actually well suited to her new world, and experiencing hard trials of magic and skills, you're with her the whole time, wondering who to trust and what her next move needs to be.
I did happen to see one of the ending bombshells coming, reading at 2am one night when I couldn't put the story down, but the gasp and the way my brain suddenly dropped a bunch of puzzle pieces into place was incredible. Even so, that realization didn't dull the following pages for me. I'm trying very hard not to spoil anything, but holy heck - if this was the establishing book for character and setting for this series, I am totally IN.

If you like high fantasy / low fantasy blend, court intrigue, magic and some remarkably tame romance (at least in comparison to the author's previous series), definitely give this a read!