DNF - The plot seemed interesting when I first came across the book - it matched the many genres I was interested in, which led me to requesting for an arc. However, a few chapters in, I noticed the very slow pacing of this book - the narrative is filled with excruciatingly long dialogue between the characters and chapters, and the plot seems to be going in a direction I had no interest in. In addition to this, I feel as though there should be more paragraph breaks, as they seem very long and repetitive at times. Then again it could just be me and my particular taste in books - I think hardcore fantasy lovers would enjoy this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Publishing for the ARC copy of A Harvest Of Hearts.

The magic system of stealing hearts to use magic was quite intriguing. I absolutely loved Cornelius.

The story was a bit slow in the beginning but really picked up in the second half and had me completely hooked. I would have liked to see more POV's from Sylvester and to have seen the romance more flushed out.

"But you are wrong about some things too," he said. "I do not think you are ugly. I do not know what you mean by that. I must see things differently from you, I think. Perhaps it is because I am not quite human, as you have said. I don't see the incredible beauty that you describe in me and my sisters, because I can also see the wrongness in us that you have talked about. I see it in myself like a sickness, moving under the skin. And I see the rightness in you. You belong in the world, Foss. You are right to take up space in it, and move through it, and leave your mark on it. There is nothing about you that should be other than it is."

Maybe it's just me, but it is the first time I see a fantasy book with such bright red color on the cover, and it instantly draws me in. Although marketed as YA cozy fantasy, it seems that high-stake romantasy is more suitable and the YA part is obviously upper YA to New Adult. I haven't read nor watched <i>Howl's Moving Castle</i> so I don't know where the resemblance is, and I think it helps me enjoy and see the story as a breath of fresh air to be inhaled.

And the story is, indeed, a breath of fresh air. I like the unique magic system, the pairing of bold common person FMC and clueless magic person MMC, the worldbuilding, the snarky first point of view, the vivid description. Foss and Sylvester (and Cornelius)'s life inside The House feels manhwa-esque and is fun to follow. Maybe it's where the term "cozy" is taken, even though the overall experience is not, since it also has quite gruesome, graphic details (content/trigger warning is needed for this). The revelation is nicely done; I personally didn't see it coming.

I enjoyed the romance between Foss and Sylvester, however it's too late to start from sixty-seventy percent mark—I need the good parts to last longer and not end in a rush! The long introduction to the world makes some conversations or explanations feel repetitive. I am also not comfortable with the innuendo, like mentioning Cornelius' butthole that has nothing to do with the story or Foss telling us she's fantasizing Sylvester in her bed. To my surprise, Foss' self-loathing (or her view that she's ugly) doesn't bother me, and it is quite sweet when she realizes someone looks at her differently and she finally can see herself through his eyes.

A Harvest of Hearts offers a unique take on magic and opposites attract love adventure perfect for witchy fantasy lovers. Despite the pacing issue, it's an entertaining read.

Thank you to NetGalley, Andrea Eames, and the publisher for allowing me access to the e-Arc.

This is the kind of cozy fantasy I prefer. There is a coziness and intriguing plot that kept me wanting to read. The magic system was interesting. I have never read anything like it. The romance was really sweet. I can’t forget to mention the adorable cat and the sentient castle. The perfect book for the fall season.

I highly recommend it!

I enjoyed this book for sure a lot. I do have some small marks though.

The world building is absolutely great and i love the setting behind this story! It was easy to get into this story and I absolutely adore this magical world. The plot was kinda good but as i said maybe slightly confusing sometimes. As far as it comes to the slow burn we are promised, its kinda there , but is it a slowburn when she technically has no choice over her feelings? Im still deciding how i feel about that. Also Foss (the FMC) Kinda annoyed me somewhat with her constant critique on herself and her looks.

The cat was absolutely my favorite character in this entire book and he just brought the whole story together. I would die for Cornelius any day.

I did absolutely enjoy reading this book a lot and the story was refreshing and definitely gave me Howl's Moving Castle vibes!

Thank you Netgalley, the publisher and the author for an arc -copy in exchange of an honest review.

This was a unique experience, the entire concept of a heroine who is not typically pretty or charismatic, awkward and disinterested hero, magic with a cots of life stealing and rotting away.

This was just the right balance of cozy fantasy and adventure! I think Eames did a great job setting up the world and had a really steady pace!

I could not connect with the slow paced story or main character and the decsions they made. I felt it was reminiscent of other stories.

Ugh. I finished A Harvest of Hearts. Finally. It wasn't bad... I get that the author was trying to do an old school fairy tale thing. It's just that the main character was so ugh. She had all these great qualities- she was smart, and loyal, and hardworking, and brave... but all she talked about what how ugly she was. I thought she'd eventually move past it, but 400 pages in she's all "and he loves me even though I'm still really ugly". 😖 She had other character growth. It's just that one thing she couldn't let go of and it ruined the entire story for me. I liked the world building, the magic house, the talking cat, the creepy sorceresses with heart magic. I even liked Foss (the MC). It's just that one thing that kept getting brought up that soured the book for me.

I admit, when I read the blurb that it was like Howl's Moving Castle, I was excited for this book. I mean I can see a bit of resemblance, though Foss was not really cursed per say, just hooked, with no change of appearance, to feel like she should follow the sorcerer who spotted her in the village. This book is a lot more adult though (with Foss's longings) and I did get a bit tired of her thinking all the time how ugly she is. That being said, I absolutely love Cornelius! He is so awesome and I love his thoughts and antics which really lighten up the situation of all three in also what I consider a cool house (not a moving one but fun rooms and things appearing as needed).

It does pick up to be more interesting around 50 percent. You finally get to see what is going on with the harvested hearts and more history about Sylvester and his sisters. Sylvester also gets a bit more of a personality (because he actually starts interacting with Foss) and I do like how they solve the whole harvesting hearts issue and the ending is sweet.

So, not as cute cozy as Howl's Moving Castle but a sweet story in the end. And I would love to have a talking cat like Cornelius!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a chance to read and review this book.

I feel a bit conflicted about my feelings of this book. The first half was very slow and I felt like I kept reading the same thing without moving anywhere in the story. The second half of the book had me hooked (or snagged might be more appropriate) and I flew through it and really enjoyed it.

It was a little disheartening how often Foss says she’s ugly (or some version of it), comparing herself to the beauty of the magic workers. While I understand that is a major part of the story because it was in her POV, it still felt redundant. I would have liked to see more of Sylvester’s perspective, because I think it would have offset a bit.

The world building was good, very descriptive and immersive. It is a very unique concept, and a great standalone fantasy.

*I received an ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thanks for the free book.*

"A Harvest of Hearts" by Eames is a very obvious "Howl's Moving Castle" (Diana Wynne Jones) rip-off in terms of characters, plot and even world building. Our protagonist Foss is a butcher (Sophie is a hatmaker) whose ugliness singles her out from all the pretty girls in her small hamlet. In their kingdom, people are 'snatched' by beautiful sorceresses. These magic-workers take their hearts and leave the men (or sometimes women) they take as broken people. When Foss is then snatched by the only male magic-worker (who is as terrifyingly beautiful as his sisters), she leaves home to find him. Like Sophie Foss joins his household as the housekeeper and befriends the magic house as well as the magic cat (Calcifer was cooler). Sylvester (the sorcerer) is whiny and useless (Howl) but she falls in love with him anyhow even when the spell from her is lifted (yaaaay). Where Jones's prose and writing is fun and has hidden depth, the majority of this book just profits from the pacing and the fondness created through it's closeness to "Howl's Moving Castle". While it is more explicit with feminist topics and sex (not explicit, explicit, but female desire is mentioned etc.), I was overall disappointed. The ending was predictable, I would have wished that Foss had not fallen in love with her sorcerer after the spell had ended because he lacked characterisation and memorability. The world building did not make a lot of sense either and was left unexplored. I enjoyed reading the book nevertheless. It was easy to read, the pacing was alright and the tone was very close to the whimsical tone of "Howl's Moving Castle". 3 stars

So I was a little concerned about the Howl’s comp because it’s a common comp for books that are nothing like Howl’s… But this was really good! Definitely had a LOT of Howl’s vibes, both in the story and the characters, but I think Andrea Eames managed to make them her own. I really liked this!

Despite a bit of a slow start with quite a bit of exposition I ending up really enjoying this. It definitely takes inspiration from Howl’s Moving Castle and there are some nods to that story, but there are also fae vibes and really interesting world building that is uniquely its own.

I really loved the otherworldliness of the magic workers, their ability to enthrall and the horror adjacent side to their magic and identity. Our main characters are lovable, especially a certain cat familiar (honestly Cornelius was my favorite part). The magic wielders and their actions are horrific but their circumstances are complex. At the same time however there was a lot of repetitiveness; the story’s heroine Foss’s self doubt and the reasons for it were tiring and a bit overdone. The layers to this world were interesting to explore, both seen and unseen, as well as how the characters interacted and moved between those layers. The vibe is very fairytale-esque both fanciful and not straying from the darker elements of fairytales.

Thank you very much to NetGalley and the publisher. I received an advance review copy, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Another book that clearly surfaced from tropes and inspiration (Howl's Moving Castle) without actually delving much more past that. Lowkey, I'm tired of fantasy authors giving us the same recycled storylines and characters, slapping other names on it that they clearly got from the internet, and calling it a day. What has happened to originality, to writing because you actually want to create something unique and beautiful, instead of writing in the hope of you're gonna be popular with the romance readers of booktok. sigh. i just don't know man.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

First the positive: The premise of a Howl’s Moving Castle like story with a twist was so intriguing. And while I disliked the execution, the author worked to develop a flawed character. I can appreciate a lead that isn't cookie cutter or self-insert.


That being said, I think the story relies too heavily on the inspiration while lacking the charm of the original. The main character is insecure about her looks, continually reminding us she is overweight and thus unattractive. She makes impulsive choices and sometimes acts in morally grey ways that were hard for me to agree with. I also found the male lead unlikeable.
For all that the story moves very slowly in the beginning, it does a lot of telling versus showing. We are told about how magic works, the diversity of her small village, how people around her feel about her.
Toward the middle and later half, the story gets too broad. There are a couple (flat) villains introduced and so many things to be resolved. Ending for me was unsatisfying.

How whimsical.
I agree with the comparison to Howls Moving Castle.
Cornelius is the star of the story. The villains lack depth. I wish the relationship between Foss and Sylvester was explored more.
I think Foss’ self hatred and constant self doubt was exhausting.
please give me more Cornelius.

I really liked the premise of the book but it really felt flat. I don’t DNF for ARCs to give the book a fair chance to turn itself around I did finish this but it was a struggle.
My main issue was that I majorly disliked both the male and female main characters.

I especially disliked how obsessed the main female character was with her physical appearance she constantly was body checking and thinking about how ugly she thought she was

The plot itself was mediocre and I didn’t find myself enjoy really any aspects of this book

A plain butcher's daughter has a piece of her heart snagged away by a mysterious sorcerer and she becomes enveloped in his world.
I really enjoyed the premise of this book and it is the type of book that I would typically go crazy for! I think that the concept is really well thought out and the world building was well executed.
Unfortunately I had to DNF this book. I had a hard time getting in to the book and it felt a bit too old timey for my tastes. I don't mind books set in ancient times but I do find it hard to keep my inter3st when there is a lot of old timey speak happening in the book that makes me pause to evaluate what is being said.
Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Publishing for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest and fair review.

This book felt like a lukewarm story. It had a dry beginning, then picked up the pace, and then slowed down again,
It tries a lot to appeal to the fans of HMC, maybe even too much so, it is one thing to capture an inspirations vibe, the other to lift from it to build on it your own story. I love hmc and its coded books, however, the set up and the beginning felt way too similar to be just inspired by the book.
Even worse, the characters that are both charming in theirhuman unlikable ways in the original book, feel like cheap caricatures. The best character is by far Cornelius (Calcifer?) who has a semblance of creativity in him.

Also, the excessive use of shite didn’t feel necessary and didn’t fit the the tone of the writing, at least in my opinion.

Maybe my expectations were so high because I heard so much praise about it. Maybe things will change up a bit before the release date, so I might actually give it a peak when it hits the bookstores because it isn’t all bad! Especially the parts that don’t try to bank on source material are interesting - the bits with the heart magic, the house was very cool, and the dialogue was also quite alright. And the cat of course,
However, please make the MC check her self conscious self image. To hear soo often how ugly she is from a first person pov, in so many ways, wasn’t really that necessary. That could be cut down a bit.
The book isn’t all bad of course. Though I didn’t see it exactly as cozy, it’s an ok ride for in-between if you don’t have anything else to read.

Full review will be posted closer to the publishing date on my socmed. Still, a big and heartfelt thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for providing me with this eArc!