This book gave me the perfect Howl and Sophie vibes! I won't lie, about 13-16% in I really thought about DNFing. The writing style was hard for me, and it felt very info-dumpy. However, I'm glad I gave it until 20%. The book really picked up, and I became interested in what was going on. I love Cornelius SO MUCH, 10/10 would give him all of my bacon. Honestly, this ended up being a perfectly fun, cozy read.

I would say this book is for lovers of cozy fantasy. It definitely relies heavily on vibes and is atmospheric. I was interested from the start but it takes a bit to get moving. The magic kingdom is intriguing. I think younger readers would definitely connect most with the main character. I think if you want a magical escape that isn’t crazy high stakes, this is a win.

I loooove the cover and especially the version with pretty sprayed edges. The publisher did a great job with this, it certainly stands out amidst a sea of similar looking fantasy books.

3.5 ⭐️

This is a cute cozy fantasy story with slow burn romance and a main character that has a lot of self esteem issues. Foss, our main girl, has a sidekick called Cornelius. And he's a cat!! I loved him, Foss and Sylvester, what a great trio.

A lot happens, but this story never feels complicated. Maybe the book could've been shorter, but I enjoyed it nevertheless.

Now, I was a little scared this book only had 24 chapters, meaning they would be looooong and I do not vibe with that. However, Andrea's writing style is very easygoing and smooth, I flew through this one!

This was an original and unexpected gem of a book. I found myself rooting hard for Foss. Loved her. I liked how she opened the sorcerer's eyes to what he was blind to. A very good book and I am excited to read what the author puts out next.

First of all I would like to say thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for this Arc in exchange for an honest review.

After finishing this book I can say that if you are a fan of Howl's moving castle then this is the right story for you. Its a cross between a romance and cozy fantasy with a well written slowburn romance included, however there was some deeper emotional level than I was expecting from the blurb.

Also the biggest bonus is Cornelius the talking cat who is the ultimate snarky companion to the main characters.

Really enjoyed this book and will be waiting to see what the author produces next.

I really wanted to like this more but there was no connection with the main characters and the only one I enjoyed was the talking cat.

Thank you NetGalley and Erewhon Books for the eARC! Foss Butcher knows she's not pretty. From harsh pranks and abusive words thrown at her from fellow villagers, she knows she's not the sort that others will fall for. Though her heart is wounded, there is some benefit as she feels certain that she would also never fall victim to the soceresses that some to town and steal the hearts of the villagers. But when a young and handome male sorcerer comes to town, Foss is angered to discover that he has taken part of her heart. Unable to live her normal life, Foss leaves home to seek out the sorcerer and reclaim her heart, but when she arrives at his home, she discovers a world of dark and dangerous magic. With a house that is made of magic, a cat that can talk, and a surly sorcerer, Foss uncovers the secrets of hearts and the dangerous plot that could destroy her home and sets out on a quest to defeat the dark magic and get back her heart.

3 stars. Not bad, but not great either, this one landed somewhere in the middle for me.

First off, it took me forever to finish this book, and I’m not sure if that’s on me or the book itself. Either way, I did finish it, and... it’s okay. I never felt truly invested, but it’s not a bad book per se. That said, this was marketed as an adult fantasy, but it felt very juvenile, closer to young adult at best.

The magic system had potential and was definitely interesting, but it wasn’t explored as deeply as I would’ve liked. As for the characters, I don’t have strong feelings about the main ones, which is a shame. Especially, the MMC who barely interacts with the FMC, which made the supposed romance fall flat for me. However, I did love the cat! I didn't really like the pacing and felt that it dragged in several places, making it hard to stay engaged. Plus, a lot of the plot felt repetitive. This book could've been shorter but oh well, whatever.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing the ARC! Wishing the author the best of luck with the release!

It has taken me months to finish this book. It was a genuinely gruelling experience.

First of all, I beg you: do not believe the comparisons with "Howl's Moving Castle"! This is a much darker book, and not whimsical at all. Not only because of the actual contents of the story, but also because of the main character, Foss. She spent most of her page time lamenting her ugliness, and how her appearence made her unlovable and hardly worthy of being alive; reading about her constant self-hatred was exhausting. Of course, her relationship with beauty and how she's viewed by others (and how she, in turn, views herself), is a big theme in the book, but I don't think it was particularly well handled. I've realised that, while I'd love to see more characters in fiction that look average or even ugly according to conventional beauty standards, I'd want them to be at least neutral about it.

The characters in general were pretty weak. Foss felt quite passive throughout the story, and her love interest didn't fare much better: Sylvester spent most of the novel lounging neutrally, which didn't make for the most exciting story. I found him extremely bland, and in turn their romance suffered quite a lot: not only did I not believe in it, but I also simply did not care about it. Too bad, considering I actually find the idea of a character like Sylvester (no spoilers) pretty interesting. Anyways, the only characters I liked were Da (Foss's father) and Cornelius (the talking black cat).

The worldbuilding and magic system were vague and inconsistent.

The writing was alright, even though at times it tried a little to hard to sound folksy and old-fashioned. The author was also clearly trying to inject some humour into the story, but it didn't quite work for me (still, it definitely wasn't as bad as The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels, and I know that humour is super duper subjective).

Huge thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review! I'm genuinely sad I didn't like this, but I think there might be an audience for it out there? If you're not super picky about your romances, you don't need the worldbuilding to always make sense, or are just desperate for a talking black cat, maybe give it a try!

This is a heart-warming fantasy with characters and magical setting reminiscent of studio ghibli stories. Foss is a homely butcher’s daughter in a kingdom that harvests its inhabitants hearts to maintain prosperity. Everyone is fine with this sacrifice as hearts are usually taken in increments by the city’s Sorceresses, that is until Foss is entranced by a Sorcerer. She is not okay with the annoying heartsickness, thank you very much. Foss leaves to travel to the city to find for the Sorcerer, Sylvester, and get her heart back. She ends up staying as his housekeeper since the close proximity makes her heart hurt less. Foss soon discovers there’s much more to the Sorcerer (and his sister Sorcereresses) and the heart magic than she originally thought.

The books is written in a fun vernacular that is both easy to read and the harsh no-nonsense of the assumed “lower” class. Sometimes Foss will break the fourth wall. I really enjoyed the overall story. The world was crazy unique but similar to other stories (studio ghibli, specially Howl’s Moving Castle). It was mostly cozy until it’s really not… but still a fantastic plot. The romance was absolutely precious. I was literally in tears over one scene. It was so fun to watch Foss realize her true beauty.

I absolutely recommend this book. It’s cute, fast, sweet, intense, and absolutely magical.

Thank you Erewhon and NetGalley for the egalley.

🌟🌟🌟 [3]
🌶🌶 [FTB]
𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦.

I loved the concept, and I'll be honest and say that it is the reason why I requested to read the ARC. The premise was intriguing, and the promotion, suggesting it for fans of Howl's Moving Castle, was not too far off the mark. A Harvest of Hearts tells a story about Foss, an ordinary and plain girl, having her heart Snagged by a Sorcerer who came to her village. From there, she travels to the city to work as a housekeeper for the Sorcerer in hopes to free her heart.

The main characters are Foss (the butcher's daughter), Sylvester (the sorcerer), and Cornelius (the wonderfully witty talking cat). You could also count the sentient house as part of the cast too.

Foss's character is strong and resilient. There's no doubt that she shows a lot of determination in doing things her way. She's got this amazing "now or never" attitude, but sometimes she gets so focused on herself that she doesn't think about how her actions affect others. It would’ve been cool if we got to see her grow and mature more throughout the book. She also has a habit of repeating questions which could be subtly adjusted for a smoother narrative flow, as it was quite exasperating, even for Cornelius. Her morality also seemed situational at times.

I can't say much on Sylvester as we spent half of the book having him distant. He's not as eccentric as I expected him to be, which is truly a shame, and I would've liked it if we got to spend more time with him. Maybe a heart-to-heart scene would've been a nice addition. But he is a pretty endearing character.

Cornelius is without a doubt my favourite. His wit and outspoken nature was a delight. He's not afraid to express his annoyance—especially when Foss repeatedly asks the same questions. He's perceptive and often sees the best path forward, a stark contrast to Foss's impulsive nature.

Foss and Sylvester had a very wary interaction with each other throughout the book and so, while anticipated, their romance felt underdeveloped. I think having more scenes illustrating the evolution of their feelings would significantly enhance their romance and feel less abrupt. The writing of Foss's repetitive descriptions of the "snag magic" and its tugging sensation felt redundant. The pacing had a good flow, but the ending felt quick. Maybe some struggle would've been nice to see, or maybe a little fight or tussle between characters.

In the end, A Harvest of Hearts is an enjoyable read with a compelling premise. Despite my complaints, I didn't have a hard time reading it. I can see this book being a good read for readers who enjoy fantasy with dark undertones, but not so for those expecting heavy romance.

𝘔𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘎𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺, 𝘌𝘳𝘦𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘯 𝘉𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘈𝘯𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘢 𝘌𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘈𝘙𝘊 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸. 𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘮𝘺 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴.

A Harvest of Hearts was one book I was so incredibly excited to sink my teeth into, it was such a refreshing story and I was able to really get into this headspace where I was just pulled deeper and deeper into the story with the characters. Thankyou so much for giving me the opportunity to read this story!

A fine take on what it means to sacrifice in the name of love and the duty one has to their heart! The magic system was original and helps to immerse readers deeper into the story! The story itself is structured around a flawed female main character and her slow burn romance! The ending left a little something more to be desired, but overall an easy read!

Highlights
~a heroine who’s actually ugly!
~the kingdom’s downfall…is mould
~one very excellent talking cat
~sentient houses ftw
~put that heart back where it came from, or so help me!

I probably wouldn’t have picked up Harvest of Hearts if it wasn’t being published by Erewhon Press, aka my favourite indie – and that would have been a shame, because it’s a marvellous little book!

The blurb is not wrong: Harvest does bear a tiny, superficial resemblance to Howl’s Moving Castle – they both feature brilliant, no-nonsense girls ending up as housekeepers to ridiculous wizards under false pretences. They both have wonderful not-human companion characters – Calcifer in Howl’s Moving Castle, and Cornelius the cat in Harvest.

But that’s it! They are not the same story, and Harvest never struck me as derivative. The similarities are only set-dressing. So please adjust your expectations accordingly – if you’re looking for another Howl’s Moving Castle, this is not it.

Now that that’s out of the way, let’s talk about what Harvest is!

the city’s blooming flowers that clambered over every wall, great fat things with too many petals, like women wearing all their best clothes at once.

Harvest is defined by Foss, the main character who is also our narrator. Foss is a delightfully no-nonsense, practical young woman, very direct and blunt and – not crude, exactly, but – earthy? Frank. She calls it like she sees it, and a lot of what she says are things plenty of us have to be thinking, but that almost no one mentions;

he stepped a few feet ahead and led me forwards, tail up and twitching, his little cat arsehole winking at me with each step.

If you have ever walked behind a cat, you have absolutely had this moment too!

I really, really loved this about Foss. I loved that she could talk about the practicalities of being a butcher without flinching or prettifying the work; I loved that she masturbates and doesn’t couch that in euphemisms either (take a second and think about how rarely you see any mention of women masturbating in fiction); I loved her phrasing, the imagery and word choices that make her sound like exactly what she is, a young woman who’s grown up in a rural village, doing manual, blue-collar work, deeply sceptical of Fancy Stuff. A neat example is the repeated use of the word ‘sparklies’ to refer to the Extremely Expensive jewel-work all over rich people’s clothes and carriages and whatnot – instead of being awed, instead of waxing poetic about jewels and gems, we get the dismissive, kind of patronising term ‘sparklies’, as if she’s talking about kids playing dress-up or birds collecting bottle-caps. This kind of attention to detail is everywhere present in Foss’ narration, and helps make the sense of her personality so clear and strong.

I can’t remember the last time I saw an author craft first-person narration with so much care, paying so much attention to word choice and imagery, making sure every word reinforces the character. It’s just – *chef’s kiss*

a long black leather boot with a shine on it like the wet on a dog’s nose

I also really, REALLY love that FOSS ISN’T PRETTY. She’s not even ‘plain’; she’s outright unattractive, physically, and is well aware of it. It’s so freaking rare for us to get a fantasy heroine (especially one in a story that has such a strong romantic element) who isn’t beautiful that Foss’ looks are almost a novelty, but they’re also plot-relevant. Being Snagged means Foss is magically compelled to love the sorcerer who Snagged her – and one of the many torturous aspects of this is her belief that someone ugly crushing on someone who is magically beautiful (as the sorcerer is) is extra shameful; she’s humiliated by it, by this aspect of it specifically. That her free will has been taken away is already awful, but she’s aware of how ridiculous most people would think her for swooning after someone so pretty when she isn’t, and that burns badly. Honestly, anyone who’s ever had doubts about their looks (and who hasn’t?) is going to identify with Foss a lot; it’s not that she goes on and on about not being pretty, because she doesn’t – but her moments of shame, shyness, unhappiness about it cut to the core.

And – minor spoiler, I guess? – no one magics her pretty at any point. I was so relieved that she got to stay unpretty!

There was nary a beggar to be seen. They probably gave them a kick and sent them rolling downhill if they dared to venture up this far.

That the sorcerers are all exquisitely, inhumanly beautiful is a powerful contrast to Foss’ looks and status, and I really appreciated that. Although the fact that the king, who is the ultimate villain, is fat and ugly, undermined it in a way that surprised me. That was jarring.

(Also don’t really love that the sorcerers are actually sorceresses – they’re all women, except for the one man who Snagged Foss, who is the love interest and thus Not Evil like the rest.)

I disagree with all the PR calling this a cosy fantasy, by the way. It’s…really not? Foss is in physical and psychological anguish for most of the book, and the big plot is the discovery that the sorcerers the kingdom depends on are routinely killing people – slowly and awfully – to power their magic. She’s almost killed multiple times. The sorcerers are genuinely monstrous (wait until you discover how they become sorcerers) and their magic runs on literal human hearts, which we see a lot of. The only way to save the day is to sacrifice – quite a lot!!! A very big, important thing!!! We even have magical biological warfare, and repeated insistence that there is no other way to save the day. It’s really not sweet and nice.

This is where I think Harvest fell down: although the first two thirds of the book are great, towards the end the story was trying to hold on to the…not-quite-cosy…vibe, while raising the stakes to the stratosphere. And you just can’t have both. The result was kind of messy and felt very rushed, and I wish the stakes had been kept much lower – say, to what they originally are, before the Le Gasp!reveal about what’s going on outside the kingdom. And I was really pissed off by the final pages, which pulls the teeth of the climax in a way that I think is just cowardly. If you go ahead and actually View Spoiler », one of the biggest, scariest things you can DO as a storyteller…COMMIT, don’t magic-wand fix it seconds later! That just. Retroactively ruins it, makes it all meaningless.

However, I think readers more invested in happy endings than I am won’t hate the ending like I did. So there’s that?

The older lady with the fancy clothing cupped her face in her hands and started to weep. And I do mean weep, not cry. Crying was a low-bred thing to do, but weeping was higher-pitched, and involved a lace handkerchief and small, ladylike sniffs.

Despite this being a story about magic and sorcerers and talking cats, there’s a streak of – realism? Kinda? – running through it that, like Foss’ narration, does elevate Harvest into something noteworthy, whatever I think of the last chunk of the book. Foss has to look for toilets, which most stories just ignore; there are moments when her body gives out on her in ways that fiction, especially fantasy, doesn’t like to talk about. At one point, after being kept captive, she says she can’t run any more; she’s told she has to…and instead of conveniently finding new strength, she snaps back that she CAN’T. And she can’t because, bluntly, nobody could, after what she’s just gone through. Maybe the best thing about this book is that Foss is human, with all that that means, and Eames never forgets it, refusing to gloss over the reality of that, even in a genre where doing so is the default. I really want to highlight and applaud that!

And it’s a big part of why I don’t regret reading Harvest, why I think it is a good book, even if the last act is noticeably weaker. It’s not the best thing I’ve ever read, but it was still a really good time, and Foss is worth reading for all by herself.

(I genuinely cannot overstate how much I love Foss. FOSS IS THE BEST!)

Check out some other reviews – I know my message is a bit mixed, here. But I’m glad I read it. And I will happily keep an eye out for more books from Eames in the future!

Foss vive en un reino mágico donde las hechiceras cosechan corazones. Es decir, les quitan el corazón a unos cuantos elegidos y lo utilizan para hacer magia. La persona despojada de su corazón se enamora de la hechicera al punto de estar dispuesta a dar su vida por ella. Foss es una chica ordinaria; su vida es monótona, sabe que siempre trabajará con su papá en la carnicería y que nunca se casará. Sin embargo, un día su vida cambia cuando conoce a un hechicero, Sylvester. Lo que le causa conmoción es que es un hombre, ya que nunca había escuchado de hechiceros masculinos, pensaba que solo existían hechiceras mujeres. Cuando lo conoce, queda embelesada por su belleza. Sabe que es peligroso acercarse a ellos, pero no piensa que podría llamar su atención. Pronto descubre que no es invisible para él, ya que parte de su corazón ha sido cosechado. Al terminar la cosecha él regresa al castillo, lo que hace que a ella duela estar lejos de él. Lo único que quiere es servirle y estar a su lado, pero sabe que esos sentimientos son producto del robo de su corazón y debe recuperarlo para poder vivir o pronto sucumbirá.




Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

DNF’ing

The premises of this book intrigued me, however the writing style was what made it difficult to get into. From the beginning it felt like a major info-dump, and to a point where I couldn’t exactly decipher where in the story we were supposed to be - present, or past tense.

I’m so glad others enjoyed it, and I hope to pick this up again one day to retry it. Perhaps it was wrong timing for me, but I just found myself a bit bored and going into a slump

"A Harvest of Hearts" is a delightful and whimsical fantasy that perfectly blends cozy charm with thrilling adventure. The unique premise—a butcher's daughter who has a piece of her heart stolen by a clumsy sorcerer—immediately captivates, and the story unfolds with a perfect balance of humor and heart. Foss is a wonderfully relatable and endearing protagonist, and her interactions with the petulant sorcerer, Sylvester, and his witty talking cat are consistently entertaining. The world-building is imaginative and well-realized, and the underlying mystery surrounding the heart-harvesting magic adds a layer of intrigue that keeps the reader engaged. Sarah Beth Durst's praise is well-deserved; this is a truly unique and unforgettable story that feels both classic and refreshingly original. Highly recommended for fans of cozy fantasy with a touch of magic and a whole lot of heart.

If you’re a fan of Howl’s Moving Castle, this book is going to steal your heart (pun intended). A Harvest of Hearts is a whimsical yet slightly darker take on the fantasy romance genre, with an unforgettable cast of characters and a world that feels both magical and deeply unsettling.

Foss Butcher is such a relatable and endearing protagonist. Her clumsiness, practicality, and self-doubt made her feel incredibly real. Her relationship with her father was one of the most touching aspects of the story—it was so sweet and heartfelt that it had me tearing up multiple times.

The story has a darker edge with its concept of heart-harvesting magic, but Andrea Eames balances that with humor and warmth. The enchanted House (complete with a talking cat!) was an absolute highlight, as were Foss's struggles to navigate her curse and her growing connection with Sylvester. The truth about Sylvester and the sorceresses was so unique and intriguing—I couldn’t put the book down as the mystery unfolded.

The world-building was fascinating, with layers of magic and societal tension that gave the story incredible depth. It’s a book about love, self-worth, and courage, and it delivers on every level. Highly recommend for fans of Howl’s Moving Castle and anyone who loves a story with humor, heart, and a touch of darkness.

This is a cozy romantic fantasy novel in which sorcerers steal pieces of people’s hearts in order to perform their spells. However, this practice is not without a cost, and leaves the people with stolen hearts with chronic suffering until they eventually die. Foss Butcher is one such victim, and is determined to track down the missing piece of her heart. Her search leads her to the home of Sylvester, a sorcerer whose excess power fuels the magic of his sentient house (cue the Howl’s Moving Castle comparisons). Foss moves in and starts acting as Sylvester’s housekeeper, mainly kept company by his talking cat (cue the Sabrina the Teenage Witch comparisons).
I had several issues with this book. First, as may be surmised from my earlier comments, I found it pretty derivative, and Sylvester is not nearly as interesting a character as Howl. The magic system was very vague and left much to be desired. The worst offense, in my eyes, is that so much of Foss’s agency was taken by the heart-stealing, causing her eventual romance with Sylvester to be at best inadequately nuanced. and at worst, disgustingly coercive.

Interesting folktale of witches from the city coming to villages to steal bits of hearts from the villagers. The story focuses on Foss Butcher, a village girl, enamored by the the first male witch to visit - a sorcerer - and goes to the city to seek him out.