Heart magic is the most powerful kind of magic. Foss Butcher is resigned to the fact that she’ll only be the butcher’s ugly and clumsy daughter her whole life. Afterall, her village thinks she's cursed and the beyond beautiful sorceresses that visit her village once a month to collect hearts certainly don’t pay her any mind. So, when the only sorcerer comes to the village instead one day Foss thinks nothing of it. Until she’s snagged by him. Forced to deal with her newfound missing heart, Foss leaves the only home she’s ever known for the city to get back what was taken from her. Befriending a talking cat, a house with a sassy personality and dealing with her ever growing feelings for the sorcerer Sylvester, Foss quickly learns that not everything in the kingdom is as it seems. A blight is spreading in the kingdom and the snagged are quickly losing the battle. Together with the help of her new friends and a lot of running from sorceresses, Foss must do everything she can to save the kingdom or risk losing her own heart along the way.


I wanted to love this book more than I did. As an avid fan of Howl’s Moving Castle I was so excited to immerse myself in this story. And in the story's defense there were some aspects I thoroughly enjoyed. For starters, the side characters brought so much joy and entertainment. Cornelius the cat was such a little gem. He was witty and silly and I loved every interaction he had with Foss. Foss’s father was also such a wonderful character. He was kind and so understanding. Secondly, I really enjoyed the heart magic. I thought it was different and unique. It added something almost gothic to the story that made it feel dark and whimsical all at the same time.

Yet, I found myself wanting more from the story. For example I wanted more out of Foss and Sylvesters relationship dynamic. Unfortunately, their relationship just felt very flat to me. Foss spent the majority of the book pitying herself for how “ugly” she was. And I’m convinced Sylvester didn’t know what was going on half the time. In turn, the intimacy between the two characters felt very non existent until about seventy-five percent of the way through the book and by then, everything felt too rushed. The pacing of the book was also just incredibly slow for my personal tastes. I think less description of things and more interactions between our two characters would have bumped this up a star rating for me.

Overall, this dark reimagining of Howl’s Moving Castle was dark and whimsical but lacked meaningful interactions between our two main characters. I would recommend to anyone who loves talking cats and very attractive (and a tad bit whiny) sorcerers who know just how to steal your heart.

Thank you to Kensington Publishing & NetGalley for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review.

Something's rotten in the Kingdom of—well, we never actually get a proper name for it. The story follows Foss, the plain daughter of a village butcher, who is ensnared by a heart-snatching magic-user. Everyone "knows" that the harvested hearts are used to keep the kingdom safe and prosperous, but no one is very clear on how exactly or even on what happens if more than a little piece of a heart is taken. Despite the high stakes both for Foss and the kingdom, this story manages to be charming as it explores what really makes a human and what hearts are for, in every sense.

I read an advance copy via NetGalley for no consideration other than an honest review.

"They said that magic, real magic, [...] could only be performed in exchange for a human heart."

The premise of this was so intriguing! The concept of heart-snagging is so fun and fairytale-like. I was sure I'd love this. Unfortunately, the writing style didn't appeal to me. I think this is just super subjective, but it read as younger-YA. I felt a bit like I was reading a fantasy middle-schooler's diary. I also wish there was more nuance.

Overall, the ideas are there but the execution wasn't for me.

Thank you so much for the ARC!

I have gone back and forth on my rating here as it’s so close to being a 4 but I just couldn’t do it.

I enjoyed the plot, it was fun and interesting. The mystery kept me hooked as I wanted, no needed, to know more. I loved that there was a balance between whimsy and darkness, it’s such a hard balance to find and I think it was done wonderfully here.

Pacing is a bit sluggish. It takes us far too long to get to the city and for anything interesting to start happening – I can’t help but feel that if the first half was tightened up and more time dedicated to the second half then this would have been a much stronger story.

But the real issue I had here was simply that the characters didn’t work for me.
Foss… Her self image was a challenging topic during this. She often refers to herself as ugly and I just don’t feel like this was particularly well dealt with. While I do love that the author didn’t just instantly make her beautiful or do the whole ‘you were beautiful all along’ trope I would have loved more nuance around this conversation about not fitting in with beauty standards. I didn’t need her to magically solve all of her insecurities and negative self beliefs but I wish this had been explored more rather than her negative self talk just making for often uncomfortable reading.

The relationship between Foss and Sylvester just isn’t there. It’s painfully underdeveloped. Which is a huge shame as theres so much potential there for them. But, they just don’t spend anywhere near enough time together for me to buy into this. That’s completely putting aside the magic tying them together and what a complicated mess that makes of any relationship developing there..

I couldn’t write this review without throwing in Cornelius. He’s a stand out and, again, I wish we had gotten more exploration with him.

Overall, I think if the first half of the book had been significantly cut and the second half more developed and expanded upon this could have been a real stand out. As it is, it was a nice read but it failed to fully deliver for me.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for providing me with this free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A Harvest of Hearts is a dark fairytale romance about a butchers daughter who has her heart ensnared by a not very great sorcerer.
Foss Butcher lives in a small village with her father. Foss suffers from fantasy girl plain Jane syndrome. She is smart, sassy and capable so of course she is slightly overweight, not attractive and generally an outcast in her town. In this fantasy world glamorous and beautiful sorceresses roam freely and magically steal away portions of hearts from the citizens. For their own good of course.
One day Sylvester, the only male sorcerer, arrives in town and with one extended look snags a portion of Foss’s heart. Determined to restore herself Foss travels to the big city and manages to get a job as Sylvester’s housekeeper in his magical home.
Thank you to NetGalley and Erowhen for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review. This book is getting 2.5⭐️ from me.
Not even the best character, Cornelius the talking cat, can save this book from its problems. First this book is way too long, the relationship between the MCs didn’t work for me and most of the characters were too one dimensional to care about.

3 1/2 stars :) nothing I love more than whimsical vibes and a talking cat!

Thank you netgalley and publisher for this arc!

3.5 for me but I’ll round up for goodreads. I really wanted to love this book whole heartedly (haha get it?) but I think it is too confused in what genre it wishes to be to get my full marks.

This story and main characters have all the trappings of a cozy fantasy but veers so much into the macabre and the vulgar so often that you can never get fully comfortable.

And unfortunately, my favorite parts of the story are those that appear borrowed/inspired/ or at minimum repeated from other works I’ve preferred, namely Howl’s Moving Castle and The Paper Magician. But it also compares poorly to the charming Sorcery and Small Magics which has a VERY similar curse at the center of its plot.

The magic system and world are unique; I quite liked Foss and Sylvester’s relationship; I loved Cornelius and the Magic House. But you can get this story done already by other novels without the blood, gore, piss, reference to “cunties”, shits and such. And I unfortunately would reach for one of those other similar titles any day of the week rather than reread this one.

ARC FROM NETGALLEY FOR MY HONEST OPINION

I wanted to love this SO MUCH, but ultimately this one ended up in a middle tier for me. The story was interesting, but took way too long to truly get started, and that pace was bogged down further with the writing style. I do think many people will LOVE this however, I just wasn't one of them.

I do not have words that sum up my experience with this book. i felt like i was in another world and i never ever wanted to leave. I loved everything about this book. the magic, the love story, the CAT! the talking cat. obsessed.

i can not wait for this book to hit shelves because i know it will be a sell out book. it is so so good and anyone that loves fantasy will fall in love with this book.

2.5/5 ⭐️
I thought I’d really enjoy the premise of this book but the execution kinda was eh. The FMC while very human also could only focus on her ugliness and it became such a common thing throughout that in the middle of something that had nothing to with her being homely she would lament on it. It just became too much. And then suddenly she was over it? There was no real growth just immediately flip flopped to being okay with who she was. It really took away from the story the amount of lamenting on how she looked. It ultimately decreased my buy in and care about the character.

I did find the magic interesting and had wanted to see it develop more but it was alright throughout. I felt connected with, of all the characters, the cat Cornelius and really felt for that character. The plot felt rushed in places and I was unsure how we got to certain things happening and how the FMC was suddenly able to succeed in things but at the same time be so feeble and unable to do things at the same time. The MMC was very shallowly developed I didn’t feel like his progression made sense from one thing to another.

I ultimately wouldn’t recommend this one to my friends because I genuinely do not think that they’d enjoy it.

2.5 rounded up to the 3 stars

This book started strong, with engaging characters and an intriguing premise, but as the story progressed, it began to feel repetitive. The central theme of beauty was woven throughout the narrative, but Foss’s constant self-loathing over her appearance became tedious by the end. Her and Sylvester's sudden love felt unconvincing, as for most of the book Foss is under a spell compelling her to love him, and Sylvester’s grasp of love seemed shallow. Additionally, the fate of the Snagged was disheartening—they were deceived and then simply discarded, which felt unresolved and unnecessarily cruel. While the book had significant potential and moments of engagement, it ultimately fell short of its promise.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC to review!
Rating (on a scale of 1 to 5, 5 being excellent)
Quality of writing: 4
Pace: 2
Plot development: 3
Characters: 3
Enjoyability: 2
Ease of Reading: 3

Overall rating: 3 out of 5

I found this to be a lovely cozy fantasy with some darker elements too that kept me interested. Foss as a character is humorous and while maybe a little too down on herself, a strong and fun character to see the story through. This is reminiscent of How's Moving Castle in many ways as advertised, but definitely has its own flavor as well. A good book for someone looking for a fun story with some humor and heart. Pun intended.

My unrestrained thoughts: Talking cat, talking cat, talking cat, talking cat, TALKING CAT! All hail Cornelius!
Now, onto a little sophisticated review – it may contain tiny spoilers!

Andrea Eames’s A Harvest of Hearts is set in a world where women who use magic are more than just the norm – they’re royalty. They are gorgeous (except for the King, he SUCKS) and can make people fall to their feet with just one look. Under their ‘reign,’ you can say the Kingdom is faring well – great crops, healthy livestock, thriving subjects, and no deaths during childbirth. But the basis of these sorceresses’ magic is people’s hearts.

Real, actual hearts that they grab from the villagers’ chests. Yeah…

It is in this environment that we meet Foss, the protagonist, and the self-proclaimed anomaly. She’s cursed (Her mother died in childbirth), ugly in appearance (a little chubby and redhead) and knows how to wield a knife (her Da is a butcher and they own a shop) – everything a proper woman isn’t supposed to be.

Her village is on the edges of the Kingdom, so the sorceresses’ visits are quick but frequent. One day though, instead of beautiful magic workers, it is a handsome sorcerer (another anomaly – they were meant to be!!!) who steps out of a pitch-black carriage. He snags Foss’s heart and leaves without so much as a back glance. The pain of her heart having been harvested is so great that Foss follows him to the City and lives in his House… as a housemaid.

She cooks, cleans, stands up to the House’s antics, finds a friend in a talking cat, and keeps searching for her missing heart in secret. But what she uncovers is something dark and sinister, capable of destroying their Kingdom and everything Foss and the people believed was true…

I wasn’t expecting that much from this book, especially after seeing how the first few chapters drone on and on. But I was surprisingly hooked. Foss is a great protagonist. She’s self-deprecating yet resilient, brave, and caring, even for the people she has met once or twice (Collin and Millie). Her actions are not reactive – she proactively takes the steps to make things happen the way wants. And I LOVE IT!

Another peculiar thing I liked was how it reminded me of Twilight. I don’t know if anyone else noticed, but Clarissa really felt like Rosalie Hale and Foss-Sylvester were like Bella and Edward in the latter parts of the book. Clarissa was peak Rosalie right before she died and Foss and Sylvester were practically replaced by Bella and Edward in the forest scene. Was Howl’s Moving Castle just a deceptive inspiration and it was really Twilight? JK… Haha… unless?


What I liked about the book:

o Cornelius:
Do I really need to explain this? But I will! I think the best thing Foss did was get the cat to talk. Cornelius made the story a whole lot better, with his haughty but helpful attitude, obsession with meat, and tsundere personality. When everything jumped on the boring track (the cooking-cleaning days) or fell flat (the uncovering of the mystery), he was there to save the day, quite literally. I was almost convinced the author would kill him for the ‘plot’ but thank god he was saved. Or I would’ve jumped into that black tunnel and fished him out myself.
Also, did anyone see a hint of Min Yoongi in him? Like if Yoongi were a cat, he’d behave exactly the same. No… just myself? Okay…

o World-building:
Despite the droning on about the world in the early chapters, I liked Foss’s magical world. The author had definitely taken her time to build this world, adding a believable history, an exciting conflict, and a satisfying resolution. Plus, the way the book introduced the magic – as if it was a slightly weird but still a commonplace, expected occurrence – made the world seem like a normal one too.
It was only after I closed the book that I realized that… that’s not right. That them stealing hearts is so wrong, on so many levels. I guess that’s a sign of the storytelling being so immersive that my thoughts were in line with Foss’s throughout the book.

o The narrative structure:
Usually, I find the protagonists’ reasons to kickstart the book superficial. But, in this one, everything just… made sense, you know? I liked the natural progression of the things happening – there was no outrageous curveball.
There was a big enough motive for Foss to go to the city and why she was the only one immune to magic workers’ wily charms. Also, their journey to the Other Kingdom, their reasoning behind the corruption, and the epilogue. Everything fit in together like puzzle pieces for me. In other words, I loved it and I’m so grateful for it!


What I wasn’t impressed with:

While I’m a sucker for slow-burn romances, I couldn’t see any chemistry between Foss and Sylvester, especially at the start. She spent a whole lotta time cooking for him, without even interacting, save for some meaningful conversations. And then, suddenly Sylvester was trashing the House because he thought she left and… I was confused. It was obvious that they’d be together and that stole the anticipation out of this supposed slow burn.

It was a pretty bland romance that reached its peak right before the big showdown. It would’ve been much better if they had connected/confessed much earlier – that would’ve added more sense and meaning to her reaction when Sylvester died.

And that leads me to Sylvester himself. I can see he was supposed to be likable – beautiful, smart, magical, brooding, complex, what’s not to like? – but he had no personality. And it frustrated me because his backstory is so interesting, but it remains largely unexplored. My initial notes literally had the sentence – I guess the House has more personality than Sylvester – and that about sums up what I thought of him.

Another thing that sort of annoyed me was the villain himself. The King should’ve been really scary, or at the very least, intimidating. And he was none of that. There was no evil streak to his personality (which was barely there, anyway). I didn’t feel the fear of his presence nor was I relieved when he died. Even Clarissa was a better villain than this lame-ass skeleton called King.


My Final Thoughts?

Despite its glaring problems, A Harvest of Hearts is definitely a book I’ll buy for myself or my loved ones. I guess I’m biased about books with awesome world-building that actually makes sense, like this one. But, ultimately, it is Foss and (as a proud cat lover) Cornelius who put this book in a to-buy pile for me!

Thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Publishing for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!
#netgalley #arcreview

I enjoyed this but ultimately don’t think it was for me - felt like it was for a younger reader although the language didn’t lend itself that way. The opening leans too heavily on Howl’s Moving Castle and I felt like I was reading fan fiction - the narrative style may have lent that way, but I think the blurb didn’t help by directly referencing Howl. After seeing that I was looking for references and it ended up being all I could see, which is probably unfair! I did like the book and the characters, and was glad I persevered.

Thank you to the publishers and Netgalley for the advance copy, I don’t want to lower the average score as I don’t think that would be fair, so won’t be publishing my review on goodreads.

3.5☆
Indeed a fitting story for lovers of Howl's Moving Castle highlighting elements like a sentient house and an unusual friendship between a cat and our main character. The book shows not only the superficiality of appearances and a gap between social classes but also a magical and cozy world that keeps you hooked for the entirety of the story with unexpected twists.
The narrative picks up after the first quarter of the book so I had to be a bit more patient then I usually am. On the same note, unfortunately for me, I wished there was a bit more worldbuilding( keeping the reader in the dark made the story more alluring from time to time but-).
The writing takes an interesting form, sounding almost like an ongoing conversation/monologue and even though the dialogue is a bit awkward at times it doesn't interfere with making the reader fall in love with the characters.

My thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

2.8/5 Rounded up
I will read anything that compares itself to Howl’s Moving Castle and you can see how the author integrated similar aspects into this story but adding a bit of a darker theme. The source of magic in this world comes by harvesting hearts, hence the title. FMC Foss gets ensorcelled by the only male wizard making her feel so sick that she has to go find him. Pretending to be there as a maid, she manages to live in his house and look for the part of her heart she believes is missing. That’s where I think the story dragged, for the first half not much happened.

Sylvester is described as this powerful sorcerer with otherworldly beauty but that's where the Howl likeness stops. He lacked the personality and barely does anything for half the book and his interactions with Foss where so short that by the time they got together the romance felt rushed. And keeping in mind that Foss was under his spell for majority of the story didn't make me believe in their love either. Also Foss as a main character was so self deprecating, constantly mentioning how ugly she was and how unlikely she was to be loved made me not like her character that much. One thing that stood out to me and this is not something I notice enough to mention but here there where so many unnecessary similes that I hyper fixated on them, taking me out of the story. The story had some whimsy elements like the sentient house and talking cat which I enjoyed, but that was not enough for me to love this story overall..


Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Publishing for this ARC, all opinions are my own.

ARC Book Review!

A harvest of hearts by Andrea Eames

3 / 5⭐️

1 / 5 🔥


Okay soo I dipped into my 2025 ARC TBR for this one. 🙈 Thanks @netgalley for the advanced reader copy!

I wanted to love it so badly. It had a unique concept with potentially loveable characters but unfortunately it fell flat for me. Not to say it was bad, but I think it didn’t live up to its full potential and I was just expecting more from it. The pacing dragged for most of the story and then felt like a rushed finished ( think a high school student who has to write a 1000 word essay and once they hit 950 they wrap it up in an unsatisfactory manner…). I found a lot of the resistance was written away using the cat. If the FMC got herself into a bind, well, she was suddenly out of it because the cat followed no rules and just resolved her problem. It was very anticlimactic. I would have liked the FMC to dive into her suffering a bit more. ( let’s hear more about the mother! )

Please keep in mind while reading my review that I have not experienced Howls Moving Castle. One would think that this is a different story and that shouldn’t matter. however, I did read some other reviews that may have suggested a previous knowledge of that story made this one easier to fall into? I can’t say myself but it may be something to explore if you want to try this story out.

This book is for you if you like :

Magic
Slow burn
Cute cat sidekick
Corrupt rulers
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✨A Harvest of Hearts by Andrea Eames✨

I was thrilled to receive this ARC and dove in with high expectations. I so badly wanted to love this book, but, unfortunately, within the first five pages, I had a sinking feeling that it wasn’t going to work for me. While it wasn’t all doom and gloom—there were some bright spots—it ultimately fell short of what I had hoped for.

The beginning didn’t grab me at all. The world-building felt like listening to a 90-year-old recount a meandering, never-ending story. My neurodivergent brain just couldn’t stay engaged and quickly wandered off in search of something more stimulating. On top of that, the protagonist, Foss, spends a good portion of the early chapters lamenting her underwhelming and tragic life. This running commentary oscillated between grating and earning my grudging respect, but it didn’t make for the most compelling start.

Sylvester, the other central character, felt woefully underdeveloped. He lacked personality, and I found it nearly impossible to connect with him. To make matters worse, every time his name appeared, I couldn’t help but think of the Looney Tunes cat, which pulled me even further out of the story.

The villain, unfortunately, didn’t fare much better. A mash-up of themes and characters borrowed from Howl’s Moving Castle and a generic “evil king” trope, he felt derivative and uninspired. This lack of originality left me wanting more depth and complexity from the story’s antagonist, which was yet another letdown.

That said, there were moments of levity, and one of the brightest was a cat named 🐈‍⬛Cornelius. I absolutely loved that name, and he brought much-needed humor and companionship to Foss. Honestly, Cornelius was the true highlight of the book.

Unfortunately, the romance—a central element of the story—was a disappointment. It felt contrived and unconvincing from beginning to end, lacking the authenticity or emotional depth needed to make me care.

On top of all this, the book was just too long—or perhaps too wordy. It felt bloated, and the pacing suffered for it.

Despite my frustrations, I see potential in the author. There’s a strong vocabulary at work here—or maybe just an abiding love for a thesaurus! While I don’t think I’ll be picking up another one of her books anytime soon, I’m holding out hope that she’ll refine her craft and deliver something truly special in the future.

The writing is vivid and well done, I enjoyed the way the story was brought to life and the descriptions of things. Howls moving castle is a favourite of mine so I was excited to read something that drew inspiration from it, but enjoyed that it created its own unique space without taking too much from the Howls Moving Castle Idea. It’s definitely lower on the romance scale, which didn’t bother me, as not every book has to have a huge amount of romance to be great. I would have liked to see the book delve more into some of the characters but overall I really enjoyed the book as a whole.