A few moments were there when I was not sure what to think of this book but in the end this was what made it perfect for me.

This is the book I wanted to read after watching Howl's Moving Castle.

I loved it. There is a weird sorcerer, a talking cat, a dark mystery, evil magic and a protagonist who takes some time to fall in love with.

Foss hates her body and this is what threw me off for some parts of the book. But like Foss I learnt to love her exactly as she is.

Needless to say, after finishing my ARC I preordered the special edition, as I will reread this quite a few times.

Studio Ghibli eat your heart out! a whimsical and magical adventure story that follows our FMC Foss, the butchers daughter, who has been 'snagged' by Sylvester the Sorcerer.
I am a huge fan of Howls moving castle so this book ticked a lot of boxes for me. A magically cheeky house that is constantly changing rooms and of course, a talking cat who takes a liking to Foss as she arrives at the sorcerers house looking for answers only to discover something much more complex than just her heart being captured.
beautifully descriptive, the writing does a wonderful job in bringing the story and its characters to life however sometimes i did feel that the pace wasn't pacing for me and got a bit slow but once you get to the second half of the book it definitely picks up. This story has so much more to offer than just your average romance, it is strange (in the best way!) and we follow Foss on her road to self-discovery. I would have liked the relationship between Foss and Sylvester to have been explored a bit more, i was a bit unsatisfied with their interactions however this didn't make it unlikeable.
I very much enjoyed Foss's no nonsense approach to life, lets just get on with it, this is what i've got so let me work with it! was quite a refreshing take on a FMC and i loved her dry sense of humour - right up my street!
Cornelius the bacon loving Cat is definitely the star of the show and the relationship he develops with Foss is utterly charming. I do feel that Sylvester was quite one dimensional, great potential for this character to be explored in greater depth.
overall, a very enjoyable and enchanting read and i will look forward to future work from this author

The writing was extremelly detailed and descriptive and drew me into that world from the begining. Sometimes it can be a little slow, but it is worth it. My favorite parts were the magic and the talking cat really!
I would have liked a little bit more romance, but even so I really enjoyed this book.

⭐️⭐️

I have gone back and forth on what star to rate this at and I think I have decided on a 2 star.

This book was super difficult for me to get into and while I loved the concept and I can definitely see how the Howl’s Moving Castle comparison started, I just never was able to fully immerse myself in this book and often found myself struggling to even remember what I was reading and I had to go back a lot to refresh my memory.

Foss, the female main character, has extremely low self esteem and I found it difficult to fight through how often she brought herself up and compared herself to others. Her insecurity (while relatable to a teenager maybe), was just too much for me and I found it to be more of a character flaw than anything else.

Cornelius was the saving point of this book (Foss’ talking cat) and I really only kept reading for him as he was the most interesting part of the story.

I also felt the romance fell flat too and ultimately just never really liked any of the characters except for Cornelius.

I loved the concept of this book and I wish I had been able to get into it more and I do think the overall storyline is interesting!

4.25 ⭐️

• Thank you to NetGalley, author Andrea Eames, and Kensington Publishing for a chance to read this book early •

I did not expect to like this book as much as I did!
It is a little cozy fantasy that has similar vibes as Sorcery of Thorns, and I loved every second on its ride. It was such a fun read even with the bits of eeriness that were introduced about 60% of the way through. It's like you wanted to take this book very seriously, but the narrator's tone was just comedic and so much fun.

In this book, we follow our main characters, Foss and Sylvester, who, by a play of luck and fate, find themselves entangled with each other. These main characters were extremely loveable.
The FMC has insecurities about her body as she is a bit on the thicker and bigger size. She also thinks of herself as ugly because she has red hair (rude!) However, I did find the whole thing funny since her name is 'Foss', and in my language we normally use this as a term of endearment for someone who is cute and tiny, more baby-like.
Also! We have a talking cat named Cornelius and a sentient house, and we LOVE that!

The plot seemed a bit on the slower side and maybe could use some editing down. But honestly, I did not mind it one bit; the book hooked me, and I was just enjoying it the whole while and couldn't put it down. I just needed to know what happens next.

The only thing I want to comment on, the reason why I bumped it down to 3.75 ⭐️, is that I wish we had a little more romance and relationship building between Foss and Sylvester. I did love them together!

Definitely recommend this book for a cozy fall fantasy!
Read it if you like
| enemies (??) to lovers
| forced proximity
| cool magic system
| talking cat/sentient house

A Harvest of Hearts was whimsical and dreamy. I enjoyed the authors writing style and LOVED Cornelius. However, it has a pretty slow first half
of the book. I loved the concept of the magical house and I liked whenever Foss interacted with the it and Cornelius

Thank you to Andrea Eames, Kensington Publishing, and NetGalley for the free ARC in exchange for my honest review!

I'm pretty sure there is a better way to underline the importance of something or someone instead of thinking/saying capital letters. I'm coming across this first time and to be entirely honest it's starting to bothering me and I'm around 25% in.

A Harvest of Hearts was a book that was equally charming and frustrating. It read like a classic fairy tale, and the "Howl's Moving Castle" influence was definitely visible, which made the book more endearing to me, as a fan of both influences. The cast of memorable characters all added to the book's charm (including a talking cat!) and made it so that the reading experience felt very immersive. The concept of hearts getting "snagged," and the storyline with main character's circumstances in particular, was quite original and I liked the way the implications were explored throughout the book.
There were, however, a few things that really grated on me while reading. First of all, I think this story might've been better written in third person, or written in a more detailed way in first person. I understand that a lot of the cases where the characters' internal and emotional experiences were brushed over it was to maintain to fairy tale-esque tone, but written in first person it just meant that the character came across as underdeveloped. There were so many situations that clearly really affected Foss that the reader got no commentary on whatsoever. Also, Foss seemingly developed very little as a character. Her constant negative self-talk didn't seem to have a purpose so far into the book, and nothing she discovered about herself or her background swayed her negative self-perception. It got exhausting to read after a while.
The ending was a bit chaotic and really felt like it dragged (maybe around the 80% mark), to the point where I found myself skimming entire paragraphs just to move it along a bit. The final chapter was a fitting one for all the characters, though.
All in all, A Harvest of Hearts was a fun, charming book that nevertheless would have benefited from some more editing.

I loved this book! It was so different from the usual fantasy with a young female POV. Foss Butcher is not ordinary girl. She's a tough, no nonsense, butcher's daughter. She is ugly and the whole world knows it, including herself. She is under no delusions that she will ever find love. When the magic users enter her village, she is accidentally 'snagged' or caught in the web of a spell that makes her behave like a love sick fool. She leaves her village behind and follows the sorcerer back to his magical house in the big city. Feeling like a fool when she shows up and he does not remember her, she claims to be the new housekeeper. With the help of a magical moving house and a talking cat she starts to understand the mysterious sorcerer Sylvester. Their relationship grows closer, however, his sisters and father the king wants him to take hearts, not just from her but from the villagers, leaving them close to death. Foss must change her sorcerer's way of thinking and work together to save the kingdom.

okay, i don’t know how to begin this review. where should i start?? the fact that this book is an absolute mess compared to the things that i have been promised by the blurb, and the way it took me more than a month to finish this?

first, the blurb promised me Howl’s Moving Castle vibes, but delivered absolutely nothing of the sort. i mean, i could see it! just barely. and instead, what i got was a fantasy with romance that is trying to combine five different disney movies and fairytales into one book. i’m actually not sure where the author was going with this one. the magical world feels like it’s barely holding itself together, bland, and lacking any actual *magic*. the characters and the villains? well, their personalities are so flat that you almost forget that they’re there. the main character's only personality is being obsessed with vanity and nothing else.

the storyline lacks obstacles or tension to give this plot any pulse at all. the relationship between the leads feels as dry as a cardboard. is the chemistry in the room with us? this relationship feels like two strangers pretending they know each other because the plot said so.

It could have been great but the epub have a lot of issues and was unreadable for me.. I am very sorry

This story was so cute and whimsical! There's a talking cat and a house with magic of it's own.
The heart of this book in my opinion was Foss' journey to discovering her inner beauty. She starts off believing that she's the ugliest girl in her village, and while she has accepted that, she believes she will never find love because of it. Her romance with Sylvester is the catalyst for her realising she may be loved for something other than her beauty. While I've said it quite plainly here, it's not as on the nose in the book and I also appreciate that. It was incredibly relatable and heartwarming.
The writing style and quality was very good. It was very descriptive and successfully set a vibe that is both dark (especially with the manner of magic in this book) and whimsical.
Where this falls short for me unfortunately is the plot, and other aspects of the romance. For me, I did feel the plot was a little bit expected and didnt take me by surprise at any point.
While I very much enjoyed how the romance between the two main characters made both grow in their own ways, I did struggle to see through the book how they developed feelings for each other. Their interactions were somewhat dry, and while Foss did uncover how Sylvester was kind and caring when she assumed the opposite, I fail to see why they became lovers and didn't get stuck at friends. Perhaps we just needed more scenes with them.

This was really good! An unusual and complicated magic setup. A very slow-burn romance, and it felt realistic (so to speak, at least within the world of the book). Although I was skeptical at first about the trope of a man who needs a woman to get him to stop being selfish, I really liked Sylvester.

A Harvest of Hearts is a wonderfully imaginative and fun adventure. The story feels like a friend is sharing an amazing tale with you. It creates a rich new world full of interesting characters, both main ones and supporting ones. The setting is easy to understand and feels well-developed. The characters are complex and relatable. Even though the plot meanders a bit, it allows the story and characters to grow.

I really enjoyed reading it, but I didn’t give it a five-star rating. I’ve been going through a reading slump, and I think that if I weren’t in that slump, I would have read this quickly and given it a solid five stars. Unfortunately, it didn't pull me out of my slump, which is why I'm holding back on that perfect score.

So I didnt hate this book I also didnt love it I was very much in the middle with this. I loved all the characters and the world building but I dont know something felt like it was missing and i cant put my finger on it.

When I read the blurb, it reeled me in, but the first couple of pages threw me off completely. The writing, the tone, it was just so unexpected and unnecessary in my opinion that I was really struggling. And the info dump was extreme, was reeking of a female main character being written by a man. I forced myself to complete the book to see if it got better, or if this was a plot to aid the story, but unfortunately, it didn't get any better. I will give it props for trying to be an original storyline with its unique features, but the other issues completely overshadowed the reading experience.

Such a fascinating read! A mix of fantasy and fiction with a sprinkle of love story.

I admire Foss and her journey in this story! I would love to read more about her and how she develops her own abilities after the story ended.

Thanks to Netgalley and Erewhon Books for an ARC Kindle edition of Harvest of Hearts, by Andrea Eames!

Foss Butcher's life may seem simple, but it hums with an undercurrent of magical mystery that’s impossible to ignore. As the daughter of the village meat monger, Foss is as reliable and sturdy as the cleaver she wields, and goes about her duties in her father's shop with gratified (if cynical) contentment. She’s fine with her role in the small, tight-knit town on the day-to-day, and when The Sorceresses arrive on another gathering mission, she merely accepts it as part of existence. These enigmatic, gorgeous women, cloaked in power from the ruling Kingdom, come not only for herbs and tinctures from the village herbalist, but for pieces of the gentry's heart—yes, literal pieces.

They offer Foss' village an unusually reliable peace and prosperity in return, but no one really knows the truth behind the heart "snagging" magic, or why it's necessary to begin with. Foss has always accepted it as "just the way of things", until she's accidentally "snagged" by an incredibly rare male Sorcerer, Sylvester, and her world plunges into heartsick disorder.

Determined to get down to the bottom of her malady, and bring back answers for others that live in her village, Foss follows the wrenching in her chest (again, literally) to Sylvester in the main Kingdom, intending to retrieve that piece of her heart, while leaving him with a piece of her mind.

Eames' writing is nothing short of brilliant, and Foss' personality practically leaps off the page, thanks to the clever use of colloquial dialect that makes her narration feel authentic and engaging. The storytelling is so vivid and richly detailed, it’s impossible not to picture every scene unfolding in your mind, filled with colorful descriptions and quirky, laugh-out-loud metaphors.

But the real star? Cornelius, the talking cat. He absolutely stole my heart! He’s everything you’d expect a cat to be if they could speak—witty, aloof, and brimming with charm.

This book is packed with clever, realistic mystery reveals that kept me guessing at every turn. Nothing felt predictable or easy to figure out, which is a rare treat for me since that’s often one of my biggest gripes in tales with mysteries.

The one aspect that fell flat for me was the romance between Foss and Sylvester. While Foss is “snagged” and develops romantic feelings (which thankfully turn out to be more than just enchantment), their interactions didn’t quite live up to the potential. Sylvester, for his part, spent a good amount of time being depressed and bratty, while his redeeming qualities didn't shout "leading man" at me. There’s a sprinkle of romantic tension here and there, but nothing that really sizzled or felt inevitable. I was left wanting more depth and spark from their connection, but perhaps the author was intentional in her choice to down play that aspect and the expectations not met were my own fault.

In the end, A Harvest of Hearts is definitely worth the read! If you manage your expectations for the romance, you’ll find a captivating story that delivers on so many other levels. Don’t let that one aspect hold you back—dive in and enjoy the journey!

"A Harvest of Hearts" is a captivating fantasy novel that immerses readers in a richly constructed world filled with magic, intrigue, and unforgettable characters.

The author masterfully weaves intricate plotlines and vivid descriptions, bringing the fantastical landscape to life. The pacing is well-balanced, with moments of action and introspection that keep readers engaged throughout. Foss’s journey is not just a physical one; it’s also a profound exploration of identity and courage.

The supporting cast is equally compelling, featuring a diverse group of allies and adversaries that add depth to the narrative. Themes of friendship, sacrifice, and the struggle between good and evil resonate throughout, making it a relatable read despite its magical setting.

Overall, "A Harvest of Hearts" is a beautifully crafted tale that will delight both fantasy aficionados and newcomers alike. It’s a must-read for anyone seeking an escape into a world of wonder and adventure. Highly recommended!

This book sounded like the exact type I would love to read, and there are so many good ideas and -heart- in its pages. However the characters were extremely frustrating, especially Foss’s childlike annoying habits. It was really hard to get in to the world when I also wanted to shake the FMC by the shoulders.