A Harvest of Hearts starts off so strong. I was really enjoying it, the imagery was top tier and we all love a cozy read right?! Right. Sadly around 30ish% the story started to DRAG. It was too descriptive and made the book way longer and less interesting. It the author could have kept the pace going or maybe ended it a little sooner, I think I would have stayed more engaged. I hate that it ended up falling flat after such a strong start.

This book was an engaging and fun, cozy fantasy.
Not sure that it exactly gives off Howl’s Moving Castle and Studio Ghibli vibes, but, if you enjoy an endearing story with likable characters set in a cozy fantasy world, you’ll probably enjoy it.
The overall story felt very whimsical and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Definitely recommend.

This book promises a Howl’s Moving Castle vibe, cozy fantasy and romance which I was so excited for. I’d give it that it really does feel like a Ghibli film, the world building and imagery was fantastic. Foss’ narration was entertaining at the start. The magic system and “snagging” of heart concept was actually intriguing. And I’d admit that I’m really interested with Sylvester’s character when he first came to Foss’ village, the mystery surrounding the only male sorcerer and how would the story unfold.

While all this sounds fascinating, Foss’ narration could only entertain me so much until I start to get bored of it. The pacing felt so slow, and by the time that Foss became Sylvester’s housekeeper, it just felt so stagnant. While it is intriguing how things would unfold, it doesn’t keep me from picking it up again as I feel like nothing was ever really happening. Foss might be ‘in love’ with Sylvester through the snagging of heart, but I couldn’t really feel the romance at all. Foss constant belittling of herself and her “beauty” became so repetitive when you can’t even see why she feels that way without proper description on how she felt ugly — except having a sturdy body and being a butcher’s daughter.

I was really hoping that things would start moving once she arrived at his house, but it became even more stagnant to the point that the chapters feel like filler.

This was quite not what I expected as I really expected a lot from the blurb, hoping it would somehow be like a Ghibli film, and while it does paid off at the beginning, the lack of action made it hard to motivate myself to continue reading. Moreover, both the main leads character felt so flat and they became uninteresting by the middle. Foss’ narration was good at the beginning but it became tiring and repetitive as it goes on. I was curious about Sylvester the moment Foss saw him, but when she arrived at his house, he did nothing but lounge all day. I thought it would be a good chance to know more about his character, but the House was more interesting than the sorcerer.

The slow pacing added with uninteresting characters and plot that doesn’t seem to move at all, it makes reading it feel like a chore.

I do think though that this would be a good fit for those who are a big fan of Howl’s Moving Castle and just wants to read for the vibe, a really cozy and light story where not a lot of things happen.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC!

Thank you to NetGalley, Erewhon Books, and Andrea Eames for giving me the opportunity to read the eARC of this book ahead of its release on February 25, 2025.

As a fan of Howl's Moving Castle, I was really looking forward to reading A Harvest of Hearts. The concept of stolen hearts fueling magic was super interesting! However, the book didn't quite meet my expectations. This may be that I couldn't help but compare the main characters to Howl and Sophie, especially since the story felt very similar to Howl's Moving Castle early on.

Our main character, Foss, is clearly intelligent and has personality, but I found myself put off by her preoccupation with her looks. While she describes her focus on appearance as practicality, it often came across as self-deprecating. It left me wondering why she feels so unattractive—we learn that she has close-set blue eyes, red hair, and a sturdy build, but there’s no clear reason for her self-image issues. While Foss does show some development in terms of her thoughts and personality, I felt that she didn't truly grow throughout the story, which made the conclusion feel, as another reviewer stated, unearned.

On the other hand, the sorcerer, Sylvester, felt a bit flat and didn’t really develop or grow at all throughout the story. This made the sudden emotional moments, romance, and self-sacrifice in the final 20% feel rushed and hard to believe.

It was tough to really feel their emotional connection. However, I loved Cornelius so much. He reminded me of Calcifer from Howl's Moving Castle and brought much-needed humor and insight to the story; he quickly became my favorite character.

The magic system in this story and its effects on the world was a definite highlight. The world-building was rich and well-crafted. Even if I didn’t always feel immersed, I could vividly picture the settings.

Unfortunately, this aspect was overshadowed by dry and overly descriptive writing. Even for an adult reader, the language was dense, making it a bit of a slog to get through. There were also some pacing issues, with certain sections dragging on while others felt rushed.

Foss's first-person narrative was somewhat stiff, which made it challenging to connect with her feelings, particularly in her interactions with Sylvester. In contrast, her relationships with other characters, like her father and the cat, felt more genuine and engaging.

While A Harvest of Hearts has an intriguing premise, I felt the execution missed the mark in a few places. The dry writing, character development that could use more advancement, and uneven pacing held it back for me. I think fans of Howl's Moving Castle might appreciate some of the familiar themes, but ultimately, the novel didn’t quite meet the expectations I had hoped for.

Thank you Kensington Publishing & NetGalley for this great ARC!

I would give this a 4.5/5⭐️

I am a normal human being, which of course means I LOOOOOVE Howl’s Moving Castle - when I saw the description of this book, I knew I had to give it a read.

I really enjoyed this book; it’s a very cozy fantasy novel with a bit of romance that just found to be the sweetest. I thought Foss was a wonderful main character. Sylvester is very Howl-coded and I loved him. Don’t even get me STARTED on Cornelius the talking cat, LOML.

The length of the book seemed a little daunting at first, but I don’t think it felt long at all. It was a little slow to start but once things started ramping up, it was go time. I looked forward to reading this book everyday which was a great sign!

I need 10000 more Foss x Sylvester books STAT

This was a wonderful fantasy novel following Foss Butcher who is "Snagged". There was a talking cat, sorcery, a magical house, romance and adventure. I devoured this book. The characters were endearing and the story was fun. This book is perfect to cozy up with and read into the middle of the night (I know because I did).

I intend to buy my book club friends this book because I know they will love it.

Thank you to NetGalley and to Kensington Publishing for the ARC of A Harvest of Heart by Andrea Eames.

This book was engaging to read, and if you think of it in the context of a cozy fantasy adventure and lower the stakes to that level, it is enjoyable if you don't think too hard about potential plot holes / lack of visible character development. I don't mean that in a bad way, though I know it sounds badly worded this way. I read this in two sittings over two days, and I was absorbed in the story, but by the time I approached the midway point or the 80% mark, things had occurred that didn't really seem to make sense in the big picture.

In a Harvest of Hearts we are in a fantasy kingdom where beautiful sorceresses "harvest" the hearts of the rural towns for power that keeps the kingdom safe from war, keeps crops healthy, and keeps mothers safe in childbirth. To the townspeople, it's something they do not question, even if they do not understand it or they downplay the horror stories some have heard. When the first male sorcerer appears at the town, he locks eyes with Foss, our main character, and accidentally snags her heart. Within weeks Foss realizes she has been afflicted, and she follows the sorcerer to the city because only by proximity can she live without the pain of being distant from him; her heart being snagged also means she is forcibly in love with him.

The story goes a lot of directions from this point and I had in no way anticipated where it would end up. I wonder if maybe the author had the same feeling when writing it. At first there is a magic House and a talking cat and a mysterious covered portrait and room of an unknown sister, and Foss just being a housekeeper because though she wants to be free, she doesn't actually confront the sorcerer for weeks about the fact that she is snagged. I can see why some other readers were frustrated with Foss - in one moment she will seem strong and outspoken and in the next she thinks "well, this is fine" and carries on. The sorcerer, Sylvester, just sits on a throne all day in a dirty room and plays with magic fireballs - he says he has a task but he doesn't actually seem to do anything besides lounge about. The one time he does magic in a room filled with notes and spellbooks and materials is barely a few pages and doesn't tell us anything about why he does not try at his craft or what his goal could be.

From there the story grows into a larger kingdom-wide dilemma that has a lot of action. It's fast paced and covers a lot of ground and I don't want to spoil it for readers. What I can say is, there appears to be a lot of intrigue and growing magic system that I wish was explained a lot more. The magic system stayed a bit out of reach for me, and the major turning point of the story was one even the characters acknowledged as "why are we doing this again?". It just seemed like a lot of REALLY big things happen after the 50% mark and they make a story, but it's spread really thin and it never really goes back to the first 50%.

I did struggle a bit with the writing here and there. I have never seen the word eldritch before, but I know I saw it at least three times in A Harvest of Hearts. A few times word choices like this just really took me out of the story.

"This love, the dogged devotion, might still have been an ensorcelled illusion, but something else had grown up around it, like a vine curling around a tree."

The concept of this book is very intriguing. The only magicians that exist take hearts to perform their spells and become stronger. We also get the opportunity to see a corrupt magic system from the inside through Foss's eyes, rather than just observing it from the outside.
I have to be honest—the writing style initially put me off. Even though the entire story is narrated through Foss, it felt a little distant at first. However, I kept reading and eventually started feeling the story.
My favourite character is, hands down, Cornelius. I mean, who doesn't love a talking cat? I also re-evaluated Sylvester, who didn't seem interesting at first, but by the end, I even preferred him over Foss.
Lastly, I appreciated the presence of a father who is actually alive, loves his daughter, and supports and believes in her.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this eARC in exchange for an honest opinion.

Thank you Netgalley for a free ARC in exchange for my review. Despite, feedback is my own.

This book has so many interesting parts including a fun magical system and a talking cat.

The language, written intentionally, made it difficult for me to get in a groove with reading

3.5⭐️
There was a lot to love about this book, but at the end of the day it fell a little flat and couldn't keep me hooked.

I blew through the first 30% of this book and was so intrigued. The vibes are immaculate, the world is really cool, and the mystery and intrigue is definitely there. Cornelius, the fury companion and talking cat, the family dynamics, the sentient house - all top notch.

After about 30% I started to get a little bored. The plot moves at a snail's pace and I kept setting the book down (the long chapters don't help). That said every time I did pick this back up, I got excited to read again... Unfortunately, that excitement only lasted a chapter or two before I was frustrated that the plot wasn't moving fast enough.

If you want vibes, atmosphere, and love a cozy fantasy this could be a great one for you. Personally I do LOVE a cozy fantasy but I need a bit more plot to accompany all that atmosphere and vibes.

Thank you NetGalley and Kensington Publishing (Erewhon Books) for sending this book (eARC) for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

This started off pretty good but then I felt like it was too much like Howl's Moving Castle. The first bit wasn't super engaging but enough to keep the interest and then it was decent until halfway in. I got bored and felt like I've already read this book. The narrator was annoying and didn't have much of a character to her, pun intended. She could've been fleshed out more as I didn't really care for her.

Free eARC provided by NetGalley and the published for reviewing purposes.
3.5 rounded up

I really really wanted this to be a perfect book. Mostly because I think Howl's Moving Castle is a perfect book and this story takes so many parts of that story that you might get suspicious about how many similarities to another book is considered fair use. To say the least, the author must have been heavily inspires by what might've been if Howl's Moving Castle had taken a different turn and the wizard really had literally stolen hearts to use for magic. Unfortunately, this book didn't quite live up to my (admittedly high) expectations.
Our main character, Foss, spends so much of the book talking about how ugly she is that her character growth at the end feels rushed and unearned. She has a personality and is headstrong, but the fixation on her physical appearance was too much. The sorcerer character feels flat and has little development and the romance doesn't feel natural or earned. The worldbuilding and magic system could have been more fleshed out but it did feel like a cozy fantasy universe that I enjoyed visiting. The talking cat, Cornelius, is definitely a highlight.
Overall, this book was charming and cozy, but it didn't quite keep me hooked the way I wanted it too. I wasn't compelled to keep reading, and I wasn't too invested in the outcome. I did think near the end with 20 pages left that it might be difficult to wrap everything up and come to a satisfactory conclusion, but I guess because it wasn't that deep, I wasn't bothered. Would recommend to fans of Howl's Moving Castle but with the advisory warning that you should not go in with high expectations.

A Harvest of Hearts is a once in a lifetime book. I rated it 5 stars because I couldn't rate it higher. I wanted to give it 10/20 stars! It's that good. I recommend everyone to read this book as fast as they can because it's really good.

This just felt like a less good Howl's Moving Castle rip off. I will admit the story really intrigued me at first but as it went on there were things within the magic system I didn't feel were very thought ot. I also felt like the characters were very one dimensional.

This book hugely gives howls moving castle vibes and I loved it. The protagonist Cornelius was so fun to follow in this whimsical fantasy romance book. I thoroughly enjoyed the writing and would highly recommend this book (by the way, did I mention it has a talking cat?)

Not sure how to rate this book. The premisse was interesting, with the 'Howl's Moving Castle' inspiration and cosy vibes. The thing is, it didn't work out as I hoped. The first chapter is a big chunk of information about the sorceresses and hearts, not that engaging, at least for me; the main character and narrator, Foss is... well she is annoying, she sounded too judgmental, despreciative of herself and hadn't had much else to her (or I didn't see it).
Cornelius, the talking cat, as the highlight.
As for everything else, it resembled 'Howl's moving castle' a lot, though with its own touch. I can't say it made any impression on me, I'm afraid.

All in all, I wanted to like this story, but I couldn't manage, though I think other people, more used and appreative of YA book, might like it.

I saw the blurb for A Harvest of Hearts and was SO EXCITED! Howl's Moving Castle!? SIGN. ME. UP. The first half delivered heavyyyyyy HMC vibes in a good way, but also it felt too similar and then it took a unique turn that was a lot of fun. I enjoyed the setting, the characters, the set up and a bit of a twist towards the end. It almost ended up being Howl's Moving Castle mixed with Spirited Away?

I gave 3 stars because I really struggled with the main characters. Foss called herself ugly and really spoke down about herself for about 80% of the book. That is hard to continue to read for me, and it felt like it took too long for her character arc and growth. Sylvester had so much potential!!!! I never felt he fully came out of his shell so when it turned around it didn't feel organic, it felt forced.

Cornelius the cat was hands down the star of the show though. Maybe all 3 stars because of him. King Cornelius.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Publishing for the ARC!

I guess... maybe I just don't like anything that resembles Howl's Moving Castle? Or maybe I just absolutely couldn't understand this book. I made it to 50% before throwing in the towel.

The narrator is one of the most annoying narrators I've read in a while. She mentions how she is 'ugly' over 10 different times... she has absolutely no gumption, no inner worth, nothing. You would think accidentally being enchanted would help that? Nope. I like to make my own assumptions on characters and their beauty / worth. But if you're gonna tell me how this characters is ugly... and the only physical features you can give me is that she has red hair, she is bigger framed and pale skin? yeah. not buying it. So ugly = fat? Got it.

The sorcerer is absolutely someone with no character development and or interesting bits about him to make me want to be her end-game. Apparently he has to steal some (or harvest) some hearts. And at 50% he still hadn't harvested one, or shown any signs of why he didn't want to and or disliked it or felt indifferent to it.

I'm just out.

This is the kind of story that I should love, and I should be invested in, especially with the obvious comp to Howl's Moving Castle. The fact is, the writing isn't very good, and Foss, the main character, is someone I simply could not find it within myself to care about. Not enough time was put into truly fleshing her out, which means her entire journey is one that I don't want to bother following.

This book has plenty of similarities with Howl's Moving Castle which I LOVE! The 'cozy' parts of this fantasy really come out in the beginning of the book when Foss is dealing with her heartsickness and when she first arrives at Sylvester's house. There were some parts of this book that were gory and really eerie specifically the mists and conflict in the bar and castle, which kind of caught me off guard but didn't impact my overall enjoyment. This book is kind of strange in the way that the magic felt otherworldly (think Alice in Wonderland but in an old-timey fairytale).

To be completely transparent, the first half of this book was very slow and a little hard to get through. It was repetitive and really focused on Foss' inner monologue. There were points, of course, where there was some interesting dialogue or some key plots points. But the real action didn't start until after the 50% mark, then it was more medium-fast paced.

I kind of have a love/dislike relationship with Foss. I found a lot of her inner monologue to drag on and on. She was very self-deprecating but it's understandable when you think about the people she was raised around. Otherwise, I found that she was a really good representation of a "selfish" but for good reasons FMC. There were points where she made some really silly decisions, and I kind of wish we got more explanation or displays of guilt from that.

Sylvester... pretty flat, dare I say boring. I feel like he added very little to the story even though he was the MMC. I do like him, I just wish he had more to his character.

Cornelius!! Love of my life. He's like a perfect mix between Salem from the 90s version of Sabrina the Teenage Witch and Jiji from Kiki's Delivery Service. For a good chunk of the book, he is what kept me going.

I'd recommend this book to those who like an independent FMC, talking cats, corrupt kingdoms, magic houses, and the slowest of burn romances.