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.

3.25/5

Okay I loved the plot, I loved the whole idea of this story and I loved Cornelius with my whole heart (that I managed to keep until the very end BUT I got that sliver back! - however, this book was *dry*.

When I requested the ARC, it wasn't categorized as a young adult, but on GR it is so I kept that in mind when I read it. The language and vocabulary were a lot for even me, a full-ass grown adult. I understood the language, fortunately, in context but I did find it tiring.

Foss's narrative, and I feel like this book would have been better told in 3rd person rather 1st honestly, was not exactly wooden, but very stiff. So with that in mind, any real emotion she would express for Sylvester, I had a hard time believing. For any other character, Da, the cat, annoying, manipulative societies, I was inclined to believe.

Again, I was genuinely interested in everything about this, unfortunately, it was the execution that bothered me.

It did pick up for the last 1/4 of the book. Something finally clicked and Foss's character seemed to become more accessible.

Cornelius was always consistent for me. The sorceresses never waivered, those characters were solid.

Thinking back to my younger self, I would have loved picking up a book like this, (I've always been an avid reader, especially of fantasy. And no "spice" suited me just fine.)

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC.

3.5 🌟 If you like Howl’s Moving Castle and old fairytales you might enjoy this one! At first the story started out a bit too much like Howl’s Moving Castle and was a bit off putting with how similar they are. However, the story slowly morphed into its own and became something unique. The harvesting of hearts and corrupt sorcery gave the story an old fairytale feel which I enjoyed. My favorite character was without a doubt the talking cat, Cornelius. I have a feeling he will be a lot of reader’s favorite character. For me the romance was a good subplot and a good slow burn. I do think this book was too long for what it is. It could’ve been trimmed down about 100 pages. FMC annoyed me at times but I think that’s because she has a younger voice. Her thoughts and feelings make sense for her age and I do recall feeling some of things she did when I was 18. However, her negative self talk and low self esteem felt a little repetitive. I do think we needed more world building in the beginning of the novel. I felt like I didn’t truly get a grasp on the world until the very end. Overall, it was a charming and quick read!

I’ve never had the privilege of being the first to review a book on Goodreads, but I am delighted at the fact that it is, at least, a very genuine and positive review.

A Harvest of Hearts initially caught my interest at the mention of Howl’s Moving Castle. Immediately, my eyes ran through the synopsis with a quickness and decided to request an ARC right then and there. And as soon as my request was approved, I sat down and devoured the book in just one sitting.

Andrea Eames’ delightfully endearing fantasy novel follows Foss Butcher and the subsequent adventure that her Snagged heart leads her on. Along with a talking cat, a house that comes to life on a whirlwind of whims, and Sylvester — the Sorcerer who unknowingly Snagged Foss’s heart, we begin to unravel this strange magical world and the toll it puts on the kingdom.

We experience the story through the eyes and mind of Foss with her flat humor, gritty charm, and reluctant disposition. And as far as ensorcelled main characters go, Foss definitely manages to endear me while still maintaining true to her character. This, I found, made it incredibly easy to love and connect with her. Along with this, Foss’ heartfelt relationship with her father, her complicated relationship with her mother, her warm connection to Cornelius, and her warring feelings for heart magic make her a fleshed out character worth rooting for.

And it wasn’t too hard to connect with other aspects of the story either. With a whimsical writing style, Eames’ can make towns and buildings come to life with their own personality just by a few well placed similes and metaphors. The world feels lived in in a way that whisks you away until you don’t realize that you’re still reading at 1AM (I speak from experience).

With an assortment of characters, it is often hard to find balance between different relationships. However, this book manages it well. With Foss and Sylvester, their connection only takes one glance to begin their story. And oftentimes that would be annoying in its quickness, but with the marvelous combination of Foss’ stubborn reluctance and Sylvester’s wide eyed naivete, their relationship takes its time to morph into something beautiful. It genuinely had me giggling to myself by the fifth chapter and those giggles turned into laughter, cheesy grins, and even tears.

With the romance aspect leaving me breathless with giddiness, the fantasy aspect totally immersing me, there is the slight mystery to it all that makes you keep turning the page. Now I won’t say what this mystery is but there are a lot of intriguing hooks left deliberately in various chapters; mostly easy sentences that branch of into a myriad of questions that you immediately want answers to. In addition to this, I love that Foss is quick with piecing all of these things together. It doesn’t leave her hanging about while the reader is already miles ahead. It quickly advances the story while adding merit to her character.

Now, I have said a lot but I feel like it isn’t enough because I am sat here still brimming with a lot of leftover love and emotion that this book has made me feel. And I do not say this lightly seeing as I have found myself growing pickier and pickier with the books i read each passing month.

Though I will add that there is a noticeable shift in the tone from the first half of the book to the second. Where one is whimsical and eccentric, the other is darker and grittier. So this is a fair warning that there is some gruesome stuff ahead of that 50% mark!

All of this to say, A Harvest of Hearts has easily climbed my top reads for the year and I am now on a mission to recommend it to anyone who listens.

I REALLY hope this book will be available in my country so that i can snag (Get it?) a copy for myself! It would be a shame not to own a delightful read such as this.

Thank you to Netgalley and Kensington Publishing for the ARC!