What a great book this was! Fast paced and kept me intrigued the whole time! Would definitely recommended to anyone looking for a great book to read.

The Courting of Bristol Keats was an adventurous story of an everyday girl traveling into an unknown land of fae and immortals. I enjoyed the journey Bristol goes on to learn the truth about her family's history. I do think, however, that it could have been cut down and made more concise since the reader was made aware of the dramatic irony of Bristol's parentage fairly early on. Also a little more yearning would have been nice instead of falling in love after only a few weeks. :)

I think this was my first fae book and I LOVED IT!!! The world building was amazing, the story continued to unfold and pull you in, then of course ends on a cliffhanger. The narration was so good and I loved the extra interview with the author and narrator. I cannot wait to see where the story will go.

I had such a fun time reading this book. It follows Bristol, who is trying to make ends meet for her sisters now that their parents are gone. She’s quickly drawn into a world of fae, who hope to discover whether she has a magic that could save their world. In exchange, she asks for help finding her missing father - without knowing how deep his connections to Elphame run.

I really liked Bristol as a main character and instantly felt her connection with the MMC. The magic was interesting and I loved all the perspectives we got to read from. I will definitely be picking up the sequel when it comes out!

I struggled to get into this book at first but once things got going, I really enjoyed it. I do echo the reviews that mentioned that the start was a bit confusing. I had to push through but it was worth it. The FMC was believable and likable. The magic system was interesting but also not too difficult to understand. I’ll definitely read the next one!

I thought this was very good and I will have to add this to the shop shelves. Thank you for the chance for us to review.

I loved this and it feels like it's been a hot minute since I've read and enjoyed a book with this much hype around it. The only reason I went with 4 stars rather than 5 was that there were times I wish Bristol displayed more consistancy in her moods and actions.

I loved the tension and pull between Tyghan's past with *other characters* and his current association with Bristol. It was a bit weird to have those prior associations in play, but it didn't creep me out like I thought it might. The time shift between the two worlds threw me off for a bit, but after the time changes in each world respectively were confirmed everything in that regard was smooth sailing for me.

I am eagerly awaiting the second half of this duology. Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to the opportunity to read and review this book.

🧚🏻‍♀️𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑪𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒇 𝑩𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒍 𝑲𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒔🧌

🌺Dangerous Fae
🌺Dark Secrets
🌺Addictive Romance
🌺Intricate World Building (and easy to follow)
🌺Well Developed Characters

& possibly most important, it’s a fantasy read that’s easy to digest in audio narration format!! I always struggle with finding fantasy’s that I can follow on audio normally due to complex world building but this book was easy to follow and understand! Loved the audio!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Special editions from Fairyloot, Waterstones, and the US version!

Quick synopsis:
‘After losing both of their parents, Bristol Keats and her sisters struggle to stay afloat in their small, quiet town of Bowskeep. When Bristol begins to receive letters from an aunt she’s never heard of who promises she can help, she reluctantly agrees to meet―and discovers that everything she thought she knew about her family is a lie. Her father might even still be alive, not killed but kidnapped by terrifying creatures and taken to a whole other realm―the one he is from.

Desperate to save her father and find the truth, Bristol journeys to a land of gods and fae and monsters. Pulled into a dangerous world of magic and intrigue, she makes a deadly bargain with a fae leader, Tyghan. But what she doesn’t know is that he’s the one who drove her parents to live a life on the run. And he is just as determined as she is to find her father―dead or alive.’

I really enjoyed The Courting of Bristol Keats—it's honestly one of my favorite books from NetGalley in a long time! It had everything I was hoping for: magical vibes, a touch of fantasy, and a really engaging romance. The mix of self-discovery and the enchanting world made it a perfect read for me. I loved how the story weaved in emotional depth alongside all the magic, and the romance was so sweet. If you're into stories with that magical feel, this one's definitely worth checking out!

I loved this book and the unique premise, strange world building and lovely prose. The details were spot on in their description and the writing didnt feel either flashy or too simplistic. It was balanced and described the characters and the setting very well for my tastes. I enjoyed the romantasy themes and am anxious after tht cliffhanger to see what is in store for us in the next book!

I thought I would really enjoy this one, having enjoyed Mary E. Pearson's past books, but I just couldn't get into this one at all.

I have to admit the audio book got on my nerves after awhile and I switched to the special edition I had received from my book box. I by far enjoyed it more reading it than listening. The world building and the character development throughout was good. I felt at times Bristol was just annoying and had somewhat of a difficult time seeing her fall for Tyhgan, while basically complaining about finding the door. Additionally, the long descriptions left me thinking about other things I needed to do. I felt like so much was happening between chapters that was off page. Why? Like give me something to want to continue, but I knew it was coming that certain cliff hanger at the end. Do I want to continue? Maybe.

The first half of this book felt a little disconnected and the POV switches were unclear and made it so I had to go back and reread off and on to make sure I didn't miss anything once I knew the POV we were in.
But the second half! The second half really saved the book for me. Plenty was happening and there were even a few surprising moments.
The audiobook was EXCELLENT and I would highly recommend.

I’m upset.

This audiobook clocks in at just under eighteen hours, every one was a waste. I’m shocked the author of the Dance of Thieves duology, the pinnacle of political intrigue and slow-burn in YA, wrote this cookie-cutter, stereotypical fae romantasy garbage.

The book was promising at first. Bristol Keats seems logical and level-headed, going to the fae world only to protect her family (the joys of having a protagonist over twenty). She drives a good bargain: in exchange for finding a magical door the fae king Tyghan needs, he will help her find her father, who’s trapped somewhere in the dangerous fae world.

This is the plot I thought we were following, but it quickly derailed into a bundle of withheld information, miscommunication, insta-love, and sixteen hours of filler scenes. By the end of the book, the original goals set out aren’t even close to being met! There’s so much urgency expressed in the beginning, yet most of the book is characters lollygagging and discussing how important their mission is without attempting to complete it.

I wasn’t convinced for even two seconds that Bristol and Tyghan were a good match. Their chemistry was so underwhelming. At first, I assumed Pearson was playing the long game, setting out to build a slow-burn and yearning-filled story. Yet the catalytic interaction of the relationship is so laughably stupid. Invisible dances where neither of them talks? Where is the romance? Apparently, this is enough for both of them to fall head over heels in love.

The sheer amount of filler pages is due to how much Tyghan is keeping from Bristol. There could have been a solid story if he had sat down and had an adult conversation with her, revealing the truth and how much he knew (that’s all spoilers). It would have given the MCs the tension they needed to build a believable romance and the plot the blurb promises would have happened. But since he refuses to tell her anything, the characters rotate going to balls and saying cryptic things to Bristol instead of being honest.

Definitely will not be reading the second book. Yes, this book couldn’t even do me the courtesy of being a stand-alone.


My spoiler summary of the book:
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“It’s vital that we find this door or everyone is going to be in danger and die!”

*500 pages later*

“We didn’t find the door but we did end with a spicy cliffhanger right after Bristol finds out all of Tyhgan’s lies!”


Thank you, NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the advance copy. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

I don't even know how to talk about this. I was intrigued in the beginning. There was a lot of potential for a great story. I was hoping for political intrigue and interesting magic, but we got a cringy and unbelievable romance with a few training scenes in between.

One thing that bothered me about this book was how much happened off-page. The author spends pages detailing a dangerous quest - then it is suddenly three weeks later, and the quest is over. All of it occurs off-page. I never felt the tension, and the political intrigue was not intriguing. The ability to tell time in this book was so difficult. I think it was on purpose, but it made it difficult to follow along. I thought I skipped a few chapters because the timing was so off.

The romance was so cringe. It was a terrible attempt at enemies to lovers. The entire romance felt off, as though the author was uncomfortable writing about them, especially the sex scenes.

Don't even get me started on the ending.

The only thing that stopped me from DNFing this is that Brittany Pressley is one of my favorite narrators, and I wanted to finish this for her.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

"The Courting of Bristol Keats" by Mary E. Pearson is a beautiful sci-fi novel. The world building is rich and the characters are likable and engaging. Audiobook narrator does a great job.

The premise for this book had me interested, but I felt like it dragged on too long. I liked the back story and the reveal moments, but didn’t care for the insta-love between Tyghan and Bristol.

The audiobook was really good quality but I just could not jive with the random POV changes and general confusion in regards to the worldbuilding. It just felt all over the place and I could never get a good sense of anything. I didn't love it, unfortunately, even though I really wanted to!

The Courting of Bristol Keats offers an intriguing premise, but the story felt a bit confusing at times. The plot had potential, but the pacing and character motivations could have been clearer. While there are some moments of charm, the mixed narrative left me wanting more clarity and depth. A decent read, but it didn’t fully hit the mark for me.

I had heard such good things about this author and was very excited to give this one a try! And I ended up having a really good time with it.

Bristol is spunky and snarky and I really liked her. The world was great and I just really enjoyed the adventure Bristol got pulled into. Especially the romance, which was clearly the heart of the book. Though I did prefer the tension in the first half of the book over the sudden escalation to spice in the second half. I would have liked a bit more of a slow burn personally.

But overall the world was one I’m intrigued to visit again and honestly I would actually love a novel about Bristol’s parents cause I find their story fascinating.

But if you’re a Romantasy fan I think you’re going to enjoy this one. I will definitely be picking up the sequel.