Let me start off by saying that this could completely be that I am just not vibing with the audiobook. Maybe if I had this in physical or ebook format, I would enjoy it more.... but I don't know. As of right now I am 25% into the audiobook and not enjoying it. The story feels very YA to me and I was shocked when I learned it's supposed to be adult. I don't know if I will try again once the book comes out, but as of right now this is a DNF. This one hurts pretty bad. A lot of people that I follow loved this book.

🧚ARC REVIEW🧚

The Courting of Bristol Keats by Mary E. Pearson
4/5 ⭐
Pub date 🇺🇸: Nov 12th

This books felt like the perfect merging of a fairy tale with a competition/high stakes game feel, without actually having a competition and all the 'recruits' were working together. I enjoyed the whole thing and am now greatly anticipating the next book!

The novel begin with our main character trying to support her two sisters after the passing of their parents. She accidentally makes a fairy bargain while trying to earn money, and is swept into fantasy land of fae and romance.

Please read if you enjoy the following:

🧝‍♂️ Grumpy fae princes
🧝‍♂️ Legend about a chosen one that can close doors into other worlds
🧝‍♂️ Main characters that don't take 🐂 💩
🧝‍♂️ Hidden magical abilities (?)

Thank you to Netgalley, Macmillan Audio and Flatiron Books for the ARC!

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I enjoyed this romantasy. I'm not a huge romantasy reader, but feel like this will resonate well with that crowd.

This was amazing. I love Mary E Pearson’s other books, so I couldn’t wait to read this. This book was fantastic. I read an ARC and also ended up requesting the audiobook ALC as I’m trying to branch out with my audiobook genres and I loved listening to the story even though fantasy can be harder for me on audio.

What I struggle with these days when it comes to adult Romantasy/fantasy romance is finding a book that truly balances both and still makes you root for the couple while also being invested in a million other plot points. I think the author did a tremendous job with the balance in this book. It was a coming of age story about Bristol, a romantic journey, and also an adventure in a new world with conflicts, magic, secrets, and deceit. I felt invested in everything.

This did have open door romance and wasn’t YA. Bristol was in her 20s, but I feel like the way the spice was written could be considered appropriate for younger audiences to some degree. It wasn’t closed door, but it also wasn’t graphic. I got the whole sense of what was happening without it being one of those books I have to turn down when I’m driving in the car. If you’re specifically looking for spice, this isn’t for you. It’s like black pepper, not chili peppers. I think this specific detail is important to know since many Romantasy readers are specifically looking for chili peppers and will be disappointed that this has none and also that the romance does sometimes take a back seat to the plot.

I highly recommend this book! I can’t wait to see what happens next in the series/duology.

Brittany Pressley is one of my favorite female narrators and I think she did an awesome job. I will say that because of the changing POV I feel like the book would have benefited from titles of those sections for the audiobook listeners because I would get lost and have to figure out whose perspective we were dealing with. Overall, the story was just missing something. I enjoyed the world and the characters. It wasn't quite exciting enough for me and didn't keep me engaged as I would have expected. I did enjoy the prose of the book and overall thought it was a good listen.

I was pleasantly surprised listening to this first book in a new series. I'm a newcomer to this author and I was hesitant to get into it, but curious enough to try. I was hesitant because lately I've been duped by books similar to this that were mediocre and boring and predictable at best. But this was a great listen! Even though it was typical and predictable, I still appreciated the author's writing and pacing and overall storyline.

The insta-love was expected. The twists were expected. The story arch was expected. But at least this was interesting and creative still. Bristol was a great character to ride along from beginning to end. I was more and more curious about the sisters and wanted more about them, but I figured that was more to come in the next books. I kept wanting to tell people that if you want to start a fantasy series, this would be a good one to begin with.

There were moments, though, that dragged for a bit. This could have been cut about 100 pages and still the story would have been fun. But I enjoyed this!

Thank you to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for an audio copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Unfortunately, I don't think this was for me. The writing is beautiful, but some lines made me pause after hearing them, as if there was no way that was right. The world was interesting, but also similar to other fae novels I've read. This was also so long, and while at times I was interested, there were other times where I was utterly bored. I think the major strength of this novel was the relationship between the three sisters, which is not a part of a story I care as much about. Overall, this wasn't a great read for me, but I know this will find an audience who will love it.

The narration was good, but I wish each chapter started with which character the POV was from.

Well, that is one way to end a book.

I enjoyed the world that Mary E. Pearson created. It was refreshing to see different mythical creatures in the same world interacting instead of just being mentioned in passing. I understand that this is Bristol and Tyghan’s story, but I do wish we had gotten to know the side characters more.

The narrator did a wonderful job switching between the character's voices and accents. The narration kept me engaged and not wanting to press pause when I needed to focus on something else.

Thank NetGalley and Flatiron Books for the ARC of The Courting of Bristol Keats.

After losing their parents, Bristol Keats and her sisters struggle in their quiet town of Bowskeep. When Bristol receives letters from an unknown “aunt” who promises help, she discovers shocking truths about her family—her father may still be alive, kidnapped by terrifying creatures. Desperate to save him, Bristol journeys to a realm of gods and fae, making a deadly bargain with the fae king, Tyghan, who has ties to her family’s troubled past.

This was one of my most anticipated books of the year. I've been a massive fan of Mary E. Pearson for years, her Remnant Chronicles and Dance of Thieves duology are some of my all-time favorites. It literally pains me to say that I didn’t love this book. The story had so much potential, but the execution just missed the mark.

The book feels both way too long and not enough at the same time. We didn’t get sufficient descriptions, making it hard to grasp the atmosphere or visualize the characters and setting. There was a lot of telling instead of showing, which hurt the overall plot progression and character development.

The pacing was incredibly slow, which I somewhat expected given the book’s length. However, it was made worse by how repetitive the first half was.

Now, let’s talk about the romance. I hated it. So much. There wasn’t much, if any, chemistry between the characters, and it felt like it came out of nowhere. They went from total strangers who didn’t like or trust each other to being in love way too quickly. It would’ve made more sense for them to develop a friendship first, but no, it jumped straight to romance. It felt completely forced. I also found it really odd that Tyghan was best friends—close as brothers—with Bristol’s father. That dynamic felt really icky, especially considering that time moves differently in Elphame. To Tyghan, Bristol didn’t even exist six months ago, and when he first learns about her, he expects her to be an infant. I just couldn’t get behind it.

There were aspects of the book that I wish had been explored more, like Bristol’s relationship with her sisters and family. We see glimpses of her sisters, but I wanted to see more of them. Bristol's main motivation was to help her sisters, yet they felt sidelined very quickly.

The ending was so abrupt, feeling more like the conclusion of a chapter than the end of a book. There was no real resolution or closure, it just ends. Overall, it was really disappointing, and I'm quite sad about it. Still, I am curious enough about where this is going that I’ll likely pick up the second book when it comes out. This was a 2.5 stars for me.

The narrator was great and I hope to read more books narrated by her in the future. She did a great job creating different voices for each character and it was easy to follow.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an early copy in exchange for an honest review.

My only question is, when can I get book 2!??? I need answers! I loved the story and the characters! I can’t wait to learn what Bre really is when the tick is removed and what exactly her mother is.

I was having a good time with this book and definitely wanted to keep coming back to it. A romantasy over 500 pages is hard to stay interesting, but it managed to keep my attention and not become dull. I loved the plot idea. Of course it uses tropes that we see a lot, but it still felt like an interesting approach with a unique take. It's a much more well written romantasy than a lot of the ones that are coming out in droves lately. It wasn't my favorite type of romance, and honestly I wish it would have gone a bit differently, but that's just my personal preference. The writing itself was well thought out and didn't have any flaws.

I was thinking that maybe it was going to be a 4.5 or 5 star read, but then it just ended? I honestly thought it was a mistake. It felt so strange because you're building up to this big event/confrontation but instead we end before it even gets to that, and in the middle of a random scene no less. It didn't even feel like a cliff hanger, more like she wrote the book too long and decided to just split it into two books without paying attention to where the first one ended. That really threw me for a loop and I didn't like it at all. Regardless, I'll still read the next book.

3.5 out of 5 stars. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you for this early audio review copy. I adore Mary’s writing and she definitely apices things up with her first Romantasy. I loved the characters, world and story. There was one thing I didn’t love so I am taking away one point but it is just a personal preference. If you love Fey stories that are enemies to lovers you will love this one!

For me, this was a fun read. I’ve enjoyed the author’s young adult works in the past, and this foray into adult lit was not disappointing! It did seem like the conflict wasn’t dealt with fully enough at the end, but I’m assuming it will come back in book 2.

DNF @ 37% - This started out strong but I feel like it was trying to just throw every single romantasy trope together and there was just too much going on - I just kept being like "errrrkay *side eye*"
Thank you NetGalley for the ARC

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the eAudiobook ARC! Bristol Keats has been doing her best to support her sisters and herself since the loss of their parents, but when letters start to arrive from a mysterious (and unheard of) aunt, everything Bristol knew of her life is brought into question. With the possibility that her father is still alive, she suddenly finds herself in the world of fae and working with their leader (who she also finds herself deeply attracted to), Tyghan, through a fairy bargain. Packed with action and romance, The Courting of Bristol Keats is a fantastic new fantasy from Mary E. Pearson. Brittany Pressley delivers a powerful performance for the audiobook and truly brings the various (and there are many) characters to life.

Thank you to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook.

The Courting of Bristol Keats follows Bristol and her sisters, who are struggling to survive after the loss of their parents in the quiet town of Bowskeep. When Bristol receives mysterious letters from an "aunt" she’s never heard of, promising help, she discovers that her family history is far from what she believed. Her father, presumed dead, may actually be alive, kidnapped by creatures from another realm. Determined to uncover the truth, Bristol is drawn into a world of gods, fae, and monsters, where she makes a dangerous bargain with Tyghan, the fae leader who might know her father’s fate.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book from start to finish. Brittany Pressley's narration was outstanding, and I would gladly listen to more of her performances in the future. The story had a well-paced plot, with an intriguing blend of both real-world and fae realms that created an immersive, almost "parallel dimension" feel.

The slow-build romance between the main characters was engaging, though there were moments when the passage of time in the fae world felt unclear, which occasionally caused some confusion. Despite this, I found the plot compelling and am excited to see how the relationships and storyline will develop in the next installment. Overall, it's a captivating fantasy with strong narration that I would highly recommend.

The audiobook for The Courting of Bristol Keats was such a pleasure to listen to. Overall, I enjoyed the story and I thought Brittany Pressley did a fantastic job of bringing the story to live. I was entertained and I couldn't stop listening to this book. I think this is a great romantasy book and it will be a big hit with a lot of people. I'm excited to recommend this book and the audiobook to people looking for a good mix of fantasy and romance.

ALC Review: Bristol and her two sisters are struggling to keep themselves afloat after her parents have both died. A mysterious aunt she has never heard of has offered to give her an original Van Gogh sketch just in exchange for meeting her. Scheming ensues and Bristol winds up in the land of faerie working for her dad’s former best friend (she doesn’t know that though!).

Unfortunately this was a massive miss for me. I would have DNFed around the 40% mark if this wasn’t an advance listener’s copy.

First, this book is both way too long yet somehow contains few descriptions, barely any plot progression, and the romance was not built towards at all. I am not sure what all those pages were spent on.

The descriptions were so lacking that I listened to the entire 17+ hour audiobook and I couldn’t tell you anything about the atmosphere of the castle (I think?) that the majority of this story takes place in. No scene felt set, leaving me to imagine characters in blank space or pulling from other books with similar settings (there’s a maze so I guess these characters are in Goblet of Fire 🤷🏼‍♀️).

The pacing felt clunky and the plot nonsensical. After Bristol sees fae for the first time, her conversation with her sister goes like this:

"Omg sister I just saw a bunch of monsters!!!"
"Are you okay? Are you sure you aren’t crazy?"
"A monster said this specific monster took Dad!"
"That specific monster? That's a faerie, I heard Dad talking about one once. Here's a book all about faeries. Don't accept a gift from one. Let me help you pack so you can travel to their world."

The development of the romance also made no sense. Bristol and Tyghan go from being strangers who really don’t like each other to suddenly dancing together every night then being in love. There was no build, no slow burn, and no chemistry. Also kinda weird that Bristol’s dad is Tyghan’s best friend turned mortal enemy. There’s even an “I’m fucking your daughter” scene.

I think there are some good aspects to this book. Having two worlds separated by portals whose time passes independent of the other is an interesting world to tell a story in. Bristol having a magical parasite sucking all her magic up her entire life so she believes she’s human is a new concept to me that I found intriguing. Unfortunately the good aspects didn’t outweigh that I mostly felt bored while reading.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the ALC.

I really liked the audiobook narrated by Brittany Pressley. Pressley really brings the character of Bristol to life with her tenacity and vulnerability. Though the world was a bit hard to formulate in my head, I was able to follow the story. If it was not for Pressley's great narration, I would have stopped reading this story a long time ago.

The narrator saved this book for me. I kept getting bored or distracted, but she did a really great job and I 100% credit her for pulling me back in. I think ultimately this falls in the not for me category with pacing, world building and that the characters didn’t resonate to me.