I'm still buzzing from this incredible audiobook! 🤯 I haven't felt this way about a book in ages, not since I first fell in love with the ACOTAR series.

This duology's beginning immediately sucked me into a multidimensional world filled with complex characters, love, friendship, and family dynamics. I was constantly on the edge of my seat, never knowing what would happen next. The romance was perfectly paced, although it's definitely on the lower spice side. 🌶️ The writing style was beautiful, and the world-building was so easy to visualize.

The narrator, Brittany Pressley, was a dream. She brought the characters to life with her amazing voice and accents.

And the ending?! 🤯 I need the next book NOW!

If you're a fan of Sarah J. Maas, Holly Black, or Jeneane O'Riley, or if you love romantasy or high fantasy, you NEED to add this to your TBR.

This is my first read from Mary E. Pearson, and I can't wait to see what she has in store next! Thank you so much to Macmillan Audio and Netgalley for a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

I definitely enjoyed this. I loved the writing and world building and the plot was easy to follow. I look forward to the next book.

Absolutely loved!! Romantasy the stepped out of the box! Bristol is witty and relatable. Searching for her father, whom she believed to be dead, in a magical realm that seems too good to true.

𝑨𝑹𝑪 𝑹𝑬𝑽𝑰𝑬𝑾: The Courting of Bristol Keats


𝑴𝒚 𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈: 4.5 ⭐️
𝑺𝒑𝒊𝒄𝒆 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒔: 68, 79, 87, and 110
𝑮𝒆𝒏𝒓𝒆: fantasy, fiction, Romantasy
𝑨𝒖𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒓: @maryepearson
𝑷𝒖𝒃 𝒅𝒂𝒕𝒆: Nov 12, 2024


My thoughts:
𝑰 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒃𝒐𝒐𝒌, 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒆𝒘 𝒃𝒐𝒐𝒌𝒔 𝑰 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒂 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒅𝒊𝒅𝒏’𝒕 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒍 𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒆𝒕𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒆. 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒚 𝒅𝒆𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒍𝒔 𝒂𝒅𝒅𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒈𝒊𝒄 🪄 𝒔𝒚𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝑰 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝒔𝒐 𝒎𝒖𝒄𝒉! 𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒔 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒆𝒙𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒔𝒚 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒚 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒍𝒐𝒕𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒒𝒖𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒔𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒌𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒎𝒂𝒅𝒆 𝒎𝒆 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒃𝒐𝒐𝒌. 𝑯𝒐𝒘 𝒂𝒎 𝑰 𝒔𝒖𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒘𝒂𝒊𝒕 𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒍 𝒃𝒐𝒐𝒌 2?

I want to say a huge thank you to @netgalley & @maryepearson for this audio ARC! I had the best time with this one!


🌙 what is the most unique fantasy book you have read?

💫 what would be the one book you would bring if you got stuck in an island!?


_____________________________


🏷️:
#books #bookrecommendations #bookreview #maryepearson #thecourtingofbristolkeats #netgalley #fantasybooks #romantasy

Based on the cover and title, I expected this to be more like Rough Trade by Katrina Carrasco or Tempest of Tea, but it was a normal girl finds herself in fairy and is on her way to becoming the Mary Sue. The pacing was a bit irregular and parts of the story were a bit repetitive.

Since there were many questions left unanswered, there are sure to be a few more titles in this series. I think this would appeal to the Sarah J. Maas and Scarlett St Clair fans.

Audio narration was excellent.

The Courting of Bristol Keats by Mary E. Pearson
Narrator: Brittany Pressley
Rating: 4 stars
Steam: 1 chili
Pub date: 11/12

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for my complimentary audiobook! #macaudio2024

Bristol Keats is just trying to pay her bills when she suddenly finds herself thrust into the world of the fae. She makes a deal to help them find a door in exchange for learning the truth about her family.

This was a fun, addictive read. The world-building is vivid, with monsters, magical realms, and court politics that keep things interesting. There’s a good mix of action and romance, too.

Bristol is a strong and determined character and doesn’t let the fact that she’s in an unfamiliar land get in her way. Her need for closure surrounding the death of her father and her love for her sisters make her relatable, and I was rooting for her the whole time.

The first half of the book had my full attention while we learned about the characters and the land of the fae. I especially loved getting to know Prince Tyghan and watching his relationship with Bristol progress.

I always enjoy reading books with multiple perspectives, but the shifts in POV here were sometimes confusing and made it hard to follow along. This might be a listener issue and not an issue with the print version.

The second half of the story is a little repetitive, and the ending is too abrupt. After such a long and detailed story, I didn’t expect it to stop right in the middle of a scene. No closure, cliffhanger, or anything. I had to go back and relisten to make sure I didn’t zone out and miss a whole chapter.

Brittany Pressley is my favorite narrator, and I will listen to any of her books! She did another fantastic job bringing this story to life by giving each character a unique voice, and really drew me in.

Overall, I enjoyed this one. It’s a fun, fast-paced read (or listen) for anyone who loves romantic fantasy with a touch of danger. I’m looking forward to the next book in the series!

Thank you to NetGalley, MacMillan Audio, and Flatiron Books for supplying me with an audio galley of this book to read and give my honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.
It's been a long while since a read a fae book that truly captured my attention and kept it there. This is that book. I was not sure what I was expecting but it was not what Pearson gave me which is a book filled with magic, tension, romance, and mystery. While the story had many elements of fae fantasy I've read in the past, it still felt unique. It was complex and and compelling. At first I was expecting more of a teen fae romance book but that's not what I got. The characters are older, more mature, and there is definitely steam in this book which is open door but not spicy.
I really enjoyed the narrator of this book: Brittany Pressley. This is the first time I can remember listening to anything by her and she is now on my list of favorites. She easily voiced all the different characters making them unique and easy to separate from each other. Often times with books that have a large cast of characters and only one narrator, I will get confused but with this book I did not. And her style reminded me of the narrator from Leigh Bardugo's books, who I absolutely love. Pressley pacing was perfect
Bristol and Tyghan are a great enemies to lovers/forbidden love story. There is so much tension and chemistry between them. Though at first I did feel it was a bit rushed on Tyghan's part since they barely know each other. You can feel that he definitely falls first. But then the slow burn and the lead up made up for it. Their interactions and banter are great in showing how the bond forms between them. Once you begin to see their budding romance, it doesn't feel rushed or even forced. They explore their connection outside of the bedroom, which I really enjoyed.
The plot of the book is similar to other books I've read: there's fighting in the fae world and the fae will use whatever means they can, including humans, to make sure they win that fight. But the mystery behind who Bristol is and who her parents are is what really makes the story for me. I will say I was confused at first by the time discrepancies. It's been so long since I read a fae book that I forgot time moves differently in that world than in the human world. So the ages of the characters didn't truly make sense to me until I was a little further along in the book. Pearson withholds things from the read and releases them in slow bits to keep the story moving forward, and this definitely kept me interested as I needed to know everything behind the mystery of Bristol and her parents. And the world building was done very well. Again, elements of fae stories are always pretty consistent, but Pearson wove in some interesting differences in the animals she introduces and relationships between the characters. Plus, she really showed a strong female presence in the book.
The ending was a bit abrupt and definitely a cliffhanger leaving me wanting more. There wasn't much closure but I'm wondering if that is just to goad the reader into truly wanting the second book now, because I do! This and the fact that her sisters so easily accepted fae were my only complaints of the book. Though it did not effect my rating.
If you enjoy enemies to lovers, forbidden love, fae fantasy, time shifts/portals, slow burn romance, he falls first, and hidden magic, pick this one up! Don't expect from this what you got from Pearson's other books as Pearson steps away from the young adult/teen crowd in this story,. Lovers of The Cruel Prince series by Holly Black and even The Iron Fey by Julie Kagawa will enjoy Pearson's adult fantasy debut.

I really enjoyed this book at first! I got really pulled into the idea of the fae and the deals and mysterious that were occurring! The story was interesting and the narrator was great BUT I did get really pulled out of the story due to the fact that the setting for the story was called Elfhame, which is the same setting as The Cruel Prince by Holly Black...from there I just kept seeing similarities in the stories.... While there are definitely some differences (The Courting of Bristol Keats is an adult book while The Cruel Prince is YA and there are some plot differences) but I think it definitely sent me into a tizzy because every time I heard it, it made me confused and think about a different story. I think if there had been a different setting name, I would've really enjoyed this story!
Thank you so much to Macmillan Audio for a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an unbiased review!💞

Thank you for the opportunity to read this advance readerd copy. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Full review post to come.

I enjoyed The Courting of Bristol Keats, and I think this was great as an audiobook, but I ultimately think this was a long set up for book 2.

I thought the world was interesting. There were fun characters and I really enjoy a good fae story. This definitely gave me some Cruel Prince vibes (though I did like Cruel Prince a bit better). The setup for what is to come was wonderful. I think I will really enjoy book 2, as I think it will be the payoff for much of what was started in this book.

The narrator was wonderful. She did a fantastic job differentiating between many characters and getting across the emotions and thoughts.

Overall, the pacing of this was a little weird. It felt a little slow at times, especially in the first half, but then the second half and the end were much quicker. The end was very abrupt and it felt like the whole story used to be one book and then was just kind of arbitrarily stopped at this point to then continue in book 2. Nothing was wrapped up, even temporarily. It pretty much ended in the middle of a scene.

I didn't always feel connected to the characters. Bristol and Tygan's relationship felt a little flat. I didn't really connect with their romance. I loved the idea of it, but they just didn't quite click for me.

All of that said, I did enjoy this book. I genuinely wanted to know what happens and am looking forward to the next book. Based on book 1, I think this could maybe have worked better edited down to a single book, rather than stopping where it did. I also have a feeling that a lot more will happen more quickly in book 2 based on where we left off in book 1.

Definitely for fans of stuff like The Cruel Prince and ACOSF, and a solid little romantasy offering. I’d say this book is fine. The prose is decent, the experience of reading it isn’t unenjoyable, but it just sort of feels like a wash of ideas and tropes without a deep-seated soul or a why of their existence. It made me feel similarly to how I felt reading Fourth Wing.

I love a fae book, I love stuff rooted in Irish lore, but just…nothing new was happening. If you want to read something that will make you feel just like x or y book, this is the one for you.

Characters were fine, a little one-dimensional but definitely rooted in archetypes that are appealing to readers. You have your normal girl who hasn’t discovered her super special power yet, the dark and tortured prince who antagonizes the girl but bc he loooooves her and the greek chorus of barely fleshed out badass femmes that support our heroine.

Meh. But it’ll sell.

Bristol Keats and her sisters have spent their lives moving from town to town, always feeling like their parents were on the run from something. Shortly after settling down in the small town of Bowskeep, both her parents are killed in accidents, and the girls find themselves struggling to stay afloat. When Bristol begins to receive letters from a mysterious aunt she's never heard of, she reluctantly agrees to meet and learns that everything she thought she knew was a lie, including her father's death. Desperate to save her father, Bristol makes a bargain with a fae king, Tyghan, and journeys to the fae realm.

This story didn't feel entirely unique (though I did love Bristol's parents' backstory), but Pearson tells it in such a way that I was completely drawn in. The book did start off a little slow, but once things started to pick up I found myself eager to learn what was going to happen next.

One of my favorite parts of this book was Bristol and Tyghan's relationship. I loved that they had that real steamy slow burn, and nothing about it felt rushed or forced. They were slow to admit their feelings for another but, at the same time, they weren't afraid to explore the connection that was growing between them.

This book probably would have been a 5-star read for me if it hadn't been for the ending. I know this is the first book in a series so I 100% anticipated a cliffhanger. What Pearson left us with, though, was an abrupt end to the book that, to be honest, felt a bit unfinished.

The narrator for the audiobook was amazing - she absolutely made the different characters come to life through the use of different accents and inflections. I find audiobooks can be difficult to listen to sometimes when there's one narrator for such a large number of characters but she knocked this out of the park.

Read if you like:
Portal fantasy
Enemies to lovers
Forbidden romance
Slow burn romance
Found family
He falls first
Hidden magic

I’m feeling mostly neutral about this listening experience.

THE COURTING OF BRISTOL KEATS is set in a world of fae and trolls and magic. But it’s definitely more fantasy-adjacent. The vibe is drama and romance, with characters who happen to be magical, but also human. Sort of? There is very little world building.

I liked the characters, and the plot was interesting, though neither really surprised me in any way. It all felt a little too formulaic.

Pacing was slow. The entire story wasn't much more than a setup for the romance and whatever will happen in book 2.

There are some spicy scenes for those who enjoy them.

The writing style is engaging and enjoyable.

I listened to the audiobook. Brittany Pressley does a fantastic job narrating.

[I tandem read the audiobook with a digital arc. The first part of my review will focus on the audio narration and then I will copy over my review of the story itself.]

I liked the audiobook recording. The narrator had a soothing voice and great pacing. Her range of voices for the characters was good. I tend to prefer different narrators for different POVs and would have preferred that, but she did well enough on her own. My one critique is that it started to sound quite choppy when I tried to listen to it even at 1.25 speed. I don't know if that's something that can be smoothed out somehow, as I know quite a lot of people listen to audiobooks at higher speeds.

Copied review of the story-
For context, I read The Remnant Chronicles a long time ago and rated them well so I must have liked them, but I don't remember a lot. Based on how much I liked The Courting of Bristol Keats, I will probably go back and reread them to see how they hold up.

For Bristol, I really liked this take on Fae. The concept and backstory are complex in a compelling way. The characters and their relationships are interesting without being tropey or too closely resembling dynamics that we see over and over again in the genre. It was quite refreshing in that way.

I like how the time discrepancies between the human and fae world contribute to the story. I liked how the author connects the dots of Bristol's upbringing slowly throughout the book. I like how the information that is withheld from the characters and me as the reader made sense to be withheld and didn't feel glaringly obvious or fall into the miscommunication trope. I like the chemistry between Bristol and Tyghan.

The development between Bristol and Tyghan felt pretty well paced and organic. The only thing that ever bothered me about Tyghan was that he didn't feel very kingly but I think that's just consistent with his character. I really liked that once he made his decision to be with her, he was all in. When he says, "This is not a dalliance." Yes. Validation. Love to see it. If I'm being nit-picky, their first intimate encounter was a little cringe to me, the way it is written. The rest of it was fine though.

I thought it was interesting how the other chose to disperse other POV's throughout the book, like that of the snake and the horse. I wonder if that will have any significance moving forward, as Bristol mentions the snake looking like he ate something. I like the addition of little details like that.

My biggest complaint is that the ending felt super abrupt to me. I wasn't expecting it to end when it did. It maybe didn't have the emotional impact I was looking for, like a big reveal or revelation but I am still very much looking forward to the sequel. I'm intrigued to see where the story goes. I'll absolutely be recommending this book to my customers who love fae romance.

3.5 stars! Very entertaining listen but it was very instalove and the world building felt rushed. I felt like the story was finally going in an interesting and unique direction at the end to set up for the next book. The narration was very good but I wanted more from the story.

5 Stars

I LOVED this book! I started this on a road trip and stayed awake the entire trip to listen to this. I even stayed up late after we arrived at our location to finish it. The world building and character development was perfectly done. The narration was excellent. I cannot wait for the next book in this series!

Thank you to Macmillian audio and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook.

I recently finished listening to The Courting of Bristol Keats and while I found myself hooked from the very start, there were a couple of elements that left me wanting more.

What I loved: The narrator truly elevated this audiobook. Her ability to give distinct voices to each character made the story come to life. I was so enthralled by her performance that I found myself squeezing in listening time during every spare moment. She was captivating, and her narration alone deserves five stars!

The plot itself kept me engaged, and the pacing was perfect until the end.

What I didn't: The shifts in point of view without any clear indication of whose mind we were in became a bit confusing at times. I often had to stop and recalibrate, which took away from the immersive experience.

As for the ending, I was not prepared for how abrupt it would be. I had to take a star off for that—there was no real closure, and I was left with so many questions. I need book two now!

Lastly, the cover didn’t quite fit the book’s tone. I found myself wishing it reflected the romantic fantasy elements rather than a fantasy mystery.

Despite the abrupt ending and confusing point of view shifts, The Courting of Bristol Keats was an incredibly enjoyable audiobook experience. If you’re looking for a story to lose yourself in, I recommend giving this a try—with the hope that book two is coming soon!

***Thank you to Macmillan Audio for providing a copy of the audiobook. My review contains my honest thoughts about my listening experience.***

I'm not going to spend a ton of time talking about The Courting of Bristol Keats. The book was fine. It was easy to listen to, and the story was exactly what one might expect from a romantasy about fae. The tropes and character types will be familiar to anyone who has read ACOTAR or other books like it. I was just hoping for something a bit more original and less predictable.

Did I enjoy The Courting of Bristol Keats? Absolutely. It was an entertaining read despite retreading familiar territory. The audiobook narrator did a great job of making each character distinctive and pulling me into the story. The world-building was intriguing, especially all of the political shenanigans between the faerie kingdoms. I wish we'd gotten to see even more of the faerie realm, but I liked the things that were explored. The mysteries, while pretty obvious, did keep me engaged with the story because I wanted to see how the characters would react to the answers.

I had two main gripes about The Courting of Bristol Keats other than its lack of originality. First, the book was way too bloated and had a lackluster ending. The middle of this book was so slow and quite repetitive. Then the story finally started building momentum before ending without providing a significant standoff. Some of the mysteries were solved, and important relationship threads were completed. However, none of the larger, action-oriented plot points got any type of resolution, which annoyed me. The last scene, in particular, just felt so awkward. Like, why end the book THERE?

My other main problem with The Courting of Bristol Keats was the romance. I enjoyed the combative nature of the central relationship, especially in the beginning. Then things got really serious, really fast. I liked the scenes where the characters confided in one another because it helped me as the reader get to know them, as well. However, their closeness just didn't feel earned. It didn't help that there were some major lies at the foundation of the relationship. When they came out, the resolution once again just felt way too quick. I'm not a fan of instalove, and this story really reeked of it.

Overall, The Courting of Bristol Keats was an entertaining romantasy that utilized familiar tropes, archetypes, and plot points. I do wish the pacing had been a bit steadier and the page count had been at least a hundred pages shorter. The romance had its moments, but the instalove caused me some major disappointment. Therefore, I rate The Courting of Bristol Keats 3.25 out of 5 stars.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for providing me with the audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

This book wasn't for me. Let me rephrase, this book isn't for me at this point in my life. A few years ago, a younger me would've eaten this story up and loved every minute. It has fae, war, magic, secrets, romance, and plenty of twists, but for some reason I couldn't connect with it. It dragged a bit and I kept putting it down and leaving it alone for longer and longer periods.

Maybe I'll come back to it when I'm feeling more high fantasy.

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to this book early!

DNF at 62%.
I REALLY wanted to like this book. Brittany Pressley’s narration was fantastic!! There were beautifully written passages.

Unfortunately, those are the only pros I can come up with. I think the bones for a good story are there but the execution was painful. Pearson writes a lot of the “what” of the story but we get very little “why”. This applies to character & relationship development (they go from enemies to lovers how?? when??), how the parallel worlds work, and even the entire reason Bristol goes to another realm. The reason is stated at the beginning but the story is so meandering that I lost interest. Why are they training again?? Who are the side characters and why do I care about them? I hate leaving an icky review in advance of a release, but I hate being frustrated by a new book even more.