Quite different from her previous books, The Courting of Bristol Keats is the perfect book for fans of The Cruel Prince and other Fae stories. The narrator gave a great performance and the audiobook made it easy to fly through this book. The romance wasn't as compelling as her other books for me, I'm not entirely sure why (but it might just be because I'm not a fan of Fae princes in general) but the two characters still had plenty of chemistry. The book does end in quite the unexpected spot, so be prepared for kind of a cliff hanger!

The story follows Bristol, the main character, and her sisters who live in the small town of Bowskeep. After losing both parents, they struggle to make ends meet by selling their father's art and working low-wage jobs. Everything changes when a mysterious aunt appears, and Bristol learns her father might still be alive. Soon, she’s receiving strange letters from this unknown aunt, which lead her to discover that her life has been built on lies. Bristol embarks on a journey to a magical realm filled with magical creatures.

The audiobook narrator was great. I enjoyed listening to her. She had distinct accents and tones for the characters, which made the story enjoyable.
If you’ve read a lot of fantasy then I wouldn’t say you’d find anything groundbreaking about the plot, but it was enjoyable and a classic troupe. It’s a portal fantasy where a human girl is thrust into a magical fae world. The writing and world-building are good which makes it a good book 1.
The book blends romantic and epic fantasy, with magic, whimsy. It features a slow-burn, enemies-to-lovers romance that stays in the background while the story focuses on adventure and intrigue. I recommend it to readers looking for a fantasy romance that’s easy to follow and not overly focused on the romance aspect.

Key elements include reluctant allies, royal court intrigue, past betrayals, found family, and hidden magic, with a morally gray male lead who falls first.

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the advanced audio copy.

The cpurting of Bristol keats was a pretty good read
I didn't find myself lost at certain points. Over all the story was interesting, but the characters and world building felt a little lacking. The ending also felt abrupt. I feel like I missed a chapter lol. Overall kept me interested foe the 500+ pages. Thank you, Netgalley, for the ARC copy :)

Very, very rarely do I DNF (Do Not Finish) a book, but this is one of those rare occasions. The story is appealing enough and I want to complete it in a physical version; the version I was given was audio and therein lies the problem. I listen to audio books regularly, nearly every day, but I simply could not get through this narrator's intense vocal fry and repetitive voice lilting (starting off normal, shifting to breathy mid-sentence, and dropping to a painful croak at the end). Coupled with the overdramatic pitch of character dialogue, I am not entirely sure how I managed to get through a quarter of the book.

However, I am interested in seeing where this story is going and I will be looking for the physical copy, so please only consider this view if you are considering the audio version.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC of the audiobook.

Audio: The narrator did a fabulous job. When it is mainly a dual POV, but there’s only one narrator, it can be a bummer, but the narrator did a great job for all the multiple POVs this book ventures into.

Characters: The dynamics and relationships between the characters of this book are fascinating and carry your interest throughout the entire story. Bristol our MFC is strong but hesitant and her character development is good. Ty our MMC is mysterious and still remains so at the end of the book but we get some recent history that we see slowly unfold.

World Building: This is a portal fantasy that isn’t heavy on the world building like a lot of Pearson’s other works. It plays off a lot of things we know about the common Fae worlds and focuses more on the characters but still has intriguing court politics to follow.

Writing: I really enjoyed the writing style. It flowed well, wasn’t overly descriptive, but was beautiful and really helped you stay in the moment.

Romance: The dynamics of the relationship are fascinating and leave you wondering the whole book how this is going to work on multiple levels. I wanted it to be a little more believable, maybe it was a little rushed, but I still enjoyed it and I’m interested in what the relationship will go through in the next and final? book.

Ending: I personally enjoy more of a punchy cliff hanger than what was given but it was a sweet one. Book one was wrapped up nicely enough to make you feel good but left most of the plot and relationship statuses unresolved so that’ll carry you into wanting to read book two.

Overall: 4 out of 5 stars for me. I enjoyed it all and felt immersed in the story, the characters, and the world. I always found myself wanting to see what would happen next. I definitely can’t wait for book two!

Wow, folks – this is one of those books that you start recommending to people even before you finish it!

The Courting of Bristol Keats is the newest book from Dance of Thieves author Mary E. Pearson. I liked her previous series a lot, but this one was even better than I expected. It’s perfect if you love stories of a mortal woman getting pulled into dark faerie worlds, like The Cruel Prince or Emily Wilde’s Encyclopedia of Faeries.

What we love about those series is present here to a T, plus a bunch of other things that us fantasy romance girlies are craving in our reads:
- a mysterious plotline that needs unraveling
- political intrigue and secrets
- lots of danger and betrayals
- an enemies to lovers romance (okay, it’s more of dislike-to-lovers but it’s done very well!)
- discovering magical powers
- fantastic female friendships

The only thing I didn’t love was the ending – it’s the start of a new series and the cliffhanger ending hits abruptly. I’m now dying for the next book!

This book publishes November 12th and I predict it’s going to be a huge hit. I listened to the audiobook, thanks to a free audio arc from macaudio and I highly recommend it. The narrator is fantastic and the world building is clear and simple so I was immediately immersed in the story fully.

˗ˏˋ ★ ˎˊ˗ 3.25 Stars ˗ˏˋ ★ ˎˊ˗

We follow our FMC, Bristol. Her and her sisters live in the small town of Bowskeep. They have lost both of their parents, and are struggling, but trying their best in life. Trying to make ends meet by selling their father's artwork and working minimum wage jobs.

A mysterious aunt surfaces out of the blue and the news of her father being alive sets Bristol on a new path that’s quite literally out of her world. Bristol starts receiving mysterious letters from an aunt that she’s never heard of before.

Against her better judgment, Bristol goes to meet with the aunt and soon discovers that significant parts of her life have been a lie, and her father may not even be dead. Bristol travels to a magical land, full of danger, fae, and monsters, and things get even more mysterious.

I've gotta be really honest - the audiobook narration by Brittany Pressley really gave me the nudge a few times which really helped get me through the book. She delivers great voice and pitch changes, with fun accents thrown in, that make the story pleasing to the ear.

This would have taken me much longer to get through if I didn't have the audio to pull me through. It's not that it was boring, but there were some areas that felt drawn out and I found myself not staying as engaged.

˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ While there's really nothing new that an avid fantasy reader will find in this story - it's comforting and enjoyable. I love a good portal fantasy featuring a human girl tossed into a magical fae land.

˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ The writing and the world building is excellent - I think this is a very solid start to a new series.

This book is full of secrets and betrayal and fae and gods and shifters. It's got hidden identities and enemies to lovers that try so hard not to fall for each other. It's romantic fantasy, but it's also epic fantasy. Its full of magic and whimsy and it's got a morally gray shadow daddy who likes to make himself invisible and sneak around with our best girl.

I do recommend this to readers who are looking for a fantasy romance that isn't over the top with spice or romance since it's a subplot and a world that is easy to keep up with.


╰⪼ˎˊ˗ Adult Fantasy
╰⪼ˎˊ˗ Reluctant Allies
╰⪼ˎˊ˗ Enemies to Lovers
╰⪼ˎˊ˗ Morally grey MMC
╰⪼ˎˊ˗ Slow Burn
╰⪼ˎˊ˗ Forbidden Romance
╰⪼ˎˊ˗ Royal Court Intrigue
╰⪼ˎˊ˗ Past Betrayals
╰⪼ˎˊ˗ Found Family
╰⪼ˎˊ˗ He Falls First
╰⪼ˎˊ˗ Hidden Magic

🌟 Many thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio (ILY 🤗) for the advanced audio copy- all thoughts and opinions are my own. 🌟

I really enjoyed this. This had all my favorites, fae, magic, royalty and spice! The narrator was perfect, as I enjoy her every time she narrates. I will be recommending this one and eagerly awaiting book 2!

I was really excited for an adult novel from this author, but unfortunately, it didn’t live up to my expectations. I found myself bored, which was shocking, given that I typically enjoy this type of story (“regular” girl with a fae love interest) when it’s done well. I had hoped the slow burn romance between the MCs would keep me engaged, but it turned into insta love out of nowhere. I was also confused a lot, and I wonder if that was partly due to the audiobook format. The narrator did a good job changing the voices, but there are so many people/creatures that it was hard to keep track at times. A multicast audio might have suited the story better, or perhaps just reading a physical copy would have provided a clearer experience. Overall, it was ok, but I never really felt the investment in the story that I was hoping for.

Many thanks for the ALC!

The VIBES in this book are immaculate! For fans of Alix Harrow, Emily Wilde, or other dark fantasy lovers, we have fae, portal magic, “real world” girl stumbles into alternate reality, romantasy plot line, etc. I loved the set up, the entry into the fae world, the subterfuge, the magic system, all of it. The book ended abruptly and I’ll perhaps die waiting for book 2, but I’ll ABSOLUTELY be reading it!!!

First of all, that cliffhanger was so abrupt that it felt like there were a couple of chapters missing rather than the author leaving us wondering what would happen next. Overall, I think this book will be very popular with the girlies trying to fill the ACOTAR void. It's a really good mix of fantasy and romance vibes, with pretty decent worldbuilding. It kept me engaged the whole time. It's really hard to take a concept which at this point it vastly overdone and deliver a seemingly originalish concept to it. I was impressed (on all but some of the naming fronts, those were a little eh), and I would like to learn more about this kingdom and I'm actually excited to read the next book which is rare in a romantasy duology. I will say I wish that the authors would have characters use different expletives other than ones that people in our world use currently cause they literally talked about difference in languages and it would be so good to have him a moment of him saying something other than f*ck and having to explain it to her and how he meant it as a compliment and not a bad thing.

3⭐️

I listened to the audiobook and also read this one. I really enjoyed the audio narrators and even up switching to only audio half way thru. They did a great job bringing life to these characters.

The first half of this book was so strong and I was .
gripped. I really enjoyed world that Bristol was thrust into but then it just fell a bit flat. Just nothing really happened and the romance was pacing well but then went to insta love out of no where:

Things I really enjoyed about this book was the two worlds and got that interacted together. That I was never really sure of the real story and what was the truth. In the first half I thought the maze training scenes were a lot of fun. After the first half I feel like many of the chapters could have been omitted. It seemed like filler and didn't progress the story.

I didn't knock down my review of this, but it was evident that this was the authors debut in adult, The overall book still read very YA with sprinkles of adult content, I'm hoping that the author does find her footing in the adult books genre as I do really enjoy her books.

Thank you to NetGalley and MacMillon audio for this advanced listener copy. My review is voluntarily my own.

I decided to stop listening at the 40% mark. I think it’s a wrong book, wrong time issue. None of the plot points interested me so I couldn’t stay focused. I’m going to try and come back to it, but for now I have to say it’s not for me.

Loved. Loved. Loved. Apparently, I'm in my fantasy era. This book was so well done. I listened to the audio and loved it so much I bought a physical copy. It's one of my top books of the year.

I listened to the audiobook for The Courting Of Bristol Keats.

The book follows Bristol Keats as she navigates a new-to-her world of Monsters, Fae and Gods. After receiving mysterious letters from someone who claims they can help her, she journeys to Elfhame to search for her father, who she thought was dead but believes is still alive. In Elfhame she learns that everything she knew about her family is a lie.

Mary E. Pearson can do no wrong when it comes to writing books! The world building was easy to follow. The characters were well written. I loved the romance, and the dark secrets that go on within the book!

The narrator did a great job keeping me entertained and focused on the story. She brought the characters to life with the different voices she used for each character.

Thank you to NetGalley for my ARC of The Courting of Bristol Keats!

Bristol Keats has been shuttled from place to place throughout her childhood. She returns home after the death of both her parents to be with her sisters, but everything changes when she finds out fae are real and they coerce her into helping them. She's transported into their realm where she confronts dark secrets, powerful magic, and a handsome king.

The characters in the book are fantastic, and made even better by Brittany Pressley's incredible narration. She manages to make each character distinct. This story is told from multiple POVs which makes the world feel richer and more immersive. I liked that the author used this technique instead of relying on the outsider to a new world trope to exposition dump. Bristol's POV chapters are used to build a sense of wonder and mystery. I really liked this approach.

The romance feels real and moves at a reasonable pace without being a slow burn, and it added nicely to the tension surrounding the general mystery throughout the novel. I'd rate the spice medium.

I was surprised at how abruptly it ended and even went back and listened again thinking I missed something. I actually wondered if the ALC was missing a chapter, but I guess it did it's job since I'm left wanting more.

Overall, The Courting of Bristol Keats is a very enjoyable and quick read. I'd love to return to the world and just walk around! Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the ALC!

I enjoyed this quite a bit! I am a big fan of ACOTAR and Crescent City, and this book was very reminiscent of those. It did have its own very unique magic system and world building. I loved the writing style.

In my opinion, this book was just too long and too drawn out. Some chapters slogged on forever and others were just super quick and didn't seem to have a point. I struggled a bit with this one because so much of the story is something we've heard time and time again. I kept getting bored. I was also confused a lot. Especially at the end. It just ends. It's almost like we weren't sure how to wrap it up so let's just stop here and figure it out for the next book.

I did really enjoy the narrator. She has a lovely reading voice and made the characters easy to tell apart. I imagine she had a lot of fun with some of the voices. She was what made this book worth continuing.

Thank you Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for this early release in exchange for an honest review.

Bristol and her sisters live in the small town of Bowskeep. They lost both of their parents, and are struggling, but trying their best in life. Bristol starts receiving mysterious letters from an aunt that she’s never heard of before. Against her better judgment, Bristol goes to meet with the aunt and soon discovers that significant parts of her life have been a lie, and her father may not even be dead. Bristol travels to a magical land, full of danger, fae, and monsters, and things get even more mysterious.

I loved the way this book combined fantasy with mystery. I think the world building was well done and loved the concept of the secret magical world. The characters were complex and easy to relate to. I found Bristol to be especially likable. She’s a strong FMC who will do almost anything to help her family which is so relatable. The romance between Bristol and Tyghan was great and I appreciated that it didn’t feel super rushed. The ending was a cliffhanger and I’m looking forward to what happens next in this duology!

I listened to the audiobook and Brittany Pressley did an amazing job. Each character had a clear and distinct voice and the narration really helped me become immersed in the magical world.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the ALC.

4.5 stars...first off thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the audiobook ARC of this book. I quite enjoyed it and loved the characters too. I look forward to the next book as this one was left on a cliffhanger for sure. It had Fae, other mystical beings, magic, mayhem, portals, and family secrets. I would definitely recommend this book for sure!