Mary Pearson is an absolute auto-buy author for me and I was so thrilled to receive an ARC audiobook or her newest fantasy, The Courting of Bristol Keats. The atmosphere and the dangerous magical land just had me enthralled and I cannot recommend highly enough!

Thank you to NetGalley for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I was provided with an ALC of The Courting of Bristol Keats by Mary E. Pearson. I really liked the town of Bowskeep, and the hidden fantasy elements throughout it, as well as the references to historical poets and artists. I found that the story dragged a little, and felt that it could have been a bit shorter. Overall it was an alright listen. Thank you NetGalley for the Advanced Listeners Copy.

It’s been a minute since I’ve read a new fantasy book, where I needed to establish an entirely new world and as summer went by, the thought of using my brain to do that was kinda daunting. Enter cozy season and I am ready for it.

I’ve been seeing the beautiful sprayed edges edition of this book floating around everywhere so when it was an option from Macmillan Audio, I pounced.

I could go on and on and write a super long review on this book because i loved it so so so much, but really all you need to know is I AM OBSESSED. There is not a single thing about this book i did not enjoy.

You get leads in their twenties, world building that is vast and vivid but not overwhelming, characters that are relatable and tangible, tension that is palpable, and a romance that will make you swoon. Literally, all the things.

Bristol spent her whole life running but unsure why, but is suddenly thrust into a foreign and unknown world. Tyghan was thrust into kingship unexpectedly, while battling hundred of literal demons. They are dynamic and full of depth and i love them both so fucking much.

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. Its romantic fantasy, but its also epic fantasy. Its full of magic and whimsy and its got a morally gray shadow daddy who likes to make himself invisible and sneak around with our best girl.

Bristol Keats, I love you but i do not envy you. You are in one hell of a position. I cannot wait to see what happens next in this wondrous world that @maryepearson has created for us. This books was so much fun to read.

This was such an amazing journey. I loved the interwoven worlds, the twists and turns, and the strength of the female MC Bristol. I wish we had gotten more of her sisters, but maybe we’ll see them in later books to come.

The narrator was nice to listen too, I wouldn’t necessarily rave about the narration but I also can’t complain. It was an enjoyable listen all around - if not a tad hard to follow because of how much was going on and how much world building there was. This may be a bit more digestible in print form but that’s no fault of the book, just how much we can really ingest through audio alone (at least for me).

I really liked the flipping of stories by different characters and how we had to decide who to trust with Bristol. There was some spice, but nothing overwhelming.

The miscommunication that was included was well done, sometimes miscommunication can feel unbelievable and make me think ok, really you fell for that? But that wasn’t the case in this story.

Overall, I thought this was an imaginative and enjoyable read with equal parts plot and characterization, as well as equal parts violence, adventure, and relationships/love.

The narration was fantastic! I really liked the inflection, the tone, and they very much brought life to the story.

Overall, it was a pretty good book - although it certainly does leave off on a cliffhanger! I’m interested to see what is going to happen.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced audio copy of The Courting of Bristol Keats. This lush portal fantasy had me hooked from the start! Mary E. Pearson masterfully weaves together magic, scheming fae, romance, and mythological monsters to create a truly compelling and immersive experience. The world-building is rich and detailed, and the characters felt alive, with their motivations and complexities unfolding beautifully throughout the story.

While I thoroughly enjoyed the audiobook, especially the narrator's use of distinct voices for each character, I found myself wishing I had the physical book in hand to savor the intricate details and pacing at my own speed. I set my audio speed at 2x, I could have increased the speed a little more to pace at my speed. Pearson's foray into adult fantasy did not disappoint, and I’m eager to see what she does next in this genre. This was such a fun read, and I can’t wait to revisit it in a physical format. Four stars!

I absolutely loved this well-crafted, well-paced adult Romantasy by one of my favorite YA authors!

This is the story of Bristol Keats, the grown middle daughter of recently deceased parents of questionable heritage.

After living her entire life in a gypsy-type existence moving from town to town, Bristol just wants to settle down in a nice place where she and her two sisters can live peacefully. But Bowskeep isn’t the unassuming small town that the Keats sisters believe it to be and it’s not long before the Fae inhabitants of a closely adjacent land come looking for a savior for their world. A savior they believe might be Bristol. And when Bristol finds out that her father may still be alive in this world, we are off on quite the adventure!

The Courting of Bristol Keats is full of many mysteries, royal court intrigue, past betrayals, hidden magic, slow burn romance, and familial love along with (my favorite) Found Family. Also present is He Falls First (another favorite) and Tyghan is my new favorite book boyfriend and Bree and Ty my new favorite OTP.

TCOBK ends well with many mysteries left unsolved and the original goals left uncompleted which leaves me anxiously awaiting the next installment in this new exciting series from one of my favorite authors!

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for my advanced listening audiobook. I can highly recommend the audiobook as well due to the fact that one of my favorite narrators, Brittany Pressley, gives an excellent performance!

Fae men? Yes please ! I’m a sucker for a good fantasy book with amazing fae men and this is one of them! Loved the fantasy elements that it had and the mentioning of other fantasy creatures. I was obsessed with the romance in this book as well.

Mary Pearson has done it again. I loved every single thing about this book. The world, the characters, the story, the pacing. I loved everything. I don't want to say too much as I don't want to give anything away, but this book was utter perfection to me and I'm so sad I have to wait a long time for book 2! Don't sleep on this one!

Wow, this book is awesome! The audiobook is phenomenal! It's long but well worth the length. I cannot wait for the second book. Definitely became a favorite book for me.

A lush portal fantasy, filled with magic, scheming fae, romance, gods and mythological monsters. This was such a fun read, with compelling and immersive characters, plot and world building. Mary E. Pearson's foray into adult fantasy definitely did not disappoint.
I found the characters likeable and complex - there is quite a bit of moral ambiguity in the relationships of characters, and I found that a fun element to explore. The romance was enjoyable and believable and just enough. The world of Elphame felt lush - and hope we continue to see more in later books.
I did however have a couple cons - I wish there was further explanation of the magic system - while we do see training on magic, I felt like I was missing an over-arching bigger picture of how magic works and is granted. I did also find the ending a bit lackluster. There is a setup for the series to continue nicely, but it seemed as if this first book left with too many things unresolved.

With that said, I will absolutely be reading the next book in this series!


Thank you to NetGalley for both the audio and eBook ARCS.

Overall it was an enjoyable read with a very strange ending. At first I had trouble keeping up with the information given due to the audiobook format, but as the story progressed I started to piece together the world building and I started to enjoy it. I felt as though having the POV’s from multiple side characters didn’t really make sense and I didn’t really care for it, but I haven’t seen it done in many books so I guess it was kinda cool? I don’t think it added to the plot that much but it still worked. Now the ending was very weird with how poorly timed everything seemed to be, and it was extremely abrupt. It felt like the author just decided to stop writing in order to keep more stuff for the second book? I did enjoy the romance as it reminded me of Cruel Prince, so a good book for fans of that series!

Brief summary:

Bristol is pulled into a strange world in search of answers about her parents, where she faces monsters, fae, heroes, and villains.

My thoughts:

The audiobook was really hard to follow. I think this would have been a lot more enjoyable as a physical read. It was tough to keep up with which chapters were in which POV most of the time. The narrator did a good job with the voices but unfortunately it was still a bit tough to follow.

The story overall was fine. A typical romantasy with fae, nothing that really stood out to me.

Thanks to netgalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

That ending?!?!! What was that ending?!? Besides that this was my top fantasy read of the year. I loved the world and all the narrators. I’m so excited to continue this story but idk how I’m gonna wait so long!

Atmospheric and engaging, this new adult book from Mary E. Pearson welcomes readers into the land of Fae. A tale- dark and twisting- of a girl, a fae king, and the secrets they are keeping. After spending a lifetime on the run, Bristol Keats is trying to keep her family in one place after the deaths of both of their parents. When an opportunity appears to secure their futures, in the form of an offer from a hitherto unknown great aunt, Bristol takes a chance and gets way more than she bargained for. Who are her parents really? Who were they running from? Are they actually dead? Bristol goes to fairyland to try and get answers and along the way learns more than she ever wanted to about fairies, family, and their secrets. Pearson is a master of world and character building- and this book is no different. The first few chapters are slow, but after that I devoured the rest. For fans of ACOTAR, who prefer something with more adult writing and less fecal matter.

Thank you to @macmillanaudio for the ALC! This book blew me away. I was absolutely hooked and couldn’t get enough. What a rich world full of interesting and well-developed lore, intriguing plot lines and endearing characters.

This book isn’t even officially out yet and I cannot WAIT for the next book in the duology. Running to read Mary E. Pearson’s backlog now. If you love romantasy this is a must-read. This deserves all of the hype that Fourth Wing and ACOTAR get because it’s brilliant, I said what I said.

Fantastic! I had a great time listening to this audiobook! I enjoyed the narrator and her voices for each character. I thought she did a great job articulating the right emotions when voicing the characters. The pacing was well done - I did not speed up or slow down! I found the story very engaging and it had many jaw dropping moments for me. All the characters felt true to themselves. This is my first Mary E. Pearson book and am very exciting to see where she takes the rest of the story! Plus that ending?! What an ending.

Side comment: This was giving adult cruel prince vibes. And what made this book stand out a little more to me was that it did NOT feel “tropey”. By that I mean I did not feel like the book was written to fit certain tropes.

I enjoyed this a lot. I loved the way Bristol was written but it was a shame almost every person in her life lies to her. Tyghan is the worst liar of them all but somehow I still rooted for the relationship. I enjoyed how the ending was written because there is definitely more to figure out but it wasn't a huge cliffhanger. Besides Tyghan being a liar and Bristol maybe being too forgiving of everyone my main other complaint is there were so many obvious questions Bristol could have asked when the truth was starting to come out. I listened to this on audio and I did think the narrators was great and did well with multiple POVs. I am impatiently waiting for the next book.

I was so happy to listen to this! I was so intrigued and emotionally invested in the story and relationships. I loved the ending, it was so unique to the normal endings you typically get in fantasy books. The only “critique” is I was hoping for a little more action. But I get that’s not where the book was going and that’s okay! I’m very interested to see where Bristol, fam, and friends go from here.

As a fan of Mary E. Pearson's YA Fantasy Romance Trilogy, I was looking forward to trying her new romantasy. I had fun listening to this audiobook, it was well narrated and easy to follow. I continued to be engaged through the whole 17hrs.

As for the characters and story I enjoyed both. I found Bristol to be an interesting heroine. I know she is only in her only 20's but she read older to me and I found her relatable and the bonds she built with both her family, the MMC and the friends she met along the way. Tyghan was also a good love interest and I enjoyed his grumpy presence.

As for the story I thought it had interesting world building, but also wasn't overwhelming. I'm really glad this is a trilogy because I think Pearson has done a good job setting up the framework for two books and for the story not to feel overwhelming. I am looking forward to recommending closer to the release date.