I had a really hard time following this story. I went in not knowing much about this story and after doing a little more research after starting reading it The hype for this on TIkTok made it sound to be the next best Romantasy with all these monsters and such... sadly ... incorrect. Overall this may not have been for me but I can see how certain audiences may enjoy the story.

Over 100 chapters, and for what reason? There's an interesting story in here somewhere I guess, but this is clearly one for the romantasy girlies who enjoy barely legal girl having sex with inappropriately-aged assholes. The man was literally her dad's best friend. Uh, no. To quote SNL, "47 isn't magical, its just weird".
It's too dark for me, too long-winded, and too blah.

Absolutely loved this! Will say the audiobook made the world-building, court politics, and characters a bit hard to follow (or maybe it was my own fault by not paying attention lol) but I absolutely loved the world of fae that Pearson created. A super fun read and the romance!! Loved this book and would recommend to romantasy readers.

I loved the audiobook and story and though the narrator did an excellent job. I thought the world building was unique which is hard to do with an overfull genre. Fun, romantic, and magical!

Bristol and Tygen's story unfolds with an enticing blend of mystery and fantasy, drawing readers into a world where Fae bargains and hidden truths intertwine. The novel's pacing, while deliberate, scatters intrigue throughout, compelling one to press on.

The premise hooks from the start: Bristol, driven by the possibility of her father's survival, strikes a bargain with the Fae. This exchange of services for their aid sets the stage for an adventure ripe with potential.

The author crafts a Fae world that complements the narrative without overwhelming it. Their portrayal eschews one-dimensional beauty, instead emphasizing the Fae's true nature—cruel, mischievous, and cunning. This nuanced depiction aligns perfectly with the story's undercurrent of secrets.

Bristol emerges as a multifaceted character, straddling the line between likable and challenging. Her struggle to support her sisters and her desperate grasp at any chance to improve their lives resonates. Yet, her default to snark can alienate. This complexity, however, makes her journey all the more compelling.

The dynamic between Bristol and the Fae King, Tyghan, crackles from their first encounter. Their interactions add a layer of appeal to the unfolding narrative, punctuated by scenes of intense passion that will satisfy readers seeking spice in their fantasy.

The story's development takes its time, which may test some readers' patience. While it addresses many of the mysteries it presents, the ending leaves room for more—perhaps intentionally so.

At 17.56 hours, the audiobook is a substantial listen. Brittany Presley's narration brings depth to both Bristol and Tyghan's perspectives, elevating the emotional resonance of the story.

For readers of Romance Fantasy seeking a new world to explore, Bristol and Tygen's tale offers a rich, if slow-burning, adventure. The blend of Fae lore, personal quests, and simmering romance creates an immersive experience for those willing to invest in its gradual unfolding.

Thank you, NetGalley and Macmillan Audio, for my free book for review.

This is the first ARC I've DNF'd. I love fantasy and romance, so it seemed like this book would be right up my alley. It was not. This book had so much potential! My main issues were:

1) The author has yet to encounter a metaphor she didn't like, which leads to the book feeling bloated, with chapters that don't progress.
2) It was hard to determine when the story was taking place. Characters bounce from speaking in the 1800s to the 2010s.
3) For being the "mature" sister, our FMC spends so much time ruminating on her need to run away and tell us how different she is instead of showcasing her maturity through action.

The narration was excellent; I just couldn't get into the story. DNF 15%

Mary Pearson weaves an intricate story filled with magic, family ties, and romance. The relationship between Bristol and her sister mixed with the grief she felt from losing her dad (and then the hope/shock that he may still be alive) created such a strong start to the story. I enjoyed Bristol as a character; her feistiness paired with her need to speak her mind made her fun to root for. The twists where Bristol finds out who her parents really are also worked really well for the story.

Yet, the story started off very slow and didn't feel as if it started to pick up pace until halfway through the book. It was also hard for me to feel a connection to the characters, which made it hard to feel the emotional stakes of the story.
While I did enjoy the relationship between Bristol and Tyghan at the end, the start of that relationship felt forced and was lacking chemistry. I felt that it should have been more developed. I was also taken aback when Tyghan realized he loved Bristol--only halfway through the book when he spent the first half not liking her at all.

Overall, I did enjoy listening to the audiobook and thought the narrator did an excellent job. Despite the slow start, the story was fun to listen to, and I am very interested to read Mary Pearson's other works.

I was curious to see Mary Pearson's take on the fae romantasy subgenre that's so popular these days. There's something nostalgic about this book - vibes of what Holly Black popularized 10ish years ago, at least in the beginning. It starts off VERY strong. Bristol was spunky, she had loving sisters who I thought would play a bigger role, and she made a promising deal with fae to enter their land and find her missing father. I did enjoy the mystery around her parents. That family angst was the most interesting subplot, and I'm intrigued to see how that's resolved next book.

But Bristol loses a lot of her personality when she's in Elfheim, and what's left is mostly kind-of cringey sass. I really struggle with romantasy enemies-to-lovers banter. It hasn't been clever or engaging in the books I've read. "The last thing I want is to see you naked." Killer line by our MMC Tyghan. Or later from Bristol to him: "Don't you ever relax? Chill?" *everyone gasps*

When I think about the plot, not a lot happens. Bristol enters fairyland, goes to magic school, falls in love with the king Tyghan... then there's an evil necromancer rival king who wants to take over fairyland, and he sucks so that would be bad, but he only shows up a couple of times to be vaguely threatening. When we reach the last page, Bristol's father is still missing, the king's brother is still in captivity, she still has that thing inside her, the fae coup hasn't begun, the portal's still open. There are a LOT of threads to wrap up next book if this is to be a duology.

There's some constant horniness from everyone, which is typical for this genre. Tyghan had a really weird conversation about sex with his sister early in the book, and there were some gross remarks between him and Bristol's dad later ("yes I AM fucking your daughter." yuck). Because yup, the MMC is the Bristol's dad's ex-bff. Time moves differently in Elfheim, though, so there's not much of an age difference between them. Just icky interpersonal drama.

I did like how Bristol and Tyghan were in love instead of just hooking up (I like ~romance~), but I'm not sure how we got there. Ghost dancing and tense sparring? "He loved her, and he had for a long time" at 60%ish in. What? When? How? I wish the slow burn had been developed more and maybe stretched into the sequel. And I GET IT, Tyghan's muscular. I got tired of hearing about his bod.

My favorite part of romantasy is always the betrayal at the end of Book 1. Maybe because I never really buy into the romance, so I'm happy when it blows up. We sort of get that? but it didn't last long enough. Blink and Bristol and Tyghan are back to confessing their love and having sex. And then the book just... ends? There's no cliffhanger, no hook really for the sequel, other than literally nothing has been resolved. There's a quick sex scene and the credits immediately roll.

The audiobook with Brittany Presley narrating was very well done. She was engaging and the one? action scene we got was very exciting. I will say that her cadence for Bristol's sass made me hate that banter even more, and the German and French accents for two of the side characters were very stereotypical.

This was an enjoyable introduction to a new fae world. There are so many secrets in this story, but the fun part is with the multiple perspectives; you know all of them quite early; we're really watching to see when and how they come to light for the unaware characters. The FMC was easy to root for, and I'm intrigued to see where the story goes next.

I'm like a parent of a petulant adolescent. I'm not angry. I'm just disappointed. The synopsis sounded so intriguing.

No descriptions of the characters, including the monsters, and no effort to adequately develop the world building. This is something I really care about.

I would like to note that the audiobook narration was absolutely incredible. Brittany Presley is one of my favorite female audiobook narrators, and she carried the story for me.

Although I can’t say that this book felt super new and different from other Fae stories I’ve read, I can say I still had an enjoyable time listening to this book.

Bristol’s parents are dead, and she and her sisters are struggling, living in a modern mortal world. A deal is struck with some faeries, and off to Elphame we go!

I’m going to be honest, I felt a little lost in the beginning, as we slowly learned about the world and the characters, but as we settled in, and mysteries unfolded, I ended up really enjoying my time. (I will say, though, this is one of those stories where I will probably need to do a reread before a second book, which I assume there will be?, because I feel like I missed some things early on while I was scrambling figuring out what was going on…)

I enjoyed the romance. It started a bit enemies to lovers, but I really loved their little nightly rendezvous, and found them pretty cute.

Ok, now the ending. I saw that I had about 30 min left of the audiobook, and was hunkering down for maybe a cliffhanger or something…but nope! It ended like THAT, and then there was a 30 min narrator interview. 😂 And here I thought I was alone in thinking it was kind of abrupt, but nope! Seen other reviews mentioning it! 🤣

Audiobook notes: The narrator was great! Every character felt distinct.

Thank you @macmillan.audio for providing me an advanced audio copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

What this book is giving:
✅ Romantic Fantasy
✅ Multi POV
✅ Fae World
✅ Portals
✅ Secrets
✅ Gods and Fae and Monsters

Rating:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 5
🌶️🌶️ / 5

Mary E. Pearson - it was a joy to read a new work from you.

The world, the yearning, the layers that added to the plot - easily a 5 star read. Pearson has a knack for creating worlds that reveal themselves over time and characters that feel real. Theres no 2-dimensional characters to be found, and it adds to the twists and the fun.

I also was listening to the book, completely hooked, and didn't know the end was actually the end and my jaw dropped. New favorite way to do a cliffhanger? Iykyk.

I feel like I almost took half a star because I was desperate for more (jk) but actually because this felt like a "New Adult" vs a true adult with the FMC being 21/22 - but alas, that is a publishing issue not a Pearson issue

**Thank you MacMillian for access to the audioARC in exchange for an honest review!

I REALLY enjoyed this! I can say I’m definitely in my adult romantasy-era and this satisfied that. This was my first Mary E. Pearson book and she lived up to the hype I’ve heard about her. The spice was beautifully and passionately written, the tension between Tyghan and Bristol is just yum, and the side characters are also great. Brittany Pressley did an AMAZING job with the narration!!! I think she’s one of the reasons I was actually into the book! My only complaint is the ending… it just ended. It was a little odd. I recommend it if you’re into fae, secrets, plot twists, forbidden love, and magic.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 Overall
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 Narration
🌶️🌶️🌶️.5/5 Spice (2 or 3 open door scenes)

Thank you for the chance to listen to an advanced reader copy of the audio book. This story is so poetically written, it took me off guard. This is my first book by Mary E Pearson, and I honestly cannot wait for the next one! Bristol was relatable and made real decisions. Though this was a linear timeline, the way we learned information felt like alternate timelines, which was so fun. There are twists and turns you wont see coming, and the narrator does a great job with all of the different characters and accents. I adore are MMC and love that we get to watch him work through his trauma a bit, as well as Bristol working through her grief in various ways. The various POV adds something special to the storytelling. It does end in a way that sets up for a second book, and I'm already itching for it!

~3.5 stars

I enjoyed so much about this. Right off the bat I was picking up some Cruel Prince vibes and was so so excited to be back with a mortal girl in Elfhame. I immediately loved the Keats sisters and the mystery of missing and/or dead parents is always gripping.

The pacing of the first third or so of the book was great. I was so invested in why Bristol was being offered a gig with the fae. The characters were all compelling and so many small plot points kept things moving in an interesting direction.

Unfortunately I do think the pacing got a little wonky in the second and third acts. A lot was going on that made me forget what the overarching plot was that when the purpose of all the training and whatnot finally came to fruition I had completely forgotten it was why we were all there in the first place.

The ending was also so abrupt. I really don’t know why, when there seems to be so much at stake at that point in the story, it ended the way it did. I think a bit of a cliffhanger or some reveal would have made the ending feel more satisfying and make readers look forward to the second book a little more.

Brittany Pressley is always such an incredible narrator and her performance really kept in engaged even when I felt the story falling off a bit.

Thank you for the arc! But honestly, this book was barely bearable. It’s great for fans of A Court of Thorns and Roses, but for anyone else, they’ll find it basic and nothing new. And I’m the person in the second group. The ending wasn’t even an ending.

The Courting of Bristol Keats by Mary E. Pearson is the first book in a duology. It is a fantasy with a romantic subplot. Bristol and her two sisters live in Bowskeep and they've lost both parents in the past year. Bristol is struggling to keep them afloat and she has received a couple of letters from a long lost aunt implying she can help. But, Bristol does not believe they have a long last aunt and this is just some sort of scam. But, Bristol goes to the meeting and she discovers that everything she thought she knew about her parents and their families is a lie, and that her father may be alive but in Elphame - another realm. Bristol agrees to go to this realm to help King Tyghan save his kingdom but she wants his help to search for her dad. This realm is full of gods, fae and monsters and Bristol will be training with a small group of other recruits to help save the kingdom. I liked the story and the romance, but Bristol herself reads like a YA character in an adult fantasy. She is too immature. The romance is fine, but there is an ick factor component - two men important to Bristol have a conversation about this relationship and it's just gross. It's gross on every level. And, the author has set up a zero sum scenario in this story - I'll be interested to read book two to see how she solves it. I'm hoping the answer is not just pure effing magic. That would be disappointing. I gave this book 4 stars and I want to thank #netgalley and Flat Iron Books for my e-arc and MacMillan Audio for advance audio book. The narration was excellent.

This story is told from two main POVs, but there are many other POVs scattered throughout and often within the same chapter. This partially contributed to the pacing issues of this work, which lagged in many places. The ending was odd. It wasn’t really a cliffhanger, but a lot of things weren’t resolved, and it made for an unsatisfying end overall. This book was also probably about 150 pages longer than it needed to be.

Some folks might love it, but the endless inner dialogues about pining, love, and “should I, shouldn’t I” just didn’t do it for me. ESPECIALLY since we got the POV of both characters involved in the “relationship” so we got to hear it all twice. I wasn’t really feeling the chemistry between the two; to me, it felt like they were in love because they were the two MCs and everyone knows in a book with fae, the FMC and the fae king have to be in love – the faster the better. It wasn’t because they felt like they belonged together realistically, and it just did not work for me. Not to mention the obligatory third act breakup/betrayal reveal.

I honestly just found this one to be pretty boring and predictable. If you like “romances” with fae kings then you may enjoy this one. My thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for allowing me to read this work, which will be published November 12, 2024. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

The Courting of Bristol Keats is a book that begins and ends with sacrifice. It begins with Bristol's sacrifices for her family. All the saving, the protecting, the little compromises she has to make. And it ends asking us what we would give up for the truth. She wants to save her father, but the more she finds out the more she realizes she doesn't know. It's an expansive story which is unhurried as Pearson details the world. We, like Bristol, are inexperienced and need to figure out who we can trust. And who is lying to us. The Courting of Bristol Keats also explores manipulation and love. The narration from Brittany Pressley was atmospheric and we can really hear Bristol's internal debates. The strength of her dilemmas.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and Netgalley for the advanced audiobook of The Courting of Bristol Keats in exchange for my honest review!

3.5⭐️

I had a hard time rating this one because on one hand, the story itself is super exciting. I loved the ideas and seeing how it would all play out. On the other hand, this book was extremely long while saying extremely little. I think this would have benefited from being two books even so the characters and plot could have been more fleshed out. I feel like I barely know what people or the world looked like. The romance was also a really great slow burn and then it hit an insta-love wall and lost me.

I’m shocked for as long as this is, how little substance everything actually held and I really thought this could have been stellar. It has the bones but not the meat, if that makes sense. I do still plan on reading the next book since it’s only a duology and with the WEIRDEST ending ever (I literally thought I was missing something), I feel like I need to follow through to the end.

I do want to give a shoutout to the narrator, Brittany Pressley, this book had a LOT of characters and she managed to give them some life and differences so I wasn’t always lost. She did a phenomenal job!