I really wanted to love this book. The premise was intriguing, and I was drawn to the promise of lyrical writing and emotional depth. But unfortunately, the story didn’t quite land for me.

While the prose is often beautiful, the plot meanders and the pacing felt off—too slow in parts, and then rushing through moments that could have used more emotional weight. I found myself drifting, waiting for something to pull me in, but that spark never quite came.

That said, Cornelius the cat was an unexpected delight. He brought warmth and mischief to the story and was easily the most compelling character for me. I looked forward to his every appearance, which says a lot considering he's not the central figure. Honestly, I’d read an entire novella just about Cornelius and his quiet observations of the humans around him.

There were definitely glimmers of something special here, but overall, it just didn’t hold my attention the way I hoped. A bit of a disappointment, but I’d still be curious to see what else Eames writes in the future.

A Harvest of Hearts was different from any other fantasy I have read before. At times it seemed like a cozy, quirky story and then at other times it was rather dark. I would have liked it to be a little faster paced. Overall it was an interesting concept and an enjoyable read.

The book follows Foss who gets a piece of her heart accidentally stolen by a sorcerer (Sylvester) who visits her town. I say accidentally because he doesn’t know he’s done anything lol. So Foss, creates some hatched up plan to play maid to stay near Sylvester and find the missing piece her heart. Foss doesn’t think she’s attractive and boy does she keeps reminding us 😩😭
Sylvester had no depth really but maybe I guess that’s ties into how he came about? Not sure. Anywho the magic system was unique. The talking cat was funny.
2/5 ⭐️⭐️

Does this count as fantasy romance, because I actually kind of liked it?

In a world fueled by heart magic, no one is safe when the magic workers come to town. Able to take a piece of your heart with only a glance, many are left heartsick and broken each time they visit, yet unable to resist their charms. Foss Butcher, village uggo (very important), is Snagged when a magic-worker comes by and (accidentally!) takes a piece of her heart with him. Now she must journey to the capital to find the man responsible and recover her heart. On her quest, she encounters all manner of magic—a talking cat, a house that gives you anything you need, and a man with a child inside.

This was a fun, cozy adventure with clever writing and an eclectic cast of characters. If I were to nit-pick, I would say there are a few lulls in the storytelling in the first half (mostly due to repetition or unimportant side quests) but the pace really picks up after that and has a nice resolution at the end. I would highly recommended this to fans of Howl's Moving Castle or T. Kingfisher.

1/5 🌶️


Thank you Netgalley and the author Andrea Eames for the early access audiobook of A Harvest of Hearts.

🫀Slow Burn
🫀Dark Fairytale with Cozy Vibes
🫀Unique Magic System
🫀Forced Proximity
🫀Animal Companion
🫀Howl’s Moving Castle Vibes

Synopsis:
💫In Foss Butcher’s village, magic-workers harvest human hearts for spells. Foss, a simple and clumsy woman, never thought anyone would want hers. But when a sorcerer named Sylvester accidentally snatches a piece of Foss’s heart, she’s furious and demands he fix it. Sylvester, a newbie to his powers, can’t reverse the heart-taking or do anything else except sulk. Foss’s only friend is a talking cat, and even the enchanted house has mood swings. As Foss sets out on a quest for a cure, she learns more about the heart-taking and the mysterious magic-workers than she could have ever imagined.💫

My thoughts:
💫This book wasn’t quite what I expected. It’s about Foss, the FMC, who gets a piece of her heart stolen by the sorcerer, Sylvester. After they meet again, she becomes obsessed and can’t stop thinking about him. Her thoughts were constantly sexual and it was off-putting, especially since she’s the narrator sounds young. Foss doesn’t think she’s attractive and constantly criticizes herself, which was annoying. Sylvester was just a bit boring and didn’t really have any depth or connection to Foss. But the magic system in the book was really cool and made up for the weak romance. In fact, I could have skipped the romantic part of the story. 💫

This book built a really interesting world with a form of magic that I haven’t seen in another novel. That world-building and structure was very well crafted and fun to explore. However, it took me a long time to get into this book. I generally enjoy the cozy fantasy genre, but I think this was just too slow (and maybe too cozy?) for my taste. That said, I loved many of the elements (talking cat? Sentient house? Sign me up) and think someone with a bit more patience would enjoy it more.

3 stars

ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book is set in a small kingdom ruled by magical royals. The magic workers keep the village safe in exchange for taking a "small" portion of the villagers hearts, supposedly with no ill-effect. When Foss gets her heart snagged by the only male magic worker she follows him and begins to uncover secrets about how safe the magic workers really keep the kingdom.

I wouldn't say this is slow paced, but its more of a gentle pace that lends to the coziness of the story. The atmosphere and is described so vividly I could really see it playing out as if it was a studio Ghibli film. Cornelius, the talking cat, was my favourite character, but all of the characters are very likeable (unless they were intentionally supposed to be unlikeable). Overall, its a charming and comforting listen. I think the only downside to me was that the main character really emphasized how unlikeable and homely she was, and I could have done with a little more growth on her part earlier on in the story.



Thanks to Netgalley and RB Media for this ALC that I chose to listen to and review

This book was so much fun!

This story is set in a world where literal hearts are plucked from people's chests. Our main character, Foss, has had her heart snagged by an odd, but handsome sorcerer and begins a journey to get it back.

... did I mention, there's a talking cat?

Foss lives a quiet rural life in a border town, where sorceresses occasionally travel through collecting hearts that are used to defend the kingdom. One day a rare visit from male sorcerer leads to part of Foss’s heart being stolen, she travels after the sorcerer to gain back what’s hers.

A Harvest of Hearts was surprisingly dark read. Overall I enjoyed the book a lot, but there are some weak points. The characters feel little one dimensional and cut maybe too close from ‘the Howl’s moving castle’ mold. Foss has lived her life thinking she’s cursed and plain ugly, mainly interacting with her father, who is the town butcher. The relationship between the two is definitely one of the biggest pluses in the book, the other being the talking cat Cornelius, who lives in the sorcerer Sylvester’s house. Sylvester is a moody sorcerer, who recents the purpose he’s been created for. I also didn’t feel any chemistry between Foss and Sylvester aside the magic that was very obsessive.

There was also an underground group that comprised of people who had lost pieces of their hearts but they felt very sideplotty, the bigger plotpoint with them didn’t feel as impactful as I feel it was intended. Foss also seemed to get attached to a lot of people, but oftentimes those feelings felt quite painted on, considering she was described a lot as being reclusive and borderline suspicious of other people.

I did enjoy the story but I think it would’ve worked even better either completely without the romance and maybe embracing the horror of how the stolen hearts affected people more. For these reasons while I enjoyed the story, there are too many things that struck out to me to give the book a rating above 3 out 5.

Thank you NetGalley and Recorded Books for this ARC Audio Copy!

I was really intrigued with the premise of this book and the magic system was quite interesting. I really enjoyed the relationship with talking cat, and the house, that was probably my favorite part of the story. I wish the FMC would spend less time talking about how plain or ugly she was, I feel like we got the point pretty fast on, especially when we have literal examples of her being bullied because of it. Definitely something I feel like should have been caught in the edits, but I guess it's better than saying how tiny and skinny she is every 5 min. The romance was a bit lack luster as well, but all in all it was a cute little cozy story.

A fantasy novel about an ordinary girl who falls under a love spell accidentaly cast by the only male sorcerer in the kingdom. The young lady leaves her family, following him to his home, offering her services as a housekeeper. With help of the magic house and a talking cat, the butcher's daughter gets into the sorcerer's heart, helping him overcome his traumas and troubles.
The book is read by Jessie Elland, who differentiates between the characters by lowering her voice when necessary. Her accent really enhanced the narration. The narration and writing compliment each other well.

Overall, 4 stars.

Don't let the description fool you, this isn't the lighthearted fantasy you might expect.

It carries a darker vibe, almost like a more grown-up, less fairytale-ish 'Once Upon a Time' (American tv drama). The story is a bit of dark fantasy mixed with some romance, but I definitely wouldn't call it whimsical as the description mentions. The promised romance simmers with a closed-door intensity, taking a backseat to the unfolding drama and the descriptive acts of violence from the sorceresses and King Darius.

Cornelius, the snarky talking cat, is an absolute delight and instantly became my favorite! His dry wit provides welcome moments of levity. Foss's struggle with body dysmorphia, though a significant aspect of her character, was a bit repetitive. The world itself has some interesting elements, including Sylvester's mansion, despite feeling like nostalgic fairytale worlds.

Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC of the audiobook!

3.75/5⭐️

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC. All opinions are my own!

This was so cute!!

Such a comforting warm fun book. The stakes didn’t feel overwhelming (even though it felt like it should’ve been?) and the atmosphere is so eerie but warm.

Couple of things:l that couldn’t make this 5 stars:

There was one plot hole that stood out and immediately irritated me (minor spoiler warning) ⚠️
Foss is visiting the other snagged and says she has whittled down she has about an hour before the curse kicks in and she needs to go back home, yet she watches (REDACTED) due for over an hour and is still fine??

Foss also grated on my nerves quite a few times because she unfortunately suffers from “I’m so ugly and different” syndrome. Not conventionally attractive characters are some of my soul characters, but when at least once a chapter she must mention it, and dosnt see value in herself until a man isn’t repulsed by her (aka the last 20 pages of the book).
Had she had some sort of self discovery without a man or even just sooner- it would’ve honestly changed this book for me.

Predicable plot, but comforting setting, and an animal companion‼️

I was fortunate enough to receive an ALC from RBmedia and got to listen to Jessi Elland bring this story to life. She does a fantastic job of giving each character their own voice so it’s always clear who’s speaking.

This book was a solid fantasy read that had an intriguing magic system, a dastardly villain, and a touch of romance. It was very enjoyable.

Easily digestible fantasy, it had a few dark moments but it was mostly pretty whimsical with a unique premise.

In this kingdom, the townspeople are selected at random by sorceresses in power to take their heart. The king and his sorceresses claim that they use the heart magic to protect the kingdom and its people…and the people are magicked into submission.
When Foss’s heart gets snagged by the only male sorcerer by mistake, she follows him home to try and get her heart back. She gets hired as his housekeeper and starts to discover more about him, the king and the other sorceresses than she imagined.
The sorcerers home is sentient which was a really cool element, there’s also a snarky talking house cat who I loved.
Thank you NetGalley for this ARC for review.

Tropes: reluctant hero, cursed love, magical mayhem, small town secrets, found family(ish)
Vibes: charmingly chaotic, wildly original, emotionally grounded with a side of spell-slinging

This book completely caught me off guard — in the best, most chaotic, most spell-splattered way. It was FUN. It was weird. It was heartfelt. It felt like someone gave Studio Ghibli a dark sense of humor and let them loose in a magic-saturated town.

The magic system is a delicious mess — unpredictable and totally unique. The characters are so vivid and endearing, and the romance?? Soft and slow and so emotionally satisfying by the end. And THE CAT. The CAT. Adorably unbothered, slightly menacing, very much reminded me of the cat from Coraline — knows things it shouldn’t, silently judging, still weirdly comforting.

Read this if you want:
🐈 A mysterious, scene-stealing cat
💥 Magical misfires and cursed consequences
📖 A story that keeps you guessing, laughing, and lowkey emotional
🎯 A totally fresh take on magic, love, and what it means to choose your own fate

The audiobook was absolutely fabulous- so well done, and it immediately transported me to the magical little world that it was set in.

A total gem. I didn’t want it to end — I just want to hang out in this chaotic little world forever.

A Harvest of Hearts truly had swept me away for almost the entire book! I loved how unique the world felt, how whimsical and humorous the writing was. It lost me a little towards the end with wrapping everything up. I finished the booking wishing there was less time spent on learning the magic house and more time on the plot, as well as a deeper exploration of the 'perception of ugly' theme.
I'd love to read the novella version that this story was originally!

A whimsical and emotional journey I won’t soon forget

This book has been compared to Howl’s Moving Castle—while I’m not entirely convinced the comparison is spot-on, I do believe it stands proudly on the same tier of magic and heart.

It’s a beautifully written rollercoaster of a story, filled with emotion, charm, and unexpected twists. The ending left me giggling, crying, and smiling all at once.

Favorite character? The cat—hands down.
Least favorite? The obvious one… the king (you’ll understand when you read it).

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this early copy. This review is 100% my honest opinion.

I really liked this. The first quarter feels like a rehashing of howl’s moving castle but then it finds its feet with its own story.

In Andrea Eames' "A Harvest of Hearts", main character Foss Butcher is a down to earth, hardworking butcher's daughter living in a small town. When she gets drawn into a situation she has no interest in being part of, she goes to the ultimate lengths to make things right for herself and her community. Narrator Jessie Elland does an excellent job at bringing the character's honest, backwoods manner of speech to life and truly draws you into her, which made me really root for her. The story is written from Foss' point of view, but each of the characters she interacts with is easily distinguishable with their own accents and speech patterns, which is always a skill I find impressive when an audiobook has only one narrator. "A Harvest of Hearts" is a perfectly cozy read and I'm pleased to see a female main character who truly owns her adventure.