3.4/5.0

Thank you to NetGalley and author Andrea Eames for supplying me with an arc of this book. It was a cosy and fun fantasy with an intriguing magical system. Unfortunately I didn't bond with the characters and their relationships as much as I would have liked.

A fun and cosy read, but not a standout success for me unfortunately. I loved the premise and Foss was initially feisty and interesting, but the pace never really got going, it felt a bit too derivative and the rest of the characters, including the sorcerer, never quite rang true.

3.5 stars

Howl's Moving Castle, but with lots of casual murder. Don't let the House in the Cerulean Sea blurb trick you - this isn't a cozy book. It is, however, a page turner.

That is, for most of the story... This was a solid 4 star until it hit about 70%, and then, unfortunately, it became really predictable. The ending was actually infuriating to me in how short and simple it made things. That being said, the book up to that point had me hooked and reliving the magic of one of my favourite stories while still feeling unknown and dangerous.

Foss, the butcher's daughter, is 'snagged' by a sorcerer one day and thrown into the grim reality of her kingdom. She must set off on a journey to reclaim her freedom or face the constant pain of having her heart not fully her own.

A Harvest of Hearts isn't a romance per se, but more of a dark fantasy with messy relationships (similar in vibe to Caraval and Once Upon a Broken Heart). Expect forced proximity, talking cats, power-hungry sorceresses, and more!

"We are amazingly adaptable, it turns out. We have all the jars of hearts that the king took in a big shed behind our house, and we work daily to see if there is a way to return them fully to their owners across the kingdom."

GENRE: Cottagecore fantasy
RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐.25/5
FORMAT: eBook Arc from netgalley

Would I recommend to others?: YESS! You legit get to go on two different adventures in this cottagecore fantasy and the ending is so beautiful!

Long Review:
Okay where do I start? Where do I stop? A Harvest of Hearts is advertised as whimsical and unforgetttable and I have to agree with that. I quite enjoyed it, I related to Foss so much and I think this book had enough of "cottagecore fantasy" elements with a little bit of romantasy in it that it was a perfect balance.

A Harvest of Hearts in summary is about Foss Butcher and how she gets snagged by a magic user. Foss Butcher is from a world where there are magic users (13 to be exact) that take bits of people's hearts and use the magic to keep their villages and city floating and the world moving forward.

Foss goes off as a average, plain. looking girl (or as she describes herself: Ugly). This does not seem to be just linked to physical looks but more to the fact that (view spoiler)

However, Foss, no matter how unspecial she thinks she is, gets snagged by a Sorcerer, Sylvester. Sylvester is the only sorcerer amongst the other, more famous sorceress and when Foss is snagged, it comes like an illness, in which she cannot remain so far away from him. Due to this, she makes her adventure to the city and becomes the housekeeper of his enchanted house and meets a talking cat.

We then go on an adventure with Foss, Sylvester, the talking cat and the magical house. Once sylvester starts to get to know Foss, and she learns more about him. She learns that he is the only male sorcerer because the others have failed. She learns he does not enjoy harvesting hearts and did not mean to snag her. She also learns that there is no way to undo the snagging and then we see their relationship begin to build:
"My mind was in a muddle. He had harvested a heart, but not mine. He had refused to harvest mine, in fact. He had left me but cast a spell to protect me while he was gone, as best as he could. And when he found I had left the house, he had created a thousand plates to smash."


The main issue in here is that Foss has no way to knowing which part of her feelings for Slyvester are real and which arent due to being snagged. She knew she would sacrifice a lot to be around him and to do whatever he wants, only due to the fact that she was snagged. And so the adventures continue, we see their relationship build for each other and Foss gets entwined in the magical world.

And about half way through the story, we are going on a second adventure. It definitely feels like the first half was a medium paced adventure and one that is needed to get to know the characters so well. The second half of the book is an adventure to right all the wrongs and to get Foss back where she needs to be.

Foss has been and will always be about survival throughout the book and her & Sylvester make it out of the margins of the city and discover the life outside that the king has spent years telling them he is protecting them against.
Perhaps the people here didn't have the kind of power the king and the magic workers wielded, but that seemed like a fair trade to me in exchange for a life without fear. It looked to be. a good life."

Foss learns why her heart is so unique and different from others as well and it is during these moments that she and Sylvester can finally explore their relationship as she is safe from his snagged magic when they finally flourish and we see them at the next stage of their relationship:
"We had been bound together for weeks now, the sorcerer and I, closer than any two sweethearts before. Who else could say that their beloved had their heart and really, truly mean it? A piece of my heart had lived in him, somehow, and had changed him. And he had changed me."

The ending of A Harvest of Hearts was SO satisfying, ending in a way that gave every character their appropriate ending and allowed them to build a new foundation and village again. I'd recommend this book for anyone looking to go on an adventure that has a little of magic, romance and cottagecore fantasy!

Thank you to NetGalley for the eArc copy in exchange for my honest review.

A Harvest of Hearts is a cozy fantasy standalone set in a land where beautiful and enchanting sorceresses harvest bits and pieces of everyone’s hearts for the protection and prosperity of the kingdom. But when Foos Butcher’s heart is unwittingly snagged by a handsome sorcerer, she follows him to the capital. She takes a position as the lone housekeeper in Sylvester’s enchanted befuddling House with his talking cat Cornelius to find her heart, but there she uncovers the dark side of the heart-taking and magic-workers and a secret that has been keeping the kingdom trapped.

This book is not exactly what you would expect from its cozy fantasy premise. It is actually a rather dark tale (much like old fairytales) disguised by the coziness and whimsy. The books compares itself to Howl’s Moving Castle and The House on the Cerulean Sea. While I have never read/seen the former, I am very familiar with the latter, and I wouldn’t say it’s all that similar. I’d actually describe this book as a cozier yet grittier and more adult Sorcery of Thorns (and its sequel novella Mysteries of Thorn Manor). I enjoyed the atmosphere, tone and vibe that went from the cozy first half to the darker second half. I do wish it had drawn out the ending more and really milked the very emotional moments.

I really liked Foss, a woman with deep insecurities and self esteem issues due to the circumstances of her birth and her plain appearance. The author allows her to suffer from it while never wallowing in it, and I found her to be stronger for it. While Sylvester is rather distant, I still really liked him, and I thought their romance was very thoughtful and mature. Would I have loved more moments between them? Yes, but I don’t think it was all that scarce. Cornelius the cat was just precious.

A Harvest of Hearts is a cozy but also dark fantasy that may be appreciated by a specific type of reader.

*Thank you to HarperCollins UK for the eARC via NetGalley

As someone who loves Howl’s moving castle this book was a dream! This book had the perfect amount of world building and is such a cozy fantasy. I couldn’t put it down and finished it in a day. The book does start off cozy and then becomes quite dark. For any Howl’s moving castle fans this is a must read!

What I loved about this book:
- the cat! First and foremost, the actual star of the show
- the worldbuilding: I was totally enchanted by the descriptions and the idea behind snagging hearts
- the language: I liked the pacing as well as the writing

What I didn't like as much:
- sometimes the world building felt a little too forcefully whimsical. I usually don't read this kind of fantasy, so maybe it's just not for me
- the male main character, Sylvester. I felt like he was a little dull and I couldn't really understand why Foss was so enchanted by him

I feel like the synopsis had a lot of potential the book sometimes didn't quite live up to, but overall it was a fun read.
Who would I recommend this to: if you're into fantasy with a hint of... comedy might not be the right word, but fantasy that doesn't take itself too seriously. The magic system is consistent and the world building is quite detailed. Don't know if I'd recommend this to SJM ultra fans... maybe not.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

However, I wish the publisher had been more honest in their marketing about the content and tone of this book - or enforced edits to ensure it was what it claimed to be. It is billed as "whimsical" and as a cozy fantasy, with comparisons to Howl's Moving Castle (a whimsical middle-grade fantasy with a lovely romance).

However this story opens with a minor character being:
- mind-raped
- kidnapped to be physically raped (off-page)
- dumped back naked & abused 1-2 weeks later
- left ill and physically disabled as a result, which main character Foss immediately declares he's faking
- victim-blamed by Foss as a "weak man" who wanted it, like every other man in the village wants it, and SHE could never be mind-raped or physically raped

We are meant to sympathise with Foss because she's "the plainest girl in the village", but she seriously just said illness and disabilities as a result of serious abuse are fake, and all men want to be raped and can't complain when/if it happens to them.

This would never get published (outside of adult grimdark fantasy or adult serious crime genres) if the genders were reversed.

THIS IS NOT WHIMSY. THIS IS NOT COZY. Any book featuring, or opening with, sexual assault should have CLEAR trigger warnings at the start of the book so those who are triggered by them, or even prefer not to read about them, know that this is either not a book for them or at least is a book they need to approach cautiously. Mentioning "heart magic" in the blurb in no way indicates that this term/magic actually means mind-rape and physical rape.

I would not have requested this ARC if any part of the marketing or ARC listing mentioned that this is a world built around sexual assault being a regular, common, everyday occurrence.

This was all of my "Howl's Moving Castle" dreams come true and I'm positively smitten. I don't think that it's the most perfect book in existence and it will surely not be for everyone, but it just did so many things that I love in books and had me smiling throughout so it deserves a 5-star rating from me. The story starts out very similar to "Howl's Moving Castle" (I liked the book fine, but I'm talking about the movie) with the main character Foss coming to a sorcerer's house to work as a housekeeper. She doesn't exactly do this voluntarily, because ever since said sorcerer came to her little village and snagged her heart, she's been lovesick. Literally - as in she is physically sick and in pain when not near the sorcerer and overcome with bliss and desire when in his presence. Now Foss is living in his magical house with a talking cat and is trying to figure out what's the deal with the heart magic, if her heart is actually gone and how she might get it back. The sorcerer – his name is Sylvester – lets it all happen and doesn't really care about what she's doing, he doesn't even remember taking Foss's heart in the first place. He is a very distant and emotionless character, but it all makes sense once the history of the magic-workers is revealed as the book goes. The kingdom is controlled / protected by the king and his sorceresses, and they are using people's hearts to ensure its safety. That's basically as much worldbuilding as there is in this book, but I didn't mind too much. It's not what I'm looking for in a cozy fantasy. And it does indeed start out very calm and cozy, but it gets darker as the story continues. The heart-harvesting can be pretty violent and has serious consequences for the victim, and the whole second part of the book is about the kingdom literally rotting away. The sorceresses are quite evil too, or maybe not evil but just inhumane with no understanding or sympathy for other people. The vibes reminded me of the fantasy books by T. Kingfisher and it's no secret that I love that woman. The characters were great too and I found Foss to be very relatable. I loved that she was not the usual fantasy protagonist, as she's a butcher's daughter and the plainest girl in her village at the edge of the kingdom. I wouldn't exactly call her insecure for she did have a strong voice from the start, but she didn't expect anything from life and was fine with it. But she's also a deeply caring person – for her father, for Cornelius (the talking cat), and for Sylvester once she learns that he is hardly like his sorceress sisters. I wish Foss and Sylvester spent more time together, because they really only start doing so in the last third of the book. I wouldn't call it a romance book, but I still got the feeling that these two belonged together and it made me feel things. Truly a great read for me that has me looking forward to future works by Andrea Eames.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and HarperVoyager for providing a digital arc in exchange for an honest review.

This one wasn't for me, I'm afraid, but that was entirely my fault. The writing style didn't suit me, I felt there was too much unexplained and too many 'just go with it' moments. I think it'll do really well with other readers though, and I hope it does.

3.5⭐️. We follow Foss, a young woman living in a kingdom under King Darius’s rule, where her local village is periodically visited by sorceresses who take pieces of the village people’s hearts in exchange for their safety and protection (something which they appear to trust in without question). One day, they are visited by a sorcerer and, in a brief moment as he is leaving and their eyes meet, Foss finds herself becoming one of these “snagged”. Ensorcelled and under his thrall, she journeys to the city to seek him out and try to regain the piece of her heart she’s missing.

When speaking as Foss, Eames uses a colloquial writing style: “any awe I might have felt disappeared right quick” and calling children “sprogs” or “sprouts”. This took me a while to get used to and I wasn’t sure how I felt about it at first. However, the writing was also very descriptive and painted a vivid picture:
“The pain was a dark, emaciated figure that picked me up between its teeth and worried me like a terrier does a rat, then dropped me for a moment of relief before dancing back, laughing, to snatch me up again.”

I completely get the Howl’s Moving Castle references and I really enjoyed the sentient house and, of course, Cornelius the cat, who was really the star of the show! I also liked what we saw of Sylvester but, in my opinion, we didn’t see enough of him. The result was that the relationship never felt fully fleshed out and developed, nor was there any real tension built. The king was also a pretty two dimensional villain and lacked depth. So while I enjoyed my read and would recommend it to those who enjoy a more whimsical, fairytale-esque story, it’s not become a new favourite.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-arc of this book!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. - arc & monthly book box pick reviewer

A Harvest Of Hearts is definitely a cozy, whimsical read that has some pretty strong Howl vibes. It's a perfectly fine book that I recommend to cozy fantasy fans and Howl fans.

Foss is a young woman, neglected and underestimated by her fellow citizens at her village. She is the butcher's daughter and doesn't meet society's criteria for beauty. I found it so refreshing. I am quite tired of all main characters being otherwordly beautiful and slim. It made Foss more real and more relatable, in my opinion. She is stubborn and resourceful and quite smart for a person who doesn't know much about magic.

Cornelius our talking cat was the best thing in the story, hands down. His humour, his dry remarks, his insight, and his loyalty were what I liked the most in this book. More talking animals, please.

Sylvester is the love interest, the newbie sorcerer whose spells go awry and barely remembers his own name. I found him to be cute and sweet. He started off as an aloof guy who barely went through the motions but evolved into a man who thought for himself and took initiative and made a stand. We finally got a love interest who not only chose well but made a choice, to begin with, lmao. I loved his character arc but I just didn't think he had much agency and in some way he didn't have much going. He had some knowledge in magic but not much. He was always very endearing yet not too thoughtful. He had morals even before Foss but needed her to investigate the matter more deeply. He was a sweet and cute conundrum with a great character arc. I would have wanted him to stand out in some way, if that makes sense.

The magic system was very unique. The idea of made sorcerers who stole parts or entire hearts to perform magic was fascinating!!

Overall, it was a perfectly fine standalone with a unique magic system that refreshingly offered a take on appearance and how we perceive it. I just didn't feel especially drawn to the characters (except the cat!) or the prose.

It is the monthly pick for an April monthly book box, and I will skip it.

I loved the premise of this book. The idea that sorceresses are harvesting hearts to fuel their magic, and Foss goes on a journey to the city to get hers back. I thought Foss was interesting, brave leaving her village when no one ever did, and determined to retrieve what was hers.
I did find it a little difficult to get into this book though. The writing style was not for me, and I found Foss to be a little heavy handed with her narrative voice.
I did enjoy the inclusion of the talking cat, and the sentient nature of the house. It reminded me of Sorcery of Thorns, and Where the Dark Stands Still.

Not as cosy as advertised, but thoroughly enjoyable!

Foss is a butcher's daughter with self esteem issues living in one of the kingdom's outer villages. Stunning sorceresses occasionally visit and harvest someone's heart to fuel their magic, but that's a fair trade to keep the kingdom functional. When a sorcerer comes and accidentally snags Foss' heart, she's not pleased though, and follows him to the city to demand he fixes her. The sorcerer, Sylvester, isn't particularly competent, but she sticks around and befriends his talking cat while he tries to figure it out. From there, things escalate fairly quickly.

The first part of this book has a strong whimsical vibe and the comparison to Howl's Moving Castle is entirely justified. The sense that things in the kingdom aren't quite right creeps up on you, until the book takes a much darker turn in the second half. Which makes sense, considering the magic system is based on harvesting human hearts.

I thought the concept was original, and I really enjoyed Foss as a narrator. You also can't go wrong with a well-placed talking cat!
This book was well-written and I was invested from the first to the last page. I would probably describe it as Howl's moving Castle meets the Grimm brothers (rather than Disney), more whimsical than cosy.

Many thanks to HarperVoyager for letting me read an ARC of this title through Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

I'm pretty sure that this book was described as a cosy fantasy - a genre that I love, but one that doesn't feel entirely fitting for a book with a magic system centred around beautiful women ripping your heart of out your chest.

I really enjoyed this book. The relationship between Foss and Cornelius was really great. After all, which book wouldn't be improved by a smart, talking cat.

Sylvester was a really interesting character, and it was so interesting to see how he developed and changed as the book progressed. I wish the same could be said for his sisters or father, but with less screen time, I guess that would be trickier.

Overall, a strong plot, and a clever magic system. A really great debut from Andrea Eames.

I was sold on this novel from the premise alone - Howl's Moving Castle meets The House in the Cerulean Sea? Yes please! And my goodness did this book deliver. The world-building is rich and vibrant, the magic system is really unique and interesting – and honestly, the vibes were so perfectly Howl’s Moving Castle that I couldn’t NOT fall in love with this book. I thought both Foss and Sylvester were really well-written characters, and I was so invested in both of them (even if Cornelius the talking cat often steals the show!)

There’s plenty of action in this novel too - and the pacing will keep you burning through chapters long after your bedtime.

A really delightful read - and one I will read again!

As a Howls moving Castle girlie, this was a bit of me. It was giving so much cost vibes so perfect for those rainy days. It was engaged and wanting to continue reading at every chance I got. Can't wait to read more from this author

I see whimsical and I must read🧎🏼‍♀️ and this is a truly whimsical story. It's magical and quirky, the writing is fun and witty and the characters are likable and feel authentic. This is possibly blasphemy but it was compared to Howls Moving Castle and I actually might have preferred this

Really interesting concept and a good read, it was very front heavy and the climax very short but it ends in a good way and no questions left

Perfect for fans of Howl's Moving Castle, this story had a great whimsical plot and a whole host of likable characters.
I enjoyed the slow burn romance and both main characters where really great to read about.
I did find that the tone of the book took a turn in the second half. It felt more gritty and less light but I still enjoyed my time reading the story.