I loved the fantasy world created in this and even though I read a lot of fantasy I thought this seemed quite unique. I thought the characters and the plot were great and found myself quite engaged throughout. I will look for more from this author.

I probably should have DNF'd this book, but I plodded on hoping that it would improve. The characters were one dimensional and the writing wasn't to my taste.

I'm sorry to say that I didn't enjoy this book :(. The plot was slow and boring, and the characters are so dull and cardboard-like. I couldn't pull myself into the story no matter how I tried. The story wasn't just for me. I felt like the author tried her prose to be engaging but ended up dull and annoying. The world-building was poor and honestly, I don't really enjoy it.

I received a complimentary copy of this ebook from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I must admit that I almost stopped reading this book because it just wasn't clicking with me at first. Mellissa kinda annoyed me. Luckily though I saw some reviews that it really picked up if you got through the beginning and I am glad I stuck with it. I got to liking Mellissa better and Victoria was a good guardian and Greg was nice too.

I think a rewrite of the beginning would be be good, as well as keeping the book all third person or first person. That threw me too. It was a fairly good book despite the flaws.

i really enjoyed reading this book, the characters were great and I really enjoyed the story. I look forward to more from the author

A good and entertaining fantasy novel, I liked it.
Good world building and character development, a plot that flows and kept me hooked.
The author is an intriguing storyteller and I can't wait to read another story.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

I am thankful to the publisher and NetGalley for granting me a copy of the book, but I can neither finish it, nor give it more than 2 stars. However, I feel like from the about 100 pages I read I managed to get enough information to give a little bit of feedback at least. I will not post it on Goodreads or anything of the like, so as not to lower expectations of the book.
First of all... I don't really know if it is my mistake, but this book always felt like some 3rd book of a series I had previously read and forgot a big part of. It uses telling rather than showing as a basis advancement technique ever since the beginning, when we are introduced to two different action packed scenes which are either not explained at all afterwards or explained rather poorly. By page 100, we get to know very little of the world and its history, although our main character is just about to embark on her journey to saving the world. Given the fact that our protagonist was also a beginner in magic and knew nothing about her ancestors and the world behind the veil, the poor world building was such a pity. We could have gotten to know so much more alongside her.
Talking about that, we also see nothing of her evolution. All we get in the beginning is a little bit of the magic people trying to convince her to accept her destiny. Everything else from then on is just showing us how she got better, she is ready for the task etc. But we don't get nothing about how it all actually came to be, which felt very frustrating.
A lot happened in the first 100 pages, yes. But the biggest problem was that it all was told to us. The end result was pointed out always, nothing being said about how it came to be, and this was a very, very big turn-off for me. You better keep this in mind if you decide to read the book,
I am thankful to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of the book, but it turns out it maybe just was not the book for me after all.

Melissa is a "normal" eighteen year old girl just living her life when one day she comes across a "rabbit" who is actually a magical changeling named Gregory. Melissa's world is turned upside down when she finds out that she is part elf and her mother was the last elf queen before she died. Now Melissa, with Gregory and her two guardians' will help her prepare for an encounter with a guarded evil leprechaun, Kadon. She'll have to protect the magical and non-magical world from him and his evil from spreading.
The book started out slow but around midway and the end it picked up and got better. I would recommend this book to anyone that enjoys this genre.

Whitney Morris has created such a wonderful world and once I began reading Crystal Heart? I didn't want to stop.

Told from the viewpoints of Gregory, a changling and Mellissa a mortal who is unaware that a large rabbit will change her life forever. Gregory is a changling charged with finding Mellissa, the heir of an elf Queen who saved both the mortal and magical worlds.

I loved how nature plays as an important role in Crystal Heart as the characters both mortal and magical. Shown on the stunning cover art, trees play so many roles in the story from protection to a safe home for creatures that are vulnerable on both sides of the magical veil created by Mellissa's elfin ancestor.

The author's wonderful way of bringing magic to the nature on both sides of the veil reminds me of Tolkien and C.S.
Lewis. The story-telling in regards to the trees protecting Mellissa for example, is beautifully written and a reminder that it is to nature we should really all must bow to.

Crystal Heart's characters are both many and wonderfully diverse in both what they are and their unique personalities which give depth to their interactions and the situations they encounter. I found Gregory's confusion and disbelief over human customs both comical and refreshing. These subtle differences again are so well-written that it felt as though I were a part of Crystal Heart and witnessing his adjustment to the unknown firsthand.

The same can be said for Mellissa when she, along with her two Guardians see the world Gregory has called his own his entire life for the first time. From the subtle yet, once again magical description of the deep snow that initially entrances Mellissa, to the sight of the fae homes in the trees around them.

The story is good versus evil, but there is even fragility in the antagonist which helps to explain just why he acts the way he does.

Whitney Morris has created a wonderful magical world in Crystal Heart. The story holds your attention from the first page, and has set the reader up for a fantastic sequel with no doubt more adventures for Mellissa and her friends along with maybe answers to where a close friend has gone!

I imagine I am not the only one who is eagerly anticipating the next book in the series. Thank you Netgalley and BHC Press for my eARC of 'Crystal Heart.'

I received a copy of CRYSTAL HEART by Whitney Morris thanks to the publisher through NetGalley.

The beginning is a bit slow to start but it gets going a little more than halfway through. Under other circumstances this would probably let be a DNF but I really enjoyed the characters and their dialogue. There is sarcasm, banter, and just enough explanation of a fantasy world that I didn’t feel lectured at.

There will be a sequel (or at least it is set up for there to be one) and I’m looking forward to going on another journey with them.

I just want to start out and say a 'BIG' thank you to NetGalley for gracing me with this book and giving me the honor to read it, and review it.

Synopsis:
When eighteen-year-old Mellissa Hail meets the magical changeling Gregory, she discovers an ancient and enchanted world of leprechauns and elves.

Now she must come to terms with believing in magic and her destiny—that she is the chosen one to guard the Heart Crystal. But time is running out and the seal that guards the evil leprechaun Kadon is breaking. Can she save mankind in time?

I love how the author gave us something different with this book in the sense of including different mythological creatures as the protagonists and antagonists. I have yet to really read a book that has Leprechauns in it, let alone as them being the antagonists. We start off in the book in the past as the author shows us why the protagonist Mellissa is without a mother and why her character is extremely important later on in the book, and why the mother made the sacrifice. Fast forward to her being a teenager and realizing that something is off about her and the world around her. She has the handsome best friend, his bratty twin sister as a bully, and a father who loves her. Things quickly change for her as an elf Gregory enters her world to find the protector of the heart crystal. The adventure ensues of course as obstacles are thrown her way and evil is trying to win and take over the world.

I absolutely love the idea of this book and what it was trying to do for us as readers, but it honestly fell short.
There would gaps in time like Mellissa is doing this then fast forward to weeks later of her doing something else! Like how did she get there, what was the outcome of other activities she was trying to ensue, and so on and so forth. It was like a build-up of a roller coaster but you never gotten the drop of the climax. The ideas were there but we never saw the outcome.

I enjoyed the book to some extent, but sadly it just fell short for me. I needed more depth for it and also explanations!

Mellisa Hail is a carefree 18 - year - old who is completely oblivious to the magical world, until one fateful day everything changes. She finds herself caught up in a centuries-old war, centered around her and a mysterious crystal relic. Accompanied by her best friend, his twin sister, and the prince of changelings, she has to find a way to end the war for good.

I liked this book a lot. Mellisa Hail is a funny character, who always decides to do the right thing, even if it is scary. This book was an extremely good read, but I found that a few parts were a bit mature for younger kids. I definitely recommend this book for anyone with an interest in fantasy, magic, and elves. Hope you like the book!

I can't wait for a sequel to be released! An excellent fantasy novel following a changeling and an elf as they practice magic and prepare for an epic battle to save the world. I'll admit the concept is far from original, but the characters are fascinating beings with complex personalities. I would recommend this book to anyone looking to escape into a different reality for a few hours.

The author is a wonderful storyteller and the story line developed nicely. An interesting fantasy novel with elves and other mythical characters on a quest to defeat the forces of evil. The author artfully wove interesting elements and characters into the novel. It was refreshing to see the blend of human world and fantasy world mesh together.

The cover was intriguing, and I liked seeing the tree emblem run throughout the chapters. I would have liked to see more links to trees in the actual story. I am suggesting that the crystal heart be a stronger theme in the book, above the tree featured on the cover.

The chapters are told from the perspective of Mellissa, a royal elf learning about her destiny; and Greg the champion sent to help her discover it. One thing that was slightly off setting was that Mellissa's chapters were told from first person perspective, while' Greg's were not. So the switching between first person and third person between chapters struck me as a little odd. The story ends with the perfect lead to a sequel following more of Mellissa's adventures. I am sure there will be more in the series.

Gregory is entrusted to go in search of the rightful heir to the elf throne to deliver the crystal heart. The evil leprechaun king kadon was imprisoned in the tree of time to stop him from taking over the world and enslaving the human race but the seal is breaking/weakening and Mellissa is the only one who can stop it.

Melissa navigates coming into her powers, making new friends and new romance partners with all the grace of a teenager.

The main characters were great. Gregory’s disbelief with the human customs was hilarious. It was refreshing to see Mellissa not want to protect just herself but to make sure her friends and guardians were safe before teleporting herself to safety.

Really liked how many strong female characters were in the story.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for letting me read this book early.

Onto the book. This should be aimed at younger readers. The characters act younger than their listed ages and the writing itself leads to being aimed at younger readers. It's not that it's bad, it's just not right for the readers it's aimed at. Magic, leprechauns and elves are great, the book is a fast read which is good. It doesn't take any time to get through.

Crystal heart is a nice fantasy story about leprechauns and elves.
However, I felt it wasn't really suited for YA.
It's a quick-paced read which isn't a bad thing. The plot was ok, and the story idea was interesting enough.
All in all, it wasn't a bad read.

Thanks to the publisher for providing a digital ARC of Crystal Heart in exchange for an honest review.

Crystal Heart is a perfectly fine fantasy story, I just think it's targeted at the wrong audience. The narrative style is very on the nose. Everything is told, very little is shown. The humor and plot in general would probably also serve better if aimed at readers on the younger level of middle grade.

Our protagonist, Mellissa, and her friends also act a lot younger than they actually are. As a teen reader, thinking I was going into a YA book, I was let down. If I was 9 or 10 and Mellissa and her friends were 11-14, maybe I would have loved this.