The Fairy Bargains of Prospect Hill is a magical story of sisters who would do anything to protect each other. For lovers of fairy stories who want to skip out on some of the most classic tropes (fated mates, prophecies, complicated politics). The front half of the book dragged a bit but recovered well at about the 50% mark. This is an adult exploration of the fae, with a good history of the fair folk without flashy magic or wild romance.

While the writing was fantastic and I really enjoyed reading about Aline and Delphine’s struggles, there was just something about the book that made me not want to pick it up for long periods of time. It might have something to do with the inclusion of the Fae—I think there are lots of books that are made into fantasies when they would be just as fine without those magical elements (like how this could’ve still been an interesting exploration of women’s rights issues without the Fae) and they don’t appeal to me in the same way a regular historical fiction or a regular fantasy story would. I do think that this will be easy for others to love, and although it wasn’t entirely what I was expecting, I think it’s a very good book!

DNF @ 15%. I really wanted to like this one because I love fae stories, but I was just SO bored with it. After eight chapters, it still seemed like things were moving at a snail's pace. I can get behind that when there are good characters to get to know, but the two sisters in this story did not hold my interest. I found them to be selfish and whiny. So, I'm giving up on this one, at least for now.

I really had high hopes for this book, the synopsis sounded amazing.

I loved the Fae aspect to his story and the bargains. My main issue with this story is the ,sin characters, Alaine and Delphine. Honestly, I liked nothing about them. I would’ve enjoyed the story more if they hadn’t been the center of it.

Everything has a price. Are you willing to pay it?

The Fairy Bargains of Prospect Hill is a story of the two Fairborn sisters whose family struck a bargain with the fae granting them acres of land on Prospect Hill, where the family still resides.

Alaine struggles to keep the family farm/orchards afloat; Delphine is about to marry a well-to-do man and begin a life of her own away from Prospect Hill.

Alaine begins making increasingly risky bargains with the fae in order to keep up the family's legacy, but when Delphine realizes the man she married isn't who she thought he was, Alaine steps in with a bargain to keep her safe. But is the price one they're willing to pay?

The novel follows Delphine and Alaine’s perspectives and discusses domestic abuse, classism, and women's suffrage while exploring women discovering who they are and the lengths we would go for family.

This book was beautifully written and a magical, feminist fantasy. It starts off slow and was a bit rough for me to get into since it was a good portion through the book before the plot took off.

If you like fae stories, then you’ll probably enjoy this one. It goes over familiar lore about the fair folk, but kept me waiting for the other shoe to drop as the cost becomes higher and high for the Fairborn sisters.

Thank you Netgalley for the advance reader copy of The Fairy Bargains of Prospect Hill by Rowenna Miller in exchange for an honest review. This was a beautiful story of family and fantasy. I really enjoyed the bond between sisters and what we will do to save the ones we love.

DNF around 15%

I normally try to give books more of a chance but I was bored to tears and could feel this sending me to a reading slump. I looked at other reviews to see how much of a slow build up this had and I just can’t keep going.

Thanks Netgalley and Redhook Books for providing this ARC to me.

I guess I am an outlier here but I didn't like this book. First, I couldn't tell when it actually took place. It implied somewhere around the 1900s since there is a mention of electric motor cars. I don't like books when I cannot tell the difference between the characters and who is what to whom and why. I just couldn't get into this one.

The Fairy Bargains of Prospect Hill is a well written fantasy fable by Rowenna Miller. Due out 28th March from Hachette on their Redhook imprint, it's 416 pages and will be available in paperback, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.

This is a well told fairy tale with traditional fae and a pair of sisters whose family have always lived on the edge of magic and have only used small innocuous charms to find lost items or ensure the hens keep laying. With much bigger conflicts to resolve, Alaine seeks to make a serious bargain with the fair folk to rescue her sister from an abusive marriage and save her family farm.

The first half of the book is slow and quite distressing, full of spousal abuse and hopelessness. I found it difficult to read in places. The prose is compelling and very well wrought and the second half of the book moves at an accelerating pace. The denouement and resolution are satisfying and beautifully written.

Four stars. Enchanting and sometimes difficult.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

"What do you offer, and what do you ask?"

This is such a lovely story. It is a historical fantasy set around the turn of the century in America, and mostly follows sisters Alaine and Delphine, who come from a long line of farmers who live on Prospect Hill. Their family has been making bargains with the fairies in the woods for generations. Unfortunately, some of the things that Alaine and Delphine bargain for do not go according to plan.

The beginning half was pretty slow paced, though still kept my attention, but things really picked up in the second half. Over everything, it is a story about family, about sisterhood, about expectations versus reality, about being careful what you wish for, about the power of collectivism and community, about the destruction of industrialization, and about what you will sacrifice for love.

CW: spousal abuse, physical abuse, misogyny, kidnapping

Very interesting take on a fairy story that deals with a family-run orchard, the bargains made over generations, and what happens when you ask for more and more from the bargains. The heart of the story is driven by the relationship between the two sisters, and what they'll do for each other. Incredibly well written, and recommended for those who don't mind a slower pace!

Seeing a fae is very rare. Rare, but not impossible.

Many years ago a fae was seen on Prospect Hill and a bargain was struck. Over the years, things were left for the fae and the orchard on Prospect Hill thrived.
As the railroads overtook our world, the land of the fae struggled more and more. The iron drove them away and the bargains became fewer and fewer.

Except for on Prospect Hill.

I really enjoyed the beginning of this. I love fae stories. Sadly, the second half seemed to drag on and on. I think it could've been shorter.

Alaine Fairborn and her sister Delphine of Prospect Hill, grew up learning the ways of bargaining with fairies. Leave a little trinket, make a small trade, and in return, their orchards flourished, they could find something they had lost, they had sunny weather when they needed it. The year that Delphine marries and moves away, Alaine and her family are struggling to pay the bills and desperately need a good harvest so she calls forth one of the fairies and makes a hefty bargain in exchange for their help. Then, when Delphine confides in Alaine that her marriage is not all that it appears to be, and that her husband is both verbally and physically abusive, Alaine finds herself at the tree once more. Only this time Delphine is the one who must make the bargain if she wants out of her marriage, and the price on the family turns out to be more than any of them bargained for.

This book was so good. It was very long, but as I have discovered, all books about fairies tend to be longer. The author did an excellent job with world building, and I was so deeply immersed in the book that I felt as if I were right there, watching it all unfold first-hand. I loved the rhymes and quotes about fairies at the beginning of each chapter. Those were delightful. I loved all of the characters, with the exception of Delphine's husband and in-laws, and a few of the fairies, of course. If you are a fan of fantasy fiction, then you definitely need to add this to your TBR list!

A magical read that had me rushing to turn the page to find out what happens next. It takes a chapter or two to figure out who all of the characters are and their place in they story, but once you do, warning you will lose all sense of time in this fantastical novel.
Thank you for an ARC of The Fairy Bargains of Prospect Hill in exchange for my honest review.

Thank for you for NetGalley for this ARC.

This book has TW for domestic violence!

This book seemed very interesting since I love hearing about faeries and their world but I the pace was so slow for me and having her bargains always go wrong kinda felt like I was running but always knew the outcome of it.

This is a cute little cozy book that has super fun fairy bargain tips at the start of each chapter that I feel I must try out. That centers on sisters Delphine and Alaine who couldn’t be more different. ( I’m kind of over this trope of the sisters being opposite {I have a sister myself and it is true we are nothing alike but we still feel like it’s overdone}) regardless it’s cute that starts in a way we all know is supposed to lead to. We’re not every to make deals with fairies and yet in this one we do and learn how to bribe them along the way so it’s cute and fun.

Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary e-ARC. All opinions provided are my own.

Did I hear someone say Faerie? 💃 But no really, faerie books always get me excited & so did reading a blurb for Rowenna Miller’s The Fairy Bargains of Prospect Hill written by HG Parry.

This is a fantasy celebrating family—sisterhood, especially—& the bravery we’re capable of when we want to protect someone we love (also the shortsightedness & foolishness and greed we can be capable of for various other motivations but I’m focusing on the positive ).

Alaine & Delphine are sisters of Prospect Hill who have grown up hearing stories of how faeries have helped them in exchange for goods & words they leave for them, a process called bargaining.

But Delphine is leaving the farm & Alaine feels the weight of it all crumbling & she reaches out to the faeries in ways she shouldn’t.

Though this story feels a bit long to me, it’s also winning & unsettling with rich imagery. It took me a while to get really interested in what was happening but then things picked up & I was excited to see where the pages went next.

4⭐️. Out 03/28.

Please see a trusted reviewer's list of CWs.

[ID: Jess, a white woman wearing a black shirt and a purple lace cardigan, holds an ebook on top of a picnic hamper in front of a green tree.]

The Fairy Bargains of Prospect Hill is a lovely story of family and fairies that takes place in the early 1900s. Alaine and Delphine are adult sisters who have taken different paths in life. Alaine has taken over the running of the family orchard while Delphine has married into a high society family in town. When they start having troubles in their lives, they begin to rely on the fairy bargains taught to them by their grandmother more than ever, but this turns out to be a slippery slope which leads them to creating new bargains and beyond.

The book starts slow as we become acquainted with the sisters and their lives. It was very slice of life, and I loved it. The setting completely drew me in. I felt like I could walk out the door and be among and smell the apple and cherry trees. The time period never felt like an afterthought either. It was present in the characters' actions, conversations, and activities. The characters themselves were fairly well-done, and I enjoyed seeing their different perspectives on events and how that played into their actions and the plot. The sister relationship in particular felt very real. It's jealousy and petty annoyances alongside unconditional love and support.

The last 1/3 really picks up speed as Alaine and Delphine rush to deal with the consequences of their actions. I flew through this section, anxious to find out how it would be resolved. I will say everything was pretty predictable, but I didn't mind because of how much I was enjoying the setting and character relationships.

Recommended for those who enjoy:
-fairy lore
-sister relationships
-country or early 1900s settings

SO COZY! I loved this book and thought it was written perfectly. Unique and original. I will be reading more from this author.

I DNF'd this at 20%. I tried really hard to get into the story, but I just couldn't do it, the pace was so slow and nothing was happening. I have always been a person that refused to DNF books in the past but I promised myself that 2023 was the year that a book got 20% to make a turnaround and if it couldn't I wouldn't continue on. This just wasn't the book for me.

However! I could see this as a book for someone who enjoys a really slow paced cozy fantasy with real save the farm relationship building feels. I love a good cozy fantasy, but I needed just a little bit more action.

I do think the writing was really great and I would 100% read another book from this author in the future.