As soon as I saw that premise -- ACOTAR meets The Cruel Prince -- I knew I'd either love Servant of Earth for its take on fae lore and romance, or I'd hate it because it felt less than the sum of its parts. Truth be told, there were times I felt a bit of both. I was captivated by the opening chapters, felt ready to DNF in the middle, and was hooked once more by the final third. But there were a number of things that kept me reading even during the parts I didn't love, and I think it's things others have already noted.

One of Hawley's strong points is main character Kenna. An ordinary village girl who is perhaps a bit eccentric and a bit feral, Kenna is no one's fairytale princess or chosen one. In fact, when 4 girls are selected to cross into the fae world as brides, Kenna is not among them. Instead, she follows her best friend, because she knows the truth: girls chosen to marry the fae don't live a perfect life - they die. She's seen the skeletons in the bog. When Kenna emerges on the other side into the fae world, she's alone, grieving her friend, and angry at a world that places wagers on human lives. I've made no secret of the fact that I LOVE feminine rage, and Kenna more than delivers. I also love the strong bonds between Kenna and the faerie she ends up serving, Lara. It was wonderful watching Kenna and Lara bond through the trials that will grant Lara her power and immortality.

I also really enjoyed the trial set-up. They're crafted in a really engaging way, and I found myself looking forward to each one and rooting for Lara and Kenna. I also liked the bonds between Kenna and the other servants. Sarah Hawley is a girl's girl, and it shows. Is the bar so low that I'm rooting on female friendship in romantasy? (Considering I read some truly dreadful stuff this year, yes. Yes, it is) Anyway, I love that our girl Kenna is looking for love, but it's not just the romantic kind.

And speaking of love, that's one of the reasons I'm docking some stars. For as much as I adore Kenna's friendships, the most feeling I could muster for her love interests is apathy. It's a quasi-love triangle and it's just fine, I guess. Drustan, our super hot ginger fire prince, is charismatic and cunning, but he didn't really do much for me. Their spicy scenes were pretty under seasoned, tbh. The other love interest, Kallen, would have been interesting, but he seems cut from the same "shadow daddy" cloth as every other TikTok romantasy man. He's Xaden 2.0, basically, and while he DOES have chemistry with Kenna, and I do like the slowburn, idk, I guess I'm just tired. Are shadow powers the ONLY powers a love interest can have? When the house of Illusion is Right There?! It would've been so fun to have an Earth House man, or an Illusion man, or a Light man with the darkest heart...or, hell, even spice Drustan up a little more.

The one thing I did love, related to both love interests, was the politics surrounding them. That part made the final third so enjoyable. In a market crowded with fae stories, romantasy, and trial tropes, it's tough to stand out; what Servant of Earth lacks in uniqueness, it fully makes up for in likable characters and perfectly plotted courtly intrigue.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Berkely Publishing Group, and Sarah Hawley for gifting me this e-ARC in exchange for my honest review! I think this was a fun romantasy read, but ultimately I will not be continuing with this series when other, more engaging ones are tugging at me.

WOW! The world-building, the tension, the violence, and the steamy scenes were all done so, so well. I will admit, the book started off a bit slow, but it definitely finished strong! This book seriously needs more hype!

What I appreciated most was how the romance isn’t the main focus which allows plenty of world-building and an engaging plot to take center stage. The magic system and the trials the characters undergo felt super unique - it even gave me a little Hunger Games vibe. While reading, I couldn’t decide who Kenna’s love interest was, which heightened my anticipation to learn more! (I can't say who without spoiling the plot!)

Overall, Servant of Earth totally exceeded my expectations. I need the second book now to see what happens next!

I need book 2 right now! I loved this book! Human Kenna ends up in Fae lands as a servant to House Earth. Kenna has to spy and try too help Lady Lara through the trials. The world building is fascinating and fast paced. Definitely read!

Sarah Hawley in such an INCREDIBLE writer. This book was everything I needed and more. Who knew a talking knife and a strong woman who wields it could make such a compelling duo (hint: Sarah did :))

The book cover is gorgeous and reminds me of 1990's Tor fantasy covers.

In this book we meet Kenna who's captured and forced into servitude. She has to help her mistress pass 6 trials or face death if they fail. She even has a sentient dagger to keep her company.

Kenna has feelings for Prince Drustan but it's shaping up to be a potential love triangle (which I hate). I'm looking forward to more developments.

Overall it's action packed with suspense, magic, war and rebellion.

This was a solid start to an interesting fantasy series. I hesitate to call it "romance" just yet, because... well, spoilers. True, there is a sequel coming up soon and I'm eager to read that and see where all this leads. But it follows the Sarah J. Maas tradition of "Are you sure that's the love interest? You sure 'bout that?

But the fantasy aspects of this world are great. I love the six houses and their magical elements - and it's not the traditional four-plus elements you're thinking of. In fact, the Earth House can actually control water AND plants, which makes sense. It's a great way to set up a magic system and have it be something unique without being too hard to follow. It makes sense for the story, and it goes along well with the trials aspect of it as well.

Yes, I got plenty of The Hunger Games vibes from it, but there was also a bit of the Triwizard Tournament from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire mixed in for good measure. None of this took away from the story, nor is this meant as a criticism. A sign of a good story is one that clearly takes inspiration from other sources, but combines that inspiration to make something new and different. It makes for enjoyable reading.

I admit, when I got the promo email from NetGalley about this series, I didn't realize the author also wrote the rather excellent Glimmer Falls series that I binged last year. But I was pleasantly surprised to discover that fact when I did some further digging (as I tend to do when I'm getting into a new-to-me series). I would not be surprised if Sarah Hawley became one of my "insta-buy" authors, because I've now read two of her series that were both very different and I enjoyed them both immensely.

Oh my god, the ending?? I wanted to cry, then I was squealing with delight, then just sitting there speechless. Servant of Earth really took me by surprise and I’m so glad I picked it up!
The worldbuilding was one of my favorite parts - the different fae houses and their magic shards! The Earth House atmosphere felt like a cozy but eerie fae forest and I loved how it was described.
The world of Servant of Earth isn’t a whimsical fae world - the fae are vicious, manipulative, and always scheming. I loved being tangled up in the web of their games and politics! The plot was a bit predictable but that didn’t take away from my enjoyment at all.
I really liked Kenna; being human in a fae world puts her at such a disadvantage, but she’s smart, observant, and loyal. I loved how she played the cruel games of the fae and used being underestimated to her advantage.
The romance was more of a subplot, which I didn’t mind (by the end I was fully over Drustan). I liked Kallen though, and I'm excited to learn more about him and see how he and Kenna grow closer!
Another highlight for me was Kenna’s friendship with Lara - how they bonded and slowly became friends. Also the sentient, bloodthirsty dagger that changes appearance? I loved that idea and thought it was really cool.
I honestly can’t wait to read the sequel!
～Thank you so much to Berkley (Ace) and NetGalley for the ARC!

I have read all three of Sarah Hawley's Glimmer Falls series and absolutely loved them. It was just a quirk of fate and timing that I had not yet had a chance to purchase and read Servant of Earth, so I was very happy to see it had been made available on Netgalley in advance of Princess of Blood.

Although the characters are built from familiar archetypes, they are deftly woven into the fabric of Hawley's world building. Her writing is always engaging and leaves you hungry for more. The banter between characters is both fun to read and integral to the emotional attachment the reader develops for Kenna and those she cares about.

I'm looking forward to seeing where and how the story picks up when I get my hands on Princess of Blood.

3.5⭐️ Firstly, I would like to thank the publisher and NetGalley for an e-arc of this book. This book was not what I was expecting. In this book, we follow Kenna as she is trapped as a servant in the cruel fae court of Mistei. As a servant, she is to help her mistress undertake six deadly trials to gain her immortality and become heir to her house. This book was released in January, but I got the arc last month! I had heard some people talk about this book and didn’t know what it was about, so I went into it blind, and I enjoyed it! I think I was intrigued in the beginning, and towards the middle, I was getting bored, but with that crazy ending, I do want to read the next book to know what happens next! Overall, I enjoyed this book a lot more than I thought I would! Thank you again to the publisher and NetGalley for an e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️

Oh my god. People are absolutely sleeping on this book right now. I can't believe it came out in 2024 and I've barely heard mutuals and other readers talk about it.

THIS book, Servant of Earth is undoubtedly the closest thing to ACOTAR I have come across, both in a general sense of story but also in terms of how utterly addicting it was. It features houses similar to the ACOTAR courts, clever trials, two potential MMC's, wonderful focus on female friendships and sisterhood, and oh so much more.

Do yourself a favor, whether you're in a reading slump or looking for your next book obsession, pick up Servant of Earth. I don't think I can emphasize enough how desperate I am for book 2. This book came out of nowhere and completely blew me away.

Thank you Netgalley and Berkley Publishing Group for a copy of this ARC. All opinions are my own.

If you're looking for a happy, fluffy book,this probably isn't one you want to pick up. It's dark from the beginning and continues to get darker the more layers are peeled away from the surface.

However, there are moments of hope, the triumph of a character that realizes that she doesn't have to let others have complete control over her destiny, regardless of what others think.

The characters were wonderfully-wrought and the world lovingly-crafted. It ends on a hopeful yet painful note, one that will have to be resolved in the next book.

Note: lots of violence, several openly-spicy scenes, and some language.

Ok, so I'm not normally a fantasy kinda gal when it comes to reading. BUT I am a Sarah Hawley kinda gal. I read the book, dear readers. And now I'm all upset because WHAT WAS THAT ENDING AND WHY NOT THE NEXT BOOK OUT NOW?

I'm cool. Seriously, this book was highly enjoyable. I can't really comment on the fantasy aspects and how many tropes it does there, but I did love every second of this book (and I don't even care if there's going to be a love triangle).

First, I loved that there were faeries that were mean and vindictive and awful. Like, that's what faeries are supposed to be and Hawley did such a great job. The character depth for each of the faeries that Kenna (FMC) deals with was exactly the kind of writing I'm looking for.

Kenna was also a wonderful character. She grew in the story and I really appreciated her self reflection along the way. I appreciated her struggles and also, same girl.

Plot was highly entertaining and the whole setup was amazing. Highly recommend picking this book up!! So much fun and all the goodness one wants in a novel!

BUT HOW LONG UNTIL THE NEXT ONE? PLS AND THX. IT'S NEEDED.

I LOVED this book!! A human FMC with a found sentient dagger who semi-accidentally makes her way into fae territory by attempting to safely escort her friend who has selected for a ritual and ends up the lady's maid to a princess of a royal house? And there are trials?? And everyone is plotting something?? An evil king? And everyone is attractive?? I am SAT.

Servant of Earth was so good!! I loved how the world building was comprehensive but done in such a way it was almost incremental - we learned things at the pace that Kenna learned them and it was not overwhelming at all.

Kenna is the FMC of my dreams - strong, loyal, loving and stubborn in all the right ways. I appreciated her self awareness despite perhaps making a less than advisable decision. Her unwavering loyalty to her loved ones is admirable and I love her strong sense of justice. Her relationships with Anya, Lara, Drustan and Kallen were so interesting.

How am I supposed to wait until September for book 2?? I'm dying to read it!!

Thank you to Berkley and Netgalley for the review copy.

The title honestly has a lot of cliche things - little human girl gets transported to the fae realm and gets all tangled up in their drama and goings on - but it really works for it. I never felt like I was reading a cliche or rip-off of all the other romantasy books that follow a similar structure.

I really enjoyed the friendships that Kenna finds throughout the story, they're all flawed but lovable. Even the villains are written in a way that lets you know they're bad but you also see their depth so you can appreciate their actions even more.

It did feel somewhat predictable at times, but honestly when it comes to romantasy that's just par for the course and not necessarily a bad thing. I read these for comfort in today's world.

The atmosphere the author built through the story allowed me to feel fully immersed, she does a fantasy job with imagery and world building as well as the character emotions practically jumping off the page.

Overall I really enjoyed this and am really looking forward to the next book

I love the premise of this book and am such a trials girlie, but wish they could have been longer. This part felt hurried. What could have been longer for me was the relationship build up. I am not an instalove girlie by any means.

I liked the premise of the story and look forward to seeing what book 2 brings. This was my first story from Sarah Hawley so I’m very new to her and her worlds.

✨RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

✨REVIEW: The Servant of Earth was such a satisfying read. Solid story with good pacing. I always like a deadly trials trope, but this had a different twist as the FMC, Kenna, is forced to help the Fae contestant she serves through them, knowing she will be killed if it’s found out- or if her mistress fails.

While I anticipated the outcomes of the romance, the trials themselves, as well as a couple other plot lines that I won’t spoil… the story kept me engaged and it was thoroughly enjoyable. Kenna is in her 20s, not a teenager, and the world building with the elemental magic system was done well.

I assume there will be a sequel coming eventually and I will definitely read it- I’m eager to see if my plot assumptions play out as I think they will. There’s a little bit of a shadow-daddy, possible love triangle situation happening and I need to know what happens 👀


If you liked Lightlark, or any of the tropes I listed, I definitely recommend this book. I liked it more than Lightlark, but it gave me some similar vibes- kind of Lightlark meets ACOTAR (but less spicy).


I was excited to receive an Advanced Reader Copy of this book but all opinions are my own

*The Servant of Earth* by Sarah Hawley is an absolute delight from start to finish! Hawley’s enchanting world-building, clever humor, and lovable, complex characters made this book impossible to put down. The blend of magic, mystery, and a touch of romance was perfectly balanced, and I found myself completely immersed in the story’s rich, whimsical setting.

The protagonist’s journey was heartfelt and relatable, and the supporting cast brought so much charm and depth to the narrative. Hawley’s writing sparkles with wit and warmth, and the pacing kept me eagerly turning pages.

This is a must-read for fans of cozy fantasy with strong character arcs and a world you’ll wish you could visit. I’m already hoping for a sequel! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this magical gem early — it’s one I’ll be recommending to all my fellow fantasy lovers.

This is how I find out about awesome books. I’m drawn to the covers. I wasn't sure what to expect but I was pleasantly surprised.

✔️First person POV
✔️Fae
✔️Strong and Resilient FMC
✔️Found Family

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for allowing me the opportunity to read this book.

Freaking loved this book. Sarah Hawley is a romantasy master, crafting incredible characters and tense plots that kept me locked in from page one to the end. I will ABSOLUTELY be reading book two—can’t wait.

Did you think "gosh, the brutality and hopelessness of Under The Mountain in ACOTAR was just not enough!" Well don't worry, you have have a whole 400+ pages of more of it right here!!

Human girl stuck with the fae? Check.

Love interest that is trying to free his people... and may also perhaps be a little too focused on himself getting all the glory? Check.

Beltane type festival with sexy time? Yup!

And so much more without spoilers.

Kenna finds herself gifted to the House of Earth as a servant. A human handmaiden? The insult is unbearable to Lara, the younger fae Lady of Earth who will be going through the trials of immortality. Kenna is ordered to help Lara pass the trials at any cost. Along the way finds herself both enamored by the Prince of Fire, Drustan, and indebted to Kallen, known as the King's Vengeance. Eho can she trust, and who can she save?

Servant of Earth somehow managed to be very similar to ACOTAR without actually pissing me off about the similarities. Most characters felt at least somewhat developed and not just there to be Evil Character 1 or Background Guy That'll Probably Die 3. Is that a high bar to have? Obviously no, but books that fall in the "romantasy" category lately have not had much depth at all.

I have read other books by Sarah Hawley and was pretty shocked at the tone here compared to her more silly fantasy romance books. This reads as "truer" fantasy, it is bloody and filled with betrayals. I would really love to see this diverge from its Sarah J Maas roots and have its own personality.

I cannot in good conscience give this more than 3.5 stars because of how much it is just a recasted / rebranded ACOTAR, even though I did thoroughly enjoy it. If you did love the magic and horrors of Feyre's time with Tamlin, this could definitely be a nice walk down memory lane. It unfortunately is lacking in originality though.

Thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for providing an eARC of Servant of Earth in exchange for this honest review!