I enjoyed Sarah’s writing in Glimmer Falls but I loved her writing in this one. The story line was extremely engaging and the characters were just so well written.

I got halfway through this book before DNFing. The world building was interesting, but the characters weren’t compelling. I found myself bored with the dialogue, with the main character’s narrations, and even with the trials the main character was left to navigate. I was hoping to see some of this author’s trademark humor incorporated into this book, but ultimately it fell flat.

This one caught me off guard in the best way. I went in expecting court politics and the usual romantasy intrigue, but it turned out to be darker and more layered than I anticipated. The worldbuilding pulled me in, the political maneuvering kept me hooked, and the characters—while not all equally compelling—held my interest the whole way through.

Now, I won’t say the romance was the standout here. It existed, but it didn’t quite sizzle. If anything, it felt secondary to the larger narrative, which honestly worked in the book’s favor. The power plays, shifting alliances, and high-stakes maneuvering at court were what really drove the story.

While some parts felt familiar to the genre, the execution was strong enough that it didn’t feel tired. I was fully invested by the end and can’t wait to see where the next book takes things. If you love political intrigue,dark fantasy, and a world that feels rich with history and danger, this is absolutely worth picking up.

Thank you to NetGalley & the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is one of my favorite reads of the year so far. I didn't feel like it was the most original book I've ever read, but it hit all the highlights of a fantasy romance for me. And it was really well-written!

Wowowowowowow this may end up being my top book of the year! This was such an amazing journey of a book, and a solid start to what could be a top tier series.

I love the main character Kenna. She's cunning, kind, and scrappy. I loved seeing her progression as she adjusted to the political environment was she thrown into. The friendship that grew between Kenna and Lara was amazing to see, especially because it easily could have written as them never really going past forced allies.

The romance was such an interesting aspect because I rooted for it and yet was also so skeptical about who could be trusted, and who had ulterior motives. By the end of the book, I was left really excited about where Kenna's romance could end up turning.

The last bit of the book had me so on edge too! I was listening to it in my car on the way to work and I was fully screaming at some of the twists.

This novel is filled with unexpected twists and morally ambiguous fae, leaving me uncertain of who to trust at every turn. In addition to the trials, a war and rebellion are brewing, forcing Kenna to carefully determine her loyalties. The intrigue surrounding the court politics and espionage was particularly engaging. Despite being human in a fae-dominated world, Kenna proves herself to be resourceful, intelligent, and determined.

While the pacing occasionally felt uneven, with my interest primarily piqued by the trials themselves, Kenna’s naiveté regarding relationships was at times frustrating. However, the potential for a love triangle in future installments is intriguing, and I’m eager to see where the story goes from here. Can’t wait to see how book 2 is. Thank you

Sarah Hawley was already one of my faves (if you haven' read the Glimmer Falls books, do that ASAP) and when I found out that she was writing a fantasy book, I NEEDED it. And goddamn did she deliver.

The writing in this book was SO GOOD! It was immersive, addictive, and set the stage for a lush new fantasy world. I’ve always had a hard time putting Sarah’s books down, but this book was especially unputdownable. I’ve read a lot of fantasy books and this was one of the most unique takes on the fae I’ve read in a long time. The story had me hooked from page one and the action just kept building and building. The story itself was gritty and violent at times which served to make the stakes feel all the more serious and high.

I loved Kenna as a main character - I was rooting for her from chapter one. She was well developed to the point of feeling real. Even in her darkest moments (and she really went through the wringer) she was brave and had the cunning to navigate her very life or death situation. I also liked getting to see glimpses of her softer side via her romance subplot (which was delicious but I don’t want to spoil it).

If you're a fantasy reader or looking to get into the genre, you should definitely check out Servant of Earth - between its high stakes, unique world, and excellent main character, this is a series to watch (and I am dying for book two)!!

I was provided an ARC of this book via Netgalley, all opinions are my own. I did end up listening to the audiobook which I borrowed from my library as this has been sitting on my TBR for a while. I'm sorry it took me so long to read this as this was really great! This is the kind of fantasy that I love to get lost in.

I don't know why more people aren't talking about this book! It had everything I look for in a fantasy. There are some dark moments, trials, interesting magic, interesting fae creatures and characters, betrayal, and a bit of romance.

Kenna is not well liked in her village. She is always collecting things from the bog to sell or trade to survive. Her best friend is selected along with several other women to be sent to the fae in Mistei as tribute. The people of Kenna's town believe this to be a great honor, but Kenna isn't so sure. She offers to help her friend and the women travel the dark path on their journey only to become trapped in the fae land her self and find herself enslaved. She is assigned to a fae who is about to undergo trials to prove her worth and grant her immortality and power. Kenna must aid her mistress or face death. Armed only with her wits and a strange magical dagger she found in the bog before entering Mistei, Kenna finds that the world she has entered is wrought with secrets and plots to overthrow the mad king. She also finds herself being courted by a handsome fae prince.

I really enjoyed this. Kenna develops so much as she helps Lara through the trials. She is always wandering around gathering information wherever she can to ensure that Lara will successfully pass. Kenna is always getting herself into sticky situations, but she is clever and finds a way out of them. I loved the addition of the dagger, which is sentient, and a character in its own right. I expect we will see more out of the dagger in book 2 as there were some pretty big revelations at the end of this book. I really enjoyed the characters and the world building. I can't wait for book 2 out later this year and to find out where Kenna the now Princess of Blood ends up in this magical world.

If you enjoyed the emotional complexity and compelling relationships of Hawley’s Glimmer Falls series and want a new series with added intrigue, suspense, and twists, this book is exactly it. Servant of Earth has expansive world building and slowly revealed histories, with relational twists and incredibly well-timed rug-pulls. I thought I knew what was happening (and guessed a few surprises!) but the ending was thrilling and fun and the satisfactory (“for now”) ending was so well earned and deserved. Can’t wait for the second.

I loved loved loved this book. I will confess I listened to this as an audiobook and I don't know I think that added to the story.

SCREAMING this book was so good. I was immediately sucked into the story, fantastic world building and magic system. Full of political intrigue, rebellion, and shifting alliances, betrayal and friendship and spice. It gets dark and violent and the heroine is not afraid to get her hands bloody and I love that for her (and me).

It’s kind of like ACOTAR meets Hunger Games meets Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Whatever it is it WORKS and I am desperate for book two. The climactic ending sees some resolution, no major cliffhanger, but it’s clear there’s a lot more story to unfold.

I thought this was very good and I will have to add this to the shop shelves. Thank you for the chance for us to review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for the ARC!

I absolutely loved and devoured this book! I've very much enjoyed Sarah Hawley's Glimmer Falls supernatural romance series (with a bit of a rocky start, admittedly). This is a much more serious series, and I wasn't sure what to expect in the beginning, but once the shoe dropped and our main character Kenna ran across the swamp, this book had my attention.
Kenna is a fantastic morally grey character, willing to do whatever is needed to survive, even if she knows it's against the mores of the society. It's a heck of a rollercoaster storyline as Kenna tries to navigate Fae society, not get killed at every turn by scheming faeries or her own new head of House. Making bonds, finding herself actually well suited to her new world, and experiencing hard trials of magic and skills, you're with her the whole time, wondering who to trust and what her next move needs to be.
I did happen to see one of the ending bombshells coming, reading at 2am one night when I couldn't put the story down, but the gasp and the way my brain suddenly dropped a bunch of puzzle pieces into place was incredible. Even so, that realization didn't dull the following pages for me. I'm trying very hard not to spoil anything, but holy heck - if this was the establishing book for character and setting for this series, I am totally IN.

If you like high fantasy / low fantasy blend, court intrigue, magic and some remarkably tame romance (at least in comparison to the author's previous series), definitely give this a read!

I received a free copy of #Servantofearth by #SarahHawley from#NetGalley in exchange for a review. The world building was well done and the book is well written. I did feel that Kanna was not always written as a girl who comes from a hovel by a bog. For example, at one point she uses the word clitoris. Would this be a word she would know? I did find the action predictable but would read the sequel to finish the series. As it has a sequel, it does end with a cliffhanger after the 6 trials. This book does contain sex and I would say is a Romantasy in the vain of Sarah Maas' book A court of Rose and Thorns. I will recommend to other people who like romantasy.

Kendra here wishing Sarah Hawley a Happy Pub Day on her new release (posted review on Instagram on release day), Servant of Earth! A while ago I was casually scrolling Netgalley, as you do, and noticed this beautiful cover and stopped in my tracks. Upon investigating further I recognized the authors’ name, read the summary, and decided to give this fantasy book a whirl.

In the underground Fae realm, only the strongest and most ruthless have power–but a young human woman forced into a life of servitude is about to change everything. Kenna Heron is best known in her village for being a little wild–some say “half feral”—but she’ll need every ounce of that ferocity to survive captivity in the cruel Fae court. Trapped as a servant in the faeries’ underground kingdom of Mistei, Kenna must help her new mistress undertake six deadly trials, one for each branch of magic: Fire, Earth, Light, Void, Illusion, and Blood. If she succeeds, her mistress will gain immortality and become the heir to Earth House. If she doesn’t, the punishment is death–for both mistress and servant. With no ally but a sentient dagger of mysterious origins, Kenna must face monsters, magic, and grueling physical tests. But worse danger wait underground and soon Kenna gets caught up in a secret rebellion against the inventively sadistic faerie king. When her feelings for the rebellion’s leader turn passionate, Kenna must decide if she’s willing to risk her life for a better world and a chance of happiness. Surviving the trials and overthrowing a tyrant king will take cunning, courage, and an iron will…but even that may not be enough.

Guys, I was not prepared for the ride that awaited me. I LOVED this book. I loved her found family, friendships, the mystery, the intrigue, the tension… the list goes on and on. THE ENDING!! – It was so satisfying and everything I wanted for for this book. Through finding a way through her perils, she finds strength in herself.

Servant of Earth is out TODAY! Go read it!

Thanks Berkley for the e-arc!

I absolutely devoured this book. This will definitely be a book for fans of Sarah J. Maas and has a very similar vibe to Court of Thorns and Roses series (without the Beauty and Beast reference). Honestly I was on the edge of my seat through all the trials and needed to see what the outcome would be. I had an idea of where things would go with Drustan early on, it's one of those when you read a lot of fantasy they all have similar formulas. I absolutely loved the friendship between Kenna and Lara, watching it build over time was well written. I am so excited to see how things will continue in the next book. I will say that this book is a lot darker than I expected, and yet despite that I could not put it down.

This was such a great series starter! I absolutely adored Kenna, and I loved watching her friendship with Lara grow. I found the first part of the book a bit slow, but after the halfway mark, it was impossible to put down! And that ending!! I can't wait to read the next book, and whatever else Sarah Hawley writes in the future :)

This was a really beautiful dark fairytale that hit all the right marks. And don't get me started on that magical dagger??? SUCH A COOL CONCEPT! Loved this one so much!

I’m late to reviewing this, but I really loved this book. Sarah Hawley writes fantasy in a way I can and will get behind every time. I can’t wait for more from her

I really enjoy Sarah Hawley’s witchy rom-coms, so I was excited to give this a try, but unfortunately I did find this to be a little too predictable for me.

This is about a human woman, Kenna, who ends up in the fae court where she is given as a servant to a fae noble who is competing in trials to earn her powers and her immortality, and Kenna is expected to cheat to help her through. I think the trials, and the way the character gets around them, were a bit sloppy in how they were plotted out. I feel like trials have been having a huge resurgence lately (maybe with the return of the Hunger Games with the Ballad of Songs and Snakes film), but I feel like they need to be done with a bit more build up, understanding of the rules and stakes, and denouement after each one.

I also felt like this book was quite dark at times, with some pretty horrific depictions of mutilation, rape, torture, and even infanticide. These topics were handled a bit clumsily, definitely used for shock factor but not necessarily with care.

This is a fantasy romance, however there was no romance in this first book. The love interest in this book is (spoiler) probably not going to be the love interest of the series, however the other one was not explored much at all. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing in a first book in a series, but I do think the switch was very predictable and clear from the get-go. There was never a point where I thought he would be the one.

With all that said, this wasn’t poorly written and I am kind of interested to see what would happen in the next book possibly.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.