If you enjoy sassy cats and magical houses then A Harvest of Hearts might be the read for you.

Alright, sooooo "plain, not like other girls" syndrome aside, I really loved Foss. She was sweetly fool-hearted yet pragmatic when necessary. The story itself was unique to me . I enjoyed the world, its use of magics (and hearts), and the love story (sort of Stardust vibes). Aaand i love a book that has a good dose of snark.
Cornelius 🖤

Thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Publishing | Erewhon Books for the eARC!

This was an enjoyable fantasy story. The world was well drawn and built up. I enjoyed following Foss's journey and growing awareness of her world. The plot moved very quickly and kept me engaged throughout. The love story and relationships were the weak areas of the story. I did not feel the romance was earned or believable. As a political commentary, it was interesting to think about the way that propaganda and complacency are established. Overall it was a fun story, however it did not evoke much feeling or reaction. I would be interested in following Andrea Eames future writing.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington-Erewhon for providing an eARC in return for my honest thoughts.

Such a lovely new cozy fantasy! Give me a talking cat and a heart-stealing wizard and I'm happy. So good!

Witches stealing hearts, talking cats, and a self deprecating heroine who is obviously actually gorgeous. Talking cat! Likened to Howl's Moving Castle, this is a lighthearted romance/fantasy with a hot sorcerer!

this was soooo fun, very much in the vein of something like howl's moving castle as advertised. the presence of the idea of being "snagged" by the sorcerers made it different and was probably the most interesting part of the story from a worldbuilding standpoint. the romance is fun, but certainly takes a backseat to the other plot points. cornelius the talking cat is my favorite character and i was most concerned about him the whole time.

I hate how the fmc is always so down on herself. The amount of times she commented on herself being ugly or ordinary made me want to scream. I like my fmcs strong. Maybe once in awhile be self deprecating but the amount of times this fmc made me sick.

I liked the cozy fantasy elements (the cat) we well we the magical fairy tale themes. The concept itself is unique and the execution was well done. There was a good balance of funny and lighthearted moments and deeper reflections of society beauty standards and self esteem which was unexpected but something I feel was a real highlight.

The pacing I struggled with as it was slow in the middle but the ending was worth the wait.

I wanted to love this but unfortunately I just couldn't stay interested. I had to DNF after multiple tries.

Fun exciting, and not what I expected in a decent way, I'm glad I gave it a shot and threw my hat in the ring

If you're looking for a whimsical “bizarre” fantasy that hooks you from the beginning with its intriguing concept, Harvest of Hearts delivers, but not always in the way that you’d expect. There are cosy and magical elements that give off strong Howl’s Moving Castle vibes, set against high-stakes conflict and heavy, dark themes.
I personally really enjoyed the first-person narrative style, it’s immersive yet straightforward. The MC’s voice is distinctive, but the self-deprecating monologue does get a bit much at times. I also felt pretty disconnected from the romance. Despite the slow burn, it still felt oddly sudden and underdeveloped.
The best part of this book is Cornelius the cat, he deserves all the hearts ❤️❤️❤️ (no pun intended)

Very interesting premise and I loved the slight Howl’s vibe. Hopefully a lot of the word errors (sorts of things autocorrect can cause and spellcheck won’t grab) were cleared up before publication. Overall though it felt a bit first draft. Bits that ran on too long and others that needed fleshed out. Lots of tell but no show. I wasn’t feeling the relationship at all as romantic. Cornelius was the best part.

I enjoyed this arc and appreciated how this felt like a unique take on fantasy-type tales and heroines. The main character was wonderful, and actually felt like a normal person that became caught-up in something magical. The setting and side characters such as the cat really fleshed out the magical world the author created. I would consider more lighthearted fantasy, but there are darker elements splashed throughout.

This story gives me studio ghibli vibes and I was here for it!!! The coziness along with the humor wrapped me in a warm blanket that's calming. The talking cat was everything to me and the rest of the characters were amazing!!!

Domestic fantasy romance is soooooooooooooooo cozy. The tone of A Harvest of Hearts surprised me with how intense and darkly it resonated right from the beginning, unlike other representatives of the genre that start out light and YA(-ish), only to end with grimdark undertones. This book, instead, doesn't hide the viscerality at its heart (pun intended), nor its grown-up themes.

Foss makes an amazing protagonist, as ressourceful as she is helpless under a visiting sorcerer's insultingly accidental spell. Once she is bound to him through magic that imitates a desperate crush, she resolves to abandon her unfulfilling village life and follow him back to his city abode, hoping to find a remedy for the enchantment that causes her physical pain during his absence.

Soon, though, she discovers that she isn't the only one suffering after a failed heart-taking, in the capital that looks benevolently upon the beautiful sorceresses' exploitations. But if Foss doesn't want to succumb to her curse, she must team up with the barely-human and frustratingly clueless Sylvester and his magic mansion. And by doing so, she will uncover the price of all those stolen hearts.

Okay, up until that point in the story I was more than content with the direction Eames took in her writing, offering up some of the most inspiring similes I heard all year. Unfortunately, as is often the case, and somehow contradictingly, the story loses momentum for me as soon as the domestic setting is left behind for a more action-based plot. Listen... I don't want this. Let's stay inside the house.

But I get that we need to raise the stakes and move the characters, so I want to make it clear that this is entirely due to my own taste. I also didn't find Sylvester all that compelling as a love interest - perhaps because of the unflattering voice acting the otherwise brilliant narrator gave him.

Even so, the change of vibes didn't deter me from finding the story and ending still overall very satisfying. I just love an incompetent man.

thank you to netgalley and the publisher for this e-arc! 3.5/5 stars rounded down, foss butcher is my girl!!!

I always think comparing books to other well known books in an effort to market them can be a hit or miss, especially a book that has so much character as howl's moving castle does because it brings up so many comparisons and I think it does this book a bit of a disservice. I did find this whimsical and silly, especially read through foss's very no nonsense, straightforward point of view because it gives it a funny juxtaposition, and the magic and the world building didn't feel too dissimilar to howl's moving castle. but the comparison puts sylvester and howl next to each other, and sylvester just does not have the depth of character that howl does. sure, he's childish and immature and silly like howl and finding out his backstory does give him a bit more depth, but there's a certain shallow quality to him that makes it hard for you to feel like he's really connecting to anyone, even foss. at certain points, the house felt more alive than he did, even in the last third of the book when things start to pick up. I thought foss was an absolute delight - I do understand that other readers were frustrated with her constant self criticizing inner dialogue, but when you're a girl who's been shunned for your past and belittled for the way you look in a world that values how you look above all, I deeply sympathized with foss. she never really does it in a way that feels self pitying - she brings it up in relation mostly to the spell tying her and sylvester together, and how it makes her feel and it made me so emotional to read about how hard she was trying to really shove down the parts of her that just wanted to be loved. she's just so no nonsense and straightforward, and she provides a really nice foil to sylvester and the world as a whole. the overall plot did feel a little thin - evil kings do as they always do no matter what world they're in, I guess - but overall, this was a fun fantasy read that, I think, would've been better off not comparing itself to howl's moving castle.

A Harvest of Hearts is a fun and magical story that pulled me in right away. It reminded me of Howl’s Moving Castle with its mix of magic, humour, and heart. Foss is a practical and stubborn main character who suddenly finds herself caught up in a world of spells, curses, and talking cats.

The magical house she’s sent to take care of has a personality of its own, and the sorcerer Sylvester is both frustrating and fascinating. As Foss learns more about magic, she also starts to uncover secrets about the kingdom that are bigger than she ever imagined.

This book is a great pick if you enjoy magical adventures, lovable characters, and stories about finding strength in unexpected places.

3.75 rounded to 4

I’ll start by saying there’s a lot to love about this book! The world-building was really unique, with a magical system that felt fresh and immersive. I could definitely see why some readers are comparing it to Howl’s Moving Castle—it has that same whimsical, magical energy, which made the setting such a fun place to get lost in.

And then there’s Cornelius—oh my gosh, I absolutely loved him. His wit, his snark, and that perfect little dash of drama he brought to the story were hands down my favorite part. I honestly found myself wishing for more of him because he added such a great dynamic to the book.

The ending was satisfying too! I loved the resolution, and it definitely gave me that hopeful feeling I crave in a story.

Now, I do want to be honest—where I struggled a bit was with the romance. The FMC’s ongoing self-doubt and her constant negative self-talk about her appearance were a little tough for me to get past. It made it harder to fully buy into the romance when she’s so caught up in putting herself down, especially since the MMC was a bit more reserved. There were also moments where she tells him he’s “unnatural,” which added to the distance I felt from their connection. That being said, I still appreciated the happy ending, even though the romance didn’t feel as fully developed as I would have liked.

Overall, this was a really solid read, and I’m glad I had the chance to dive into it. Thanks so much to Andrea Eames and NetGalley for the opportunity to read early—I’m excited to see what Andrea writes next, and I’ll definitely be watching for more of Cornelius!

Although I really wanted to love this book, I struggled with it. 2.5 stars

- While I liked the plot and found it compelling, the characters fell SO flat to me. Why did a cat have more personality than any other character??
Sylvester was literally just so boring. I found the romance plot hard to believe because his personality just didn't exist.
- I also struggled with Foss. Every other word out of her mouth was about how ugly or plain she was and after the 50th time I was just pretty tired of it.
- More worldbuilding would have really improved this book! Things would be touched upon and then never explored which left me with a lot of questions.

I really struggled to get through this book. The characters lack depth and I just don't feel connected to the story at all. The writing is beautiful but the plot barely moved for the entire first half of the book. The Howl's Moving Castle inspiration is obvious and it definitely has the feel of a darker Studio Ghibli fairy tale, but without the charm. I didn't buy the romance and I felt the villain was a generic Big Bad without interesting motivations.

A Harvest of Hearts by Andrea Eames is a fun light-hearted fantasy sure to make fairy tale lovers swoon. A sentient house, a talking cat and a dramatic, dangerous sorcerer who’s captured Foss’s heart in a magical enchantment. The kingdom is protected by the king’s magic harvested by his magical children, but that magic has a dark and evil secret that threatens all of them. Perfect for a broad collection of readers with virtually all the romance happening “off screen”; good reinterpretation of the fairy tale with Foss repeatedly saving others, and a satisfying ending.