I am not usually a big fan of fantasy books. I often find them too dense with characters and names that I find hard to keep straight. So I was delighted when this book “snagged” me so quickly and kept me turning the pages until I could finish it and make sure my favourites characters were all right. I love books that enthral me. Maybe some of the magic from the story leaked out on the pages.

Foss lives with her Da in a small village on the edge of the Kingdom. She considers herself ugly and cursed so she is shocked when a Sorcerer comes to the village and their eyes meet. He and his twelve equally beautiful sisters comb the Kingdom to bring back bits of hearts to help their father, the King, keep the country flourishing and healthy and safe. Or so the story goes. It is only when Foss travels to the home of the sorcerer, Sylvester, and becomes his housekeeper with the aid of the house itself and a talking cat named Cornelius, that she begins the unravel the lies and deceit.

Sylvester it turns out is not like his sisters nor his father. In fact, he is a disappointment as he refuses to take hearts. His link to Foss was accidental but fortunate as she reaches him in ways he never imagined and is able to bring out what was once his humanity. And when his family threatens to take Foss’ heart because she is resistant to magic and might provide a cure for the blight that is destroying all the harvested hearts, Sylvester must choose. Together the three of them take a perilous journey with little hope of success and great danger to try and stop the evil King and his family of minions. The story never lets up and kept me riveted to the end. Five purrs and two paws up.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this eARC.

Andrea Eames’ A Harvest of Hearts is a whimsical, bittersweet fantasy that reads like a love letter to the emotionally resonant magic of Howl’s Moving Castle and the quiet strength of heroines who refuse to be overlooked. But don’t mistake homage for imitation—Eames crafts a world that is distinctly her own, where hearts are not just symbols of love but literal sources of power, vulnerability, and resistance.

At the center is Foss, a butcher’s daughter whose practicality and self-deprecating humor make her an instantly endearing narrator. When her heart is “Snagged” by a mysterious male magic-worker named Sylvester, she embarks on a journey that is part rescue mission, part self-reclamation. The twist? Sylvester doesn’t even remember her. What follows is a quietly subversive tale of agency, where Foss infiltrates his enchanted House—not as a damsel in distress, but as a housekeeper with a plan.

The House itself is a standout character: moody, shape-shifting, and occasionally snarky, it echoes the sentient architecture of Ghibli films while adding its own flavor of domestic chaos. And then there’s Cornelius, the talking cat with a flair for sarcasm and unexpected loyalty—a feline companion who steals scenes and hearts with equal ease.

What makes A Harvest of Hearts sing is its emotional intelligence. Eames doesn’t shy away from Foss’s insecurities, particularly around beauty and worth, but she also doesn’t let them define her. The romance between Foss and Sylvester is slow-burning and refreshingly mutual in its awkwardness and growth. It’s not about being saved—it’s about choosing to save yourself and, maybe, someone else along the way.

While the world-building occasionally leaves questions unanswered—how exactly does heart-magic work?—the novel’s charm lies in its refusal to over-explain. Like a fairy tale told by candlelight, it trusts the reader to feel their way through the fog.

For readers who crave cozy fantasy with teeth, A Harvest of Hearts offers a tender, offbeat adventure that lingers long after the last page. It’s a story about reclaiming what’s been taken from you—your heart, your voice, your place in the world—and finding unexpected magic in the process.

I received a free e-galley in exchange for an honest review



CW’s: Violence, death, some body horror, violence against children, children are involved in the body horror, lots of discussion around looks, talks of class/classicism, violence is based on socioeconomic status, abusive and manipulative family dynamics, one closed-door sex scene.



Contains spoilers



My Rating: 4.75



Right off the bat I liked the writing style. I felt like Eames did a really good job with the flow of the story. Nothing felt stilted or too juvenile. The book didn’t feel robotic or like there was too much exposition. There wasn’t this telling-not-showing element to it. But the language felt so effortlessly beautiful as I read it.



The magic system and plot were so unique. I loved the idea of hearts having to be used to make magic. I also loved the element of the Magic House as an extension of Sylvester. The magic felt like it had stakes, like it had sacrifice. Like something had to be given up in order ot have the magic. I felt like there was some real weight to the decisions made and that the conflict in the book, that drove the plot, felt real and well paced out. I felt Foss’ fear and dread, I felt her panic and her worry. I felt her father’s worry and the worry of the people around her. This felt like a real consequence of magic and it felt like something more realistic. That the poorer people on the outskirts of the kingdom were sacrificed for the prosperity of the elite closer to the center. It felt like it was an allegory for something real and it felt well thought out.



I also like the way Foss was portrayed, she was scared and confused but determined. She wasn’t dong what she was doing just for other people. She didn’t have to be this selfless person driven by just altruism. She’s allowed to do something that protects herself, she’s allowed to be scared for her own well being and she’s allowed to do things to save herself. Not only does she not need someone to save her, and she’s taking action to do it on her own, but she doesn’t need someone to save. Sure, she’s seeking out this problem that’s plagued her town for a long time, but she’s driven by her own feelings, her own peril.



And the way other people react to this, how other people think of this thing that’s happening, it feels…evocative. There is something in the complicity of the inner villages to this awful thing happening to the outer vilages that makes it worse. And it builds a male lead that isn’t a killer but takes parts of a person that are vital to someone feeling whole. The magic system works because it isn’t a source of all knowing power. Even with the magicks there’s no ultimate power. There’s an uncertainness to it that is just right. It’s not so uncertain that the magic system is unexplained, but it has a realistic sense of being hard to explain and there almost a physics element to it that I thought was really unique.

Also an animal companion? Amazing. I loved him.



I loved the way the victims’ are portrayed. They’re not helpless or hapless. They’re angry and sad and hurting and they’re allowed to me. They have stories of being victimized and being unable to stop it and they’re allowed to have different emotions. Different people have different amounts of their hearts taken, and there is this general attitude of the narrative that they’re all victims. I thought the way the other victims interacted with each other was very realistic. Some believed no matter how affected, everyone was valid, some who had their whole hearts taken dismissed Foss’ pain. And the narrative interrogates that.



I think there’s also an interesting element here of how ensorcellment impacts both sides, and the wildness of magic where Sylvester, the MMC, can’t control a lot of it. He doesn’t want to be what he is. But him being the only boy puts him in a position where he feels obligated. He doesn’t have humanity in the same way Foss does, and I think that was nicely done too. I think Foss’ struggles with what she feels for him, and her active attempts to figure out what is real and what is because of the spell she’s under was a really unique flip to it. The author acknowledges that part of it, and acknowledges that Foss’ predicament is in a gray area. She isn’t sure what is and isn’t real.



While you really see more development of the villains after the 45% mark, I think it was done really well. They felt like real motivations. They were taught that it was either their survival and the kingdom’s survival, or the hearts of a few. They were taught to sacrifice the few for the good of the many. That’s what makes a good villain, in my mind, that they have motivations thatm ake sense and that are almost understandable. Like I can see how the villains Darius, Clarissa, the other sisters, are convinced of their integrity and that what they’re doing is right. Sylvester has conflict that makes him an effective morally gray character. He loves his family who does wrong, but he desperately tries not to do the wrong they do. They’re convinced they’re in the right, that they’re superior and what they do is something that should earn them gratitude. It makes them more frightening.



I can’t say enough how much I love that Foss is so flawed. She’s angry and resentful. She’s described as “ugly” and that’s not something that has to be fixed. She’s mad that she’s ugly, yes, but she’s more so mad at the way the world treats her because of that. And her development because of that adds to her characterization in a few ways but without she still stands on her own. And when Foss is driven to kill, it impacts her, she experiences revulsion at it and her trauma feels real and grounded. She doesn’t have to be this beautiful bad ass.

I LOVED her relationship with her dad. It was adorable. He loved her so much and she loved him. He did what he could for her but stepped back when she needed him to. It meant a lot to see such a nice and loving dad in a fantasy book. I loved it.



Also, the slow burn?!? Sylvester and Foss? When he sees the foss flower and she calls it beautiful and he says that it fits her well?!? Like, way to make me kick my feet and sob at the same time. Oh my god. I love that stuff. I Eat. It. Up.



And the themes of how government/governing bodies control what their people know, understand, and how they view the world? And how easy it is to lie and change the narrative by limiting outside information? So well done.



And I don’t usually like sex scenes/love scenes in book. It just feels awkward and weird for me personally. But this one I loved and was written really well. It felt like the pay off was not only well built up to, but well suited to the characters and the story. And I couldn’t stop the whole, giggling, blushing, looking away, covering my mouth thing. I so rarely get that in books.

I was GRIPPED for the ending. And I loved it so much. I loved it.



Definitely a favorite.

I really loved the premise of this book - sorcerers harvest human hearts as spell components in order to carry out their magical spells and rituals. But the collection of hearts from living humans is painful and mysterious to those targeted. Foss decides to challenge the sorcerer who targets her and gets a surprise when he's not the conniving villain she expected. This felt like another great addition to the expanding genre of 'cosy fantasy' which steps away from romantasy and instead focuses on more wholesome and unique world building. I really hope this becomes a series and I suspect it will become successful if so.

An excellent read for lovers of whimsical and unique fantasy! The premise follows sorceresses who take pieces of people's hearts to do magic, but our MC, Foss, isn't willing to let her heart go so easily. She heads to the capital to demand her heart back from the petty wizard, Sylvester. Definitely gives Howl's Moving Castle, but more the book than movie, which I love!
Overall, I enjoyed the story, but I did have trouble with the characters at times; they felt a bit flat or cliche, and I felt that they would have benefited from stepping a bit away from the standard tropes for romantic fantasy characters.

A HARVEST OF HEARTS by Andrea Eames

An ARC was provided by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. A HARVEST OF HEARTS was published on 4 March 2025.

Heart-magic is what keeps the kingdom where Foss and her father live safe and prosperous. So they and their fellow villagers simply accept that the king's magic-workers visit them from time to time to snatch away little parts of their heart. But then the king's son Sylvester, the first male magic-worker, makes a mistake, snagging Foss and changing everything she ever believed about herself and her world.

Romantasy gone wrong

A Harvest of Hearts is one of those books that manages to be bad at both idea and execution. There are an awful lot of inconsistencies that make it seem like author Andrea Eames didn't put a lot of thought into anything. Neither she nor her editing team (if there was one) ever bothered to ask themselves "does this make sense in this context?" It starts as early as chapter 2, which is pure info dumping and only one of many pacing issues, where Foss, who also acts as the narrator, likens her father's strong arms to a lamb's legs. This feels like an odd comparison visually and anatomically, especially coming from a butcher's daughter who would know how not-skinny her fathers forearms would be. The scene then continues with a description of the shop including how warm it is but not even once mentions the smell. This is nit-picky, sure, but there are so many moments in this book that do not hold up to even a little bit of scrutiny in this medieval-ish setting. They range from worldbuilding (separate rooms for father and daughter in a poor village, modern bedding) to modern metaphors (rags stuck to boots as a "medieval" equivalent to toilet paper stuck to shoes) and words/concepts (yo-yo, crochet) to straight-up nonsense (a cleaver that pierces, a cat lounging comfortably above a roaring fire). Each is a little stumbling block that takes the reader out of the story and there are so many of them that getting back into it takes a lot of energy - and patience.

Unfortunately, the ideas behind the book are sometimes even harder to swallow, even without the less than perfect execution. A Harvest of Hearts is marketed with comparisons to Howl's Moving Castle which really only makes sense on paper. Yes, there is a young woman who reluctantly works for a broody sorcerer but that's also where the similarities end. Howl's Sophie is a fully fleshed-out character who has insecure traits while Foss calls herself ugly every couple of pages even though there are hardly any reasons given to believe this is subjectively or objectively true - unless inheriting her fridged mother's red hair and big boobs counts. Her romance with Sylvester is literally forced until suddenly it isn't anymore and their Happily Ever After is described like a tradwife's wet dream by juxtaposing barren and alone with being married and having kids. Throw in some tired tropes (see fridge mum above, or, ironically, evil = ugly in the case of the king) and superficial attempts at diversity that are almost exclusively limited to chapter 1 and would probably not pass a sensitivity read; et voilà, there's the supposedly modern fairytale that leaves a bad taste in your mouth.

Rating

I did not like A Harvest of Hearts. There are so many things wrong with it that made me roll my eyes or raise my eyebrows (did I mention the weirdly casual hints at paedophilia?) but it mostly left me indifferent and not incandescently angry. For me, that means two things. One, it's not quite a one-star read. Yes, it could be worse. And two, I can see how other people looking for other things might call it "solid". But even so, people who want well-written Romantasy or something similar to Howl's Moving Castle can skip this one.

In order to keep the kingdom running smoothly and safely, sorceresses harvest pieces of commoners' hearts to work their magics. This is a fact of life, much like a tax. It is how it is. Until Foss Butcher finds herself snagged. A sorcerer, the only male one the village has ever seen, visits her village and accidentally takes a piece of her heart. She follows him to the capital, looking to ease the heartsickness this spell has created in her, and when she finds his home, the best cover she can come up with is that she's there to be his housekeeper (did I mention this is some sort of Howl's Moving Castle AU?). So she moves in and starts looking for a way to make her heart whole again, all while pining for the sorcerer, Sylvester, and uncovering the kingdom's dark dark secrets.
This book wasn't bad. I didn't love it, either, but it wasn't bad. Here are the cons: The love interest is named Sylvester (not awesome). It drags slightly and Foss oscillated between decent main character and pretty annoying. Sylvester is pretty flat, in part because we don't get much of his perspective whatsoever. The magic system is not super interesting; it doesn't detract from the story, and obviously it is the basis of the story, but like, it's not very interesting. The pros: There is a surprising amount of knife murder for a book touted as "cozy." Foss was good in her every-day-basicness in opposition to the opulence of the magic workers. Her dad was an MVP. And the real star, who knocked this book up to four stars, Cornelius the talking cat. I think that he should have been the main character.

A Harvest of Hearts is a fun read.
I absolutely adored Cornelious, he was hands down the best part of the book. This book did feel at times as if it struggled between being cosy or more epic. There were moments where you felt build up only to not quiet hit the mark - but it was still a great read!
There was a lot of emphasis on Foss's looks and how 'ugly' or 'plain' she was - a number of these references could have been easily taken out and the point still would have landed.

If you like Howls Moving Castle- this one is for you. It pulls you in from the beginning, just like the beautiful magical women in the story. Talking cats, magic, sorcery. A little bit of the Last Unicorn Vibes. Will recomend to all my friends!

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.