thank you so much for the arc! and thank you even more for making a stand alone novel! i really loved this story. in the beginning it felt truly like beauty and the beast, but quickly adapted into a much larger story that overshadowed the traditional narrative. i especially enjoyed cornelius who reminded me very much of the chatty cat from coraline! loved this story.

So whimsical, and while at times it did remind of the vibes Howls Moving Castle emits, it is way weirder than that story! I really enjoyed it, and the romance element thrown it too :)

This book is quite whimsical, I liked the writing a lot and the world felt real and immersive. The beginning of the story was a bit slower but in general, I had a good time.

My favorite character was obviously Cornelius, he's so sassy it's impossible to resist him.

In reality, this book didn't feel like a romance to me, I perceived it mostly as a subplot of the actual story, and I'm not saying it as something negative, it's quite the opposite. This perception was most likely aided by Sylvester only starting to express himself better and speaking more than a few sentences towards the end of the story, however, in the end, it was very sweet and enjoyable.

I must say Foss's internal conflict added a lot to her as a character because of the awareness of her own state, I also really liked her as a narrator, her particular way of speaking added realness to her.

I really enjoyed this book! The comparison to Howl’s Moving Castle is definitely accurate, though A Harvest of Hearts definitely leans more creepy and less humorous. I loved how whimsical it was, though I feel like the pacing could be a little slow at times.

I think there might've been an issue with some file corruption, but from what I did read, I really enjoyed and found it to be similar whimsy as Howls Moving Castle and it's like. 3.5/5

Oh I have a confession. I'm struggling to finish this novel. The first third was brilliant and I keep eyeing my own cat hoping they would become as interesting as Cornelius, the talking cat. Alas, this hasn't happened.

The concept of stealing hearts is dark and really intrigued me. Add a handsome sorcerer which you are literally pulled to and you have the ingredients for a great fantasy. Once the main character Foss arrived in the city it just lost pace, and while I tried to push on, I know students will also struggle to finish it if they are picking it up and reading in shorter bursts.

I really appreciated the advanced copy from Netgalley but this wasn't a "must read!" for me this time around.

Very reminiscent of Howell’s moving castle. Cozy fantasy. Takes a while to build up you tiny bits and pieces of information through at least the first 3/4 of the book and then things coming together in the end. That was a little frustrating. you just follow fuss around With her mental processing and chores throughout the house. The end was good enough to get the three stars but this really could’ve been like 150 200 pages. There was a lot of filler.

A Harvest of Hearts was compared to Howl's Moving Castle and I can see the connection, but don't think it completely met expectations. The whimsy is 100% there! There's a magical, sentient house that communicates with Foss through rearranging itself. I loved how the house's emotions got space to develop and readers could see a range from happiness to anger. Also, there's a talking cat! Cornelius is EVERYTHING and I love him.

However, the humor of Howl didn't come through for me. I rarely found anything funny and with Howl I am always laughing out loud. Sylvester had Howl's arrogance and aloofness which made him mysterious in the beginning, but the sheer drama wasn't there for me. Plus, the romance was severely lacking. Nothing happened until 80% of the way through the book and before that Foss's love was because of a spell. There was no tension or slow burn. I was rooting for nothing.

This book was also compared to The House in the Cerulean Sea because it's a cozy fantasy. Ummm. . . yes both are cozy fantasy, but A Harvest of Hearts does not have the innate sense of charm that The Cerulean Sea has. The characters are nowhere near as loveable. I just think these comp titles are doing this book a massive disservice.

I did enjoy the book. It's not a favorite, but I don't feel like I wasted my time reading this. I know this review is fairly negative; however, it's mostly because I don't want people to have the wrong expectations going in. The plot moves very slowly, but the magic system is very intriguing.

I had a hard time connecting with the author’s style throughout most of the book. It felt like to much detail was being given and very little was left up to my own imagination of the world.

Was also not a fan of the FMC constantly talking about how unattractive she felt she was. It got to the point where I was just skimming through her inner dialog and the story in general.

The relationship between Foss and Sylvester felt forced as well since we don’t see much of their “relationship” building outside of the magic and the very end of the story. Felt instalove in a slow burn way if that makes sense 🙃

Cornelius was adorable though.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

A cosy fantasy set in a kingdom where stunningly beautiful sorceresses take parts of your heart to fuel their magic, this was a very quick and easily devourable read. Featuring a sentient house, a talking cat, a headstrong and resilient butcher's daughter and a grumpy, over-dramatic sorcerer, the Howl's Moving Castle parallels are very obvious. The magic system is interesting and unique, if not pretty sinister, and the world setting well developed. I found Foss abrasive at first but as I read on I started to understand and like her more and more, especially her dynamic with my favourite character - Cornelius the cat.

In Foss Butcher’s kingdom, the people are used to having pieces of their hearts collected by sorceresses for the health and protection of the kingdom. When Foss’s heart is accidentally snagged by a rare sorcerer, she is drawn into the city, where she’s bound to her sorcerer Sylvester and must come to terms with her strange situation, an even stranger magical house, and a talking cat. When the hearts that protect the kingdom become infected, both Foss and Sylvester start to question everything they’ve ever known.

The fairytale quality of the story was interesting, but mostly I was disappointed and occasionally confused. The pacing is incredibly slow in some places, Sylvester is never truly fleshed out—I think this was just a case of Stockholm syndrome because outside of Foss’s spell infatuation there’s nothing about Sylvester to like, and Foss herself is borderline repellant because she never stops talking about how ugly she is. Shoutout to Cornelius though, he makes me wish my cat could talk. Overall, the story had potential, but it didn’t pan out.

I was drawn to A Harvest of Hearts by its premise, promising a whimsical adventure reminiscent of Howl’s Moving Castle. The book certainly captures that essence in its early chapters, with a magical atmosphere and intriguing world-building. As the story progresses, it carves out its own identity, adding unexpected twists and a sense of wonder that kept me engaged. The blend of fantasy elements felt fresh, at times evoking the charm of classic animated films.
However, the character development left me wanting more. Foss’s constant self-deprecation made it difficult to fully connect with her journey, as her growth felt slow and drawn out. Sylvester, while an interesting character, never quite reached his full potential, and his arc felt somewhat rushed. On the other hand, Cornelius the cat was the undeniable scene-stealer, adding humor and warmth to the narrative.
Overall, while the book had its flaws, its imaginative world and whimsical tone made it an enjoyable read.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

You know, I questioned the comparison to Howl’s Moving Castle, thinking there’s no way, but the first 30-40% really does feel like the movie. Almost *too* much, where it felt like I was reading an imitation Howls, but then the plot kept plotting and we ended up in an interesting place, with a heroine who didn’t lose herself in the process.

There are witches and magic, fueled by hearts that they steal from citizens. Our main girl Foss is snagged by sorcerer Sylvester and needs to follow him to ease the pain of her heart sickness. From there, we encounter a magical house, a talking cat, and a plot so sinister that it gets surprisingly dark.

My biggest complaint is that I feel the story could have been about 100 pages shorter. It just felt bloated, with too many scenes communicating the same thing, that spending that time instead tightening up the plot and character development would have gone miles for the betterment of the story. Less would have been more.

But, I can’t be too mad. Even if it felt a little bloated, I still had fun and wanted to make it to the ending. Rounded up to four stars, because the author has a brain and while the story was bloated at least it wasn’t poorly written and repeating itself.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC!

This was such a lovely cozy fantasy. I loved the magic and the world building and how Sylvester was an intriguing MMC. Foss even though doubtful and self conscious proved to be a strong and brave character. And Cornelious the talking cat was one of my favorite characters.

Although this book was good it moved quite slowly until the 50% mark and then it feels like the ending and the romance bit (even for a slow burn) was rushed. I also do wish there was more depth to the FMC and the MMC as well.

I'm still rating this book four stars because it was definitely a cozy fantasy through and through and the writing style was good, it's definitely something you need to be in the mood for but I enjoyed this read because by the end it had me "snagged".

A girl who finds her heart being ensorcelled by a Sorcerer so she decides to go in disguise to work as his housekeeper to find her heart and break the curse! Foss is the daughter of a butcher who lives in a world where heart magic fuels the kingdom.... and now her heart is being taken and she has to find a way to get it back. This book was advertised as a " Howl's Moving Castle" meets " House in the Cerulean Sea" but unfortunately this book feel flat for me. Unfortunately this one was a miss for me. I love a fun fantasy adventure story, I absolutely adore Howl's Moving Castle, but this book just felt so boring to me. I could never really fully get invested in the character or the story. i just didn't really care all that much. I found myself getting bored and disassociating while reading this. I wish I could like this. I truly did. The romance just never really felt all that there and I just wasn't convinced. The writing style just didn't work with me. Sadly this one wasn't for me and I really did try to like it but it just didn't live up to my expectations.

Release Date: March 4, 2025

Publication/Blog: Ash and Books (ash-and-books.tumblr.com)

*Thanks Netgalley and Kensington Publishing | Erewhon Books for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

Decent story, not exactly what I would call cosy, though. It's for a good length of the book a rather grim and dark story, more horror-ish than cosy. Reminds me in some ways of Stephen King's & Peter Straub's 'The Talisman', just very attenuated, when it comes to the general vibe.

I found the character pretty flat, the only ones that stood out where Cornelius the Cat and, ironically, the House (in the first half of the story). The plot was rather interesting, but the writing style took me a while to get used to and it dragged on a bit in the beginning.

All in all I would say it's a decent book, for the most parts, that suffers heavily from being wrongly labelled. It's more a magic/witchcraft-centred MG/YA (low) fantasy story, as long as the kids can cope with some swearing, some horror elements, and a few hints at sexual activities (it's really just lukewarm, nothing really spicy, not even mild - in my opinion (but I am not American)), than cosy fantasy aimed at adults.

What it is definitely not: 'Literary Fiction' (it is categorised as such on NetGalley, I am not making this up), and if it can be called cosy is at least highly questionable.

A narrative unique in its premise and execution. Although it does draw on tropes from time to time, Eames primarily weaves a narrative indépendant of them.

I love creepy fairy tales! And boy did this give me what I wanted.
I enjoyed this cozy fairytale, though I would say that it's more creepy than cozy tbh, especially with the whole pulling hearts out of chests thing.

At turns eerie, horrifying and funny, this story did make me think of how scary and awful the origns of fairy tales have always been; with a dash of sweet (very low-key, almost no spice) romance that I also did enjoy. There is also a talking cat named Cornelius, and a sentient house; which are two of my favourite things ever in books.

I did feel the similarities to Howl's Moving Castle - mainly in the tone of the writing and the acerbic self-awareness of the narrator; but also in Foss's lack of confidence in herself. I know a lot of other reviewers really didn't enjoy the constant negative talk that Foss has going on (and they make some valid points!), but I didn't find it too off-putting - if anything, it made her more real to me (especially since having sex and finding love didn't magically change her self worth like it often does in stories) but that's personal preference.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book!

This book had such a cool, atmospheric vibe with a really immersive world. The magic system felt fresh—sorceresses feeding on hearts was both eerie and fascinating. I liked how the heart wasn’t just a literal organ but tied to a person’s soul, making it feel more meaningful rather than just an “evil queen stealing hearts” kind of thing like in *Once Upon a Time* (tv series). That element added real stakes, especially when it started disrupting the main character’s quiet village life. The arrival of a Sorcerer (when there were only ever sorceresses before) shook things up in a way that made me eager to see where the story would go.

But the pacing was a bit off for me. The first half dragged, taking too long to build momentum, while the second half rushed through some of the most important parts. The romance had potential but needed more meaningful interactions to really land. I loved the worldbuilding at the start, but I wish certain events had unfolded a bit faster to keep the excitement going. Still, the book had a unique magic system and an intriguing setup, which made it an interesting read overall.

This was a very atmospheric fantasy with a rich and immersive world setup. The magic system felt quite unique and there’s a good balance between whimsy and an eerie mystery feel to it. I found the premise and magical system being very interesting from the start. It being based on sorceresses feeding on hearts of the people so interesting and bit creepy at the same time. Also i did enjoy how the heart did reflect the human soul's essence and not it being straightforward evil queen stealing hearts like it was in "Once upon a time" tv series. This premise also really raised the stakes when it started actively affecting the main characters previously mundane life. Her usual day-to-day existence in the village shifts when a Sorcerer appears, breaking the norm of only sorceresses being present and it definitely made me want more of the story.
Unfortunatelt then the pacing let me down a bit. The first half moves slowly, taking too long to build momentum, while the second half rushes through key developments. This imbalance affects the romance, which had great potential but lacked enough meaningful interactions to feel fully realized. And as in the start I loved the worldbuilding, some things could have delivered differently and sped through towards more action faster.