This sounded like a cozy witchy story and the cover is stunning. Unfortunately I didn't enjoy the writing style of the story and dnfed it at 10%. I'm someone who favors dialogue over description and I just couldn't get into the story.

Howls Moving Castle walked. So A Harvest of Hearts could run!

Foss, is the most ordinary girl. From a poor family. In the farthest village from the castle that rules over them.

However when a mysterious man comes through. Catching all the women’s eyes but foss. She realizes she is as snarred as the rest. And begins a journey to find him.

I was armoured by the magic and lore in the background of this book and as the further you read the deeper you find the levels to be. There is so much details and layers to keep you entertained from start to finish! Mixed with a HEA we all want!

this is a fun fantasy romp about accepting who you are and finding and cherishing those who will love you for yourself. i really liked the themes in this book, woven in with the usual fantasy adventure about overthrowing a great evil that is threatening the kingdom (which in itself is a theme and applicable to the real world; love.)
if you love a forced proximity moment with very different love interests then this might be a book for you, as they spend a good deal of time developing such a relationship with each other. personally i was not as attached to these characters as i could have been. i found myself annoyed at the main character several times, which in itself is not too egregious and she does have some good moments as well, and the love interest did not have the biggest personality of all time, leading me to not be as attached to him as the book moved forward. (ps if you love talking animals there is a wonderful one in this book and he was my favourite character by far.) i wish we had seen some more of the characters rather than them just being nameless and faceless entities, and the king did not give me much of the scary villain that provides real stakes to the story.
the plot moves at a slow-ish pace, with a lot of it taking place in the magical house, which was fun. the middle did sort of feel as though it dragged, and then the ending 20% or so felt rushed in comparison. the ending was not my favourite, and i found myself having predicted most of it beforehand so i was unsurprised when certain beats were hit. it was a satisfactory final couple of pages even if the bigger 'fighting' scene left a lot to be desired.
the magic system is very cool in this book, and the impacts it has on the people who have magic done to them is suitably shocking and sometimes veers into a bit of soft horror. it was very creative and i enjoyed whenever it would pop up in the story.

the epitome of what i find in a three star read, with some really fun moments and scenes

A Harvest of Hearts was such a joy to read. It had me smiling, laughing, and even crying. It brought forth so many emotions that I wasn’t expecting. I absolutely loved it.

The main character was so relatable. Her self deprecating jokes are definitely something that rings true with myself. And the way the book is written almost in a conversational style made it feel more personal, as if Foss is telling her story directly to me.

Cornelius was the best character hands down. I loved him so so much! He was incredibly well written and not at all cringey as some talking animals can be.

At the beginning I really didn’t like Sylvester, but he had such great character development throughout the book, he really did grow on me, and I ended up having a great respect for him at the end.

I think the fairy tale telling of this book was so clever and unique. The plot was interesting and something I have never read before. The only thing I personally think would have made the book better is if it was dual pov, so we got to see the character development from both sides, instead of just from Foss’s, as her own personal opinions were very strong and biased.

You gotta love a talking cat. And a sentient house. This tale of Foss is whimsical to be sure and it will appeal to fans of romantascy, which isn't usually my thing but this is well written and engaging. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Over to others.

Genre: Cozy, fantasy romance
POV: 1st person
Series: Standalone
Relationship: M/F
Cliffhanger: No
TW/CW: mhm. Maybe.
ARC Platform: NetGalley
Format: e-ARC

Darkness Rating: .5/5 🖤

Spice Rating: 0/5🫑
1 off page scene.

Overall Rating: 3/5⭐️
I was so excited to read this when I saw the blurb. Unfortunately, it fell flat and annoyed me. Mostly due to the FMC, Foss. Her insecurity and negative out look almost made me DNF. Even during their awkward spice scene, she was talking about her looks and his perfection.
The magical world really saved this book.


*disclaimer: my darkness and spice rating might not be the same for you. Please do your own research before reading*

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

For me, this romantasy book entangles the very best of Howl’s Moving Castle with the twisted vibes of Beauty and The Beast and Sabrina The Teenage Witch, even including a Salem-esque talking cat! The story follows Foss, a butcher’s daughter, as she throws herself headfirst into a whirlwind world she knows nothing about. Gaining a talking cat companion and nerves of steel, Foss is determined to solve the mysteries of heart magic and uncover the secrets their king has been keeping. Dragged into the mess by an inexperienced sorcerer, she is driven by her constantly conflicted feelings towards him and her desperation to save herself and her plagued kingdom. The whole cast of characters are compellingly flawed in the best of ways, making them feel much more real and relatable as you come to see that they are all simply victims of the situation too.

The first half of the book takes a much more whimsical approach, slowly introducing you to the magic system and its implications before diving into a more serious and fast-paced closing. The world building was concentrated enough to not take away from the plot, and the sorcerer’s house was so descriptive and dynamic that it truly felt like a living character through the pages.

Thank you to Andrea Eames and NetGalley for allowing me the opportunity to give an advance review of this book. A Harvest of Hearts was such an entertaining and unique read, easily gaining a 4/5 star rating ✨

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.