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.

Whoever called this a cozy fantasy was definitely misleading—this book is a wild, gripping adventure with a chilling premise at its core. The story follows Foss, an unassuming girl who finds herself magically bound to Sylvester, a mysterious magic-user infamous for stealing hearts—literally. As Foss sets out to unravel the dark mystery behind the missing hearts, she uncovers unsettling truths and a sinister plot that’s far from comforting.

There’s a definite Howl’s Moving Castle vibe here, with whimsical elements like a sarcastic talking cat and a sentient house that give the story a distinct Studio Ghibli flair. The descriptive writing is lush and immersive, pulling you effortlessly into a world that’s equal parts enchanting and eerie.

My main critique is the mismatch in tone—this is marketed as a cozy fantasy, but the idea of hearts being ripped from bodies is anything but cozy. It ventures into darker territory than expected, which might catch some readers off guard. Additionally, the story felt a bit stretched in places; a tighter edit could have made the pacing sharper.

I read this book smiling laughing and in the end crying. This is a wonderful heartbreaking book mixing practicalness with a mix of magic. I loved it, beautifully written She stirs deep emotions.
Foss is a wonderful character that represents all the plain girls who can still fall in love with handsome men. She was upfront and sarcastic and I was rooting for her from the get go.
Cornelius was hilarious and food based which I appreciated as well as the house being a beautiful standout character.
Then of course there is the beautiful Sylvester.
I fell in love with this story and the characters and have purchased the book!
Five stars.

A Harvest of Hearts is a cozy fantasy that follows a girl that gets tangled up with a sorcerer that must work together to beat a dark secret in their kingdom. This story was very surprising and I am very happy to pick it up. I wanted to thank There is a good mix of cozy fantasy and dark fantasy in this book. Foss is the protagonist in this story and she is the plainest girl in her village. There is a lot of messaging about forgiving oneself about things they can’t control. She is a smart, caring person that was easy to follow. She also has a cute little cat that follows her through this whole story. There is a love story in this and while I do not think it is front and center in this, it’s still sweet and her love interest reminds me a lot of Howl from Howl’s Moving Castle. I would recommend this book and think it is a wonderful addition to your library. The story is magic is unique and you find out how dark it can get. There is some gore in this that surprised me, but other than that there is not many things that I would warn against. If you want a mix of cozy and action fantasy, check out this title.

A beautiful cozy story that is perfect for any reader aged 12+ the romance is a sweet closed door and the storyline is perfect. Thinks Howl’s Moving Castle meets Snow White with a solid magic system and a talking cat.

# A Harvest of Hearts
# 4/23/2025 ~ 4/25/2025
# 5.0 / 5.0

Billed as a cozy fantasy, this novel begins with a drastically different tone, setting it up as much more of a dark fantasy romance and then never really deciding on what it wants to be. A talking cat and an FMC who was less funny than she was self deprecating did not make a quirky cozy book. Instead there’s pretty dark magic throughout and a fairly hopeless romance. Plus the pace is excruciatingly slow, even for a character piece loving literature reader like myself. It just went nowhere for so long that it lost most of my interest and I found myself skimming until about 70% in. I think there’s some really good pieces in here, I just don’t think they’re working well together.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy. These opinions are my own.

This is my opinion, and other people differ which is awesome because reading is subjective. To start, I am an ideal person to love this book, I adore cozy fantasy, It is right up my alley. To me, the magic premise was cool but not executed correctly, it fell flat. The MMC was so dry, no character, when you read you’ll see why and this may be intentional, but as a love interest, it was not enough. The whole book just could have been so much more, but it just fell short, underdeveloped magic and underdeveloped romance. If they would have played up one or the other, it would have been great IMO.

I definitely enjoyed this book!
A talking cat? I immediately signed up!
Slow burn romance?! Yes please

Andrea Eames wrote a great story of twists with an original magic system. I was kept guessing at every turn!

I don't know whether the entire book should be classed as "cosy" but definitely felt the warmth from moments with the characters!

Definitely gave me Caraval and OUABH romance vibes!
But again the true star of the show Cornelius the cat - I'd read this again just for him!

3.75 ⭐

This book swept me into a richly enchanted world with incredibly descriptive language and (my personal favorite) Cornelius, the snarky talking cat.

Foss Butcher never imagined anyone would want her heart until a run-in with the kingdom’s sorcerer, Sylvester, lands her under a curse and keeps her stuck as the housekeeper over his moody, magical House. With only a sarcastic talking cat for company, Foss must navigate a world of spells, secrets, and stolen hearts. As she uncovers the truth about the kingdom’s enchantments and the people trapped by them, she realizes she might be the only one who can break the cycle, and maybe even save the sorcerer who never meant to curse her in the first place.

While I enjoyed this book, the pacing was hit‑and‑miss for me. There’s plenty of action, but the central romance takes its time developing, and I found myself itching for that spark long before it finally flared. I struggled to connect with the MCs, so some of the high‑stakes scenes felt more impressive than emotional.

Thank you NetGalley, Kensington Publishing, and Erewhon Books for the ARC!

Reading *A Harvest of Hearts* felt like curling up with a warm blanket and getting swept into a fairytale—only one with bite, depth, and a bit of darkness beneath the charm.

The story follows Foss Butcher, who starts off as an unassuming butcher’s daughter in a quiet village. Everything changes when a bumbling sorcerer accidentally steals part of her heart. That strange twist sets off an unexpectedly magical and emotional journey that had me hooked from the first chapter.

What I really loved is how Andrea Eames blends coziness with deeper themes. There's magic, sure—but it's not all sparkles and wands. Magic here is tied to emotion, memory, and sacrifice, which gives the story real weight. Foss is such a relatable character: practical, no-nonsense, but also curious and full of heart (literally and figuratively). Her growth through the book is subtle but powerful.

The world-building is imaginative without being overwhelming. And yes, there’s a talking cat—which, in my opinion, should be a requirement for all fantasy books. It adds just the right touch of whimsy. The tone shifts between lighthearted and serious really smoothly, and the writing itself has this lyrical quality that made certain lines stick with me.

This is the kind of story that makes you feel—nostalgic, hopeful, a little weepy at times, and totally charmed. If you like fantasy that balances fun and feeling, *A Harvest of Hearts* is a gem. I’m already looking forward to rereading it when I need something comforting and magical.

It was a bit slow at first and I was worried that I wouldn’t like it, but the story got more interesting throughout the book. It’s a cozy fantasy tale that is reminiscent of a Studio Ghibli film - magic and a talking cat included.

3.75 stars

I was sold on the Howl’s Moving Castle comparison and it definitely delivered in vibes. A cosy whimsical fantasy that’s perfect for your next fall read. This starts off right away and fast paced but then it died out towards the middle right before we get to the lore and then picked back up towards the end. Although super cozy, with all the fall feels, this also had some darker moments that surprised me, specifically when it got to the harvesting of hearts and the lore. The world building could have used some more information and I just couldn’t connect with Foss too much - I’m a mood reader to my core, and I’m considering doing a reread come fall when the ambiance is better suited.