Perfect for the dans of Howl's Moving Castle (the book especially) !

This dark cosy fantasy explores the darker side of magic. There are some interesting thoughts about beauty standards and self-esteem. I absolutely loved Cornelius : he is a talking black cat and clearly the best character of the story (he almost made me cry).
Unfortunately, some parts were too long to my taste and I would have liked to read other points of view than Foss's, especially Sylvester's. But it was still an enjoyable read!

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC !

In case we haven’t met digitally before — Hi, my name is Jordyn, and I love to read. I especially love books about magic, cats, and love. It should come to absolutely no one’s surprise that I adore the original book version of Howl’s Moving Castle very much. So, when I saw that A Harvest of Hearts was immediately compared to Howl, well, I had to request a copy of it. I won’t lie to you — I wasn’t immediately taken with this book. However, it did grab me eventually, and I sunk very deep into the pages. A Harvest of Hearts is almost too-obviously inspired by Howl’s Moving Castle. There’s a sorcerer who lives in a magic house, and has to harvest hearts to do magic. There’s enough different here that it works, but it is still VERY OBVIOUS where the author got her ideas from. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, I do want to add!

Our main character is a young woman named Foss who describes herself as hardy, solid, squat, and ugly. Foss is extremely capable, and despite the way she feels about herself, seems to be liked well enough in her town. (Foss claims to be bullied by the other girls, but we see no evidence of that on page. However, a boy she has a crush on is mean to her.) Everything moves along at a plodding pace until we meet the Sorcerer — Sylvester. (Which as a name, I’m not going to lie, did not work for me. I just kept seeing the black and white cat cartoon.) Foss is immediately snagged by his magic, and has her life completely turned upside down. As for Sylvester, he is almost an exact copy of Howl, when it comes to personality. He’s whiny, self-important, and vain. He does end up melting his ice-cold exterior eventually, but it does take quite a long time to get there. I don’t even think I enjoyed his presence on page until well over half the book.

Through Foss’s eyes we are shown why the magic-users must harvest hearts, and what they do with them. We see the horrors that the King is willing to do, and the horrid, toxic personality Sylvester’s sisters actually have beneath their beautiful faces. It takes a good long while to get to any sort of point when it comes to the plot, however. We find out that Sylvester is young, and barely seems to know what he’s doing when it comes to magic. We find out, eventually, that the King is a horrible person who steals street urchins right under everyone’s noses. Right at the very end, we find out why Foss is so different compared to everyone else in her village.

There-in lies my problem with A Harvest of Hearts — it was about a hundred pages too long. While the story itself is very interesting, and the writing well done, the length it takes to get to any sort of resolution is somewhat irritating. This book could have been excellent, and many will probably have the opinion that it is so! Unfortunately for me, I believe it needed a heavy hand with the editing pen. Despite my complaints, I did enjoy most of this book. Three and a half stars.

I was promised Howl's Moving Castle vibes, and that is what I was given. While the beginning of this book did take some time for me to get into, once I did get into it, I couldn't put it down. The story at the beginning did very much remind me of Howl's Moving Castle, but the plot is very different. I enjoyed watching both Foss and Sylvester grow throughout, and I absolutely loved Cornelius as a source of humor.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this book!

e-ARC & audio-ARC from NetGalley.

When her heart is stolen (literally) by a sorcerer, Foss has no option but to travel hundreds of miles to find him. Once there, however, she finds herself entangled in a magical conspiracy, traversing his sentient house, with only a talking cat to help her.

This book is compared to Howl's Moving Castle, and I couldn't imagine a more accurate description. A Harvest of Hearts is very Studio Ghibli coded and, most of the time, very whimsical and endearing. It's a very cozy fantasy novel but impressively not lacking in self-awareness.

There were two main downfalls for me.

The first was the romance. I wanted them to fall in love, but there was no build to it. One minute, they were nothing. The next, they were swapping v-cards in the woods. I loved the romantic scenes themselves, but I needed hints of it much sooner.

The second issue was Foss herself, but I think it's because I can never truly connect to characters embodying this amount of prickliness. She just seemed rude and off-putting. But I'm cognizant that this is a me thing.

Overall, this was a very entertaining book and is perfect for fans of cozy fantasy, Studio Ghibli, and Disneyfied versions of classic fairytales.

I've seen this compared to Howl's Moving Castle, and superficially, I think this does bear a slight appearance to that terrific story. However, this novel by Andrea Eames is much darker, and bloodier, with a world where people are randomly taken from their homes by sorcerers for some unknown purpose.

Foss Butcher, a daughter of a loving father and a long line of butchers, is minding her own business, a little sad that no one sees her as much more than a plain young woman, but more sadly, a curse, as her mother died giving birth to her.

Sorcerers have been through their village in the past, taking people, and she knows one man who returned, but seems really diminished from who he had been. Thinking how terrible it would be to be taken by a sorcerer, and one's heart extricated, is nothing she wants a part of. And then a sorcerer arrives one day, and one look from him is all it takes to snag her, and once he's gone, she impelled, forced, urged to follow him back to wherever he dwells by ferocious pain in her body.

She leaves her home with a short note left behind, and makes her way to the city, and eventually the house of the sorcerer. Once inside, she's greeted by a cat, who begins talking once she wishes for it, and Cornelius shows her around, and Foss meets the sorcerer, and begins keeping house for him. The house, a semi-alive thing, helps her out, providing food, cleaning sheets, and other things.

Sylvester, the sorcerer, is bemused by her presence, but goes along with it, eating her good, and not really noticing anything else about her. Foss meanwhile is determinedly searching the entire house, at least where the house allows her to go, for her heart.

She's horrified and attracted and entranced by Sylvester, and begins learning more about how he became a magic worker, and learns more when Clarissa, who whisked Foss' fellow villager away, visits, and begins to realize, after meeting others in the city whose hearts have been taken, that she's in danger of wasting away terribly if her heart, or a piece of it, is removed.

Of course things become worse for Foss, (and Sylvester who struggles to act like the other sorcerers) and though she tries to escape, is captured by the king, who needs ever more hearts to maintain the magic of the land.

Andrea Eames has created a wonderful heroine in Foss Butcher. While looked down on in her village, she's likeable, smart, determined, and caring. She's also funny, and unwilling to meekly take what others tell her to do. Her relationship with her father is heartwarming, and Foss is easy to cheer for as she navigates one dangerous situation after another after departing her father's home abruptly.

Sylvester is surprisingly sympathetic, being much less in control of his life than Foss initially thinks. He's also a gentle person, who would rather not hurt others, even after all that has been done to him.

The star of the book, though, is Cornelius, the black cat living in Sylvester's house. He's got that know it all attitude of cats, but he's also a staunch ally when Foss needs one.

I enjoyed this story a lot, with its engaging story to its wonderful main character, and her friendship with Cornelius. I was a little less invested in the romance, but I did think it was handled well by Eames, building slowly over the course of this satisfying novel.

I went back and forth between the prose and the audiobook, and Jessie Elland does a fantastic job voicing Foss, from her time in the village and the pain she feels at her treatment there, to her growing determination to save herself and others from the sorcerers. I loved Elland's Cornelius and Foss' loving father.

Thank you to Netgalley, Kensington Publishing and RBMedia for these ARCs in exchange for my review.

I had a great time reading this! The comparison to Howl’s Moving Castle is spot on, though A Harvest of Hearts has a much darker, eerie tone rather than a lighthearted one. The whimsical atmosphere was one of my favorite aspects, blending enchantment with an unsettling edge. That said, the pacing dragged in places, making some sections feel slower than I would have liked. Still, the story’s charm, rich worldbuilding, and intriguing characters kept me engaged from start to finish.

Foss Butcher lives a simple life in her village. When beautiful woman shows up in extravagant carriages, the villagers know the woman are sorceresses looking to snag hearts from the villagers to power their spells. Many villagers are excited about the visits and although Foss has always been interested in these visitors, she has never joined the spectators until the first sorcerer comes to the village. When the sorcerer looks at Foss, she feels her heart snag and a piece taken away. With Foss cursed, she soon travels to the city to find the sorcerer to try to undo his spell. She is thrown into the sorcerer's world where her only friend is a talking cat and an enchanted house. Foss quickly learns there is more to the hearts than she ever imagined.

This book was darker than I imagined it would be, but I enjoyed this fantasy. The narrator does a great job in sucking the reader in to the story and bringing you into the mystery of the hearts taken by sorceresses and the magic they are powering. Although, the main characters are great, I fell in love with Cornelius. Who doesn't love a talking cat? My one disappointment in this book is the romance. I thought this story would have a little more romance based on the description and found the romance between Foss and Sylvester a little underwhelming.

Thank you to NetGalley, Kensington Publishing and RB Media for the opportunity to review A Harvest of Hearts. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

foss never expected her heart to be snagged, and when it happens, she finds herself cursed to be enthralled with sylvester, the sorcerer who accidentally caught her eye. as she lives in his estate and learns more about magic, she realizes she’s not the only victim to magic—even sylvester is trapped by its threats. if foss wants to free herself and, possibly, sylvester, she’ll have to confront the dangers nestled into the kingdom.

i’ve been so excited to read this book since hearing about it. a magic system based on snagged hearts seemed so interesting. sure enough, i had a great time reading this. i loved foss’s determination to get her heart back and free others from this fate. i loved sylvester’s cold exterior that was begging to be broken down. and, most importantly, i loved cornelius, the talking cat! overall, this was such a magical book. i enjoyed the characters, the magic system, and how the theme of beauty played into the plot. i’d recommend this book to readers with a taste similar to mine!

A very cute and whimsical read that I had a good time with. There are big Howl's Moving Castle vibes here (the film), as we follow Foss Butcher, an ordinary girl from a small village whose heart was snagged (literally) by a sorcerer and before we know it she's working as his housekeeper.

Foss was an interesting character to follow. She has some very deep insecurities and is often putting herself down. It did get a little repetitive and I did often want to shake her but thankfully Foss also showed a lot of strength, especially when it came to her desire to protect other people. Despite the spell on her, her determination to take action when nobody else would really made it easy to root for her.

Sylvester on the other hand was a character I didn't care too much for. He didn't seem to have much of a personality beyond 'brooding' and wearing flamboyant clothes. Unfortunately, this led to the budding romance falling a bit flat for me since the odd spark didn't make up for the lack of depth.
Luckily we have a third character, Cornelius. A talking cat, he more than made up for the lacklustre sorcerer with his wit and charm. I loved him!

The first half of the story took some time to build up as the world and the magic were established. Foss sets out for the city and spends a lot of time exploring the sorcerer's house and pondering over the stolen hearts - hers included. While I can understand why some would find it sluggish, I enjoyed Eames's writing enough that it kept me captivated and turning pages. It felt like a grown-up fairy tale, and I could very easily picture the scenes and little details. Once we pass the halfway point, the plot and the pace really take off. Things turn darker here, and much less whimsical as Foss and Sylvester go up against the rest of the sorcerers to try to save the folk of the Kingdom.

Overall I found A Harvest of Hearts to be a quick and enjoyable read. Thank you so much to @erewhonbooks and @NetGalley for providing an eArc in exchange for review.

Foss and Sylvester both grow into their personality as the story moves forward. I loved seeing their confidence grow. The suspense throughout kept me invested in the story, and for a moment, I even feared that they would not get a happy ending. Also, who doesn't love a talking cat?😺

Thanks to the publisher for the ALC and e-arc!

3.45 stars Romance & Cozy fantasy are a far reach for me here. This plot was so unique and I was so excited to read this gorgeous book. Let me start by saying this, my favorite character was the cat - and I hate cats! If Eames’ plan was to make Foss the most unremarkable and plain character, she achieved it too well. Because the character was flatter than the pages she was written on! And Sylvester would have just become one with his throne if he was any more laid back and unnoticeable. The point of the story is these witches are so beautiful and entrancing, but Sylvester (the only male witch) was just a lump - ALL UNTIL THE END! The pacing changes and you start to see all this character depth and growth and you’re wrapped in this fantastic world of magical realism and a plight of survival and the courage of love. Eames, WHY was the whole book not written like this? Is it worth a read - YES…but be prepared for slow pacing, and endless frustration for our leading gal & bue to come out of their shells and save the world! Thank you to NetGalley & Erewhon Books for the Advanced Reader Copy.

This book healed parts of me I didn't realize I needed to have healed.

Having a main female character who felt and thought like me? An hero who didn't want to be one, but did it because it's the right thing to do? Horror and darkness and cruelness, and yet people are still crawling towards hope and goodness? A TALKING CAT?

If you are not sold yet, can I talk about how unique the magic system is? People's hearts being what magic is based on is so amazing, because hearts are the lifeblood of what makes us, well, us. And then there are other forms of magic out there that are less harmful, and yet people choose the most brutal form?

I also appreciate the conversation around propaganda and how if we are raised a certain way, it can be hard for us to question it and realize it is wrong.

Honestly, no notes. This book is perfection, and I am off to pick up a physical copy!

What would you do if someone stole your heart? Literally, actually took it from your body but you didn’t die? Because hearts power their magic. Such a perfect premise for a story, and Andrea Eames explores it well in A Harvest of Hearts. I received an eARC from NetGalley and Erewhon Books in return for a review.

Foss is a simple country girl, daughter of the village butcher. Then one day, a sorcerer comes and snags her heart. She journeys to the city to look for him and demand it back, ending up as his housekeeper, where she unravels the mysteries of this kingdom and the sorceresses who keep harvesting hearts. The truth is darker and bleaker than you probably want to know, yet to Foss, it is literally about her life.

Let me start with some criticism. A Harvest of Hearts is too long. This would work a lot better as a novella. It has a fairy tale quality and reminds me of The Wizard of Oz (and actually some of Baum’s less well-known sequels to that original story). However, the characterization and pacing leaves a lot to be desired.

Eames’s writing style is exposition-heavy at the start, which is not my jam at the moment. It was hard for me to get into the story, stay interested, and care a lot about the stakes. Even as those stakes became higher, I felt like I was only caring about Foss because she’s the protagonist and what’s happening to her is objectively bad, versus, you know, actually being interested in the story.

Part of that might be because the actual plot feels fairly predictable. I had figured out who the king was, what was going on with Sylvester, the whole backstory of the kingdom, from about … oh, I don’t know by the time Foss got to the city? Nothing at all about this book surprised me. While I don’t object to that on principle, I expect the execution to be correspondingly astounding, and that’s not happening here.

On the other hand, I finished it. There’s sweet moments. Foss and Sylvester’s relationship truly grows from nothing and deepens into something real and special. And then there’s Cornelius—oh, Cornelius! I would die for Cornelius. He’s excellent. He is everything a talking cat should be.

A Harvest of Hearts stands out because of its original premise and the chemistry of the two main characters. Eames has the storybook aesthetic for worldbuilding down, albeit in a way that is heavier on exposition than I would like. This is a fun yet weighty story with a lot to recommend it. That being said, it wasn’t quite for me.

This felt unique and fresh! The magic system was interesting and the plot kept me guessing. Foss and Sylvester were great characters to follow, and I enjoyed following them in this adventure-fantasy journey. Very Howls Moving Castle vibes but with its own unique twists and additions. Hoping to see more from Eames in the future!

dnf @ around 50%

I was really excited for this book, but I unfortunately just wasn't vibing. This book is a "Howl's Moving Castle" retelling, as the description tells you. However, some elements of the book felt so close to the film (I haven't read the original book) that it wasn't engaging.

Additionally, I couldn't really find it in myself to care about Sylvester. While this book is YA (I think?) he reads so much like a sullen, petulant teenager (because he is) that I just didn't care about him. As far as the romance goes, this was extremely insta-love and there wasn't really any natural chemistry between this characters. I like Foss, but that wasn't enough alone to keep me interested.

Thank you NetGalley and Erewhon Books for the eARC. All opinions are my own.

For fans of “Howles Moving Castles”!

With “A Harvest of Hearts”, Andrea Eames takes us into a picturesque and magical world in which people's hearts are stolen.

We accompany the young Foss, whose heart was unintentionally stolen by the sorcerer Sylvester. In order to get it back, she leaves her village and sneaks into the sorcerer's house as a new maid, where she meets the talking black cat Cornelius, who joins her on her quest to find her heart.

The author's vivid and atmospheric writing style caught my eye from the very first pages. She tells the story of Foss so vividly and creates such a cozy yet exciting atmosphere - similar to the Studio Ghibli films by Hayao Miazaki. It quickly becomes apparent that there are some parallels to “Howles Moving Castles” in “A Harvest of Hearts”, which only made the story more appealing to me.

The first half of the book was simply fabulous and exciting. Until it sped up with events and picked up so much speed that it lost credibility for me.

Nevertheless, “A Harvest of Hearts” was an interesting story worth reading and gets 3 out of 5 stars from me.

Many thanks to Kensingtin Publishing and NetGalley Germany for the review copy.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Publishing for the opportunity to review this ARC.

If you love a forced proximity moment with very different love interests then this might be a book for you!

I found myself not very attached to these characters and annoyed at the main character several times. However, if you love talking animals there is a wonderful one in this book and he was my favourite character by far. The plot moves at a slow-ish pace, with a lot of it taking place in the magical house, which was fun. The middle felt as though it dragged, and then the last 20% or so felt rushed in comparison.

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. Overall, this story was very creative and I enjoyed it.

3.5 stars

f you are looking for something quaint, that reminds you of Howl’s Moving Castle, you will find many things to like about this book. It had its moments, but it felt like the first half of the book was better paced than the second half to me. This book seemed to drag, especially at the midway point and I never really found it picking up after that. It is definitely a charming read for a certain vibe/mood, but that pacing really seemed off to me. The underlying plot was interesting and Sylvester was ADORABLE, but Foss started to grate on me after a while. She was constantly putting herself down and it was hard for me to rally behind when she just couldn’t see her own worth. It didn’t seem to me that her character was developing and it seemed to drag down the book at times. While I really enjoyed the premise of this book as well as the House, I don’t think I would reread this book because of Foss alone.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

What a delightful and surprising book! “A Harvest of Hearts” is a layered whimsical dark fantasy novel, and I was drawn to the marketing that compares it to “Howl’s Moving Castle.” I would agree that there are similarities there, though I also found myself thinking of Naomi Novik’s excellent “Uprooted” while reading. The tale is familiar in the setup, with no-nonsense plain butcher’s daughter Foss getting caught up in a handsome sorcerer’s spell, but the strength of the writing, the focus on strange heart-magic, and the exploration of Foss’s self-worth made this an unexpectedly deep read. Of course, the wonderful talking cat Cornelius was a bonus! I really loved reading this and always looked forward to picking it back up, to learn more about the mysterious spells or to see if Foss would finally allow herself to accept the love she deserved. Eames has crafted a satisfying, slightly gory fairytale with tons of feeling and wit, and while there were dark and scary elements, I felt that the warmth of the writing kept it cozy.

Thanks to Erewhon Books and NetGalley for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I was first drawn to this book because of it being comped as an adult novel with Howl's Moving Castle vibes. Howl is everything to me and I will read anything that could resemble it. This does have some of those vibes in the beginning but diverges from there. I enjoyed reading about Foss's story and seeing her relationship with Sylvester. There were parts in the middle of the book that lost some of the momentum for me, which had me put the book down a few times. But the overall story had me wanting to know what would happen next.

I loved Cornelius, the talking cat who stole my heart (pun intended) from his introduction. He was the best part of this book. Also, I liked many of the scenes with the sentient house that is just as grumpy and petulant as its master could be. Man, I'd love to have both the house and Cornelius in my life.

This story is quite dark for a cozy fantasy especially dealing with the heart harvesting. Though, I will say there is still a good amount of whimsy and cozy feelings. It feels like a dark fairy tale the entire time and I cannot get enough of those. I had a great time listening to the audiobook and reading the ebook. It was not a perfect story but the charm made up for it.