DNF. I made it about 20% into this audiobook and I'm sad to say I found it so boring I could not continue. Thank you for the audiobook but sadly I will not be finishing the book.

This is such an underrated fantasy!!!!! I loved it! It’s such an incredible fantasy adventure and the storyline was worth the world building! Loved it!

Thank you to Mary E. Pearson, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for the advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

The Courting of Bristol Keats introduces a world where family secrets and fae magic intertwine. After the sudden loss of her parents, Bristol Keats is drawn into a realm of gods, fae, and monsters, uncovering truths about her lineage and the mysterious disappearance of her father. The story blends adventure and romance, with Bristol’s journey serving as a catalyst for self-discovery and confrontation with hidden truths.

While I found the premise compelling, the pacing felt uneven at times, and some plot developments seemed rushed or underdeveloped. The tension between Bristol and Tyghan added intrigue, but I wished for deeper character exploration. Despite these issues, the novel offered an engaging glimpse into a fantastical world and will appeal to fans of romantic fantasy looking for magic and mystery.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for letting me read this book in exchange for a review.

When it comes to Mary E. Pearson’s writing, I can take it or leave it. She is great at world building but I usually find her stories to be drawn out and slow. It’s great if you really want to relish the story but not so much when you are expecting more action. Her books are middle of the road - I never love or hate them. This particular book started losing me when the mysterious aunt shows up and our FMC follows her into a completely different world. A little sus . . .

The narration was good and I enjoyed her ability to keep the story moving and the reader engaged. 3.5 our of 5 stars

3.5⭐️ Bristol was such a wonderful heroine in every way. I enjoyed the storytelling and the audio format was great! I would recommend this format

*many thanks to Macmillan audio and Netgalley for the gifted copy for review

**I got this book for review from Macmillan's Audio Influencer Program**

3.5 stars

Okay, I want to start by saying that I did enjoy this one! 3.5 stars really isn't bad. I just felt like this book was a big ole mashup of a bunch of different series that I've read and enjoyed, though. I don't know what it was about it, but I was constantly like "oh, that feels like *this book*." I'm going to read the next book for sure, but I'm really hoping that something happens in it that sets it aside from other series. This did have it's uniqueness, but it was really hard to not compare it to those other things. And because of this, I feel like I don't really remember the ending of the book. I do, but also don't. It's been about a week since I finished it and I feel like I don't remember enough.

What’s It About:Bristol Keats has spent the last six months trying to help her sisters after the death of their father. When Bristol receives a letter from her father’s aunt, Bristol agrees to a meeting in hopes of financial help. Bristol is pulled into the world of Fey where she learns about her family history and a brooding king who might bring romance.

Good:I genuinely enjoy Mary E. Pearspn’s writing. Pearson uses beautiful language to perfectly craft the world of Fey. The characters were well-developed, and I wanted to keep reading. Plus, the story was a fun blend of adventure, fantasy, and romance.

Bad: Parts of this book feel as if it has an identity crisis. It reads like YA, but the characters are older, and the spiciness is adult. Also, it is a long book, and it feels long. The book-length and the plethora of characters made it difficult to keep the plot of characters straight.

Bottom Line: A well-written romantasy with a good blend of action, mystery, and romance.

Im always up for a fae begain and found family but the main relationship did all that much for me. A great author and a fun read still though. A 3.5 rounded up because this was the audiobook and the narrator was wonderful.

Bristol's world is thrown upside-down when she discovers that her family history is not what she has always been told. She is thrown into a different realm and expected to have powers she's never manifested before. As all of this transpires, things are going on behind the scenes that she is unaware of. Can she trust anyone, most importantly Tyghan, the king who she grows closer to? What were her parents truly up to? There is still a lot we don't know, but that's expected given that it's not a standalone.

I initially struggled to keep track of the setting (time and place). Bristol is from the contemporary world but ends up in the fae world, which seems to be a blast from the past. It's also mentioned that time works differently between worlds, but Bristol can check in with her sisters without too much difficulty. Maybe that will make more sense in book 2.

The audio edition had one narrator who spoke clearly and I was able to speed it up without too much trouble.

Thanks to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for an ALC of this audiobook for an honest review.

I Loved this so much! This was a mysterious riviting story and the characters were decently developed. Insta love- but not in a bad kinx of way- I actually really liked it. I usually hate insta love.
It was Modern day fantasy turned Regency type of fantasy when she goes from the real world to fantasy world. Big sis protecting everyone type energy. I will be reading the 2nd book in the series definitely!

Bristol Keats is a young woman struggling to keep her family together after the deaths of her parents. The middle child, she takes the lead in caring for the family, but her small town life might not be all that it appears. When she finds out that her father might not be dead, Bristol knows that she must do whatever she can to save him, even if it means striking a deal with fairies and journeying into their world.

I've read and enjoyed Mary E. Pearson's YA novels over the years and was excited to listen to her adult debut. Romantasy is a huge genre right now, and I think the author has written something that will appeal to those readers. It's not groundbreaking, but the protagonist, Bristol Keats, is an interesting character to live with for almost 18 hours. I will say the novel could have tightened up the story a bit to avoid some slower sections, but the themes of family, love, and trust gave the narrative a nice foundation. This is the first part of a planned duology, so loose ends lead to a bit of a cliffhanger ending, but the story does come to a fine stopping point.

The narrator does an admirable job of voicing a large cast of characters and the pacing keeps momentum even when the writing lags a bit.

I really really really wanted to love this one. I love Mary E. Pearson’s other books and was so pumped that she was writing an adult book. However, this book fell so short. The first half reads like YA (not in a good way). The MC is older but that’s really the only thing that made it adult. The coming of age / finding yourself storyline along with the almost magical school / quest were right out of a YA playbook. Then the second half was filled with steam in a way that kind of came out of nowhere.

I would read the sequel but this book was disappointing by comparison to the author’s other books.

One last note, I did enjoy the narration. The audiobook was well done and I liked the different voices uses. But, one issue I had was with the writing. There are numerous unnamed POVs which was confusing to listen to. Not the narrator’s fault, just made the audiobook more challenging. I will likely physically read the next book.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

3.5 ⭐️

Overall, I enjoyed myself. This was a fresh take on a fae fantasy romance that left me with a renewed interest in the genre.

I wouldn't say that any of the characters stood out to me that much, but they weren't the typical copy-paste of Feyre and Rhysand that you see in all of the popular fae fantasy romances out these days.

The setup was well done and had me hooked. However, I felt like the meat and potatoes of the story were lacking. There wasn't a lot of action on-page, and things were drawn out for much longer than they needed to be. This book did not need to be nearly 600 pages long.

The romance was slow-burn, and I appreciated that, but like many romances, all the tension evaporate the moment they got together. This left it feeling a bit vanilla and almost a bit lacking until the final 10% of the book.

The on-page spice was well done. It's descriptive, but not raunchy (not that there's anything wrong with that). For some reason I thought that this was YA (it explores many of the themes and uses the kind of more simplistic language YA books do), but the spice proved me wrong.

The plot did drop off for me around the 200 page mark and didn't pick back up again until the last 80ish pages. I think this is an unfortunate trend with many of the books being published these days containing a lot of filler and having a large page count for the sake of looking impressive. There's nothing wrong with having shorter books if you don't have as much to say!

Will I read the sequel? Probably not... I don't have the burning need to know how this story ends.

Thank you NetGalley and McMillan Audio for providing me with a free copy in exchange for a review.

3.75 ⭐️
see.. i'm used to her pacing so this story didn't catch me off guard nor did it disappoint me. i'm a little thrown off by the ending and it seems like this will be trilogy ngl with the way she paced everything.
i think i did enjoy the story for the majority of it. (it definitely dragged here and there). plus, i'm not always the biggest fan of fae but this kinda reminded me of a slower paced cruel prince (the world, not the plot) so i was lowkey eating it up LOL and there were definitely plot points that were rlly fascinating.
i am curious to see where the next book will take us for sure

I voluntarily listened to and reviewed an advanced copy of this audiobook. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to Macmillan Audio!

The Courting of Bristol Keats has all of the elements I look for in a romantasy. There's an immersive fantasy world with unique magical elements. The enemies to lovers/forbidden romance is top tier. There’s also a little bit of mystery which always makes for a great page-turner. The plot is so compelling and it follows through. With that ending, how am I supposed to patiently wait for book two?

I highly recommend the audiobook. Brittany Pressley is such a fantastic narrator. I almost always have one of her books in my rotation. The Courting of Bristol Keats has a large cast of characters and she does a great job keeping them all easily identifiable. She does especially well with capturing the FMCs wide range of emotions.

This is not the first book that I have read from Mary E. Pearson but it’s definitely my favorite so far. I look forward to reading the rest of this series and will be doing at least one reread before book two’s release.

The Courting of Bristol Keats swept me off my feet in the best possible way. Bristol is the kind of heroine you root for from page one—fierce, funny, and emotionally layered. The slow-burn romance had me kicking my feet under the covers, and the tension? Perfectly delicious. Every scene crackled with chemistry, but it never rushed the emotional payoff. I loved how the author balanced witty banter with raw, vulnerable moments that made the love story feel earned. The love interest was charming without being cliché, and the supporting characters added just the right flavor. It’s a romance that doesn’t just flirt with your heart—it steals it. I couldn’t stop smiling when I finished. This one goes straight to my favorites shelf.



Instagram Review and GoodReads review to come once I get my hands on the hardcover for photo

Finally got my hands on THE COURTING OF BRISTOL KEATS. I enjoyed it quite a bit. I lacked the sizzling, highly tense romance that her most previous series sold me on (Dance of Thieves), but I enjoyed being back in this author's creative worldbuilding nonetheless.

Dnf at 21%. Unfortunately this book was not for me. I struggled with the main character and the fae world. I’m not usually a big fan of fae books so I feel I wasn’t the target audience for this. The narrator was very good though! Just kind of fell flat for me and I didn’t have any interest in continuing. Thank you to the punisher for this free audiobook.!

Thank you to the publishers, author and NetGalley for the free copy of this audio book.

This felt promising but just didn't do it for me. It felt scattered at points and wasn't keeping my attention. I may try again another time as it was definitely interesting at points!

Seeing that The Courting of Bristol Keats was narrated by Brittany Pressley made this an auto-listen for me. She’s one of my favorite narrators, with a voice that adds so much depth and emotion to her characters. As expected, her performance was excellent. Unfortunately, the story itself didn’t work as well for me. I was hoping for a compelling enemies-to-lovers dynamic, but I struggled to connect with the characters, and the pacing felt slow. The world-building also felt a bit underdeveloped, which made it harder to immerse myself in the story. While this one wasn’t for me, fans of Mary E. Pearson may still enjoy it!

Thank you to Mary E. Pearson, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for sending me the ALC in exchange for an honest review.