The Courting of Bristol Keats by Mary E. Pearson was a wild Romantasy from an amazing author. I've read some of Mary E. Pearson's other work and loved it! Fae are not typically my thing in the fantasy world, but this was refreshing and tension filled.

Bristol is a strong FMC who finds herself in the world of Fae. She discovers secrets that have been hidden from her all her life and faces those she loves to find her own path. I admit, I was worried for a good portion of this book (my whole body tingled with anticipation of what was to be discovered). However, I was very impressed with how everything was handled!

There are plenty of things that need to be discovered in the next book and I can't wait! If you love Romantasy, in a Fae realm, with characters you'll love, check this one out! 5/5 stars loved!

**I RECEIVED A FREE ARC OF THE AUDIOBOOK FROM NETGALLEY. THANK YOU A TON. THIS HAS NOT IMPACTED MY REVIEW IN ANY WAY, SHAPE OR FORM. **

*NO MAJOR SPOILERS WERE HARMED IN THE MAKING OF THIS REVIEW**

Okay, let me tell you, this book and I went on a journey man. It was wild, it was a whirlwind. I do not know how I kept pace with this novel. While I enjoyed the overall storyline and experience, getting there was a whole different matter entirely. In short, this novel mad me want to tear my hair out. Usually, I am fine with audiobooks, they are my jam. But this book is not conducive to audio format, and let me tell you why. There. are. so. many. perspective. changes. So help me I was confused most of this book. It took me so long to read it because I kept having to relisten to sections to understand who the speaker was :/ and the context. Maybe this was just my own brain but. . the multi perspectives hurt this book in my opinion. Like, do we really need the horse's pov???? I think it would of been smoother if we just had Ty's and Bri's povs, but what do I know. Maybe it is better in the physical book. I am still debating getting the physical book. I may wait until the second book is coming because what the heck was that ending??? Like um, excuse me. We went on a JOURNEY together and this is how you repay my efforts? The shame. I ask again, where is book two. #sorrynotsorry

Alright, the books writing was fine, if not a bit mysterious and aloof. It kept some mysteries alive for quite a while. And instead of going mad with questions, I managed to just bite my tongue and ride through the experience. All shall be revealed in time. . . mostly. There are still alot of unresolved issues by the end. I liked the world, and the magic, but I was also confused about the fairy lore and whether this is actually universal fairylore or whether she and holly black conspired with each other. I would love a collab between them, though. So the world building and magic was great.

The characters were great too. But there were just so many of them, I literally could not keep track, so I gave up trying. Alot of them just felt like hollow bodies there to be poked and prodded at will. The only vibrant characters seemed to be Bristol, Ty, and Cormick. Which, seemed very acotar-esque, at first, with cruel prince. But yeah...BUT, my dark loving soul self still is holding out hope for him. Because it truly is not over until it is.

Bristol is just a character you want to root for. She is the main caretaker of the house, she has all her family's burdens on her. She just wants to do good, be good and just live. And then all this crap is thrown at her and homegirl is just struggling to survive. Which, turns out, is also not her fault. But I love how strong, stubborn and resilient she is. She does not give up. She powers through and takes names. I love her, and I lowkey loved her take no crap attitude towards the end. Like yas queen. (And we all know that that is where things might be headed).

I do not know how I feel about Ty...I dont know why but he just feels like a temporary dalliance. He hot, hes moody, and he's great in bed, but he is true mate material? Eh....but Cormick isnt do that great for himself either, BUT, i have a feeling that when we get a book 2, it might be an ACOMAF situation. So, we are just crossing our fingers. and I have not firmly decided what horse to back yet. But he is easy on the eyes. The romance was good, I liked the he fall firsts angle. And it was believeable, not insta love. And it was slight enemies to lovers, so that is also good as well. But we shall see.

Overall, I thought this was a whirlwind read, with a variety of ups and downs and a winding plot to navigate through. It was full of secrets, lies, and betrayal. While the romance was fiery, who knows when those embers might flare out. Remember, this is all my opinion. if you want your own, read the book when it releases!

This was good, but it took a while to get into the plot and really understand the world and magic. I enjoyed the romance and I want to read the next book! I thought the narrator was excellent. The ending was a bit abrupt and I was confused for most of the first half of the book, so that’s why it’s not a higher rating. Overall, I’d recommend!

I had a really hard time following this story. I went in not knowing much about this story and after doing a little more research after starting reading it The hype for this on TIkTok made it sound to be the next best Romantasy with all these monsters and such... sadly ... incorrect. Overall this may not have been for me but I can see how certain audiences may enjoy the story.

Over 100 chapters, and for what reason? There's an interesting story in here somewhere I guess, but this is clearly one for the romantasy girlies who enjoy barely legal girl having sex with inappropriately-aged assholes. The man was literally her dad's best friend. Uh, no. To quote SNL, "47 isn't magical, its just weird".
It's too dark for me, too long-winded, and too blah.

Absolutely loved this! Will say the audiobook made the world-building, court politics, and characters a bit hard to follow (or maybe it was my own fault by not paying attention lol) but I absolutely loved the world of fae that Pearson created. A super fun read and the romance!! Loved this book and would recommend to romantasy readers.

I loved the audiobook and story and though the narrator did an excellent job. I thought the world building was unique which is hard to do with an overfull genre. Fun, romantic, and magical!

Bristol and Tygen's story unfolds with an enticing blend of mystery and fantasy, drawing readers into a world where Fae bargains and hidden truths intertwine. The novel's pacing, while deliberate, scatters intrigue throughout, compelling one to press on.

The premise hooks from the start: Bristol, driven by the possibility of her father's survival, strikes a bargain with the Fae. This exchange of services for their aid sets the stage for an adventure ripe with potential.

The author crafts a Fae world that complements the narrative without overwhelming it. Their portrayal eschews one-dimensional beauty, instead emphasizing the Fae's true nature—cruel, mischievous, and cunning. This nuanced depiction aligns perfectly with the story's undercurrent of secrets.

Bristol emerges as a multifaceted character, straddling the line between likable and challenging. Her struggle to support her sisters and her desperate grasp at any chance to improve their lives resonates. Yet, her default to snark can alienate. This complexity, however, makes her journey all the more compelling.

The dynamic between Bristol and the Fae King, Tyghan, crackles from their first encounter. Their interactions add a layer of appeal to the unfolding narrative, punctuated by scenes of intense passion that will satisfy readers seeking spice in their fantasy.

The story's development takes its time, which may test some readers' patience. While it addresses many of the mysteries it presents, the ending leaves room for more—perhaps intentionally so.

At 17.56 hours, the audiobook is a substantial listen. Brittany Presley's narration brings depth to both Bristol and Tyghan's perspectives, elevating the emotional resonance of the story.

For readers of Romance Fantasy seeking a new world to explore, Bristol and Tygen's tale offers a rich, if slow-burning, adventure. The blend of Fae lore, personal quests, and simmering romance creates an immersive experience for those willing to invest in its gradual unfolding.

Thank you, NetGalley and Macmillan Audio, for my free book for review.

This is the first ARC I've DNF'd. I love fantasy and romance, so it seemed like this book would be right up my alley. It was not. This book had so much potential! My main issues were:

1) The author has yet to encounter a metaphor she didn't like, which leads to the book feeling bloated, with chapters that don't progress.
2) It was hard to determine when the story was taking place. Characters bounce from speaking in the 1800s to the 2010s.
3) For being the "mature" sister, our FMC spends so much time ruminating on her need to run away and tell us how different she is instead of showcasing her maturity through action.

The narration was excellent; I just couldn't get into the story. DNF 15%

Mary Pearson weaves an intricate story filled with magic, family ties, and romance. The relationship between Bristol and her sister mixed with the grief she felt from losing her dad (and then the hope/shock that he may still be alive) created such a strong start to the story. I enjoyed Bristol as a character; her feistiness paired with her need to speak her mind made her fun to root for. The twists where Bristol finds out who her parents really are also worked really well for the story.

Yet, the story started off very slow and didn't feel as if it started to pick up pace until halfway through the book. It was also hard for me to feel a connection to the characters, which made it hard to feel the emotional stakes of the story.
While I did enjoy the relationship between Bristol and Tyghan at the end, the start of that relationship felt forced and was lacking chemistry. I felt that it should have been more developed. I was also taken aback when Tyghan realized he loved Bristol--only halfway through the book when he spent the first half not liking her at all.

Overall, I did enjoy listening to the audiobook and thought the narrator did an excellent job. Despite the slow start, the story was fun to listen to, and I am very interested to read Mary Pearson's other works.

I was curious to see Mary Pearson's take on the fae romantasy subgenre that's so popular these days. There's something nostalgic about this book - vibes of what Holly Black popularized 10ish years ago, at least in the beginning. It starts off VERY strong. Bristol was spunky, she had loving sisters who I thought would play a bigger role, and she made a promising deal with fae to enter their land and find her missing father. I did enjoy the mystery around her parents. That family angst was the most interesting subplot, and I'm intrigued to see how that's resolved next book.

But Bristol loses a lot of her personality when she's in Elfheim, and what's left is mostly kind-of cringey sass. I really struggle with romantasy enemies-to-lovers banter. It hasn't been clever or engaging in the books I've read. "The last thing I want is to see you naked." Killer line by our MMC Tyghan. Or later from Bristol to him: "Don't you ever relax? Chill?" *everyone gasps*

When I think about the plot, not a lot happens. Bristol enters fairyland, goes to magic school, falls in love with the king Tyghan... then there's an evil necromancer rival king who wants to take over fairyland, and he sucks so that would be bad, but he only shows up a couple of times to be vaguely threatening. When we reach the last page, Bristol's father is still missing, the king's brother is still in captivity, she still has that thing inside her, the fae coup hasn't begun, the portal's still open. There are a LOT of threads to wrap up next book if this is to be a duology.

There's some constant horniness from everyone, which is typical for this genre. Tyghan had a really weird conversation about sex with his sister early in the book, and there were some gross remarks between him and Bristol's dad later ("yes I AM fucking your daughter." yuck). Because yup, the MMC is the Bristol's dad's ex-bff. Time moves differently in Elfheim, though, so there's not much of an age difference between them. Just icky interpersonal drama.

I did like how Bristol and Tyghan were in love instead of just hooking up (I like ~romance~), but I'm not sure how we got there. Ghost dancing and tense sparring? "He loved her, and he had for a long time" at 60%ish in. What? When? How? I wish the slow burn had been developed more and maybe stretched into the sequel. And I GET IT, Tyghan's muscular. I got tired of hearing about his bod.

My favorite part of romantasy is always the betrayal at the end of Book 1. Maybe because I never really buy into the romance, so I'm happy when it blows up. We sort of get that? but it didn't last long enough. Blink and Bristol and Tyghan are back to confessing their love and having sex. And then the book just... ends? There's no cliffhanger, no hook really for the sequel, other than literally nothing has been resolved. There's a quick sex scene and the credits immediately roll.

The audiobook with Brittany Presley narrating was very well done. She was engaging and the one? action scene we got was very exciting. I will say that her cadence for Bristol's sass made me hate that banter even more, and the German and French accents for two of the side characters were very stereotypical.

This was an enjoyable introduction to a new fae world. There are so many secrets in this story, but the fun part is with the multiple perspectives; you know all of them quite early; we're really watching to see when and how they come to light for the unaware characters. The FMC was easy to root for, and I'm intrigued to see where the story goes next.

I'm like a parent of a petulant adolescent. I'm not angry. I'm just disappointed. The synopsis sounded so intriguing.

No descriptions of the characters, including the monsters, and no effort to adequately develop the world building. This is something I really care about.

I would like to note that the audiobook narration was absolutely incredible. Brittany Presley is one of my favorite female audiobook narrators, and she carried the story for me.

Although I can’t say that this book felt super new and different from other Fae stories I’ve read, I can say I still had an enjoyable time listening to this book.

Bristol’s parents are dead, and she and her sisters are struggling, living in a modern mortal world. A deal is struck with some faeries, and off to Elphame we go!

I’m going to be honest, I felt a little lost in the beginning, as we slowly learned about the world and the characters, but as we settled in, and mysteries unfolded, I ended up really enjoying my time. (I will say, though, this is one of those stories where I will probably need to do a reread before a second book, which I assume there will be?, because I feel like I missed some things early on while I was scrambling figuring out what was going on…)

I enjoyed the romance. It started a bit enemies to lovers, but I really loved their little nightly rendezvous, and found them pretty cute.

Ok, now the ending. I saw that I had about 30 min left of the audiobook, and was hunkering down for maybe a cliffhanger or something…but nope! It ended like THAT, and then there was a 30 min narrator interview. 😂 And here I thought I was alone in thinking it was kind of abrupt, but nope! Seen other reviews mentioning it! 🤣

Audiobook notes: The narrator was great! Every character felt distinct.

Thank you @macmillan.audio for providing me an advanced audio copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

What this book is giving:
✅ Romantic Fantasy
✅ Multi POV
✅ Fae World
✅ Portals
✅ Secrets
✅ Gods and Fae and Monsters

Rating:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 5
🌶️🌶️ / 5

Mary E. Pearson - it was a joy to read a new work from you.

The world, the yearning, the layers that added to the plot - easily a 5 star read. Pearson has a knack for creating worlds that reveal themselves over time and characters that feel real. Theres no 2-dimensional characters to be found, and it adds to the twists and the fun.

I also was listening to the book, completely hooked, and didn't know the end was actually the end and my jaw dropped. New favorite way to do a cliffhanger? Iykyk.

I feel like I almost took half a star because I was desperate for more (jk) but actually because this felt like a "New Adult" vs a true adult with the FMC being 21/22 - but alas, that is a publishing issue not a Pearson issue

**Thank you MacMillian for access to the audioARC in exchange for an honest review!

I REALLY enjoyed this! I can say I’m definitely in my adult romantasy-era and this satisfied that. This was my first Mary E. Pearson book and she lived up to the hype I’ve heard about her. The spice was beautifully and passionately written, the tension between Tyghan and Bristol is just yum, and the side characters are also great. Brittany Pressley did an AMAZING job with the narration!!! I think she’s one of the reasons I was actually into the book! My only complaint is the ending… it just ended. It was a little odd. I recommend it if you’re into fae, secrets, plot twists, forbidden love, and magic.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 Overall
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 Narration
🌶️🌶️🌶️.5/5 Spice (2 or 3 open door scenes)

Thank you for the chance to listen to an advanced reader copy of the audio book. This story is so poetically written, it took me off guard. This is my first book by Mary E Pearson, and I honestly cannot wait for the next one! Bristol was relatable and made real decisions. Though this was a linear timeline, the way we learned information felt like alternate timelines, which was so fun. There are twists and turns you wont see coming, and the narrator does a great job with all of the different characters and accents. I adore are MMC and love that we get to watch him work through his trauma a bit, as well as Bristol working through her grief in various ways. The various POV adds something special to the storytelling. It does end in a way that sets up for a second book, and I'm already itching for it!

~3.5 stars

I enjoyed so much about this. Right off the bat I was picking up some Cruel Prince vibes and was so so excited to be back with a mortal girl in Elfhame. I immediately loved the Keats sisters and the mystery of missing and/or dead parents is always gripping.

The pacing of the first third or so of the book was great. I was so invested in why Bristol was being offered a gig with the fae. The characters were all compelling and so many small plot points kept things moving in an interesting direction.

Unfortunately I do think the pacing got a little wonky in the second and third acts. A lot was going on that made me forget what the overarching plot was that when the purpose of all the training and whatnot finally came to fruition I had completely forgotten it was why we were all there in the first place.

The ending was also so abrupt. I really don’t know why, when there seems to be so much at stake at that point in the story, it ended the way it did. I think a bit of a cliffhanger or some reveal would have made the ending feel more satisfying and make readers look forward to the second book a little more.

Brittany Pressley is always such an incredible narrator and her performance really kept in engaged even when I felt the story falling off a bit.

Thank you for the arc! But honestly, this book was barely bearable. It’s great for fans of A Court of Thorns and Roses, but for anyone else, they’ll find it basic and nothing new. And I’m the person in the second group. The ending wasn’t even an ending.

The Courting of Bristol Keats by Mary E. Pearson is the first book in a duology. It is a fantasy with a romantic subplot. Bristol and her two sisters live in Bowskeep and they've lost both parents in the past year. Bristol is struggling to keep them afloat and she has received a couple of letters from a long lost aunt implying she can help. But, Bristol does not believe they have a long last aunt and this is just some sort of scam. But, Bristol goes to the meeting and she discovers that everything she thought she knew about her parents and their families is a lie, and that her father may be alive but in Elphame - another realm. Bristol agrees to go to this realm to help King Tyghan save his kingdom but she wants his help to search for her dad. This realm is full of gods, fae and monsters and Bristol will be training with a small group of other recruits to help save the kingdom. I liked the story and the romance, but Bristol herself reads like a YA character in an adult fantasy. She is too immature. The romance is fine, but there is an ick factor component - two men important to Bristol have a conversation about this relationship and it's just gross. It's gross on every level. And, the author has set up a zero sum scenario in this story - I'll be interested to read book two to see how she solves it. I'm hoping the answer is not just pure effing magic. That would be disappointing. I gave this book 4 stars and I want to thank #netgalley and Flat Iron Books for my e-arc and MacMillan Audio for advance audio book. The narration was excellent.