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.

This story is told from two main POVs, but there are many other POVs scattered throughout and often within the same chapter. This partially contributed to the pacing issues of this work, which lagged in many places. The ending was odd. It wasn’t really a cliffhanger, but a lot of things weren’t resolved, and it made for an unsatisfying end overall. This book was also probably about 150 pages longer than it needed to be.

Some folks might love it, but the endless inner dialogues about pining, love, and “should I, shouldn’t I” just didn’t do it for me. ESPECIALLY since we got the POV of both characters involved in the “relationship” so we got to hear it all twice. I wasn’t really feeling the chemistry between the two; to me, it felt like they were in love because they were the two MCs and everyone knows in a book with fae, the FMC and the fae king have to be in love – the faster the better. It wasn’t because they felt like they belonged together realistically, and it just did not work for me. Not to mention the obligatory third act breakup/betrayal reveal.

I honestly just found this one to be pretty boring and predictable. If you like “romances” with fae kings then you may enjoy this one. My thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for allowing me to read this work, which will be published November 12, 2024. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

The Courting of Bristol Keats is a book that begins and ends with sacrifice. It begins with Bristol's sacrifices for her family. All the saving, the protecting, the little compromises she has to make. And it ends asking us what we would give up for the truth. She wants to save her father, but the more she finds out the more she realizes she doesn't know. It's an expansive story which is unhurried as Pearson details the world. We, like Bristol, are inexperienced and need to figure out who we can trust. And who is lying to us. The Courting of Bristol Keats also explores manipulation and love. The narration from Brittany Pressley was atmospheric and we can really hear Bristol's internal debates. The strength of her dilemmas.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and Netgalley for the advanced audiobook of The Courting of Bristol Keats in exchange for my honest review!

3.5⭐️

I had a hard time rating this one because on one hand, the story itself is super exciting. I loved the ideas and seeing how it would all play out. On the other hand, this book was extremely long while saying extremely little. I think this would have benefited from being two books even so the characters and plot could have been more fleshed out. I feel like I barely know what people or the world looked like. The romance was also a really great slow burn and then it hit an insta-love wall and lost me.

I’m shocked for as long as this is, how little substance everything actually held and I really thought this could have been stellar. It has the bones but not the meat, if that makes sense. I do still plan on reading the next book since it’s only a duology and with the WEIRDEST ending ever (I literally thought I was missing something), I feel like I need to follow through to the end.

I do want to give a shoutout to the narrator, Brittany Pressley, this book had a LOT of characters and she managed to give them some life and differences so I wasn’t always lost. She did a phenomenal job!

Brittany Pressley has one of those voices that sounds like every audiobook narrator--familiar and smooth. I don't speak French but her French sounded immaculate to me. She has enough voice deviation to tell different characters but not as much as someone like Lorelai King.

Bristol and her family have always been on the run, traveling from city to city. She and her sisters always knew her parents were keeping secrets from them. But they finally settled in one place after the youngest, Harper, begged them not to leave. However, everything began to fall apart. First, their mother leaves them and then dies. Then their father also dies in a car accident. Bristol isn't the oldest, but somehow she stepped up to take on the burden of providing and leading the other sisters. Now, a mysterious financial offer from an aunt the sisters have never heard of changes everything. When Bristol learns that her father might not be dead after all, she has to take the chance and try to find him.


Tyghan and his crew of fae have information about Bristol and her family that she and her sisters don't have. But they need Bristol's help to close a portal before the choosing ceremony. They're not even sure if she can do it. She shows no sign of magic. But if they share the information with her she'll never help them. What Tyghan didn't count on was coming to care for Bristol.

Bristol is so sick and tired of being lied to. Her parents lied to her and her siblings all her life. Many people in Bowskeep turn out to be fae. A guy she was hooking up with ghosts her. The secrets of her parents have slowly been trickling out since she met her mysterious aunt, but the biggest secrets are still hidden from her. And much more. So it was obvious to the reader (listener) that when she finds out what her parents and Tyghan have been keeping from her she would feel betrayed. But I couldn't stop myself from barreling forward hoping every minute to get to the big reveal.

Tyghan has been betrayed by his best friend who was as close as a brother. And he isn't over it either. Every decision is viewed through the lens of potential betrayal. Understandably, he keeps information from Bristol. At first, he doesn't know her well enough to trust her. But even when he does...

I don't have any quotes to share with you since I was listening to the audiobook. But I'm sure I would have highlighted quite a bit if I'd been reading a Kindle version.

The Courting of Bristol Keats was better than I was expecting it to be. I shouldn't have been surprised as I've enjoyed Mary E Pearson before. The Courting of Bristol Keats easily gets 4.5 Stars. I absolutely can not wait until I get my hands on book 2. Have you read (or listened to) The Courting of Bristol Keats? What did you think? Let me know.

P.S. From what I remember there was minimal language (including a few f-bombs) and two on-page scenes although not terribly descriptive.

Bristol Keats and her sisters are all alone in the world. They spent their entire lives on the run from unseen foes, trusting their parents to provide them with safety and stability. But when both of Bristol's parents pass away under mysterious circumstances, she is left with too many unanswered questions. Finally, answers come in the shape of a long-lost "aunt" who appears in Bristol's life promising salvation in the form of expensive art. Bristol soon realizes her parents may not have been who they seemed to be, and that their secrets may be more dangerous and fantastical than she ever realized.

This book includes:
- mysterious disappearances
- secretive parents and a life on the run from invisible foes
- a kingdom betting its demise
- camaraderie
- the strength of sisterhood
- decades-long feuds
- magical parasites
- mythical faeries
- multiple POV

Bristol is the typical romantasy hero; endlessly fascinating to the fair folk around her and determined to save her sisters at all costs. The world Mary E Pearson brings to life on her pages is dynamic and holds a whimsy that I often find missing from similar books. If you are the type of reader who loves to wade through half-truths and secrets in search of the truth, you will surely enjoy this book. Sadly, I found Bristol to be grating and unrealistic, perhaps even two-dimensional. The brooding, broken love interest was similarly uninteresting to me, and I found the romance to be forced and cringeworthy. From my point of view, Bristol and her suitor had little chemistry, and their "love" went from 0 to 100 so quickly that it gave me whiplash.

I received this audiobook as an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley, Mary E. Pearson, and Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to review this book. This review has been posted to GoodReads check out my profile https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/62314863 and it will be posted to my bookstagram account https://www.instagram.com/tinynightingales/

💐The Courting of Bristol Keats is a wonderful book! It reveals Bristol’s vulnerabilities, strengths, and inner conflicts. The found family is amazing —these characters aren’t just background; they become friends and fighters, sticking with her through thick and thin. Her friends are wonderful additions to this rich plot!💜 The love story is heartfelt and well-developed, but what truly stands out is the balance between romance and a gripping plot. Every twist and turn keeps you on the edge, and the relationships, both romantic and platonic, make the story feel rich and layered. This is more than a love story—it’s a tale of loyalty, resilience, and the power of chosen family.💐

💜It’s a must read!! You will enjoy every twist and turn!

This book started off very good. I enjoyed getting to know the characters and learning about this world the book takes place in. The middle of the book was a little slow with a lot of world building, but I was completely sucked in by the end.

It felt like the book ended in the middle of a story. I know there is going to be another book coming out and the story is going to continue, but I didn't feel even a little bit satisfied with the ending. I read mostly Fantasy series, so I am familiar with books that end on cliffhangers and have books that continue the story. Unfortunately, there wasn't really a cliffhanger at the end and really nothing was resolved. The book just ended. It felt like my book wasn't supposed to end and was missing the last few chapters.

With all that being said, I am very much looking forward to continuing the series with the next book and will definitely be reading it as soon as I can get a copy because I need to know what is going to happen with these characters.

I did read the ebook while listening to the audiobook. I highly recommend this immersive technique for reading books. The audiobook for The Courting of Bristol Keats was great!

I enjoyed the courting of Bristol Keats so much! The story is rich and imaginative. I rated it four stars because I felt that the author could have done more with the world building. I did, however, love the characters and the story development. There was angst and mystery and betrayal and all of those things that we love in our favorite fantasy romance books! The spice was spicy when it was there although not the main point of the story. The ending was a surprise but I didn't hate it 😉
Brittany Pressley, the narrator brought life to the characters and the world woven by Pearson in a raw and emotional way. Her ability to convey what the characters are feeling into her voice is phenomenal and had me in tears a time or two!
⭐⭐⭐⭐
🌶️🌶️🌶️ and 1/2

Thank you NetGalley and MacMillian Audio for the advanced listener copy and the opportunity to provide my opinion of the works!

I enjoyed myself with this story. It had some fresh takes on typical fantasy/romantasy tropes. You are also able to pick up the breadcrumbs and put together some of the clues on the reveals. I will say I did not expect the literal way the story ended. I’m interested in continuing for sure!

Thank you NetGalley for the audiobook ARC for a honest review.
The Courting of Bristol Keats made me remember how much I love fae. This book reminded me of the Cruel Prince series but adult. If you love the cruel prince or fae I would recommend. The chemistry had me floored and in love. AND THE TWIST ughhhh I need book 2 now!

For fans of Cruel Prince and A Court of Thorns and Roses.
It too me about 40% to feel invested. The FMC does not have a strong personality. But I found myself needing to know what happened next.
I am SHOCKED by the ending. Who ends a book like that? I don't need to ask if there will be a book two because this book ended mid thought - pretty much. Like Ma'am... excuse me.... that's not cool. Gimme the rest please.