I have never read anything by Mary E. Pearson, but I have heard such excellent things about her works that I was very excited for this book. I overall enjoyed this book. While the romance was very prevalent throughout, the plot and world building also held up even without the romance. This is a major thing I look for when reading romantasy as I do not enjoy when the whole world falls apart without romance.

I also loved the ominous POV chapters (the we do not know who’s POV/worlds POV) that were sprinkled in and gave us context on what/who was doing things elsewhere in the world. However, the ending was soooo lacking. We didn’t get any answers to our questions :( i wish it ended with at least bristol’s transformation into her full potential/self without the tick because it’s pretty clear she will decide to learn about real self at some point in this story. It felt like the story just stopped at a random point and will pick up in the next book.

I cannot rave about this book enough. I made sure I mentioned to those who didn’t want to read the beautiful physical edition that the audiobook was phenomenal

Bristol and her two sisters lost both of their parents and are trying to make it in their small town. When Bristol gets a suspicious letter from a family member that she never knew existed, things get a little interesting. I loved Bristol from the start. I was pulled into her story and needed to know all the things. We are given little breadcrumbs of information that I just needed to understand. I did not want to put the book down. I cannot wait to read more in this series. I did enjoy the romance and the bit of spice. I also adored the friendships. The narration was great. Thank you to Macmillan Audio for the audio arc in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Flatiron Books for providing me with an advanced audio copy of this book!

After I finished this audiobook, I had to sit with it for a couple of days before I could even begin to get my thoughts together. Even still, I don't know how to describe this book or how it made me feel, but here goes...

"The Courting of Bristol Keats" is a story about an orphaned girl in her early 20s who works to support her two sisters. After receiving letters from an estranged aunt requesting they meet, Bristol gets dragged into the Faerie world, where everything from the rules to the passage of time is different from the small town she grew up in. While there, Bristol learns much about her heritage and her abilities while growing closer to the brooding king, Tyghan. But there are still many secrets she does not know that could change everything.

I wanted so badly to enjoy this book. The premise sounded incredible, the cover was stunning, and I loved the audio narration. But unfortunately, this story fell flat to me. This book was over 500 pages long, yet I felt that not enough happened plot-wise. There were a lot of filler moments that made the story drag and it left off at a confusing place. It felt like Pearson had written a full book and was told to cut it in half and make two parts. This book didn't feel complete in nearly any way.

I don't normally say this, but the romance was one of the few things that saved this book for me. I thought it developed in a familiar and relatable way and I loved Tyghan. The pining was unmatched and I couldn't wait for the big reveal in the end but by the time we got there, I found it way too anticlimactic. They forgave each other way too easily.

At this point, I still have faith that the author will redeem herself in the second book because I love Mary E. Pearson's writing. I give this book a 3/5 stars

Bristol and her sisters lost their parents and are trying to survive on their own. They start to receive letters from an aunt who is promising she can help them. The problem is, they’ve never heard of this aunt. After deciding to meet, Bristol’s world is turned upside down and she realizes nothing is what she thought it was and her dad might be alive still after being kidnapped by creatures from another world. Desperate to find out if her father is still alive and to see if she can save him, she travels to another realm where she makes a bargain with Tyghan, the fae king. He’s tangled in their mess and also has reason to find her father.

This was such a fun read! I really enjoyed Bristol’s character and the journey to find her father. The slow burn was much appreciated, it was actually slow! The dancing scenes were so sweet. I really enjoyed this story!

The audiobook narrator did a great job, I really enjoyed the portrayal of the characters for the chapters that I listened!

Thank you so much to Netgalley, Mary E. Pearson, and Macmillan Audio for providing this free ARC. This is my honest review. This published on November 12th.

The moment I began The Courting of Bristol Keats I was getting Holly Black’s Elfhame vibes! I’m starting this review with recommending this to any Folk of the Air fans! But this is an adult Elfhame in which we get some incredible romantic tension and spice!

Bristol suffers from family secrets and suppressed magic. She enters Elfhame having made a bargain to help them if they help her, but she doesn’t realize that not everything she’s heard of fae is true. I really enjoyed the constant irony of the story through multi-POVs. While knowing the secrets of each party might seem spoilery, it really upped the anticipation of converging truths coming to a head. I also found the POVs of inanimate objects, locations, and beasties to be so fun and unique!

I enjoyed the found family, training, and reluctant allies tropes. I felt the romance was the perfect amount of tense and spicy without anything too gratuitous. I did not expect the ending to be a cliffhanger though! Now I have to be patient while waiting for the next book! In the end, this was five stars for me!

When your comp titles are are The Cruel Prince & ACOTAR, of course I have high expectations for the first in this new adult duology. This lived up to most of them. I need the next one ASAP.

4.5 ⭐

Mary E Pearson's writing is so fluid and enjoyable to read. The Courting of Bristol Keats is the first in a duology filled with magic, fae, danger and mystery. Bristol, our FMC, lives in a tiny town with her sisters after the loss of her parents. Struggling to survive, she receives another message from an estranged aunt to meet with her. Out of desperation she goes to meet only to help secure money for her sisters.

Bristol being an intelligent main character made her shine to me. Despite being new to the world, she seemed realistic and quick to catch onto the scheming of the fae. She really shone in her interactions with Tyghan. I love how their relationship started as enemies to his intrigue getting the better of him to start to want her. I wish this was a bit more slow burn, but the spice was a good addition.

Points only taken off because of the ending. It felt too abrupt. I'm hoping the next one picks up directly where the first left off.

📙 Betrayals and secrets
📙 Reluctant allies
📙 Enemies to lovers
📙 He falls first and falls harder
📙 Forbidden love
📙 Hidden powers
📙 Court intrigue/politics

Thank you to NetGalley and Flatiron Books for an eARC & ALC of The Courting of Bristol Keats by Mary E Pearson in exchange for my honest review!
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Bristol Keats was a slump breaker for me. Fast paced, unique and fun -- I loved this book so much. I highly recommend to fans of fantasy romance who are looking for a fresh new world.

i wanted to love this book, since i've enjoyed previous books by mary e. pearson. however, i found the world-building a little confusing, and it ended up feeling too long.

I loved The Remnant Chronicles by Mary E Pearson, so I was really looking forward to her adult debut!! Unfortunately, this was a major flop for me. The writing / audio was super clunky and hard to follow. I found myself having to go back and relisten to chapters all over again because I missed things. I feel like a lot of character development and the action of the story happened off page. Characters would talk about things, but we wouldn't see it happen. Overall, it was a confusing and frustrating reading experience.

What a great book this was! Fast paced and kept me intrigued the whole time! Would definitely recommended to anyone looking for a great book to read.

The Courting of Bristol Keats was an adventurous story of an everyday girl traveling into an unknown land of fae and immortals. I enjoyed the journey Bristol goes on to learn the truth about her family's history. I do think, however, that it could have been cut down and made more concise since the reader was made aware of the dramatic irony of Bristol's parentage fairly early on. Also a little more yearning would have been nice instead of falling in love after only a few weeks. :)

I think this was my first fae book and I LOVED IT!!! The world building was amazing, the story continued to unfold and pull you in, then of course ends on a cliffhanger. The narration was so good and I loved the extra interview with the author and narrator. I cannot wait to see where the story will go.

I had such a fun time reading this book. It follows Bristol, who is trying to make ends meet for her sisters now that their parents are gone. She’s quickly drawn into a world of fae, who hope to discover whether she has a magic that could save their world. In exchange, she asks for help finding her missing father - without knowing how deep his connections to Elphame run.

I really liked Bristol as a main character and instantly felt her connection with the MMC. The magic was interesting and I loved all the perspectives we got to read from. I will definitely be picking up the sequel when it comes out!

I struggled to get into this book at first but once things got going, I really enjoyed it. I do echo the reviews that mentioned that the start was a bit confusing. I had to push through but it was worth it. The FMC was believable and likable. The magic system was interesting but also not too difficult to understand. I’ll definitely read the next one!

I thought this was very good and I will have to add this to the shop shelves. Thank you for the chance for us to review.

I loved this and it feels like it's been a hot minute since I've read and enjoyed a book with this much hype around it. The only reason I went with 4 stars rather than 5 was that there were times I wish Bristol displayed more consistancy in her moods and actions.

I loved the tension and pull between Tyghan's past with *other characters* and his current association with Bristol. It was a bit weird to have those prior associations in play, but it didn't creep me out like I thought it might. The time shift between the two worlds threw me off for a bit, but after the time changes in each world respectively were confirmed everything in that regard was smooth sailing for me.

I am eagerly awaiting the second half of this duology. Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to the opportunity to read and review this book.

🧚🏻‍♀️𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑪𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒇 𝑩𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒍 𝑲𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒔🧌

🌺Dangerous Fae
🌺Dark Secrets
🌺Addictive Romance
🌺Intricate World Building (and easy to follow)
🌺Well Developed Characters

& possibly most important, it’s a fantasy read that’s easy to digest in audio narration format!! I always struggle with finding fantasy’s that I can follow on audio normally due to complex world building but this book was easy to follow and understand! Loved the audio!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Special editions from Fairyloot, Waterstones, and the US version!

Quick synopsis:
‘After losing both of their parents, Bristol Keats and her sisters struggle to stay afloat in their small, quiet town of Bowskeep. When Bristol begins to receive letters from an aunt she’s never heard of who promises she can help, she reluctantly agrees to meet―and discovers that everything she thought she knew about her family is a lie. Her father might even still be alive, not killed but kidnapped by terrifying creatures and taken to a whole other realm―the one he is from.

Desperate to save her father and find the truth, Bristol journeys to a land of gods and fae and monsters. Pulled into a dangerous world of magic and intrigue, she makes a deadly bargain with a fae leader, Tyghan. But what she doesn’t know is that he’s the one who drove her parents to live a life on the run. And he is just as determined as she is to find her father―dead or alive.’

I really enjoyed The Courting of Bristol Keats—it's honestly one of my favorite books from NetGalley in a long time! It had everything I was hoping for: magical vibes, a touch of fantasy, and a really engaging romance. The mix of self-discovery and the enchanting world made it a perfect read for me. I loved how the story weaved in emotional depth alongside all the magic, and the romance was so sweet. If you're into stories with that magical feel, this one's definitely worth checking out!

I loved this book and the unique premise, strange world building and lovely prose. The details were spot on in their description and the writing didnt feel either flashy or too simplistic. It was balanced and described the characters and the setting very well for my tastes. I enjoyed the romantasy themes and am anxious after tht cliffhanger to see what is in store for us in the next book!