I am absolutely BLOWN AWAY. One of my top favorite books of the year. I loved Bristol as a character, and the world that Pearson created is intriguing and well written. If you’re looking for a romantasy filled with faes and monsters, here ya go. Look no further. I found myself hoping the story would never end and I'm distraught that we have an undisclosed wait for the next one.

The narrator of this book must’ve worked OVERTIME because this is one of the best narrations I’ve ever had the pleasure of listening to. All the voices and accents were so good.

I really enjoyed The Courting of Bristol Keats, and the audiobook version made the experience even better! The narrator, Brittany Pressley, did an amazing job on this audiobook. Her voice was so pleasant, and she really nailed all the different characters. I’d honestly listen to more books just because of her narration.

As for the story, I loved the premise. Bristol’s journey to uncover the truth about the deaths of her parents and dive into a world of fae, gods, and magic was such a fun ride. There are some wild twists along the way, including some jaw dropping family secrets, and people not being who they have claimed to be. The romance never felt too over the top. There are even a few mild spicy scenes! The story blends fantasy and intrigue really well without being overwhelming, and the way it all ends? I literally thought I was missing a chapter because the cliffhanger left me so shocked!

If you’re into romantasy with some dark twists and plenty of character growth, this is definitely one to check out. I’m already excited to dive into the next book!

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for sending this ALC for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

I have some mixed feelings about this fantasy romance book 1 in the series. I found the world building to be lacking in the beginning half of the book, and then once it “clicked” I had to re-engage myself in the story. I also found myself getting confused between characters and not really loving any of them as much as I wanted to. Ultimately it was an engaging and enjoyable audiobook but I’m not 100% sold on whether I’ll pick up the next book in the series.

The Courting of Bristol Keats by Mary E. Pearson was one of the most enjoyable romantasy reads in recent history.

Pearson has created a very immersive universe. I was dragged into this world and I did not want to leave! I loved so many of the characters, including the main character, Bristol.

All aspects of this book were amazing. I loved the characters. I loved the universe. I loved the romance. I loved the plot. There were multiple different plots that were woven into one another well. It was intriguing, and not overwhelming.

I will be reading the next book ASAP and will be buying a physical copy.

I thoroughly enjoyed the audiobook though. The narrator did an AMAZING job!

I wanted so much to like this book as I have enjoyed other books by this author, but I guess I failed to adjust my expectations going into this when it was announced as an adult fantasy that the content from Pearson's previous books would be widely changed in this one. It was not what I expected with multiple "F" words used often and more moderate swearing in general. Add to that, there were multiple open-door scenes and a lot of what felt to me more lusty moments than a true romance. It's not my personal content level and I skipped what I could, but I just can't recommend it due to my own personal preferences. There is also a prominent LGBTQ character and that story line made me uncomfortable.
I listened to the audiobook and while the narrator wasn't bad, I had a really hard time keeping up with all the different POVs with the single narrator. It was often difficult to know whose perspective the chapter or section was in and I'm not entirely sure how many POVs were actually in the story.
I am giving it three stars because I was pulled in by the plot and the world Pearson was building. I wanted to know what was going to happen and what would be revealed next which is why I read what I read, but at the end of the day, it just didn't work for me personally due to the content which was disappointing.
I received an advance listening copy of this novel from Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you for the ALC! As a warning, there are vague spoilers at the end of this review for the end of the book.

The narration of this book is what really made me enjoy it more than I probably would have if read. The voice acting was amazing, never had any trouble knowing who was talking and really got me into the story.

Overall I enjoy a good portal sort of story where someone discovers a new world from our urban society. I was also into romance and did enjoy the characters, their banter and the way the story was moving. The jumping different sort of POV (being third person) did sometimes throw me off because it did not just follow specific characters.

It is the end of the book that makes me struggle to give the book 4 stars (and only that much because of the excellent narrator) but truly it’s 3.5 at least for me. The book IS called Courting of Bristol Keats and I suppose there is a lot of Courting and relationship growth but the end is lackluster. It felt like once we realize it is over, it did drag and should have had just finished the book with one big climax or at least had more. There is no build up or climatic end. I wouldn’t call it a nail biting cliffhanger but definitely left with “where’s the rest?”

I’ll read the next book, but definitely wish we had some kind of wrap to all the training and planning in this one for something.

Thank you to Flatiron Books, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for the ALC copy in exchange for an honest review!

Summary: This is an upcoming romantic fantasy written by Mary E. Pearson. The story begins in the town of Bowskeep, where FMC Bristol and her sisters are struggling to get by. Little do they know that everything they thought they knew about their parents and about their world is about to change. Follow Bristol as she navigates an unfamiliar land, desperate to find her family and discover the truth.

Review: I listened to the audiobook version of The Courting of Bristol Keats, so I'll speak about the narration first. I thought this was an absolutely fantastic narration by Brittany Pressley, so much so that she'll likely be a narrator I specifically seek out in order to listen to books she has voiced. Although the book is narrated by Brittany alone, she uses different voices for each character and I had no trouble following conversations or determining which character was speaking. The accents and voices used were not jarring to the ears at all. The pacing was good (I listened at 1.2x speed) and pronunciations were enunciated well. Overall, this was easily a 5-star listening experience.

As for the story, I found it enjoyable. It is definitely more heavily focuses on character development rather than world building, but I found the world building sufficient enough to be able to follow the story. I found the pacing of the story to be decent and I didn't find myself getting bored or losing interest as I read. I found the characters to be likeable and relatable, particularly in the first half of the book, but I didn't find myself falling in love with the characters. I did find the ending of the book to be somewhat abrupt, as if the story just stopped. There are a lot of questions left unanswered, so I'll be looking forward to reading the next book to hopefully find out some answers!

Rating: audio narration- 5 stars. Story- 4 stars. I found the characters to be a bit less relatable in the second half of the book, particularly Bristol and Tyghan, who both make some questionable choices towards the end of the book. That said, those choices are likely part of their character arcs that will see more development in the sequel.

Thanks Macmillan for providing me an ALC! The audio quality and narrator are great! I DNF’d at 53% as I couldn’t get into the story.

I'm torn between 3 and 3.5 stars. I listened to the audiobook and absolutely loved the narration! The narrator was one of the biggest reasons why I kept listening. She was able to emulate the different characters so well, and provided emphasis and depth at the perfect moments that really sucked me into those tense moments.

For the story itself, I really loved the alternate reality that lies hidden next to the "normal" world. However, this story was 1) far too long, 2) was very repetitive, and 3) didn't give us much in the end. I found myself getting irritated because the character descriptions were very few and far between. I struggled to picture what the characters looked like, and that causes me to get thrown out of a story super fast. Despite how thick this book is (560 pages), the ending left us on such a massive and very unsatisfying cliffhanger too.

Overall, not my jam. However, if you're a romantasy fan that likes it heavier on the romance and less on the fantasy, I would say this would be a great one to pick up!

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the advance copy of this audiobook.

This was my first read by this author. While I was excited for this book, I didn’t feel how I thought I would after I read it. Bristol has the opportunity to find her dad whom she and her sisters was thought dead. In turn she strikes a bargain/deal to go to the fae realm and find answers about her dad but also ends up learning a lot more about her family in the process. The romance I felt was more insta. I thought it was a bit too long. It needed more character descriptions. The ending felt like it was cut off mid chapter. I might be back for the next one.

Narration by Brittany Pressley did a great job with all of the different voice acting for the characters.

I received this audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this unbiased review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

This book didn't do it for me. As the first in a series, I hope the holes in this story will be filled in the next book with all the material lacking here.

There were never enough details, enough fleshing out of anything. Bristol just accepted all the weirdness of the fae world, the "monsters", and all the beings she never knew existed, as well as their societal rules, while the reader is left wanting more information on this alternate world. How her sisters were surviving without her was never touched upon, and I found myself growing more and more irritated. It took way too long for anyone to look closely at her to figure out why she was failing so spectacularly despite her parentage and the special abilities she allegedly had. And that, too, was not addressed well enough. Nor was she given any guidance with her magic.

Like I said, it wasn't for me. And there probably wasn't enough framework to make me read the next book.

Does Mary E. Pearson ever write anything bad?
The answer to that question is no.

I have read, The Dance of Thieves, The Remnant Chronicles, and now this and I am officially a fan for life! From the first page she weaves a world with her words that enraptures your every interest just begging you to read more.

Thank you to MacMillian Audio and NetGalley for the audio ARC of The Courting of Bristol Keats by Mary E. Pearson.

I LOVE Mary E. Pearson. I think she is a fantastic author, and her Remnant Chronicles series and Dance of Thieves duology are creative inputs into the fantasy genre - creating a fascinating far dystopian future that has basically reset the timeline to feel medieval. I was a bit surprised to see The Courting of Bristol Keats appear as a fae romantasy, but I think it's exciting she's branching out to other parts of the genre and flexing her skills. I truly wanted to love everything about this book because I think she's so fantastic, but parts of it really felt like a miss for me -- or -- maybe -- this first book is just about so much setting building that the later books in the series will contain more action and momentum and this one was just to set the stage.

I think I would give this 3.5 stars, but am rounding to 4 here because I know how strong a writer Pearson is, and I have faith things will make more sense in later books.

I love that Bristol and her sisters are regular 21st century young women who, following the death of both of their parents, learn about the fae world from a long lost aunt who uses their dire financial situation to entice Bristol to join their world to see if she might have a hidden skillset to save it. Bristol is apprehensive of all of this, until another fae informs her her father may still be alive. Hoping to rescue him, Bristol makes the bargain to help in exchange for help finding her father.

From there, I think the story struggled to figure out which plots it wanted to use. It also at first seemed like it was supposed to be limited to two weeks to check if she had this hidden skill, but it felt like every time we reengaged with Bristol more days or weeks had passed and that timeline never came. Was Bristol trying to save her father? Was Bristol trying to save the kingdom? Was Bristol there to fall in love? Was Bristol there to train to be a knight? It never felt like she really focused on any of them with enough depth for progress to be made - though, if I had to pick one, I'd say she spent about 75% of the time just thinking about Tyghan. Was Tyghan wanting Bristol to be the answer to saving the kingdom? was he ready to use the hostage plot at any point? Was any of this actually about his brother? Or his injury? Or revenge? When the plot forces some of that progress in these arenas, it felt like the magic system and the dangers within were deliberately kept for "a-ha" moments, but instead they just caused more confusion in determining character motivations. The layers of duplicity in those around Bristol was also unimaginably complex - an entire kingdom, her family, the townspeople, etc. Some of the secrets kept from her by her family seemed so confusing - like if they didn't know about the fae why did a certain secret exist (trying not to spoil here, but I struggled with this part)? Or it seemed odd that Bristol wouldn't notice certain things changing about herself, especially when it seems to alter her abilities. I don't know - it's hard to write out the parts that tripped me up without ruining the story for others. Basically, it seemed like we were given a lot of puzzle pieces, but maybe they were from different puzzles and didn't fit together, and then maybe also half of them were missing.

I also love a good spicy book, but the sex scenes in this story felt forced and like they were out of Pearson's comfort level. They were thrown into scenes where they weren't needed in ways that seemed to cheapen the seriousness of some of the conversations and actions happening around the characters. This would be a great fantasy read with a strong romance and without the sex scenes - I feel like it was just forced in because that's what romantasy readers want right now.

I did also struggle a bit with character hypocrisy - like Tyghan accusing Bristol of taking risks at a party when, in the moment, everyone knew she had no other choice. I think sometimes arguments or plots were pulled from previous scenes even if they had no bearing on the reality of that scene. Bristol managed a lot of whiplash from multiple characters, and I wish she spent more time reflecting on the big picture to help herself more.

The audio of this book was great - Brittany Pressley does an amazing job! She's got accents for all over the mortal world and all types of fae creatures, and she adds mystery and emphasis where needed. I really enjoyed listening to the book through her.

WTF Mary E Pearson!?!? You draw me into this world and characters and just leave me HANGING!?!? That's cold, so.cold. The book had similar notes to Nora Roberts Dragon Heart Trilogy, but more believable. I cannot wait to see what Bristol evolves into, and what comes of her family. Also, to see what happens with the kings sister... she sketchy as all get out, but also are his guards. I need the 2nd book STAT!

Thank you for the advanced listening copy. I’m a big fan of fantasy/romance so this was on my TBR as soon as I heard about it. Brittany Pressly is a great narrator too. She was a good choice for this book.
Overall the book wasn’t quite what I was hoping for. I liked Bristol well enough, I liked her bond with her sisters most. I found the story fairly predictable and the characters weren’t special enough to get me really invested. I think maybe if I hadn’t read so many similar books recently I would have enjoyed this more.

✨ALC Review✨
Wow. I’ve just realized I’ve been on a romantasy kick of late. If that’s not your jam, not to worry: I’m reading and listening to two plain ol’ contemporary romances at the moment.

But back to this book! It’s so good!Bristol Keats and her two sisters have been struggling since their mother went missing and was later found dead. Then a few months later, their father was hit by a car and died. A mysterious aunt they didn’t know about wants to meet with Bristol to give her some art. They’re wary, but Bristol is practical and they need money that this art could provide.

She goes to meet this aunt and instead discovers that fae are real and at least one of them is a giant, gorgeous jerk. It’s kind of a long story, but she ends up going to the fae lands where she uncovers mysteries regarding her family. And falls in love with a giant, gorgeous jerk who is also a king.

So much going on here. There’s discovery of self, adventure, love, villainous plots, and more. @britpressley does a fantabulous job of solo narration for this vast array of characters. I do recommend listening to it.

It’s a great first book because please note it does end on a cliffhanger albeit an unusual one.

Thank you to #netgalley and @MacmillanAudio for the ALC. All thoughts are mine alone.

#romance #romancebooks #romantasy #fantasybooks #alc #audiobooks #narrators #voiceacting #bookreview #bookrecs #bookstagram

I am obsessed for many reasons,and all of them are Bristol. I fell in love with her as a character and the world just spun around her in a perfect arch ... the story unfolded in a believable and tragic way. Also the narrator? Killed it

The Courting of Bristol Keats was a nice surprise with some great twists that you uncovered along with our main FMC. Characters that make morally ambiguous choices - love that. I am still thinking about some of the twists that happened and I am eager for the second book.

Narrated by Brittany Pressley who did a great job with the tones of the different characters which helped me as the book is told in the third person so helped me keep track of which character was speaking.

I received an audio review copy via NetGalley / Macmillan Audio and these thoughts are entirely my own. This book is due to be published on November 12, 2024!

Spice level:🌶️🌶️.5/4

Bristol has two sisters; their mother is missing and their father is dead. They have moved a lot, never staying longer than a month or two before coming to Bowskeep. Then, Bristol finds out that her father might still be alive, taken by dangerous fae. Tyghan, a leader in the fae realm, convinces Bristol into an agreement in exchange for helping look for her father.

I thoroughly enjoyed this. If you enjoyed Holly Black's Folk of the Air series but wanted it to skew a little more mature, that's where I think The Courting of Bristol Keats lands (if you are looking for ACOTAR, that's further on the side scale). Pearson writes an immersive Elfhame, but it never feels like an info dump. Given the number of plot lines, I can see that this has been set up as a series (it is) so do not expect this novel to resolve tidily. Brittany Pressley does a wonderful job narrating (and always bonus points from me when you properly pronounce Samhain). I'm excited to read the next entry in this series!

Thank you to Macmillian Audio for an ALC on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. This book is due to be published 11/12/24. I’ll be posting on instagram closer to publication.

I think this author is just not for me. This is my second book by her this year (the first being the first in the Remnant Chronicles) and I just didn't enjoy it. Or rather, I was having a good time until the couple got together. Maybe I just don't care for the romances she writes. It got very boring and eye-roll-worthy after that because a) it became the only thing the plot was about, and not in a good way, and b) I didn't buy it. I didn't get much chemistry between them before they went from 0 to 100, and where's the fun in that? Alongside that, the worldbuilding was not easy to follow. I still have a lot of questions about this world and the characters. And the ending was just ... so unsatisfying. I don't think I'll be looking for the sequel.