Loved the narrator, didn’t care for the story. I couldn’t connect with the FMC and didn’t necessarily care about what was going to happen with her. Interesting premise thougb

ARC provided by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Heartbreakingly beautiful.

Eames thoughtfully melds cozy fantasy with something darker.

The book see’s Foss, a butchers daughter, tangled with Sylvester, a sorcerer who trusts his house a little bit too much, and a talking cat, who stole the book.

Writing:

Simply put, Eames writes beautifully.

She skilfully weaves whimsy with deeper meanings, capturing the readers attention and keeping it, as you try to anticipate what happens next.

The pacing suits the whimsy of the story, which sees the characters just existing for a part of the story. The pace picks up well as the story develops and certain elements of whimsy are lost as the story gets darker.

Character:

Reminiscent of Howl and Sophie, Sylvester and Foss are both flawed individuals and Eames took care to explore their flaws.

The relationship between Sylvester and Foss builds slowly, with hints seen throughout. In the context of the story, I think the pace of the relationship made sense, although in any other book I would be questioning the build.

Like many before me, I was drawn in by the phrase “talking cat” and let me say, it does not disappoint. Cornelius was absolutely perfect.

Issues discussed:

This book discusses issues including parental loss (off page), self esteem, bullying (past), and manipulation. It has never been more obvious that an author has put in the effort of using a sensitivity reader to make sure that these topics are given the care they need.

I have read many books where the main characters are almost unrealistically beautiful and it is a breath of fresh air when the main character isn’t. I’m sure that there are a lot of people, myself included, who can relate to Foss, who is for all intents and purposes, an average person who despite her doubts remains strong throughout.

Narration:

Jessie Elland nailed the narration. The voices were nice and distinct, with none of the awkwardness that you sometimes get when a female narrator uses a male voice, and visa versa

A Harvest of Hearts includes a FMC with a macabre connection to a sorcerer, a magical house, and a talking cat. I enjoyed the beginning of this book, but I lost interest before the halfway point and never seemed to reconnect with the characters or the pacing. I did enjoy the narrator Jessie Elland and would absolutely listen to future narrations by her.

I received an ARC and ALC from Kensington Publishing | Erewhon Books and RBmedia | Recorded Books via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really thought I was going to love this one. It was off to a rough start but once we got the the main characters together, not to mention the talking cat, I started to enjoy myself. Sadly, the MMC failed to present a personality. Romance fell flat. Plot meandered and by the end I lost interest.
Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy the narrator either. The accent she used annoyed me from the beginning. I got use to it somewhat, but the annoyance would come back, so it wasn't a good reading experience.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed the premise of Hearts being needed for "real" magic to occur. I especially liked the House and Cornelius. The sorcerer's sulking and Foss' constant habit of putting herself down got on my nerves. I like the narration. 4 stars.

firstly, thank you to the publisher for an arc and an alc!

while this was certainly heavily inspired by howl’s moving castle, this was neither cozy or whimsical for the most part — there are quite a lot of trigger warnings that should be emphasized, specifically the removal of bodily and cognitive autonomy through the process of “harvesting hearts”.

i found this harvesting of hearts to fuel magic to be rather original, but also the graphically gruesome descriptions of those divested of their hearts was simultaneously horrifying but interesting.

despite the darkness of this world and the magic, i really enjoyed this book, especially the cat companion cornelius 💗

as for the narrator, she did a fantastic job!

this was another book that i wouldn't have picked up by myself! i loved this book a lot more than i thought i was going too. i am so thankful that i was able to listen to it