ARC Review: The Courting of Bristol Keats (The Courting of Bristol Keats #1) by Mary Pearson

 

From NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author Mary E. Pearson comes a thrilling romantic fantasy full of dangerous fae, dark secrets, and addictive romance

After losing both 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. Even her father might still be alive, not killed but kidnapped by terrifying creatures 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 the fae king, 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.

Title: The Courting of Bristol Keats (The Courting of Bristol Keats #1)

Author: Mary E. Pearson

Publisher: Macmillan Audio
Expected Publication Date: November 19, 2024

Review:

Thank you to NetGalley, MacMillan Audio, and Flatiron Books for supplying me with an audio galley of this book to read and give my honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

It's been a long while since a read a fae book that truly captured my attention and kept it there. This is that book. I was not sure what I was expecting but it was not what Pearson gave me which is a book filled with magic, tension, romance, and mystery. While the story had many elements of fae fantasy I've read in the past, it still felt unique. It was complex and and compelling. At first I was expecting more of a teen fae romance book but that's not what I got. The characters are older, more mature, and there is definitely steam in this book which is open door but not spicy.

I really enjoyed the narrator of this book:  Brittany Pressley. This is the first time I can remember listening to anything by her and she is now on my list of favorites. She easily voiced all the different characters making them unique and easy to separate from each other. Often times with books that have a large cast of characters and only one narrator, I will get confused but with this book I did not. And her style reminded me of the narrator from Leigh Bardugo's books, who I absolutely love. Pressley pacing was perfect

Bristol and Tyghan are a great enemies to lovers/forbidden love story. There is so much tension and chemistry between them. Though at first I did feel it was a bit rushed on Tyghan's part since they barely know each other. You can feel that he definitely falls first. But then the slow burn and the lead up made up for it. Their interactions and banter are great in showing how the bond forms between them. Once you begin to see their budding romance, it doesn't feel rushed or even forced. They explore their connection outside of the bedroom, which I really enjoyed.

The plot of the book is similar to other books I've read: there's fighting in the fae world and the fae will use whatever means they can, including humans, to make sure they win that fight. But the mystery behind who Bristol is and who her parents are is what really makes the story for me. I will say I was confused at first by the time discrepancies. It's been so long since I read a fae book that I forgot time moves differently in that world than in the human world. So the ages of the characters didn't truly make sense to me until I was a little further along in the book. Pearson withholds things from the read and releases them in slow bits to keep the story moving forward, and this definitely kept me interested as I needed to know everything behind the mystery of Bristol and her parents. And the world building was done very well. Again, elements of fae stories are always pretty  consistent, but Pearson wove in some interesting differences in the animals she introduces and relationships between the characters. Plus, she really showed a strong female presence in the book.

The ending was a bit abrupt and definitely a cliffhanger leaving me wanting more. There wasn't much closure but I'm wondering if that is just to goad the reader into truly wanting the second book now, because I do! This and the fact that her sisters so easily accepted fae were my only complaints of the book. Though it did not effect my rating.

If you enjoy enemies to lovers, forbidden love, fae fantasy, time shifts/portals, slow burn romance, he falls first, and hidden magic, pick this one up! Don't expect from this what you got from Pearson's other books as Pearson steps away from the young adult/teen crowd in this story,. Lovers of The Cruel Prince series by Holly Black and even The Iron Fey by Julie Kagawa will enjoy Pearson's adult fantasy debut.

Author:

Mary E. Pearson is the NYT bestselling and award-winning author of eleven YA novels and one novella. Her works include the completed trilogy, The Remnant Chronicles, which in a starred review, Publisher’s Weekly called “masterfully crafted.” Her favorite activities as a child were climbing tall trees imagining she was a hero in some fantastical world, or running along fence tops and roofs pretending she was a spy with a bagful of amazing gadgets. She was rarely herself. Amazingly, she never broke a bone until she caught a basketball in gym class. Catching real balls was not her forte. These days she continues to live in make-believe worlds she creates in her books. Her latest 2-book series, Dance of Thieves, allows her do all kinds of dangerous things without breaking any bones. So far.
You can learn more about Mary and her books at www.marypearson.com