I received this book for free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
A Harvest of Hearts by Andrea Eames Series: Standalone
Published by Kensington Publishing on 2025 February 18
Genres: Fantasy, Paranormal
Pages: 464
Format: E-Arc
Source: Netgalley
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In the beloved tradition of Howl’s Moving Castle, a whimsical and unforgettable story of fantastic adventure, common sense, and the power of love to overcome the greatest of obstacles . . .
Before Foss Butcher was Snagged, she thought no more of the magic-users than did anyone else in her tiny village. Sometimes gorgeous women in impossible carriages rolled into town and took bits of people’s hearts. Everyone knew hearts fueled their magic. But Foss, plain, clumsy, and practical as a boot, never expected anyone would want hers.
True enough, when the only sorcerer in the kingdom stepped from his glossy carriage, he didn’t intend to hook Foss. Sylvester’s riot of black curls and perfectly etched cheekbones caught her eye a moment too long, that was all. Suddenly, Foss is cursed and finds herself stomping toward the grand City to keep his enchanted House, where her only friend is a talking cat and the walls themselves have moods.
But as Foss learns the ways of magic, she realizes she’s far from its only unwilling captive. Even Sylvester is hemmed in by spells and threats. It’s said this sorcery protects king, country, and order for thousands. If Foss wants to free herself—and, perhaps, Sylvester—she’ll have to confront it all . . . and uncover the blight nestled in the heart of the kingdom itself.
Unlike the other reviewers who picked this book due to it being inspired by Howl’s Moving Castle, I requested Harvest of Hearts from Netgalley because I fell in love with the cover and the premise was interesting. Stories about a new take on magical system is usually a go for me. What Harvest of Hearts is offering is definitely right up my alley. And now that I am writing this review, I am happy to report that it totally stayed true to its mission.
A Harvest of Hearts revolves around the life of our heroine, Foss Butcher, a country bumpkin whose desires are so simple: to be wanted and loved. She’s quite contented working in the butcher shop her father owned and her usual interests are centered around the sorceresses that visit their small village from time to time. Though apprehensive of the sorceresses in general, Foss is not beyond admiring the ethereal beauty of such dangerous creatures. There’s also the complacency that she’s beyond the grasp of these sorceresses’ enthralling charisma as it’s usually the males who gets victimized and eventually, harvested. Yes, you read that right. Human hearts are literally harvested by these crafty creatures to fuel their magic, magic necessary to protect the kingdom from invading armies, to lessen infant mortality, starvation, etc. So despite the gruesomeness of getting harvested, the people of the Kingdom views the whole thing as somewhat unnaturally normal if there’s ever such a term. Foss is also critical of the whole system but is not actively doing anything whenever she knows of someone getting snagged/harvested. Her life was normal until a male sorcerer (which was unusual) visited their village and accidentally enchanted her. And thus, Foss’ ordinary life got turned upside down.
While Foss is not much of likeable character (her relentless internal monologue about being ugly and fat is suffocating), A Harvest of Hearts is not without a lot of merits. The prose is perfect, it’s whimsy and lyrical that it’s easy to just lie in bed and soak up all the coziness the book has to offer. The magical system was fresh and easy to wrap my mind around. The feudalish world building was definitely stirring, it’s no wonder it’s easy to get lost in the world Eames has created. And of course, there is the magical house that seems to provide for everything. Can I live there because I’m going to eat all the meat that I want? And who would ever forget Cornelius the boss? I’m so glad that he was spared. I also liked our male protagonist, Sylvester, by the way. Although the page time is mostly focused on Foss, I cannot discount the fact that Sylvester has undergone more character development than our heroine.
Honestly, this book is almost perfect; it’s a beautifully written fantasy novel set in a quaint Kingdom with lots of interesting characters and magical system that is both gory and fascinating. It’s only pitfall is that it chose Foss to be its leading character. I’m just so fed up with her constant woes about herself when there are bigger things to worry about. Yes, I understand where she’s coming from (I’m a fat and average looking person myself) but can you still think about your ugliness when your heart is missing and your about to die? Lady, what is your priority here?
Summing it all up, despite the glaring flaws, A Harvest of Hearts still made for an entertaining read as its lovable traits are more than enough to compensate for its exasperating heroine. Highly recommend to all fantasy fans out there.