Review of Harvest of Hearts by Andrea Eames

I received a free e-galley in exchange for an honest review

CW’s: Violence, death, some body horror, violence against children, children are involved in the body horror, lots of discussion around looks, talks of class/classicism, violence is based on socioeconomic status, abusive and manipulative family dynamics, one closed-door sex scene.

Contains spoilers

My Rating: 4.75

Right off the bat I liked the writing style. I felt like Eames did a really good job with the flow of the story. Nothing felt stilted or too juvenile. The book didn’t feel robotic or like there was too much exposition. There wasn’t this telling-not-showing element to it. But the language felt so effortlessly beautiful as I read it.

The magic system and plot were so unique. I loved the idea of hearts having to be used to make magic. I also loved the element of the Magic House as an extension of Sylvester. The magic felt like it had stakes, like it had sacrifice. Like something had to be given up in order ot have the magic. I felt like there was some real weight to the decisions made and that the conflict in the book, that drove the plot, felt real and well paced out. I felt Foss’ fear and dread, I felt her panic and her worry. I felt her father’s worry and the worry of the people around her. This felt like a real consequence of magic and it felt like something more realistic. That the poorer people on the outskirts of the kingdom were sacrificed for the prosperity of the elite closer to the center. It felt like it was an allegory for something real and it felt well thought out.

I also like the way Foss was portrayed, she was scared and confused but determined. She wasn’t dong what she was doing just for other people. She didn’t have to be this selfless person driven by just altruism. She’s allowed to do something that protects herself, she’s allowed to be scared for her own well being and she’s allowed to do things to save herself. Not only does she not need someone to save her, and she’s taking action to do it on her own, but she doesn’t need someone to save. Sure, she’s seeking out this problem that’s plagued her town for a long time, but she’s driven by her own feelings, her own peril.

And the way other people react to this, how other people think of this thing that’s happening, it feels…evocative. There is something in the complicity of the inner villages to this awful thing happening to the outer vilages that makes it worse. And it builds a male lead that isn’t a killer but takes parts of a person that are vital to someone feeling whole. The magic system works because it isn’t a source of all knowing power. Even with the magicks there’s no ultimate power. There’s an uncertainness to it that is just right. It’s not so uncertain that the magic system is unexplained, but it has a realistic sense of being hard to explain and there almost a physics element to it that I thought was really unique.

Also an animal companion? Amazing. I loved him.

I loved the way the victims’ are portrayed. They’re not helpless or hapless. They’re angry and sad and hurting and they’re allowed to me. They have stories of being victimized and being unable to stop it and they’re allowed to have different emotions. Different people have different amounts of their hearts taken, and there is this general attitude of the narrative that they’re all victims. I thought the way the other victims interacted with each other was very realistic. Some believed no matter how affected, everyone was valid, some who had their whole hearts taken dismissed Foss’ pain. And the narrative interrogates that.

I think there’s also an interesting element here of how ensorcellment impacts both sides, and the wildness of magic where Sylvester, the MMC, can’t control a lot of it. He doesn’t want to be what he is. But him being the only boy puts him in a position where he feels obligated. He doesn’t have humanity in the same way Foss does, and I think that was nicely done too. I think Foss’ struggles with what she feels for him, and her active attempts to figure out what is real and what is because of the spell she’s under was a really unique flip to it. The author acknowledges that part of it, and acknowledges that Foss’ predicament is in a gray area. She isn’t sure what is and isn’t real.

While you really see more development of the villains after the 45% mark, I think it was done really well. They felt like real motivations. They were taught that it was either their survival and the kingdom’s survival, or the hearts of a few. They were taught to sacrifice the few for the good of the many. That’s what makes a good villain, in my mind, that they have motivations thatm ake sense and that are almost understandable. Like I can see how the villains Darius, Clarissa, the other sisters, are convinced of their integrity and that what they’re doing is right. Sylvester has conflict that makes him an effective morally gray character. He loves his family who does wrong, but he desperately tries not to do the wrong they do. They’re convinced they’re in the right, that they’re superior and what they do is something that should earn them gratitude. It makes them more frightening.

I can’t say enough how much I love that Foss is so flawed. She’s angry and resentful. She’s described as “ugly” and that’s not something that has to be fixed. She’s mad that she’s ugly, yes, but she’s more so mad at the way the world treats her because of that. And her development because of that adds to her characterization in a few ways but without she still stands on her own. And when Foss is driven to kill, it impacts her, she experiences revulsion at it and her trauma feels real and grounded. She doesn’t have to be this beautiful bad ass.

I LOVED her relationship with her dad. It was adorable. He loved her so much and she loved him. He did what he could for her but stepped back when she needed him to. It meant a lot to see such a nice and loving dad in a fantasy book. I loved it.

Also, the slow burn?!? Sylvester and Foss? When he sees the foss flower and she calls it beautiful and he says that it fits her well?!? Like, way to make me kick my feet and sob at the same time. Oh my god. I love that stuff. I Eat. It. Up.

And the themes of how government/governing bodies control what their people know, understand, and how they view the world? And how easy it is to lie and change the narrative by limiting outside information? So well done.

And I don’t usually like sex scenes/love scenes in book. It just feels awkward and weird for me personally. But this one I loved and was written really well. It felt like the pay off was not only well built up to, but well suited to the characters and the story. And I couldn’t stop the whole, giggling, blushing, looking away, covering my mouth thing. I so rarely get that in books.

I was GRIPPED for the ending. And I loved it so much. I loved it.

Definitely a favorite.