The Courting of Bristol Keats
Book 1
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4.0 • 6 Ratings
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
From internationally bestselling author Mary E. Pearson, The Courting of Bristol Keats is the first book in her debut adult fantasy series, filled with forbidden romance, deadly faerie curses and pulse-pounding action.
'Mary E. Pearson is the new queen of faerie' - Stephanie Garber, bestselling author of Once Upon a Broken Heart
*Content Advice: This book is an adult romance novel containing mature themes and explicit content. Not suitable for younger readers.*
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 to help, she reluctantly agrees to meet her - and discovers that everything she thought she knew about her family is a lie. Her father might even still be alive, not killed but kidnapped by terrifying creatures and taken to another realm - the one he is from.
Desperate to save her father and find the truth, Bristol journeys to a land of gods, 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 . . .
A heart-wrenching love story that spans worlds and decades, The Courting of Bristol Keats by Mary E. Pearson explores second chances - the ones we are denied and the ones we refuse to give - and the lines we cross that may never be forgiven.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
The popularity of fantasy romance has increased with almost magical speed, opening up new worlds for readers. The Courting of Bristol Keats, as the first adult novel from bestselling YA author Mary E. Pearson, is a much-anticipated addition to the genre. Bristol and her sisters believe they have been orphaned and are working hard to support one another. The offer of an expensive artwork from an unknown aunt proves too tempting for Bristol and she finds herself pulled into the fairy realm of Elphame. The inhabitants of the fae world are interesting, varied and add much to the setting, but the real draw is Tyghan, a brooding fairy leader who has had his kingship thrust upon him. The sparks between Tyghan and Bristol are pleasingly slow to ignite, but create plenty of heat once lit. Pearson clearly knows her fairy lore and bases much of Elphame on Celtic mythologies, but the novel will also appeal to readers interested in family dynamics and romance.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Peterson (Vow of Thieves) underwhelms in this overly long, paint-by-numbers fae romantasy, the first in a duology. After a lifetime on the run from their parents' unknown enemies, Bristol Keats and her sisters made a home in Bowskeep, but maintaining their run-down house has left them impoverished. With their mother and father dead, they have no hope for the future and no answers about their past, until a mysterious letter offers Bristol a rare piece of art belonging to her great-aunt. This, however, is actually a fae trick to make Bristol serve Tyghan, king of the Danu Nation. Tyghan and his court believe Bristol is bloodmarked and has the power "to navigate between worlds, to create portals, and to close them," a skill they need to defend themselves against King Kormick, whose own bloodmarked monster has supplied him with an inexhaustible army. Bristol agrees to serve Tyghan after learning that her father isn't dead after all—he's been taken by trows, a type of wild fairy. Unfortunately, the secrets Bristol discovers about her parentage puts her blossoming relationship with Tyghan into an unsettling context and sours the romance, which plays out as a checklist of tired romantasy tropes. There's little to make this stand out.
