Review: A Harvest of Hearts

Poet and novelist Andrea Eames (The White Shadow) writes across genres and age groups, and A Harvest of Hearts is her first foray into cozy fantasy. Readers are sure to be hooked--snagged, even, like the victims of the sorceresses in this novel.

"They said that magic, real magic... could only be performed in exchange for a human heart," and the beautiful sorceresses that visit Foss Butcher's sleepy village on the outskirts of the kingdom come with the intention to steal bits of people's hearts in exchange for the magic that is supposed to keep the kingdom safe. Despite their beauty and glamour, they remind Foss too much of everything that she is not, and so she is more resistant to being "snagged" (having her heart stolen) and unsympathetic to those who find themselves in that position.

Foss mainly spends time working with her Da in his butcher shop, and trying not to dwell too much on how she might be cursed as a result of her mother's death in childbirth. But one day a sorcerer appears--the first time that anyone in her village has seen a male magic-worker--and suddenly Foss finds herself in a position that she never thought she'd be in when he accidentally snags her heart. Angrily, she follows him to the city in the hopes of getting him to restore it. To prevent the distance from him from destroying her, she becomes his housekeeper in his magical house. In the process, she befriends his talking cat and stumbles upon secrets about the kingdom she could have never dreamed of. As Foss, the sorcerer Sylvester, and Cornelius the cat untangle the twisted web of magic and misbegotten deeds in the kingdom, they have to decide what they will ultimately do with that information as they struggle to answer the questions: Is it possible to mend a broken heart? And how much change can hearts withstand?

Eames's earnest worldbuilding and engaging, sympathetic characters will charm readers and cocoon them for a little while. Foss's blunt honesty and rugged stubbornness bring a delightful frankness to the usual soft edges of the cozy fantasy genre. Eames's story has echoes of different fairy-tale retellings, notably "Beauty and the Beast," but in a wholly refreshing way that does not feel derivative. A Harvest of Hearts is a welcome addition to the fantasy landscape: comforting but with a bit of a bite. --Michelle Anya Anjirbag, freelance reviewer

Shelf Talker: Andrea Eames breaks into the cozy fantasy genre with an intriguing tale that readers will simply devour.

Powered by: Xtenit