The Courting of Bristol Keats was one of those books to sneak up on me. It’s a chunky book, so I was a little intimidated, but as soon as I was in, I was hooked! This romantic fantasy is a story about lies and sacrifice. I cannot wait for book two! Keep reading this book review of The Courting of Bristol Keats for my full thoughts.
Summary
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.
Review
(Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)
The Courting of Bristol Keats is a book that begins and ends with sacrifice. It begins with Bristol’s sacrifices for her family. All the saving, the protecting, the little compromises she has to make. And it ends asking us what we would give up for the truth. She wants to save her father, but the more she finds out the more she realizes she doesn’t know. It’s an expansive story which is unhurried as Pearson details the world. We, like Bristol, are inexperienced and need to figure out who we can trust. And who is lying to us. The Courting of Bristol Keats also explores manipulation and love.
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If we love someone else, will someone use those feelings against us? To control us? So often we can feel like we are being controlled. But do we enter into cages of our own making? The Courting of Bristol Keats is lush, atmospheric, and swoony. It asks us who we will become when the world, our family, our loved ones, demand us to be what they want. Layers upon layers of wrongs done unto each other. There are no easy answers in these cycles of violence that we cannot escape. That we have to choose to live within. Until we don’t. The narration from Brittany Pressley was atmospheric and we can really hear Bristol’s internal debates. The strength of her dilemmas.
While the ending felt a little abrupt, I am so ready for book two! It’s a story that doesn’t shy away from the complications of the wrongs and pasts we inherit from our family. Find The Courting of Bristol Keats on Goodreads, Storygraph, Amazon, Bookshop.org, Blackwells, & Libro. fm.