A review by whenimreading
The Courting of Bristol Keats by Mary E. Pearson

slow-paced

3.0

I thought the synopsis and opening chapters of this book were really great. It reminded me of early 2000-10s fae fantasy and I enjoyed that bit of a throwback.

We meet Bristol and her sisters as they navigate life after their father’s death. Trying to make ends meet by selling his artwork and working minimum wage jobs. A mysterious aunt surfaces out of the blue and the news of her father being alive sets Bristol on a new path that’s quite literally out of her world. 

The audiobook narration by Brittany Pressley is what got me through this book. She delivers great voice and pitch changes, with fun accents thrown in, that make the story pleasing to the ear. 

I really liked the atmosphere of the book overall, it had many fantasy aspects I like, as well as good world building…

However, for the most part the pacing didn’t work for me and made the book a huge drag. There was a lot of filler in a sense that Bristol joins what’s basically a fae school. It leans very heavy YA with some minor adult content thrown in, an insta-love relationship, and just not enough character development. 

Truth is, not a whole lot happens in the plot. There was a great scene around the 50-60% mark that had some tension and action, but other than telling us “fae world = big bad scary” - it doesn’t show any of it. This book should have been much shorter and concise, with a better climax or juicer cliffhanger to set up the next story. I wish there were flashback scenes of the parents, instead of some of these random POVs, I think the book would have benefited from that extra history. 

Ultimately, this was a bit average for me but it has interesting potential to become a series. 

Thanks to Macmillan Audio for the audiobook to review.