In the previous decade, Mary E. Pearson rode the wave of the rapid rise of young adult books. This author is less well-known in the Netherlands, but a number of her stories have been published here as well. However, I haven’t read any. In 2024, this author made her debut in adult romantic fantasy with her book The Courting of Bristol Keats. This is the first book in the “Bristol Keats” duology and promises a trip into the world of the fae, full of secrets and betrayal. For me, this was the perfect time to figure out whether this author’s books are for me, as my interest was immediately piqued. Was this a pleasant introduction?

About the book

The Courting of Bristol Keats by Mary E. Pearson
Series: The Courting of Bristol Keats #1
Published by Flatiron Books on November 12, 2024
Pages: 545
ISBN: 9781250367570
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Romantasy
Rating: 2/5

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

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 has never heard of, who promises to help, Bristol 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 does not know is that he is 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.

My review

Before reading

This was my first introduction to books by this author. As I haven’t been reading that much during this wave of YA hypes, I missed out on a lot of them. This author’s books fell victim to this and I simply can’t catch up with all those older hypes. I want to do so though! Moreover, everyone was reading this romantasy debut, which piqued my interest as stated before. As reviews were mixed, I was a bit hesitant though. Furthermore, romantasy is in my top read genres of the past few years, so I have seen my fair share of everything within this genre. My expectations were therefore a bit tempered, because I was certain that this author wasn’t able to stand out in this already quite oversaturated market. It’s getting harder and harder to stay original and therefore stand out.

Characters

Bristol is both similar and different from her genre peers. Yes, she is young and struggling to meet ends every single month. When a chance at a better future is presented to her, she is pretty reluctant. She finally agrees though and here is were she makes quite the difference. Yes, she is confused about this new world and of course something is special about her why it should definitely be her to be the chosen one, but still. Unlike many others, Bristol doesn’t want to fight per se, but she still is determined to reach her goal. However, she doesn’t want to be dependent on any male. She is quite the einzelgänger, although she has people supporting her. Despite all these different character traits, she simply doesn’t stick. The same applies to Tyghan, although he has some secrets of his own which makes him interesting. He has endured a lot in his long faerie life, which the author gradually reveals. He is questioning himself where his loyalty lies on which Pearson elaborates in depth. Alas, it is romantasy, so it is evident that Tyghan and Bristol spend lots of time together and develop a romantic relationship. I wasn’t feeling it though, it is pretty rushed. But isn’t that always the case with romantasy?

Writing

Pearson is not one to distinguish herself from her peers with her writing style. It is not spectacular, ordinary in fact. I struggled with the audiobook narration though, as I zoned out a lot. This might have to do with the plot as well, but I will get back to this shortly. The aforementioned POV switches were easy to get into, although they haven’t been indicated. However, it was all clear pretty soon as this book is told through a third person singular narrative. I don’t really prefer this in romance and romantasy alike, as it creates quite the distance between characters and reader. Another element I was absolutely not keen on is something I started fully noticing once I read other reviews for this book on Goodreads and I saw someone pointing this out. A lot has been hidden from the reader, but I will elaborate more on this in the plot section of this review. When solely analyzing the writing, I must conclude that it is just generic and doesn’t stand out to me.

Plot

The plot of this book starts off quite interesting. The author takes the time to introduce Bristol and her family, as well as the town she’s living in. Furthermore, Tyghan and his court are introduced simultaneously, which is pretty intriguing as eagerness to get to know everyone and solving the mystery arises. Unfortunately, this all changes when both Bristol’s and Tygahn’s story intertwine upon entering Elphame. It’s obvious that something is going on and that Bristol is determined to reach her goal, whereas Tyghan is scheming something of his own. The characters discuss a lot of actions that should be taken, but when it comes down to it, Pearson seems to hide all this tension from the reader. A lot therefore happens off-page, which leaves you guessing for what actually went down. It is only told afterwards, which takes away from captivation. In fact, this book became boring pretty quick, although there is so much potential in this story. I was actually glad to have finished it. The ending didn’t leave me gasping for air, and definitely didn’t invite me to pick up the final book in this duology.

Final thoughts

Although Mary E. Pearson’s The Courting of Bristol Keats is beloved by many, it is not the first introduction I had hoped for. The book starts promisingly but quickly collapses like a pudding. A lot of the action and tension happens off-page and because these are precisely the keys to the further course of the story, as a reader you feel a considerable distance between yourself and the characters. Although these characters bear a strong resemblance to their genre counterparts, Bristol does manage to distinguish herself in a number of areas. She is determined to achieve her goal through her own efforts. The genre simply requires a relationship to blossom between the main characters, but in this case, this is highly implausible. Unfortunately, this romantasy is not exciting enough to stand out in this already saturated genre landscape. Furthermore, it does not pique enough interest to want to learn more about the further developments in the second book in this duology. However, I am curious about this author’s older work, as experience has taught me that I usually derive more reading pleasure from that.