A Harvest of Hearts

By: Andrea Eames

Narrated by: Jessie Elland

In the beloved tradition of Howl’s Moving Castle meets The House in the Cerulean Sea, a whimsical and unforgettable cozy fantasy about adventure, common sense, and the power of love, as a cheeky butcher's daughter, a befuddlingly handsome sorcerer, and his clever talking cat unlock magical secrets in the dark heart of their kingdom …

Everyone in Foss Butcher’s village knows what happens when the magic-workers come; they harvest human hearts to use in their spells. That’s just how life in her kingdom works. But Foss, plain, clumsy, and practical as a boot, never expected anyone would want hers.

When a sorcerer snags a piece of Foss’s heart without meaning to, she is furious. For once a heart is snagged, the experience is … well, unpleasant. So, Foss finds herself stomping toward the grand City to keep his enchanted House and demands that he fixes her before she keels over and dies, or whatever happens when hearts are Snagged.

But the sorcerer, Sylvester, is not what she expected. Petulant, idle, and new to his powers, Sylvester has no clue how to undo the heart-taking, or how to do much of anything really, apart from sulk. Foss’s only friend is a talking cat and even the House’s walls themselves have moods.

As Foss searches for a cure, she accidentally uncovers that there is much more to the heart-taking—and to the magic-workers themselves—than she could have ever imagined. …

©2025 Andrea Eames (P)2025 HarperCollinsPublishers

Fantasy

I love the fantasy and magic world it was great world building. And it was finding family and community

It was good!

Not too original but not a bad adaptation- still confused on how the baked goods that are on the edges of the deluxe cover fit into the book

3.5 Story but 4.5 Voice Acting

Parts of this story were really fun!! But holy cow the last 20% or so dragged soooooo much and restated the same info over and over…for no discernible reason. A charming story that could have used some constructive cuts. Fun for Howl’s Moving Castle lovers but don’t expect that level of storytelling. The voice acting was good - I loved her voice for the talking cat in particular.

This book could’ve been excellent

Unfortunately the writing of this book seems to have been pulled in two directions. The first half, haunted/enchanted house and Howls Moving Castle vibe, seemed really conflicted with the adventure/action (that’s all I’ll say for sake of not spoiling anything) second half. The second half was all over the place honestly. It started to become redundant and dragged out, especially in the dialogue. I’m so disappointed because I wanted to love this book but it flopped for me. I ended up listening to the last 1.5hr on 1.7x speed so I could move on. 10/10 on the cat character, Cornelius though. He’s the best!

Why does this have such a low rating!?!?

This was amazing! I don't understand how people called it boring... I read this on the heals of A Person You Can Build a Nest In. and it was just as superb! amazing!!