The Vibes:

—Howl’s Moving Castle-esque

—slow buildup

—coziness and whimsy

The Basics:

Foss Butcher is shocked when one of the magic-workers who regularly come to harvest hearts accidentally takes a part of her heart. Mad as hell, Foss goes to his House and demands he fixes his mistake, only to find that the magic worker–a petulant man named Sylvester—has no idea how to do it. WELP.

The Review:

You can definitely see the Howl’s Moving Castle influence in this one, and if you’re a fan of the movie in particular, I think you’ll enjoy it. Similarly to the movie, it gives off this idea of a take-charge heroine and a spoiled, bratty manchild, which… does work for me. And this does have pretty prose.

What I’ve been kind of struggling with in cozy fantasy romances is this really self-aware, pretty prose, which is nice to read but makes me feel less like I’m sitting with the characters. I do know that this kind of magical vibe does work for a lot of people! But for me, it comes off as a little “gowns, beautiful gowns”. Not a bad thing! It just doesn’t hit my heart really hard, and I’m the kind of reader who prefers to be walloped in the chest with feels. And ANGST.

I am a Howl’s Moving Castle (movie) lover, but I do think that went a bit harder on the romance. Foss was very self-critical about her looks, and like—look, HMC definitely has that. But in that case, Sophie has a bit of a harder edge and a bossy attitude, which sort of offsets the insecurity. Again, a lot of readers love a “plain and insecure” heroine, but it just doesn’t super hit for me.

I did really enjoy an aspect of the book in which Foss was essentially enchanted to fall for Sylvester, despite him being, well, kind of irritating to her. I’m a sucker for that, and while the sparkliness of the prose may offset it a bit, I still found that to be a bold move. I wouldn’t call this a very “romance heavy” romance, but… it still squeaks into the genre.

This wasn’t exactly what I wanted it to be (I kind of wanted a HMC for adults) but it was a pleasant read and I do enjoy the writing style. It will be perfect for a lot of cozy fantasy readers who like a romance plot, but don’t want it to be TOO strong.

Thanks to Erewhon Books and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Let's start with the good. The good here is the magic and whimsy give it a taste of Ghibli. But it doesn't travel or adventure like a Ghibli. I think this could have done loads better if it hadn't followed so closely to Howl's Moving Castle in the beginning. The idea of heart magic and the sacrifice needed was interesting but not executed well enough. The plot became stagnant and boring. The story itself felt like it was told poorly. Foss also whinges a lot in ways I don't like. I wanted to like this, but found myself caring less and less as I got further into the book.

Thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Publishing for the eArc!

This was a rough one. The magic system & the cat pull it up to 3 stars for me. I didn’t care for the main characters or really any of the other human ones. The ending felt rushed after spending so much time just doing nothing.