From NYT bestselling author Mary E. Pearson comes the thrilling conclusion of the Courting of Bristol Keats romantic fantasy duology.
Everyone needs something to hold onto, even if it’s a lie.
After Bristol Keats nearly loses her beloved King Tyghan to the monsters her mother had unleashed, their love deepens to a whole new level. Together, Bristol and Tyghan work to understand and reconcile their differences, moving forward with their common goal of saving Elphame. But when a daring rescue attempt turns into a disaster, and a beloved knight dies, Bristol is forced to confront the fact that her mother is more powerful than she could have ever imagined—and more dangerous. Meanwhile, Tyghan’s heart is laid bare when he encounters his former best friend and betrayer again, Bristol's own father, and must wrestle with a new secret that throws everything he thought he knew about his past into question.
Bristol is Elphame’s last chance for survival, but where do her loyalties truly lie? If she fully embraces the magic that has always been her birthright, she could become a different kind of monster from her mother. Is she willing to risk losing the people she loves most, if it means keeping them safe?
Brimming with dark secrets, lush world-building, and addictive romance, The Last Wish of Bristol Keats is the unforgettable conclusion to New York Times bestselling author Mary E. Pearson's first adult series.
Everyone needs something to hold onto, even if it’s a lie.
After Bristol Keats nearly loses her beloved King Tyghan to the monsters her mother had unleashed, their love deepens to a whole new level. Together, Bristol and Tyghan work to understand and reconcile their differences, moving forward with their common goal of saving Elphame. But when a daring rescue attempt turns into a disaster, and a beloved knight dies, Bristol is forced to confront the fact that her mother is more powerful than she could have ever imagined—and more dangerous. Meanwhile, Tyghan’s heart is laid bare when he encounters his former best friend and betrayer again, Bristol's own father, and must wrestle with a new secret that throws everything he thought he knew about his past into question.
Bristol is Elphame’s last chance for survival, but where do her loyalties truly lie? If she fully embraces the magic that has always been her birthright, she could become a different kind of monster from her mother. Is she willing to risk losing the people she loves most, if it means keeping them safe?
Brimming with dark secrets, lush world-building, and addictive romance, The Last Wish of Bristol Keats is the unforgettable conclusion to New York Times bestselling author Mary E. Pearson's first adult series.
Title: The Last Wish of Bristol Keats (The Courting of Bristol Keats #2)
Author: Mary E. Pearson
Publisher: Tor/Macmillan Audio
Expected Publication Date: November 11, 2025
Review:
Thank you to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, and Tor for providing me with a copy of this title to listen to and give my honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.
This is one of my most anticipated releases this year. I adored the first book, which I also got to listen to on audio. Brittany Pressley is the perfect narrator for this book. She does such a wonderful job with the pacing. She's also fabulous with the character voices, making each one distinct. Plus, she infused the perfect amount of emotion into the story. She brought ever single character to life,. She's one of my favorite audio book narrators and I was so happy to listen to her tell this tale.
This book jumps right in where the first book leaves off. It cannot be read as a stand alone if you want to know what's happened and has happened as it's truly connected to the previous book. There is a lot tied to what happened in The Courting of Bristol Keats which won't make much sense if you read this by itself. Pearson does a good job of tying that book in, but I don't think I could have followed along well had I not read the first book of this duolgy. I wish I could have gone back and re-read the first book before having to dive back into this one. While I remembered the story for the most parts, I really felt like I wanted to remind myself. But overall it didn't change how I felt about this installment.. Bristol and Tyghan are fighting for Elphame and trying their hardest to keep it out of the hands of Cormick.
One of my favorite things about this book is that it's told in third person in multiple points of view. This presents a so much more cohesive and deep story for me. I truly ejoyed hearing from every character and watching their contribution move the story forward and give so much more depth to the tale.
The romance! I just love Bri and Tyg together. They have their moments where they fight but they always come back to resolve it. I've seen some chatter about them being a bit juvenile, but, honestly, they are not all that old, so I don't expect them to be particularly mature. But the times when they are romantic together are top notch. And Pearson really knows how to write a great love scene. She infuses just the right amount of spice and adoration so you truly know these two are in love.
The world building continues to be fantastic. Pearson truly knows how to emerse her readers in such a all consuming way.
I will admit, I had a few issues with this book that I feel were a bit unresolved. Since they are both potential spoilers which happen towards the end of the book so I will be as vague as I can be. The first was with the betrayal from a beloved character. There was not much depth to that part of the story. It happened and then the characer retaliates and that's it. The story starts wrapping up. Even in the epilogus we don't get anything about what happened to this character who was so essential throughout the story. The second thing was the time jump. Perhaps Throughout the story we know that time passes differently in Fairy and the mortal world. Short times in Fairy equal long times in the other. There is a time jump at the end that is mentioned on both sides and, while perhaps it was just a mention in Fairy, it makes it seem like the same amount of time has passes there and that was confusing for me as I know that's not what was presented throughout the story. Third, a rescued character didn't make as much of an impact as I would have liked to have had them make. I needed a bit more from that part of the story. While their rescue was significant, I wanted that character to play a bigger role at the end then they did.
Finally, the wrap up seem too tidy and neat for me. It made it a little unsatisfying after all we when through with the characters. It was too easy for the characters to carry out their HEA with easy resolution when I really needed there to be more tension and conflict before that happened. It almost felt like the author ran out of ideas of how to make it happen.
Overall, I completely enjoyed this book. I was sad to see it wrap up as I felt like there could definitely have been a third book. So many twists and turns happend in this instsallment. I enjoyed jumping back into this world, watching all the characters (Pearson does amazing side characters), and following along as the battle ensued. Once again Pearson has solidified she is top notch when it comes to fantasy writing and I will absolutely read anything she writes. If you're looking for a muli-POV story with romance, betrayal, political intrigue, fabulous magic, found family, power struggles, angst, a fantasy Fairy world that draws you in, and an epic story, give this duology a try!
4.5 stars rounded to 5
Author:
Author:
Mary E. Pearson is the NYT bestselling and award-winning author of eleven YA novels and one novella. Her works include the completed trilogy, The Remnant Chronicles, which in a starred review, Publisher’s Weekly called “masterfully crafted.” Her favorite activities as a child were climbing tall trees imagining she was a hero in some fantastical world, or running along fence tops and roofs pretending she was a spy with a bagful of amazing gadgets. She was rarely herself. Amazingly, she never broke a bone until she caught a basketball in gym class. Catching real balls was not her forte. These days she continues to live in make-believe worlds she creates in her books. Her latest 2-book series, Dance of Thieves, allows her do all kinds of dangerous things without breaking any bones. So far.
You can learn more about Mary and her books at www.marypearson.com
You can learn more about Mary and her books at www.marypearson.com
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