Great book for children about family and growth, the story is a fast-paced adventure, but this also contributes to the characters' lack of depth. For a short children’s story, it is well written and holds the reader's attention.

Thanks to Netgalley and Shaherazad Shelves | Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), Members' Titles for this ARC. This is my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley for the arc!

Initially I was intrigued by the cover and the title. Once I discovered it was a fantasy novel steeped in Irish history I couldn’t help but give it a try.

While the history was rather interesting, I found myself struggling to truly connect with any of the characters. I know this is a Middle Grade and I’ll admit I read few of those, but there was something missing. After high action moments I expected them to last longer and be hard for our protagonist to get out of, but nothing seemed difficult for her. Even when her own mother betrayed her, she easily forgave her for it.

Overall it is an interesting read, the metaphor of the Pearl Blossom Heart was quite lovely, and the small fantasy elements were comforting. However, I feel there was still room for our characters to grow and sit with their feelings more than they did.

I felt like this could have been expanded upon to fill in a bit of story gaps or make it a bit better and well rounded. I realize this is for middle grade and maybe that's a factor.

The story starts off with Maura and her favorite goat Tyne. That friendship they had was cute. When their mother arrived, I was so frustrated. Their mother abandoned their daughters and then arrives out of no where asking Maura to go with her while her sisters are sick? like what?!?!?! That really threw me off. Why did Maura have to go, why couldn't anyone else seem to do speak to her father?

I felt it got better once Maura arrived to the town, I loved the relationship she made with Dara and Fang. I thought that was cute.

The Pearl Blossom Heart is a middle grade fantasy novel about a young girl, Maura, and her quest to save the kingdom of Del Salbach. It started off quite strong, as Maura’s story was grounded in her desire to keep her sisters safe and healthy, but the stakes and plot quickly outgrew the scope of what I expected this novel to be. The highlights of this novel were the lower stakes, more intimate moments — the early sections where Maura cares for her sisters, Dara and Maura collecting plants, and Maura listening to different stories of the past. I thought that these moments were sweet, but these moments are surrounded by action and plot that doesn’t quite make sense.

Even though this books is intended for younger readers, I found it unnecessarily confusing. It felt as though sections of this book that contained explanations were missing. Even just a couple of chapters in, I had left with many basic questions that were never answered, the most pressing being why must Maura be the one to find her father, and why has no one else gone to retrieve him if his appearance alone could rally the people of Del Salbach. Additionally, I could not figure out why Maura felt as though she had to choose between her sisters and her kingdom. It felt like a choice that had no real reasoning behind it. Overall, I found the lack of information to be more distracting and frustrating than intriguing and though provoking.

Despite the cozy cottage vibes of this book, I did not find it endearing, and I’m left feeling a bit disappointed.

The premise of this story sounded really interesting but sadly the book couldn't hold up. The description of the nature and the world was beautiful to read but the story itself felt rushed and as nothing was really finished. I would probably would have liked the book more if it was a bit longer. A storyline started and was already over on the next page without a lot of explanation. I also sadly had a hard time getting into the book.

Thank you to Netgalley and Shaherazad Shelves for this EARC!

The aspects of this book I enjoyed: I enjoyed the descriptions of the nature and I was able to easily imagine the world Maura was exploring as the writing style was smooth and quite developed. I enjoyed the underlying notes of family loyalties and faith.
Unfortunately for me this wasn’t a hit. Maura lacked depth and emotion, she did not seem to react to anything that was happening around her, her only concern or thought throughout the entire book was that of her unwell sisters back at home. I was disappointed that some aspects weren’t explored more. I felt at times the book was disjointed and we hopped around without much explanation, and this made the story a tad confusing at times.

I was so confused with this book. Maura and her sisters live in a small house with a herd of goats and a missing mother … who then appears and takes Maura away with vague promises of healing Maura’s sisters of some unknown sickness. They’re off to search for Maura’s father and stop a war, and Maura has to have training to help fight this war. It’s a lot of plot points with no story to string them together and no background as to why any of this is happening. Nothing made sense or fit together and I have no idea what’s going on over halfway into the book.

Maura has neither an opinion nor a reaction to anything happening to her or around her. To her credit, she is concerned about her poor sisters left behind, sick in their house … but that’s it. It’s her motivation, and unfortunately, her only personality trait.

I’m sorry, but I was bored by this book, uninterested in Maura, and I’m not sure I’d be confident in recommending this to a younger reader. The book isn’t well put together, with so much world building and plot relevant details missing, leaving what plot there is to be little more than a recitation of A, B, C and Maura plopped in this location or that so the book can move to the next chapter. However, the writing isn’t terrible, which along with the absolutely lovely cover is its one saving grace.

This is a pass. Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for the ARC.

The Pearl Blossom Heart tells the story of a girl who grows up secluded with her two sisters and suddenly finds herself embarking on an adventure.

The writing style is pleasant and easy to read, and I was fascinated by the historical background of the story. However, the book didn’t quite manage to fully captivate me. The lack of emotional depth was particularly frustrating—why did the mother leave her daughters behind? Why does no one question her return after her long absence? The task she is suddenly entrusted with also didn’t feel logical.
All in all, it wasn’t a bad book, but it needed more depth and cohesion to be truly compelling.

this was a very heart warming story and i loved being on this journey with Maura and Dara. this was emotional and inspirational.

2⭐️

Thank you to Net galley for the ARC!

This book did not hit for me. While it was cool at the start, I was bored the entire rest of the time. I absolutely adored Dara, but Maura didn’t feel relatable at all. The end felt very rushed, and it didn’t satisfy me. If the book had more pages, maybe it would have been better. Overall, it wasn’t the greatest but I loved Dara and the overall plot. It just felt rushed.

“We didn’t come this far to do nothing, even if doing nothing seems easier.”

This story feels particularly cozy and comforting, not necessarily because of the events of the story, but the tone and theming throughout.

“To the women and men whose names were erased from history and denied their own heritage for believing”

Learning that a lot of the inspiration for this novel came from historical events forgotten to history adds to the feeling of this story feeling like a long lost fairy tale.

“Yet, here she was, tasting the last bit of foreign air and heaving at the trail of innocent blood that led to the unknown.”

The world feels interesting and nature is described in ways that vividly illustrated the world. It doesn’t feel like a carbon copy of other fantasy books. It feels uniquely inspired. The references to druids, dire wolves, and aurochs are some examples of the (unique) explorations imbedded into the story.

The depiction of faith was also incredibly refreshing. As often times in fantasy novels, or novels in general, religion is either shown to be corrupt or for those ill-informed. To see that the protagonist’s family holds their faith so dearly and it just being an accessory to the story not a major theme—means a lot.

The mysteries of this world are baked into the plot through the interactions with characters and a lack of understanding of histories and motivations. It creates a decently complex web of relationships amongst the characters.

The driving motivation of Maura being the love of her sisters is refreshing to see in a novel. It’s also impactful how she’s a more feminine protagonist, when that is often overlooked in fantasy novels.

“He was watching her as if it was not the sun lighting up the sky but her.”

The subtle implication of a future romantic relationship between Maura and Dara was so wholesome. Their interactions made me smile. The whole bracket thing had my heart entirely. It is a little funny their names rhyme though.

I must confess, that even after finishing the novel I’m not entirely sure if the “pearl blossom heart” was real or figurative.

This just wasn't for me. I was interested at the start, but then just found that the main character, Maura, was so emotionless. Her long lost mother comes back, there's no teary reunion or anger at her having been missing for so long, nothing at all.
The whole story, despite being about a war, felt quite emotionless, and dull.
And the ending was very anticlimactic leaving me baffled as to why I'd bothered reading it.
It only gets 2 stars because I actually made it to the end.

Honestly, I am very confused by this book. I know it is targeted for children, but even then, I am sure some will have the same issues as me. The story lacks details. A lot of details. At the beginning, we are catapulted in Maura’s world with her sisters by her side and they all seem to be afflicted by some kind of curse or illness. It was very atmospheric and gave cottage vibes. And then, very abrubtly, the stakes become higher and there are treasons and battles… For me, it’s almost like we were missing scenes in the story and those gaps were so big that it made me confused. I severely struggled. Since the book is so short, we have little to no time to like the characters and understand their minds. I forged no connections and was, ultimately, left disappointed.

The Pearl Blossom Heart is a lovely story about a young girl named Maura, who lives on a small goat farm with her two sisters. Maura loves the goats and spends long days outdoors hugging and confiding in them. When Maura's sisters become ill, Maura worries that they might not get well in time. However, their mother appears one day and whisks Maura off on an adventure to restore their kingdom. Maura soon learns that their mother and father are the king and queen who have been living in exile and she and her sisters are actually princesses who have been hidden away from those who went to war against their kingdom.

The Pearl Blossom Heart is a wonderful story filled with adventure, acts of kindness and bravery, and a solid reminder of the bond of family. Maura turns out to be a genuine and authentic heroine who helps her parents and works diligently to hurry back to her sisters.

This was such a sweet story about family and growth. I loved this story and our protagonist Maura. I especially loved the setting as it felt very cozy. I wish it was longer so we could have had more details both about the background and the characters. However with the small amount of pages, all the contents and the story felt well levelled out. Also the acknowledgements by the author were very thought provoking. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an e-arc copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was an interesting story, I think that it has a lot going for it. The cover is absolutely breathtaking. There's a few things that confused me with the story and how much was left unsaid, but I don't think they are things that would bother a middle grade reader.

This is a sweet easy fantasy read for middle grade readers. Maura is a young girl raising goats and tending corn fields with her two older sisters. Both of which are quite ill from an unknown sickness. She must go on a quest to find her father, after her absent mother (kind of randomly) shows up in their glen, as well as to find a cure for her sisters. The journey that ensues is one of discovery and growth wrapped in a beautiful landscape. The afterword gave a very cool insight into the lore that inspired this book. My younger self would have absolutely adored this!

"The Pearl Blossom Heart" is a sweet book and a pleasant fantasy to read when you're a teenager or even for all of us adults who need a little magical refuge.

The relationship between the sisters gives off a somewhat cottagecore vibe, managing to distinguish the essence of each of them in just a few pages. However, in a way, I also missed explaining a little more about their illness in the first few pages, where it came from, however, this wasn't a problem for the target audience.

It's the first time I've read a fantasy with a more Celtic vibe, but the writer knew very well how to immerse us in this environment from the first second, from the costumes, the landscapes, the customs and the aesthetic.

This would be a book that my 14-year-old self would devour in a single night, congratulations on the writing <3.

The Pearl Blossom Heart by Arthena Hall is a masterpiece! I rated it 5 stars because I couldn't put it down for a second.

I read it in one sitting! A deeply moving story with a beautiful blend of emotion, history and storytelling, quest and adventure. My heart ached for the protagonist in the dilemmas she faced and I found it gripping throughout. The dedication reinforced the power of the story.