Book Details
Servant of Earth
In the underground Fae realm, only the strongest and most ruthless have power—but a young human woman forced into a life of servitude is about to change everything.
Kenna Heron is best known in her village for being a little wild. Some say half feral, but she’ll need every ounce of that ferocity to survive captivity in the cruel Fae court.
Trapped as a servant in the faeries’ underground kingdom of Mistei, Kenna must help her new mistress undertake six deadly trials. If she succeeds, her mistress will gain immortality. If she doesn’t, the punishment is death.
With no ally but a sentient dagger of mysterious origins, Kenna must face monsters, magic, and grueling physical tests.
Surviving the trials and overthrowing a tyrant king will take cunning, courage, and an iron will… but even that may not be enough.
Hello Book friends!
Today I’m reviewing the new fantasy romance from author Sarah Hawley, Servant of Earth. In this fantasy we follow Kenna Heron into the realm of the Fae. When Kenna’s best friend is chosen as a tribute from their village, she must enter the Dark Wood, which leads to the Fae realm. Not able to accept that her friend was chosen, Kenna attempts the impossible to save her friend and herself. Hunger Games meets A Court of Thorn of Roses, in a seductive fantasy romance filled with twisted games and ruthless Fae.
Review of Servant of Earth
Wow, book friends, this one is full of potential to be an epic fantasy romance. Hawley creates an underworld filled with beautiful nightmarishly cunning Fae. These immortal Fae are stuck in their underground kingdom, ruled by a tyrant king.
First let’s talk about the magic. It’s broken up into six royal houses or branches of magic: Fire, Earth, Light, Void, Illusion, and Blood. And each royal house’s heir will be tested. To see if they are worthy of their magic.
Unlike Sarah J. Maas’ ACOTAR’s magical Fae realm split into seasons, the world building and magic system in Hawley’s Servant of Earth is fascinating. Throughout the novel, readers will get a taste of what each is house is capable of, magic that feels intentionally cruel.
From the moment we step into the Fae’s magical realm readers are aware of how the houses are pitted against each other. No one can be trusted. Because everyone seems morally corrupted. I mean, they are Fae…
With the general turmoil it propels the story into the need for change.
Enter Kenna.
More thoughts (Yup this review is longer than most)
Kenna is a human woman who stands apart from everyone even from the onset. She is attuned to her surroundings, especially the Dark Wood. And when she finds a mysterious magical blade, she becomes even more fierce and almost magical. Which makes her perfect for the story that unfolds.
Now, when I mentioned the novel has a lot of potential, I felt there were some missed opportunities. I won’t go into too much detail on those, but I’ll start with the dagger. It felt like a sentient being. And the relationship between the dagger and Kenna is interesting, but could’ve been explored further had Hawley dived deeper into it being a sentient being that can communicate with Kenna. Again, I’ll let you discover more, but this was one I thought could have been developed to further the story. The other missed opportunity was the romance. I was a bit on the fence with this one. It was obvious where Hawley was taking Kenna romantically, but I really wanted Hawley to focus more on a certain morally gray Fae lord known as the Kings Vengeance. He gave me Rhysand vibes.
A Few More Thoughts (I’ll wrap this one up soon, I promise)
I’m eager to see where Hawley takes Kenna in the next novel. I’m hopeful she’ll expand more on the magic, the lore, and the romance!
While we wait for the next novel, we all can re-read our favorite fantasy romances or see some new ones that I recommend below.
Bookmark this one friends for your November TBR.
Happy Reading ~ Cece
RATING: 
– Satisfyingly Inked
Content Warning
Servant of Earth deals with emotionally difficult topics including violence, murder, torture, gore, sexual assault (secondary characters), sexual harassment, self-harm, death of a parent after prolonged illness, grief, explicit sexual content, and explicit language.
A Song I thought of after reading Servant of Earth
You know when you pick the wrong Fae to fall for…
About the Author
Sarah Hawley lives in the Pacific Northwest, where her hobbies include rambling through the woods and appreciating fictional villains. She has an MA in archaeology and has excavated at an Inca site in Chile, a Bronze Age palace in Turkey, and a medieval abbey in England. When not dreaming up whimsical love stories, she can be found reading, dancing, or cuddling her two cats.
publication details
| Pub Date | ISBN | Page Count | Publisher | Age Group | Source & Format | Review Posted Online |
| 12-Nov-24 | 978-0593819791 | 464 | Ace | Adult | NetGalley, Digital ARC | September 14, 2024 |
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Welcome Reader!
I’m Cecelia and I’m so glad you’re here! You’ll find honest reviews, book recommendations, along with other bookish essentials. So happy you stopped by!
– C
ABOUT THE CREATOR
CECE BECKMAN
Cece holds a Bachelor’s degree in Creative Writing from California State University, Long Beach. She lives in California with her husband and children. When she’s not reading or writing reviews she can be found wandering book aisles at local bookshops, drinking iced cold lattes with cold cream foam, or passing the time with her cats.
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