The Courting of Bristol Keats by Mary E. Pearson

Here is a summary with spoilers for The courting of Bristol Keats

Bristol Keats and her sisters, Harper and Cat, have been struggling to make ends meet in the small town of Bowskeep after the recent death of their father, Kierus. With their mother already gone, the sisters are left alone, selling their father’s artwork and taking on odd jobs to survive. One morning, Cat excitedly announces that they’ve received a letter—from a mysterious aunt, their late father’s sister. The revelation is shocking, as they had always believed their father was an orphan. The letter invites them to meet, share memories of their father, and discuss his artwork.

Meanwhile, in a separate storyline, Tyghan—a young but enigmatic ruler—is desperate to find his kidnapped brother, Cael, who was taken by a neighboring kingdom. To succeed, he needs someone with a particular power. One of his soldiers informs him that they may have found the right person: Bristol. Tyghan is determined to secure her help, no matter what it takes.

Bristol, however, initially refuses to meet the mysterious aunt and instead goes to work—only to find the electricity is out and her shift is canceled. With nothing else to do, she changes her mind and decides to meet the aunt. Upon arriving, she remains suspicious but is urged to choose a piece of her father’s artwork as a gift. She hesitantly accepts—only for a man named Tyghan to appear, claiming that by accepting the gift, she has agreed to work for him, as per the customs of his world. Outraged, Bristol grabs the painting and runs.

On her way out, she encounters a shop owner, Willow, who cryptically warns her about the fae and urges her to question why she never saw her father’s body. When Bristol shares everything with Cat, her sister panics, insisting she should not have taken the painting. Cat also reveals that she believes in the fae—just as their parents did. The pieces click into place: their father was not from their world, which explains why they were always on the run. Convinced, Cat urges Bristol to return and accept the bargain.

Back at the meeting place, only Tyghan remains. Bristol dislikes him instantly, but she agrees to the deal—on one condition: he must help her find her father. Begrudgingly, Tyghan accepts, and they travel to his home, Elphame.

Upon arrival, Bristol learns that Tyghan, at just 26, is the newly crowned king. He ascended the throne only six months ago after his brother’s disappearance. He informs her that she will be sent to an institute alongside others to train and fulfill her bargain. When she arrives, she discovers that everyone there has fae blood. This confuses her, as she believes herself fully human. Still, she plays along—even as the training involves magic, which she struggles to grasp.

Meanwhile, Tyghan’s soldiers express surprise that he is actually helping Bristol. He insists it doesn’t matter because her father is truly dead—the sheriff in her hometown confirmed it. But his men counter with new intel: Kierus may still be alive. Furious at the revelation, Tyghan investigates and discovers that Willow was the one who planted the doubt in Bristol’s mind. More troubling, the sheriff never actually saw the body. While Tyghan initially dismisses the information, he finds himself thinking more about Bristol and wanting to help her.

Bristol, in the meantime, finds herself unexpectedly creating a portal—one that leads her straight to her sisters. She has a brief moment to update them before Tyghan interrupts, forcing her to leave. Surprisingly, he later offers to take her around Elphame, hoping to find more clues about her father.

Elsewhere, Kierus is alive and secretly making his way through Elphame, desperate to contact Bristol.

As Bristol settles into life in Elphame, she makes friends, enjoys her studies (despite her continued failure with magic), and relishes the festivities. However, she refuses to dance, wary of succumbing to the fae’s ways. Tyghan notices and gifts her an enchanted amulet that allows her to dance without being ensnared by fae magic. She accepts, but even with the amulet, she finds herself losing control—dancing alone, night after night.

Tyghan, meanwhile, struggles to maintain his balance with Bristol. He is drawn to her but knows he must keep her at arm’s length, especially given his hidden motives regarding her father. His court disapproves of his association with her, forcing him to act coldly in public while secretly helping her search. They also begin suspecting her identity and view her as a potential hostage. One of Tyghan’s closest friends eventually urges him to have an honest conversation with Bristol, revealing that he has been watching her dance—though she never realized it was him. He also tells her the truth: the reason she and her family spent their lives on the run was because Tyghan and his kingdom were hunting them.

In an attempt to further her training, Tyghan personally offers to help Bristol with sword fighting. A moment of tension builds between them, but just as they are about to cross a line, Tyghan pulls away. Hurt and frustrated, Bristol confronts him, revealing that she knows he has been dancing with her each night. Their argument ends with her storming off, warning him not to lead her on again.

As training continues, Tyghan devises a maze challenge meant to test the recruits against potential dangers they might face while searching for the elusive door. The exercise turns deadly when a rival kingdom, led by Kormick, infiltrates the maze, killing one of the recruits. Tyghan fights off the invaders, but after the battle, Bristol and her friend Rose are missing. He races inside to find them, discovering Bristol gravely injured. He heals her himself, but she distances herself once again, reminding herself that she cannot trust him.

Later, during a debrief, Tyghan’s council notes that the attack should have been impossible—unless one of the recruits was unknowingly carrying a “tick,” a magical tracking device. When they check Bristol, their worst fears are confirmed: she has one embedded in her. The healers attempt to remove it, but the pain is so intense that she passes out. Even worse, the attempt reveals another shocking truth—her fingernails have changed, proving she is not fully mortal. Tyghan is ordered to find a solution, though he is reluctant to do so.

Meanwhile, Kierus remains determined to find his daughter and insists he must speak to her face-to-face.

Days pass, and Bristol isolates herself, refusing visitors and food as she struggles with the revelation that her parents placed the tick on her—likely to suppress her magic and keep their family hidden. Her friends finally break through, encouraging her to rejoin society, as her withdrawal is making the council suspicious. Reluctantly, she agrees and attends a festival.

Tyghan is there.

That night, the tension between them finally breaks. They share a passionate night together, and at last, they both admit the truth: they have fallen for each other.

Bristol is sent to Willow, a fae healer who may be able to remove her tick. While there, Willow shares startling information about Bristol’s father and lineage. She warns Bristol that removing the tick carries serious risks—she could die, or she could transform into something else, as hinted by her changing fingernails. In a private point-of-view chapter, Willow reveals her true intentions: she must stop Bristol’s heart to extract the tick, but she has no plans to revive her.

Determined to share what she has learned, Bristol uses her portal to contact her sisters. She is devastated to learn that Cat knew about the tick but never told her. In anger, she closes the portal, only to realize it won’t reopen. Frustrated and overwhelmed, she decides to tell Tyghan everything about the tick. She then brings him to the closed portal, which he identifies as a burrow—a passage typically created by small fae creatures. Bristol suspects that this burrow was made by their family’s pet ferret, which may have been a shapeshifter connected to her father. Over the following weeks, she successfully closes multiple burrows, and her magic begins to manifest more strongly.

As time passes, Bristol and Tyghan’s relationship deepens, though his council remains wary. While they are pleased with Bristol’s progress, they demand more from her and continue questioning Tyghan’s attachment to her. Meanwhile, Tyghan works with his council to investigate the Keats family ferret, believing it was a shapeshifter who once worked closely with Bristol’s father.

Finally, Tyghan hosts a grand party to formally establish his rule, as his brother Cael has been missing long enough to be presumed dead. During the celebration, Kormick, the rival king, arrives uninvited. Bristol immediately recognizes him, calling him “Mick,” and leaves the party. Kormick claims to have been watching the Keats sisters, searching for signs of their mother’s magic. He then drops a bombshell: Mare, their mother, is alive. He also taunts Tyghan by suggesting that he has been intimate with Bristol. Enraged, Tyghan punches him, playing directly into Kormick’s hands. Now, in front of powerful rulers and nobles, Tyghan has exposed himself as impulsive. Kormick warns him that if Mare discovers Bristol is in his custody, she will come for him.

Determined to face Kormick, Bristol returns to the party. They share a tense dance, during which she claims she has spoken to Cael in her dreams and that he is a dreamwalker who has been communicating with her. Shocked, Kormick immediately whisks her away from the festival to interrogate her further, leaving Tyghan furious. Kormick presses for more information, but before he leaves, Bristol slyly plucks a few strands of his hair. When Tyghan finds her, she reveals her true plan: she never actually communicated with Cael. Instead, she knew Kormick would immediately go searching for him, giving them the opportunity to track him. The plan works—they now know exactly where Cael is being held.

With this new knowledge, Tyghan urges Bristol to use her magic to locate and close the portal leading to Cael. She finds it, but unlike the burrows, it refuses to close. Thinking fast, she asks a guard to stab her, hoping that the pain and blood will distract the tick and unlock enough magic to seal it. The risky plan succeeds. While Tyghan’s council and allies are impressed by her ingenuity, Tyghan himself is deeply troubled.

Tensions between them reach a breaking point when Tyghan refuses to let Bristol participate in planning Cael’s rescue. He even uses a touch of magic to compel her to return to her room—though she doesn’t realize it. There, she finds a note from her father, Kierus, asking her to meet him in the woods. Without hesitation, she goes.

When Tyghan learns she has left, he takes strands of her hair from her brush to track her. Seeing that she is meeting her father, he gathers his soldiers and sets out.

Meanwhile, Bristol finally reunites with Kierus. He reveals that he was once a soldier in the king’s army and that he and Tyghan were best friends. He was sent to hunt a bloodmarked monster, but instead of killing her, he fell in love. That monster was controlled by Kormick. When Tyghan discovered the truth, he turned against Kierus, and in the ensuing fight, Kierus stabbed him. From that moment, Kierus and Mare went on the run, hunted by both Tyghan and Kormick.

Years later, when Kormick found them again, Mare sacrificed herself to save their family, promising to return. Her death was staged, but she never came back. Kierus believes Kormick captured her and erased her memories. Grief-stricken, Kierus faked his own death to search for her, never imagining Bristol would be caught in the crossfire.

Shaken, Bristol leaves, uncertain whom to trust—Tyghan, Kierus, or even her mother.

Tyghan, having watched the entire meeting from the shadows, waits for Bristol to leave before confronting Kierus himself. He reveals that he has grown close to Bristol and, despite everything, should have killed Kierus long ago. Instead, he takes him prisoner—though Kierus later escapes.

Back at the castle, Bristol confronts Tyghan and his council, sharing everything she learned from her father. Tyghan confirms it, admitting he has hidden much from her. Furious, Bristol demands changes to their original bargain. Tyghan agrees, but their argument escalates, and he says things he can’t take back. Bristol declares that she will continue to help them but will no longer be civil about it.

In a fit of rage, she returns to her room, destroying everything, including Tyghan’s belongings—he has practically been living there for months. When Tyghan arrives, their conversation turns into yet another fight. He admits that, despite everything, he still loves her. Bristol, however, counters that love cannot excuse his actions. With nothing resolved, Tyghan leaves.

The next morning, Bristol attends training, but something feels off. Tyghan is absent. Concerned, she checks on him and finds him weakened from excessive magic use. She stays to comfort him, urging him to rest. In the quiet moment, she finally confesses that she is heartbroken. She still loves him but cannot choose between him and her father. The two reconcile and share the night together.