diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index d215200..ad55d4f 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -6,6 +6,10 @@ The format is based on [Keep a Changelog](https://keepachangelog.com/en/1.0.0/),
 
 ## [Unreleased]
 
+### Added
+
+- `read_href` and `blocking.read_href` ([#107](https://github.com/stac-utils/stac-asset/pull/107))
+
 ## [0.2.1] - 2023-09-05
 
 ### Fixed
diff --git a/src/stac_asset/__init__.py b/src/stac_asset/__init__.py
index b9e6878..68132e3 100644
--- a/src/stac_asset/__init__.py
+++ b/src/stac_asset/__init__.py
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@
     download_collection,
     download_item,
     download_item_collection,
+    read_href,
 )
 from .client import Client
 from .config import Config
@@ -62,4 +63,5 @@
     "download_collection",
     "download_item",
     "download_item_collection",
+    "read_href",
 ]
diff --git a/src/stac_asset/_functions.py b/src/stac_asset/_functions.py
index b2dd255..1dc5286 100644
--- a/src/stac_asset/_functions.py
+++ b/src/stac_asset/_functions.py
@@ -436,6 +436,29 @@ async def asset_exists(
         return True
 
 
+async def read_href(
+    href: str, config: Optional[Config] = None, clients: Optional[List[Client]] = None
+) -> bytes:
+    """Reads an href and returns its bytes.
+
+    Args:
+        href: The href to read
+        config: The download configuration to use
+        clients: Any pre-configured clients to use
+
+    Returns:
+        bytes: The bytes from the href
+    """
+    if config is None:
+        config = Config()
+    clients_ = Clients(config, clients=clients)
+    async with await clients_.get_client(href) as client:
+        data = b""
+        async for chunk in client.open_href(href):
+            data += chunk
+        return data
+
+
 def make_asset_hrefs_relative(
     stac_object: Union[Item, Collection]
 ) -> Union[Item, Collection]:
diff --git a/src/stac_asset/blocking.py b/src/stac_asset/blocking.py
index 1288053..6a0ad64 100644
--- a/src/stac_asset/blocking.py
+++ b/src/stac_asset/blocking.py
@@ -207,3 +207,19 @@ def asset_exists(
         bool: Whether the asset exists or not
     """
     return asyncio.run(_functions.asset_exists(asset, config, clients))
+
+
+def read_href(
+    href: str, config: Optional[Config] = None, clients: Optional[List[Client]] = None
+) -> bytes:
+    """Reads an href and returns its bytes.
+
+    Args:
+        href: The href to read
+        config: The download configuration to use
+        clients: Any pre-configured clients to use
+
+    Returns:
+        bytes: The bytes from the href
+    """
+    return asyncio.run(_functions.read_href(href, config, clients))
diff --git a/tests/test_blocking.py b/tests/test_blocking.py
index 1ab2b44..58fc88b 100644
--- a/tests/test_blocking.py
+++ b/tests/test_blocking.py
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+import json
 from pathlib import Path
 
 import stac_asset.blocking
@@ -32,9 +33,14 @@ def test_download_asset(tmp_path: Path, item: Item) -> None:
     assert asset.href == str(tmp_path / "image.jpg")
 
 
-def test_assert_asset_exists(tmp_path: Path, item: Item) -> None:
+def test_assert_asset_exists(item: Item) -> None:
     stac_asset.blocking.assert_asset_exists(item.assets["data"])
 
 
-def test_asset_exists(tmp_path: Path, item: Item) -> None:
+def test_asset_exists(item: Item) -> None:
     assert stac_asset.blocking.asset_exists(item.assets["data"])
+
+
+def test_read_href(data_path: Path) -> None:
+    text = stac_asset.blocking.read_href(str(data_path / "item.json"))
+    Item.from_dict(json.loads(text))
diff --git a/tests/test_functions.py b/tests/test_functions.py
index 1996e5c..0bf3211 100644
--- a/tests/test_functions.py
+++ b/tests/test_functions.py
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+import json
 import os.path
 from asyncio import Queue
 from pathlib import Path
@@ -204,7 +205,12 @@ async def test_asset_exists(item: Item) -> None:
     assert not await stac_asset.asset_exists(Asset(href="not-a-file"))
 
 
-async def test_asert_asset_exists(item: Item) -> None:
+async def test_assert_asset_exists(item: Item) -> None:
     await stac_asset.assert_asset_exists(item.assets["data"])
     with pytest.raises(ValueError):
         await stac_asset.assert_asset_exists(Asset(href="not-a-file"))
+
+
+async def test_read_href(data_path: Path) -> None:
+    text = await stac_asset.read_href(str(data_path / "item.json"))
+    Item.from_dict(json.loads(text))