This book is a good fit for readers who enjoy young adult romance stories that explore themes of self-acceptance, healing, and the power of food and love in overcoming personal struggles.

This one was a weird one. I love a cute moment just as much as the next person, but the relationships in this book were slightly uncomfortable.
Okay, maybe I’m being a little bit too tough on this book because it was super fast to read and still gave me stomach butterflies (props to that!) but the main love interest calling the protagonist “my queen” over and over again made me feel a bit ill. Not the sentiment on its own, but the fact that the protagonist treats this guy so badly and thinks so low of him throughout the majority of the book made me feel awful. And knowing this guy likes her, and is constantly showing pda with her boyfriend in front of him, made me extremely sad.
The end part of this book made me happy but yeah, just kind of wish that some of the relationships weren’t so toxic. :////

I did not enjoy this one. The writing was okay but it was not my favorite. I didnt really like the characters and I didnt enjoy the plot.

Hungry Hearts by Julie Hoag, 273 pages. Swoon Romance, 2020. $15. LGBTQIA
Language: R (137 swears, 69 “f”); Mature Content: PG13; Violence: PG
BUYING ADVISORY: HS - OPTIONAL
AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE
Landra, a sophomore in high school, is thrilled when her long-time crush, Hunter, notices her. She’s been eating less and exercising more in order to not be fat, knowing Hunter would see her if only she can be pretty enough. But Brian is constantly pestering Landra with his flirting, which has escalated to daily offerings of the most delicious food Landra has ever tasted. Eat or don’t eat? Brian or Hunter?
While not explicitly stated, Landra struggles with an eating disorder, and a lot of the book is focused on her personal growth. The romance part of the story -- her interactions with and thoughts about the boys -- are exaggerated to the point of ridiculousness; I didn’t know whether to laugh or roll my eyes at the cheesiness. If the book had just been about Landra and the boys, I would have put it down, but the growth that Landra makes with few characters realizing the change was powerful. Landra recognized that she needed to make a change and she wanted that change. The change she made might not have made a big difference to those around her, but it mattered to Landra. The mature content rating is for underage drinking, innuendo, and mentions of nudity, orgy, orgasm, and sex.
Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen

This one was a weird one for me. I found myself not really caring for any of the characters and found them to be quite annoying to be quite honest. I found that this wasn’t the best novel for handling mental health and trauma and I felt like it could have been depicted in a better way.

This book was archived before I was able to download it. It sounded like a very cute contemporary story and I was looking forward to reading it. The synopsis captured my attention and I was looking forward to getting to know the characters. Hopefully I’ll be able to get my hands on a finished copy.

While I acknowledge this is a debut novel and some grace should be given, I did not love this book. The characters were extremely superficial, the romances were forced, and the drama was almost one and done in the early parts of the book. All that is fine, honestly, and could have still made for a good story. My main issue is that it's supposed to be a story revolving around anorexia. I thought it was gonna be hard hitting and an emotional read. In reality, it was not. It was more telling us about the disorder rather than showing us. I also felt like we got a token "fat" comment like every third sentence. I can see where the authors end goal was, but I think her first attempt missed the mark. I am willing to try more books in the future though.

I received this copy from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. I thought it was an okay book. I thought Landra had a serious eating disorder that was never resolved, I felt all the characters tip toed around the issue that should not be taken lightly. I think she had many unresolved issues of bullying, grief, and self esteem issues that needed to be addressed. Brian, the love interest, was very creepy. I didn’t understand the relationship. Shouldn’t self love be important first? The ending felt incomplete. I needed more of an ending. I thought all the topics was very brave to tackle I just wish there was more resolution of them.

This book is not for me. I felt it was too much angst and juvenile behavior for it to be a teen book.

I couldn't finish it. It sounded too much like five other contemporary romance novels I have read, along with some mediocre fanfic. Others will definitely enjoy it and I might later. The main character's voice to me sounded so whiny. It was hard to get into, too. I couldn't place the main character soon enough.

This book just felt a little too juvenile. I understand that there are people who truly think like this and this is how it would come out on paper but I was just very unimpressed and uninspired.

Initially, I thought this was going to be a book I would come out feeling like it hit me hard. From the description, I had that kind of tone although the cover made me think otherwise. But unfortunately, this book fell short.

Hungry Hearts is focused on Allandra who is clearly suffering from anorexia. With this daily battle, Allandra is like most teenage girls and has boys on her mind and when the boy she has been pining after finally notices her, things start to look up. But the right boy has been in front of her all along.

My first issue with this book was Brian. As a love interest, I found him impossibly creepy and weird. I loathed the fact that every five minutes he referred to Landra as "lovely queen" and he was so persistent it was almost stalkerish behaviour. No lie, 5% in exactly and he would not leave this poor girl alone even when she reminded him to back off.
"Personal space, Brian."
"Sorry, you're just so magnetic."
I mean, do people actually say this stuff out loud??
If it wasn't him getting in her face every five seconds it was him literally begging her to come round and cook at his house. I think I rolled my eyes so much in every scene he was in that they literally have fallen out of my sockets.

My second and biggest issue was that I feel like Landra's anorexia was a throwaway. It was never properly addressed ever in the entirety of the book. I find it so bizarre that no one has noticed her weight loss enough that they thought it was worrying, and even though her brother and best friend make comments, it was almost laughable. I thought her inner monologue was interesting although this book reads for a much younger audience - I would say 13-16 years and therefore the writing just wasn't my cup of tea.
I think the book would have had a lot more potential if Julie spent more time exploring Landra's anorexia, i.e. her eating habits/rituals etc. I wanted to know more about her hunger, what her brain was telling her to do and if she knew this was illogical. I also wished there was more of an ending. By the second half of the book, her anorexia seemed to just magically disappear and wasn't mentioned again.
Side note: I also hated that Landra didn't mind eating pizza and cake with Hunter if he told her too. I have never had an eating disorder but I'm pretty sure if the boy you fancy is telling you to eat something, it doesn't mean you suddenly don't care about it anymore and do it.

Overall, I felt this book had a lot of potential and I wished this was explored more.

2 stars.
I received this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I was given an ARC in exchange for an honest review

I read this book in one sitting because I liked how the book was light, easy to read, and paced well. However, despite all the cute heart-fluttering moments I experienced while reading the book (especially the scenes between Landra and Brian), I felt that the book was somewhat lacking.

Hungry Hearts deals with a girl who has an eating disorder and her struggle with liking two boys, one who she has had a crush on for so long and the other being a boy who loves to cook for her. Although the romantic aspect of the book was quite strong despite some of the moments and dialogue that would make me cringe, I wasn't entirely hooked with other parts of the book. Even if I liked the romance, Brian can occasionally be creepy, especially at the start when he invades her personal space and constantly calls her his queen. Honestly, it just makes me uncomfortable.

Regarding Landra's eating disorder, I liked how the author shows her struggles and thoughts about her body. But I felt concerned since Landra is surrounded by friends, family, and a guy who loves her yet even if they know she struggles in eating, I felt like they're barely doing anything to help her. Her brother tries and so do her friends but there isn't really a concrete plan on how she could overcome this. Sure, her romantic interest can cook and he makes her feel happy but it just doesn't satisfy me. The eating disorder also disappears by the end of the book and I just found it strange. Also, I felt that some parts of the book were left unresolved especially the online harassment and 'F and F' issue.

Overall, the book was okay. The romance is good. The characters were somehow flat and I wish I could see more growth. The plot could have been better and it could have delved deeper into her eating disorder and the 'F and F' issue.