Enjoyed the writing style, made for a quick, easy, engaging read
Chance was a hard main character to root for during this book and at times left me as a reader frustrated
The rest of the characters kept me really engaged though and made me want to learn more about them

The place I feel this book fell the most flat was the depiction of grief. It felt like neither of them really cared much about their friends death and the death served as more of a reason for them to talk again rather than a real emotional experience for the characters

What’s not to love about Darkhearts, a beautiful ode to music, Seattle, and growing up.

David Holcomb helped form the international music sensation known as Darkhearts. But when push came to shove, he bounced. Shortly after, the band is signed and launched into the stratosphere of celebrity.

He hears nothing from either of the other two members until one of them dies suddenly and just as suddenly, Chance Ng (or Chance KAIN, as he is now know) is obnoxiously present and can’t seem to leave David alone.

What once felt like pure animosity shifts into uncharted territory for the two former friends as they work through their grief and all the ways their lives have changed since the last time they met.

100% recommend this YA queer coming of age rock romance for all the lovers of Red, White and Royal Blue and If This Gets Out!

3.75 stars

I thought this a great premise of having drama ensue over the band, it brought a unique twist to the typical YA novel.

I was captivated by the writing style. It was so easy to read with humorous moments and odes to modern day pop culture. I enjoyed seeing the romance bloom between Chance and David but didn’t fully feel connected to them as characters. In fact, I felt like I was rooting more for Ridley, David’s best friend.

Trigger Warnings: funeral, child death, cursing, underage drinking, depression, parental abandonment

Representation: Jewish, Bisexual, Korean-American

Darkhearts is a young adult, contemporary romance about old band mates David and Chance. When David quit the band, he missed his shot at fame. For the past two years, he’s been trapped in an ordinary Seattle high school life, working summers for his dad’s construction business while his former best friends Chance and Eli became the hottest teen pop act in America.

Then Eli dies. Suddenly David and Chance are thrown back into contact, forcing David to rediscover all the little things that once made the two of them so close, even as he continues to despise the singer’s posturing and attention-hogging. As old wounds break open, an unexpected kiss leads the boys to trade frenemy status for a confusing, tentative romance—one Chance is desperate to keep out of the spotlight. Though hurt by Chance’s refusal to acknowledge him publicly, David decides their new relationship presents a perfect opportunity for him to rejoin the band and claim the celebrity he's been denied. But Chance is all too familiar with people trying to use him.

As the mixture of business and pleasure becomes a powder keg, David will have to choose: Is this his second chance at glory? Or his second chance at Chance?

Womp womp. I really liked this book up until the very end. I know it’s a piece of fiction but I am not a fan of resolutions in the last 20 minutes of a story. Especially when the characters have seemed so human and relatable throughout the entire book and then all of a sudden, everything is fine and dandy. Other than this, a very great book. I thoroughly enjoyed the entire story and loved the author’s writing style. As a HEA addict, I love when the couple you root for ends up together.

This was such a good book about finding people again, finding new love, discovering who you are, and figuring out who you want to be.

This is a book about old friends discovering that there are feelings after years of not even talking to each other, but it is also about fame, outward appearances, figuring out your life, and looking back on what has happened.

I really loved both David and Chance and how we saw them both change and evolve throughout the book. I especially really love how they ended and felt like it fit everyone perfectly.

I liked the premise and idea of this book and it started out really strong, but felt a bit emotionally lacking in the second half. I feel like there wasn’t a lot of emotional lead up to the romantic stage of their relationship, and I didn’t like that Chance never really acknowledged or took and responsibility for his part in the breakdown of communication. I also thought them actually going through with the audition was unnecessary since it seemed like David had already come to the conclusion that he didn’t need or want to be a part of the band any longer. But I really enjoyed David’s character, David and Chance’s dynamic together and how much of a role the setting played in the plot.

THE DRAMA!! The main character in this book was so damn messy. He was petty, jealous, and really, really selfish. His inferiority complex was also extreme and caused him so much trouble in his relationships. There were some serious borderline personality vibes with his constant testing of his friends and then blaming them when they didn't chase after him. He was A LOT and quite unlikeable for most of the book. So, if that doesn't sound like a fun POV to read, this probably isn't the book for you.

I kept reading because I really liked Chance, the love interest, and wanted to learn more about him. I'm a sucker for stories about secret celebrity love, especially when it's queer. I enjoyed that aspect of this book a lot. It made sense to me that Chance would gravitate to David because he was someone who knew the real him and not just the fake persona crafted for the masses. I liked seeing them rekindle their old friendship, even though David was a hot mess express. Chance was honestly way too good for him, but David grew on me by the end despite it taking way too long for him to figure out he was being an absolute ass.

The place where this book fell incredibly short for me was its portrayal of grief. The death of the boys' friend is what sets the book in motion and rekindles their friendship. However, any real impact from the death seemed very limited. David didn't really seem to care all that much, which made him seem even more of a selfish ass, and while there were snippets of Chance grieving, it just didn't feel like enough considering how close he was to the boy who died. I just wanted to see more of them both processing their loss and its impacts, especially since the death should have also been a major blow to Chance's career. Honestly, this circles right back to me finding Chance's story much more interesting than David's, and I think I would have liked this book much more if the POV had been switched.

It also didn't help that the rest of the characters were pretty flat. The best friend seemed to only be there to provide sex jokes. The dad was honestly almost as insufferable as David. All of their ridiculousness did make for quite a bit of fun banter, though. I don't think this book will be for everyone, but if you enjoy stories with a huge amount of drama, a selfish and petty main character, and secret celebrity relationships, this is the story for you. Chance did some really heavy lifting to keep this book enjoyable for me, but your mileage may vary. Therefore, I rate this book 3.25 out of 5 stars.

I liked the first half of this book better then the second half. The spice rating is PG13 and the angst is short lived. I feel like the author hurried the ending along and could have done a longer epilogue.

I’m still reading this one but so far I like it. The characters sound realistic and I’m pretty sucked into the story. Will come back and edit regarding the ending but I’m enjoying the pace and the characters. And that cover is so gorgeous…….

Thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for the ARC.

I am all for LGBTQIA themes within work and this one was done well. I feel the mixture of emotions and the slow-burn of not mixing business with pleasure helped the over all plot. Sometimes things did get a little dry but all in all the book was mellow and a fun little read.

Darkhearts started off by deeply immersing the readers into the story and selling the angst and longing of two boys who were former friends and bandmates. Had the last 25% of the book been different, I think I would have been sold on this story, but unfortunately, the “third act break-up” brought up so much guilt, jealousy and resentment from each character that I truly couldn’t be convinced they should get back together.

Our MC David has a default setting of either pining for or being angry with our other MC Chance and his constant anger and jealousy made him a very dislikeable character IMO. While he received his redemptive arc at the end of the book, his sudden change and understanding felt disingenuous after his constant anger sparks throughout the story. Maybe if he’d gone to see a therapist for a couple months first, I could have believed he would change a bit easier than having one conversation with his dad and one with his best friend telling him he’s acting selfish. (Also, his dad’s character didn’t make sense to me – it felt like he was doing a constant 180 of being supportive or being over-intense.)

I did enjoy the first part of this story and I wish there had been more conversation and discussion between the two main characters as I think this would have helped us better understand and believe why they should still be together at the end of the book.

Thank you to St. Martins’ Press / Wednesday Books and NetGalley for an E-ARC copy of this book.

I will not be giving feedback on a book with not one but two harry potter references but I am, however, thankful for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.

This was a surprisingly heart wrenching story lol. I wasn't expecting it to make me quite so emotional, but it really did. I think it was just the relationship in general between David and Chance. They felt like soulmates in the truest sense and when they weren't together in this, it felt like they should be. Their feelings for one another felt authentic and raw and I often felt frustrated yet understanding towards both of them. They're complex characters with beautiful stories to tell and I could see this being a favorite for many!

This book was so enjoyable and well written that I really didnt want it to end!

The way the character's are written gives them really strong depth. David for example is very caught up in his own head and faults. He doesnt realize how deeply his past trauma has changed him and the way he does things and thinks about things, because of that he is blinded to his own faults. This is something that so many people can relate to because its so much easier to see from the outside looking in and often you really need that wakeup call from someone else calling you out to assess what they've said and what's been going on.

Chance is another great character. Through his eyes we see a teen whos struggling to balance life as a famous musician that has to carry this persona with him always. A teen who doesnt get to just be himself because everyone he meets wants something from him or wants to use him to gain something. They dont care about who he is, they only care about what he is. So when he and David are reunited and form this relationship its destined for waves of highs and lows as they navigate how to exist together with these feelings and meet one another in their field.

I think the plot is pretty straightforward and honestly could see it being used for a movie or TV show easy. It was just realistic enough for a contemporary with a small touch of 'what-ifs' sprinkled in.

A very fun read!

Darkhearts by James L. Sutter is a music-filled journey of discovery marketed as Red, White & Royal Blue meets Perks of Being a Wallflower. This story is about two teenagers that formed a band when they were younger with David reaching his breaking point & quitting. Fast forward two years later, their band Darkhearts is now the hottest thing with world tours & more until the other member of the group & friend Eli dies unexpectedly. Now all that is left of Darkhearts is the frontman, Chance, who returns to their hometown & tries to reconnect with David. It’s a story of heartbreak, grief, reuniting, soul searching, angst & maybe even some love along the way.

I appreciated the passion that the characters had for their hobbies & interests. It was a fascinating story with the celebrity aspect as well as the second chance reconnecting of the once former best friends.

There was a quote in this book that said, “Leave room for the unexpected” (55% of the book). I thought that was so beautiful & delivered such a perfect message.

If anyone is looking for a lovely young adult romance with gorgeously interesting journeys of self discovery along the way, this is a wonderful recommend for you!

Massive thanks to NetGalley & Wednesday Books for the free arc, which I voluntarily read & reviewed.

Okay first of all can we talk about how pretty this cover is that is what caught my eye to want to read this novel the heart the colors and them together in the heart i love it. This novel was such a great read it had one of my favorite concepts regarding someone being famous etc but when i tell you this book takes you on a rollercoaster this novel touches down on grief and loss and shows how people come together when someone passes away this honestly was one of my first " enemy to lovers " trope because this novel shows how when david left the band he felt some type of way towards chance so as you read you see them talk about the past etc also what i liked about this novel was the relationship was not rushed at all and i like romance novels like that also the main leads were nerdy and not your typical " golden boy " trope that most romances feature. Lots of nerd references in this novel and i wish i had books like this when i was growing up but good thing they are out now so people growing up can read books and feel seen in different ways i love that this book touched down on people finding themselves as well it was really cute to read. Great novel @james_l_sutter people are going to love this one!

When David quit his band, he missed his shot at fame, trapped in an ordinary high school life while his ex–best friend, Chance, became the hottest teen pop star in America.

Then tragedy throws David and Chance back into contact. As old wounds break open, the boys find themselves trading frenemy status for a confusing, secret romance―one that could be David’s ticket back into the band and the spotlight.

As the mixture of business and pleasure becomes a powder keg, David will have to choose: Is this his second chance at glory? Or his second chance at Chance?

This was hard to get through as the concept and idea of the book I’m 100% behind but I ended up HATING both main characters. David is young, he makes bad choices, he whines more than a 12 year old throwing a tantrum. Not for me, it was a struggle to get through but luckily everything felt rushed so it was a fast read. Thank you for the arc, I wish the author slowed down, made some choices (like omitting HP references in a queer book… what?!?).

It really is perfect for readers who loved heartstopper and needed more. Also think fans of If This Gets Out would enjoy it as well as It Goes Like This. A great summer read.

Darkhearts was messy and complicated and sweet and funny- everything you'd expect in a novel dealing with teens. But it also had a heaviness to it at times, as David and Chance come to terms with the death of their best friend and band mate, Eli. After not having any contact for two years, since David walked away from the band, there's a lot for these two to unpack, not just in regards to their friendship, but in their burgeoning romantic relationship as well.

I felt that this was a pretty realistic look into the lives of a young couple navigating a new relationship, especially when one of them is famous. It cannot be easy handling fame and all that entails when you're also trying to have a personal life, particularly as teenagers. I liked that it wasn't easy. There were some hard truths David needed to face and I really liked seeing his growth. He had some moments that were frustrating to read, but they were true to his character, and especially for someone his age.

Overall this was an entertaining and enjoyable read. The ending was really sweet and made the ups and downs all worth it!

GIVE ME QUEER ENEMIES TO LOVERS ALL DAY, EVERYDAY, ANYDAY AND I WILL EAT IT UP! This was superb and I absolutely adored it.