API Heritage Month #3

✨ LA Times Festival of Books 2025 ✨

/ What a Girl Wants: Romance in Young Adult Fiction
/ Sunday, April 27, 2025
/ 12:30 PM
/ Taper Hall 101

I had such high hopes for this one. This was the first year I didn't go to all of The Ripped Bodice's panels, but I went to this one to support Trin. Jennifer had a lot of positive things to say about her book. I was intrigued by ROMEO AND JULIET meets food, but no death. I've sat on this ARC for some time now. I went in blind, so I wasn't aware the love interest is trans.

I'm all for LGBTQ+ rep. I'm more for it if the author is part of the marginalized group. Jennifer, admittedly, isn't, and thanked her sensitivity reader profusely. While I agree this is the right thing to do, rather than not have one at all, I, myself, find it interesting when authors write outside of their known. I won't shelve this with AMERICAN DIRT or THE ISLAND OF SEA WOMEN (Lisa See, while 1/8 Chinese, is not Korean), but I do want to state facts.

None of this is the reason for the middling rating. I won't pinpoint the YA, since there is YA I've enjoyed lately, especially YA centered around Asian American families. I get the parental drama and lack of acceptance. It's the white YA that's hard to swallow. Yelling at your parents? Not having to sneak out? Having a boyfriend? What are these so-called "problems" you have?

Julie and Randall's families each have food stalls at a Pasadena Farmers Market. The grandmothers used to be best friends. Now they're enemies. Ooh. Except it's not ooh. It's a little boring. And while food descriptions usually suck me in, I found not even that could hold my interest.

So Julie and Randall do the former friend thing. Then they realize they're in love with each other, which, fine. But for two 626 kids to sneak around in the 310 to date is the most absurd thing to ever absurd. I'm one of those hos that never willingly leaves the westside, so I know what I'm talking about. As someone that is nearly always in Santa Monica, I can count on one hand the number of times I've been to Pasadena. One of them was for my best friend's wedding. And scene.

rep: Korean American, Taiwanese American, trans

📱 Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books

A wonderful read!
This novel drew me in from the very first page and kept me hooked until the end. The characters were vibrant and relatable, the writing was engaging, and the story had just the right balance of heart and humor. Highly recommend!
Many thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

Went into this not knowing much about it. I usually like to go into books that way but I missed the mark on this one. Just not my cup of tea for book storylines. Enjoyed reading about the food tho... could smell and taste it while reading! Other than that, this one didn't do it for me.

I love stories that are food-focused, so I was really excited to receive this book for review. This is a sweet, lighthearted enemies-to-lovers YA romance that's full of swoony dates and family. I especially love the two matriarchs of the families. Readers will love the ties to Romeo and Juliet with a modern twist and inclusive representation, combined with Chen's impressive writing chops.

This was in fact one of my favorite books to read in 2025
There was so much emotions in this and I just loved the trans happiness and joy that was included in this. Like even though it did touched on the subject of family members who are not supportive but that didn't detour or come between the romance. The family rivalry is very silly but I loved these two.

Hangry Hearts if a YA romance with fun characters and an easy for follow plot. Unfortunately, I stared to lose interest in the story about halfway through. The story isn't unique enough to stand out in the large pool of new YA romance novels. Recommended for YA collections where romance is popular.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the ebook.

Hangry Hearts by Jennifer Chen

This is a fun, food-filled YA romance that clearly takes inspiration from Romeo and Juliet, with a modern twist and a lot of heart. Hangry Hearts introduces us to Julie and Randall, star-crossed teens caught between feuding food truck families—and a growing romance that’s supposed to be off-limits.

While I appreciated the diverse representation and the unique premise, I felt like the story tried to juggle too many things at once. Randall’s transition, the school group project, the family feud, and their romantic tension all had potential, but instead of weaving together tightly, it started to feel like plot threads were being added faster than they could be resolved.

That said, if you’re looking for a light YA romance with strong food vibes (seriously, the food descriptions are top-tier), this is a cute read. Julie and Randall’s relationship had its moments, but I honestly felt like the dishes stole the spotlight.

The story of Randall and Julie is an interesting concept. I enjoyed the family dynamics of this story, and seeing the growth and rekindling of various relationships. At times the emotional depth of the characters felt a bit two dimensional to me. I think the intended audience would lean more teen than YA.
Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This fell a bit flat for me… this skews into younger YA in my opinion which is fine but just didn’t hit the right marks for me. Overall the pacing was a bit off and while I enjoyed the representation weaved into this story I didn’t click with the story or the characters

Thank you for the opportunity to read early

Where to start… I feel like this book needs more editing and flushing out. The way the chapters end and then abruptly start without any resolution or connection to the previous chapter is very jarring. For example, Tyler yelling at Julie forbidding her to see Randall. Then the chapter ends and the new chapter begins and nothing is ever said or done with that! I was so mad for Julie so how can she just let that go? The ending drags on and on (I had to skim the last 20% just to finish) with the way Julie and Randall and their grandmothers are on again/off again over and over just got old. Additional minor issues: describing someone as a “fat red head” is not the right language to use these days, and where does her older brother come from if she has a one night stand dad? It also always annoys me when a cooking/baking book doesn’t seem to acknowledge how much time it takes to prepare food–from the procurement of the ingredients, to the prep work, to the cooking, it seems like they just snap their fingers and the food is done without any time passing. Speaking of time passing, the months-long school project was over and done in a few pages. This could have been its own book and leave the feuding grandmas for a separate tale. I had high hopes for this one but it really fell short of my expectations.

Julie and Randall were best friends until a tragedy five years ago tore their families apart, Thrown back together for a school project, they soon realize they have feelings for each other...but how can they possibly date when their families are sworn enemies??

This YA romance has all the heart of strong family ties, a bit of second chance romance, and star-crossed lovers. When Julie and Randall have to keep lying to their families to be able to spend time together, it puts a strain on all their relationships. Told from both points of view, it focused a lot on their Korean and Taiwanese backgrounds, which was educational for this Caucasian. The closeness of the family members was developed nicely, and they are all relatable. It also had a gay character and a transgender character, which I believe were told in a positive light, although neither of those things were a big focus of the story.

Thank you to @NetGalley and @StMartinsPress for a digital copy for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.

All in all, if you enjoy young adult romance (no spice!), a Romeo & Juliet retelling, or close family stories, then this is right up your alley! I really enjoyed this one!

loved this romance and finding love and remembering love before the one. love the friends and the chemistry between the couple was on fire and loved the banter.

Hangry Hearts by Jennifer Chen is a unique and flavorful YA debut that reimagines Romeo and Juliet with a modern twist and a delicious Taiwanese night market setting. I loved the representation—especially the biracial, trans male lead and the Taiwanese-American female lead—as well as the childhood-friends-to-lovers trope, which always tugs at my heart. And the food descriptions? Chef’s kiss. Seriously, I was craving dumplings and shaved ice the whole time. However, the constant shifting of POVs—sometimes even within a single paragraph—made it hard to stay grounded in the story, which pulled me out of the emotional beats more than once. While I appreciated the cultural richness and heartfelt moments, the execution left me a little hangry for more consistency.

Thank you, Wednesday Books and NetGalley, for my eARC of Hangry Hearts by Jennifer Chen. All opinions expressed are solely my own.

This was such a fun rom-com. We're following Julie and Randall, friends turned enemies, who have to work together in a project for school, alongside London, a rich classmate who has eyes for Julie. As Julie and Randall work together more and more, they realize they miss each other and it turns from strictly project meetups to secret dates. The only problem is that their families have a feud going--think Romeo and Juliet--so it makes dating complicated. But during the Year of the Dragon, anything can happen...

I am a sucker for enemies-to-lovers, so this was right up my lane. Some of the things that happened felt a bit out of reach, but it was a cute book, so I don't mind. This was well written and I enjoyed finding out how Julie and Randall would figure things out.

Thanks, Wednesday Books!

Okay, so to be fair, I was really intrigued going into this one. A YA, foodie-themed, Romeo and Juliet-style romance? That’s a combo I’m usually all in for—even though I’m not a big romance reader, if you throw in food, I’m a sucker.

There were definitely things I liked. The MMC is trans, which I thought was fantastic to see in a YA book. That representation was one of the strongest parts for me. And the food descriptions? Incredible. I hadn’t even heard of most of the dishes, but I was starving while reading and basically just wanted to go out and eat everything.

That said… this one didn’t totally work for me. The POV shifts were a big hurdle. It wasn’t mid-paragraph or anything, but the perspectives would change from one paragraph to the next, and that made it feel a little chaotic at times. I get what the author was going for, but it didn’t quite land for me—it kept pulling me out of the story. The pacing also felt uneven, and the plot ended up being pretty predictable.

I did finish the book, though I’ll admit I skimmed through the second half just to see how everything wrapped up. There’s definitely some charm here, and I think readers who are into light YA romance with a foodie twist might still enjoy it. It just didn’t fully hit the mark for me.

This was ok, but it was just that. Maybe it’s my bias toward enemies to lovers, but I think all that fighting was so petty. I know that pride might be in their culture, but this was a crazy reason when it wasn’t even them.

Ok so this has feuding families because of something that happened a long time ago. And it wasn’t even something that happened with them. They were just raised to be included in not liking them as well. Which I get… But with them doing all that and ending up getting kicked out of things that might make them money? I don’t know that that was the smartest thing to do lol The romance was cute enough from there, but it was pretty basic. I was however pleasantly surprised to see that the MMC was trans tho.

The plot tho was what suffered. It was so basic. Everything that you think might happen, yeah, it did. I think I wanted to see more conflict of the one that she didn’t want, and I also wanted to see more of the garden? I get that it was just their project, but it was so cute and such a good idea. I would love to do one IRL if I could. Anyway, I think it could have used more of these things ad less predictability.

The food in this tho? My GAWD. I haven’t heard of most of these things, but let me tell you how much I’ve been wanting to eat everything they mentioned. Again, I haven’t tried anything in this book (besides the dumplings) but I want all of them now in an unhealthy way lol And the way Chen was basically describing everything, from the way it looked to some of the smells. I was craving food I haven’t ever had lol

This was cute, but I wanted more. Chen’s first book was so good! It had depth and more. This one was a bit lacking, but I still enjoyed it. I hope there’s more to come from Chen!

It was Romeo and Juliet with food and thats how I was sold! Julie and Randall used to be friends and now they are rivals but being forced together during a class assignment has them rethinking their place in each others lives... Now if they can just get their grandmothers on board.

I had some issues with this book. What was with the constant chaging of POV??? UGH I hate that on a normal day but during the same chapter... NO NO NO!

I didn't feel the love vibes either.. I think it was personally unnecessary for the book for them to be lovers. I think it was done to virtual signal to a specific group and it failed. They should have rebuilt their friendship. That would have worked.

I get that the author was doing buttttttt it missed the mark. I did finish it. I enjoyed the tone of the writing but I think there were some missteps here..

3 stars

This was such a cute romance read! The romance was cute and enjoyable along with the plot. I struggled with the characters at times as I found their personalities a bit hard for me to mesh with. I also struggled in some parts with the pacing of this one it felt at times choppy and would take me out of the story. Definitely recommend giving this one a try!

Honestly, I had a hard time getting through this one because of the constant changing of POVs within the chapters. I like a dual POV story, but make them separate chapters. I think I more skimmed this book than read it... so that says a lot.

**3-Star Review of *Hangry Hearts* by Jennifer Chen**

*Hangry Hearts* by Jennifer Chen is a lighthearted yet heartwarming exploration of food, friendship, and personal growth. The story follows two women, Mia and Sophie, who bond over their love of food and cooking while navigating the ups and downs of their personal lives. As they open a food truck together, their shared passion for cuisine becomes a backdrop for the deeper emotional journeys they embark on.

Chen’s writing is warm and relatable, and the themes of self-discovery and friendship are well-executed. The dynamic between Mia and Sophie is engaging, and their camaraderie feels authentic. The book also does a great job of highlighting the role food plays in shaping connections and finding comfort during tough times.

However, while the story has plenty of charm, it occasionally falls into predictable territory, and the pacing can feel uneven. Some of the secondary characters lack development, and at times the narrative feels more focused on the food aspect than the deeper emotional arcs of the main characters. While enjoyable, the plot doesn’t offer much in terms of surprises or fresh perspectives.

Overall, *Hangry Hearts* is a fun, easy read for fans of food-themed stories and light contemporary fiction, but it lacks the depth and complexity to make it a standout. It’s a pleasant read that will likely satisfy those looking for a feel-good, low-stakes novel, but it doesn’t leave a lasting impression.