Julie and Randall used to be best friends, as were their grandmothers. But then a tragedy happened and the two families become enemies, een though they both work at the same farmer's market. Forced to work together on a school project, Julie and Randall still find that they have a connection that soon turns romantic. But will their families tear their relationship apart before they even get started?

Hangry Hearts was an entertaining read that involves, romance, transitioning, family and a lot of yummy food descriptions. I really liked it (even when it made me hungry!).

DNF'd @ 20%

I can count on one hand the number of times I have DNF'd a book and, unfortunately, Hangry Hearts is one of those books. I'm honestly baffled this is an actual book because the writing quality is so bad. The writing is stilted and awkward and genuinely reads like it was written by an elementary school student. There's no logic to the way the POVs shift, which sometimes happens after a few sentences, and what little I've read of the story is paced incredibly awkwardly. At some point Chen randomly drops the fact that Randall is trans into the story with all the finesse of a dump truck unloading a pile of dirt onto a construction site, which makes me think she included the fact for no other reason than to check off a square in diversity BINGO, especially when we get other gems like this character introduction: "Zoey, a black girl." Granted, I haven't read the whole book, so maybe there's some kind of meaningful representation that Chen is trying to accomplish with Hangry Hearts, but based on the lackluster effort that went into writing this book, I'm not all that inclined to stick around and find out.

Hangry Hearts is a YA novel. This genre isn’t normally typical for me, but the description pulled me in. I am really glad I took a chance on it. I loved the premise. I liked that Randall and Julia had been friends but a family feud has kept them apart. Now that they are in high school and have to work on a project together, they are starting to see each other in a new light. I liked the families and some of the scenes did make me laugh a bit. I didn’t like the description of one the third graders as a fat redhead. My only other minor complaint is that I wish more of the dishes had been described. I do know the ones that I did recognize made me very hungry. I will definitely read more by this author. Thank you to Netgalley and St Martin’s Press/Wednesday Books for the copy. All opinions expressed are my own.

Hangry Hearts was an entertaining read, but it didn’t fully land for me. I appreciated the humor and the unique concept, and there were moments that genuinely made me smile, yet some of the pacing and character choices felt uneven. While it wasn’t a bad story, it didn’t leave a lasting impression, making it an enjoyable but ultimately average read in my opinion.

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. This was such a cute YA Romeo and Juliet retelling! We follow rival Asian families who work across from each other at the market. Julie and Randall used to be friends before the family feud and now are forced to work on a school project together. They get closer but can't go too close for fear of their families wrath. I enjoyed this novel, I was classify in those romcom beach reads and I think my YA raeders will enjoy it. It is super cute. Thanks to NetGalley for the ebook to preview.

Love, family, and food collide in this sparkling Romeo and Juliet-inspired romance.

Julie Wu and Randall Hur used to be best friends. Now they only see each other on Saturdays at the Pasadena Farmers Market where their once close families are long-standing rivals.

Hangry Hearts is a funny, big-hearted 🏳️‍⚧️ romance about friendship, family, and first love—and being brave enough to have it all.

This was a great ya read.

This book was the cutest surprise! 💕

Hangry Hearts is everything I love in a YA rom-com: friends-to-enemies-to-lovers, delicious food, Lunar New Year vibes, and a whole lot of heart.

Julie and Randall used to be best friends, until a falling out between their families turned them into rivals at their local night market. But when they’re paired up for a school project and start spending time together again, sparks fly (and so do dumplings 🍜). Their banter is adorable, their chemistry is SO sweet, and I was rooting for them from the first page.

What makes this story extra special is Randall’s journey as a trans teen. His relationship with his halmeoni, and Julie’s bond with her ahma, added so much depth. The way Jennifer Chen weaves culture, identity, family, and first love into the story is so beautifully done, and it had me smiling one moment and tearing up the next.

Also… don’t read this book hungry. The food descriptions are mouthwatering. 😍

Hangry Hearts is perfect for fans of Gloria Chao, Emma Lord, or anyone who loves a soft, funny, culturally rich love story with major heart. Highly recommend!

Not a great book. Poorly written. Characters have no motivation for their actions. Jumped in time a lot, which was confusing. Cute premise, but didn't work.

Hangry Hearts was a cute clean, YA romance with AAPI and transgender representation.

This had a Romeo and Juliet vibe (without the death), and while I like Julie and Randall, their grandmothers were the stars of this book. I absolutely adored them.

Besides the cute family feud and budding romance, the delicious food descriptions of the two families Asian food stalls had my mouth watering.

Besides the Romeo and Juliet vibes, this had a friends to enemies to lovers trope.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for the #gifted ebook!

Thank you Wednesday Books and NetGalley for the DRC of Hangry Hearts! All opinions in this review are my own.

This Romeo and Juliet retelling was really sweet! I love that the two families are duelling food market stalls! I do feel like the writing fell off a bit in the final quarter of the book, but overall, I really enjoyed this one!

I honestly had to DNF this because the characters are too immature for me to handle. But that’s just a me thing because they are in high school (I think?). I feel the story is great and would be perfect but I’m the problem. Maybe I will try again when there is an audio version of this, but as of right now, I DNF at 20%

I wanted to love this book so much. Julie and Randall were so cute but ultimately I felt like the writing just wasn't for me.

I didn't love this book. Everything just seemed to move along really quickly and I didn't feel like there was enough time to get invested in the story or the characters.

Hangry Hearts has potential, but the book moves too quickly. Randall and Julie go from enemies to missing each other to dating in what feels like hardly any time at all. Time and jealousy have the potential to prompt this rapid progression in their relationship, but it lacked the depth I hoped for.

Additionally, there was so much going on that I wished the story had focused on only one or two plotlines to move the narrative forward. It would have been enough to have the community service project force Randall and Julie together, and then use this to try to foster a reconciliation between their grandparents. I was also disappointed that some things I wanted to witness in the pages happened outside of them.

Those who like plot-driven stories and romances forbidden due to family rivalries may like Hangry Hearts.

This was a new author for me and I really enjoyed this one! It was so fun and sweet! Def worth a read for all YA romance lovers!

This book was so much fun! A Romeo and Juliet retelling with rival food truck owning families and all the forced proximity? Yes, yes, and yes!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this arc!
This was just okay for me, I found it hard to connect with the characters.

3.75 ⭐️

This was a cute YA romance book.
I loved the diverse representation and I think it’s the perfect read for teens.

I loved how food focused it was.

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC.

premise: they're rival family-run food trucks at the farmers market. actually they all used to be best friends until the incident 5 years ago and now they can't stand each other. he's part of the korean food truck and she's with the dim sum truck. they're forced to interact when lumped together for a group project in school. they go from rivals to teammates to lovers who want to bring their families back together.

it's a very cute ya romance. their families are so openly loving, accepting, silly, fun, and delightful. mmc in this book is trans. they handled it really well where it's just a facet of his character but not the only thing about him. mostly everyone around him is super supportive.

I liked this! It was a cute and easy read. The love triangle was interesting mostly because it seemed like an open triangle BUT I liked it anways! I love the main characters who have to hide out their feelings from their families due to family drama. If someone says “family dramaaaaaa!” I’m there! That’s what this book was to me, a family drama filled romance.