3/5 ⭐️
Even though I rated this author’s other book 3.5, I still had a good time. I remember liking it, but wishing it just did more. That was the same case here, but worse. I think off the bat I wasn’t thrilled with the fact chapter one was 80% info dumping things to us. But this also felt so much more fake than the other. Like the other was kind of unbelievable but this just felt super shiny Hollywood fake. The characters, the conflict, the world. Like no teenager I know lives and act like this. There’s suspending belief, and then there’s the Truman show fakeness.
I will say though that this is also a very fast read and I think it would be good for like upper middle grade/ lower YA. It has that sort of Disney channel quality to the characters, world, and conflicts.
Even though I know this is a ya romcom, I think I would’ve preferred if this felt a smidge more grounded in reality. I love YA romcoms, but this one just wasn’t for me. And I wish it was telling us things less. Like less info dumps and asides. I think that would help the tone from feeling too much like what an adult thinks a teenager sounds like.
I would still recommend others check it out for themselves. It’s definitely a quick, bingeable read. But it’s also a couple hours you won’t get back in your life 🤷🏽‍♀️
Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for providing an advance reader copy of this book for my honest review.

Despite a really cute concept, the execution fell flat. This is a short, sweet, easy read for anyone looking for a palate cleanser between more intense books. However, it's difficult to develop any emotional attachment for the characters, which causes the story to drag.

Thanks Netgalley and St. Martin's Press | Wednesday Books for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review.

Romeo and Juliet takes a fresh spin between two ex best friends whose families are rivals at the farmer's market but find themselves thrown together and as they begin to fall for one another... can they find a way to make it work despite how much their families dislike each other. Julie and Randall use to be best friends, even their families were close... until the "incident" and every since then Julie and Randall have become rivals and their families dislike each other. Their families have competing businesses at the Saturday Pasadena Farmers Market and when one incident gets out of hand it leads to more animosity. Yet when they're both paired up to work on a project together along with another student, wealthy London Kim who has had a crush on Julie since forever, things take a turn as Julie and Randall now have to deal with their old feelings and new feelings for each other. Yet even if they are falling for each other can they find a way to be together despite how much their families hate each other or are some wrongs too long gone to be forgiven. I want to first say I love the rep in this one as Randall is a character who has transitioned and has such a lovely support from his family. The Romeo and Juliet spin was fun but my only thing was I just wasn't feeling the romance between Randall and Julie at all. I really tried to get more invested in it but it just kind of fell off for me personally. I do think other YA readers will have a fun time reading this new spin on a classic.

Release Date: March 18, 2025

Publication/Blog: Ash and Books (ash-and-books.tumblr.com)

*Thanks Netgalley and St. Martin's Press | Wednesday Books for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

Thank you to NegGalley for the chance to do this review.

Similar to some of the other reviews, I wish that the summary was upfront about LGBTQ+ themes in the book, considering that one of the leads is transgender. I was able to make it about 1/3 of the way through, before I didn’t finish the book. I really wanted to give the book a chance since I was given the opportunity to review it, but I just couldn’t get into it. I ended up skimming the rest of the book and found it rather cringey.

Initially, I was drawn by the descriptions of family and food, but as the story unfolded, I couldn’t enjoy it. I also found it odd that there were instances in the book where the author would call out a passing character’s race. (“a Black customer”, “a Black girl”) it didn’t seem to bring anything to the storyline.

Unfortunately, the book fell really flat to me. The synopsis was good, but on page it did not translate the best. The story started off decent, but by the halfway point half of the problems were solved? The pacing of this book was not good sadly. It felt choppy and all over the place. There was rarely a continuous flow type feel. It read more like bullet points, especially with the POV switch in the middle of chapters after a few sentences.

The themes themselves were not flushed out as much as I would like them to have been. The school project felt like it did not even exist. I would have loved reading more about the project and was the elementary school garden saved? It felt like we did not even get an answer to that or I missed it? It was here and then it was gone. The way it was described it, this project was taking a few months to complete and it felt like 3 seconds.

The romance itself was too insta-love for me. I do not overall mind that trope, but with this story it just felt so extra fast. I get they knew each other since they were kids, but they did not speak for those five years. A lot clearly had changed for each of them and I think a slower burn would have worked so well here.

Let me present you « Hangry Hearts » by Jennifer Chen, aka an ARC I just read!

— My rating: 2.5/5 ⭐️

So I finished Hangry Hearts by Jennifer Chen, and while it wasn’t my absolute favorite, I’m still grateful to NetGalley for the advanced copy! 💖

This book is really short and easy to read—perfect for a cozy, light day of reading. It’s cute, and I loved the secret notebook Julie and Randall used to pass love letters. That was a sweet touch! ✨

I also didn’t expect the LGBTQ+ twist, which was a nice surprise and added some depth, though it didn’t fully hit me emotionally. The romance was sweet, but overall, I didn’t feel that much for the characters or the plot—it was just... okay.

On the plus side, it was nice to read about Korean culture—especially the food! The descriptions made me so hungry, and I loved how it brought a bit of extra richness to the story.

If you're looking for something quick, cute, and a bit different, you might enjoy this! It’s coming out on March 18th!

#HangryHearts #LGBTQRomance #JulieandRandall #NetGalley #CuteAndAdorable #KoreanCulture #FoodLover #BookReview #YAromance #FamilyDrama

Due to my religious beliefs I had to dnf this, I didn't realize this novel had lgtbtq+ themes (the mmc being trans) as it was not disclosed in the blurb/synopsis.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review

DNF at 20%...couldn't push myself to finish that 25% I normally try to hit. Yhe changing POV halfway through a chapter and the YOUNG youny adult writing just made me not want to continue.

The descriptions of the food is why I kept reading. It made me so hungry!

This book had so much potential and I really tried liking it but I could not find myself being able to care for the characters. The writing was absolutely underwhelming and I never knew what month it was because the timeline is all over the place. There is no fluidity between POVs to the point it would change even after just a small paragraph. Everything feels very surface leveled with so much happening behind the scenes that the author doesn’t share with us. I think I would have cared more if she had dove a bit deeper into the characters.

I did love the representation of trans people as well as showing with us the support Randall gets from his family. And I also loved the emphasis on the food.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC in exchange of an honest review!

Loved how the author combined traditional Chinese food with modern lady life in LA! The emphasis on family was realistic and enjoyable, def recommend

I believe if I was in elementary school this would have absolutely been a book I would have annoyed my librarian with how often I would have checked it out. Unfortunately, I am not in elementary school anymore and have developed a particular taste on what I like to read and what I don't since then. This book falling into the latter. I'm really sad I didn't enjoy this book as much I thought I would since I found the premise intriguing but what can you do.
The main thing I didn't enjoy was the writing, but I believe that's just a personal preference. That being said, I would totally buy this book for my 10-year-old cousin. It has great lgbtq+ rep, which I'm always happy to read about, and I loved learning a bit more about cultures I'm not a part of.

It wasn't for me, but I could see why someone would enjoy reading it!

Thank you netgalley for the arc!

Tropes:
Romeo/Juliet style story
YA
Forbidden Love
Family ties

First of all, this cover is ADORABLE. Seriously, so cute.

Secondly, this book was so fun! I love a good re-telling! Chen shows the dynamics of different cultures, all while following the Romeo and Juliet theme.

And all the amazing food? I loved what that added to the story as well!

This was a sweet, fun read, and I think anyone would enjoy it.

What a delightful story of young love. I loved the character development and the struggle of choosing their love or the siding with their families during an intense family feud. It was fun, lighthearted read.

+ I love that this is a foodie romance and it features Asian foods like Korean and Taiwanese foods. It definitely made me hungry! Two families, one Korean and the other Taiwanese, are enemies at the food market, but they weren’t always this way. These two families used to be super close.

+ Randall is trans, and I thought it was a nice representation. I love how his grandmother accepted him when he told her how he felt. The support he has, even from Julie who is his “ex-friend”, is sweet.

+ Family is a main theme in this story and yes it’s very Romeo and Juliet – Julie and Randall are forbidden to be together because both families have bad blood. But I love how they resolve things at the end.

+~ The love story between Randall and Julie is an ex-friends to lovers romance. I thought it was a cute love story, especially because they used to be best friends. For the most part I thought they were cute together but this reads very young adult, there was the teen angst, longing and drama between them. This is definitely for younger YA readers.

~ Some of the family drama was ridiculous especially when it came to Julie and Randall hiding their relationship. I was surprised Julie didn’t rebel when she got caught and basically submitted to her brother watching her like a hawk just so she stays away from Randall. I understand that family came first but I also wanted Randall to fight for their relationship instead of ghosting her sometimes.

~ There were some pacing issues – it switched quickly between Julie and Randall’s POVs which made the story move quick but also made it feel choppy at times.

Final Thoughts:

I love the Asian food representations in this story, it definitely made me hungry! I found the theme of family really enjoyable also even though I do think it went too far at times when they tried to keep Julie and Randall apart (I’m looking at you Tyler). I mean, let these young ones fall in love! Randall as a trans rep was nice and watching him fall for Julie was sweet. There were some pacing issues for me and I do feel like this will appeal to younger YA readers, but for the most part, I enjoyed it and it’s a quick read.

DNF'd a few chapters in, which is disappointing because I really enjoyed Artifacts of an Ex. I just cannot get into dual POV books where the POV character changes mid chapter.

The cultural representation was great, especially all the food which made me very hungry while reading, and though I didn't expect the LGBT representation from the description, it seemed well-done. Otherwise, though, unfortunately, I never really got sucked into this book and had to force myself/skim my way through it. I found the dialogue a bit stilted and everything about the plot predictable (which romances usually are) and lacking in tension (which romances should not be). This might be just me, but I probably wouldn't recommend this book.

I picked up this book because the title and the cover were so cute. However, the plot fell a little flat for me. It read like every other romance book with nothing unique that made it stand out. The banter between Julie and Randall was the best part and I di enjoy learning more about their respective cultures.

Absolutely adored this book. Great characters, great pacing, and a wonderful ending.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an early copy!

I was expecting your typical YA rom-com with international flair in this story, but there is so much more to Hangry Hearts. It took me a few chapters for the story to grab me, but once it did, I was hooked.

This is the story of Julie and Randall. They used to be best friends. Their grandmothers used to be best friends. Now, the families won't speak to each other and are constantly trying to one-up the other one at the weekly farmer's market where they each have food stalls. Of course they get put together for a group project in civics class.

But here is where the plot twist happens and what sets this story apart. Randall is trans. The romance that blooms has all sorts of issues, but I love that the fact that Randall is trans is not one of them. They do have to keep their relationship secret, but only because of the issue that broke the two families 5 years earlier.

This is a love story to food and culture. It highlights the intergenerational stories of both families and looks into what it is like to make it in a new country where you don't know the language. It is also a love story about taking care of the earth, knowing where your food comes from, and teaching the next generation ways to garden, harvest, and cook.

I love that the project the teens are assigned has them coming up with a complete plan that positively impacts their community, complete with a timeline and budget. They have to write a proposal for outside funding and they have to work as a team. One of the few things that bothered me was how frequently the POV changed. There were some areas where a character's section was only a paragraph or two. Small potatoes, but just a personal frustration.

This was a really sweet story that felt incredibly authentic. Great for 12-18 year olds.

I really enjoyed this as a romance novel, it had that element that I was looking for and was invested in what was happening. It had that element that I was looking for and was engaged with what was happening during the romance aspect. The characters were realistic and was glad they were so well done. Jennifer Chen wrote this well and am excited to read more from them.