A trans teen steals and ransoms body parts with magic begins to investigate a string of missing girls after escaping their partner's situation and falling in love with one of the missing girls. Phyllis has magic and works with their partner Lucent to steal and ransom body parts. Phyllis thought they could be in love with Lucent and that Lucent loved them...but his love comes with conditions and Phyllis is sick and tired of Lucent's love and wants a better love...so they run away and becomes duke Phillip. As Lord Phillip of Rabbiton, Phyllis gains a title and begins investigating the missing girls. and begins to fall in love with one of the girls.Yet when Phillip discovers the girls they aren't dead... or rather undead and now Phillip has to find out what his magic entails and what happened to the girls. This started off with a promising story but just became boring and lackluster sadly. I wish I could have liked it more but the story itself just got boring and the characters never really got to evolve and become intriguing. I just didn't feel the romance and the overall stakes just didn't feel there. Sadly, this was a miss for me but I do think that other readers should give it a go just to read the unique story.

Release Date: May 13, 2025

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

*Thanks Netgalley and Page Street Publishing | Page Street YAor sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

This was very difficult to get through. I won’t be sharing a review of this book on other review sites because I have no desire to drag a trans+ book online, but the lack of coherent plot, poor character development, and wonky pacing made this less than enjoyable to read.

The Duke Steals Hearts & Other Body Parts is filled with excitingly unsettling magic, an abundance of power struggles, and very lovable undead girls that'll steal your heart along with our dear chaotic Duke.

I am certain this is something i would have ADORED as a teenager. In my late 20s, I still ate this one up. And in a dark regency setting with Trans and Queer rep?! YES PLEASE. There were definitely a slew of bad decision making (honestly, very on brand for the age group of the characters) that had be simultaneously sighing in exasperation and unable to to put the book down. In this book, Elias Cold creates characters that you want to see make it out (and make out maybe?) on the brighter side and see them emerge victorious over inner turmoil, toxic relationships, and corrupt systems.

This is one that I would definitely recommend to YA readers and readers who like chaotic main characters, eerie regency vibes, and a bit of body horror. I'm also excited to see Cold's future work!

thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

First and foremost, thank you to the publisher and the author for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. I loved this story and it was definitely worth the read! The magic in this book was really different from anything else I've read!

Yet another book that is not at all bad, but very Not For Me! The voice and prose are distinctly YA (which I can’t fault it for, because it IS YA, but there’s YA with complex prose and YA with simpler prose, and this is the latter, which I just don’t enjoy), but I have to applaud the unusual magic Cold came up with, especially with how it interacts with the MC being trans (which he’s not yet quite articulated to himself at the start of the book). I also feel like the storyline is pretty unique; there’s something about it that feels unusual, in a very refreshing way. I think it’s that the MC already cares about the missing girls before he knows any of them personally? I can’t remember the last time I saw a story built around someone setting out to rescue complete strangers, and I approve very much!

Basically: a book I’d happily hand over to the teenagers I know, and an author I’ll definitely be keeping an eye on. (I think they have an Adult debut this year under another penname…? Must investigate!)

Rated 3.5 on Storygraph.

Phyllis' life is complicated- she can take the body parts off of others through magic, leaving the perfect ability to collect limbs, hold them for ransom, and then collect cash. At least, Phyllis does that following Lucent's direction. Lucent, who so graciously puts up with Phyllis because he says no one else will. Lucent, who reminds Phyllis of how bad her life would be without him in it. Lucent, who is so distant and uncaring, but reminds Phyllis that he is the only one that loves her. Lucent, who would never believe Phyllis if she told him she wanted to be a boy.

But when Phyllis learns their latest mark is the brother of yet another missing girl, it puts life into perspective. In trying to figure out what happened to Adeline, Phyllis comes up with the persona Duke Phillip of Rabbiton. And suddenly life makes sense. Phillip is confident. Phillip is free to be who he wants to be. Phillip feels right. But when Phillip figures out what happening to the missing girl, he is in for a whole lot more trouble.

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This story felt like a regency cozy book with a twinge of horror. I enjoyed the storyline as I never felt like I knew what might happen next. It hooked me in and it was an easy read. I liked the overarching theme of breaking away from toxic love, becoming yourself, and what happens after you've burned bridges.

The book switches from 1st person POV (Phillip) to 3rd person POV (everyone else), which I thought was a unique and effective way to tell the story. Sometimes the narrative did seem heavy handed, however, where things were told instead of shown. Phillip was my favorite character, as we got to see more of his emotions and motives, but overall the characters felt a little too surface level and while I enjoyed the book I was not emotionally attached to the world or the people in it.

The book is alright, just not really what I was looking for in my current reading slump. I wouldn’t go out of my way to recommend it but if someone asked if they should read it I would say yes.

Thank you for accepting me for this tour. I will be updating this soon. Awesome cover had a classic vibe.

this book was really fun and a great palette cleanser! i also really enjoyed the mystery aspect, highly recommend you pick this up when it releases in may!

thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

How can you understand your magic if you haven't explored your own identity? Mysterious disappearances propel Phillip, a crafty thief with the unsettling power to detach others' body parts at will, into an aristocratic realm where status is paramount and the dead roam. This fast-paced novel leads readers through a journey of the eerie and self-exploration. Featuring strong trans representation, fans of Andrew Joseph White's "The Spirit Bares Its Teeth" (Peach Tree Teen), who seek a lighter read, will appreciate this gothic tale infused with a hint of romance.

WOW. What a ride. 👀 i can’t believe this was considered a YA. The characters, story, environment just wowowowowowowo. Dark and action packed . Highly recommend

Living his whole life among circus folk, Phillip has always lived on the edge of society. His current hobby is holding body parts ransom; since childhood, he's had the ability to disconnect and re-connect body parts, and few people would want to go outside without a nose. However, he is forced to reconsider his money-making methods after stealing the nose from a young man named Wycliff, who is already depressed now that his sister has been kidnapped--the most recent of a series of kidnappings that have befallen the town.

My introduction to this book was positive. The premise sounded interesting--I was down for a trans teen playing a goreless version of Repo! The Genetic Opera, I enjoy a good rhyming title (though personally, I'd take 'Other' out--I think 'The Duke Steals Hearts & Other Parts' has a better syllabic rhythm, but that's just me), and I enjoyed the old fashioned wood-cut feeling of the cover. Unfortunately, my excitement became disappointment when I started the first chapter and read this line in the second paragraph:

"Moist fingers the color and texture of drowned slugs clawed and pressed ravenously into her windpipe."

Oh. That's not a very good line at all. Phillip's chapters, which are in first-person and include a lot of introspection, aren't as awful to read and make up the bulk of the book, but when it comes to other perspectives, the prose does the writing equivalent of not knowing what to do with its hands. Descriptions of other characters and environs are bare-bones--I don't think the city the characters reside in is even given a name--and the setting is vaguely 1800s and vaguely European, though not much detail is given to architecture or technology. I don't think this is bad per se, but it fits into my biggest complaint for this book--I don't think it should have been a book.

This might sound like an insult, but I don't mean it in this way. I think Elias Cold's strength is in characters and set pieces, rather than stories and prose, and 'The Duke...' would work better as a graphic novel or even an audio drama. I understand why they went with a novel--you don't need to find someone to draw or other people to do voices, but I think the narrative voice weighs down the novel and makes it less enjoyable. Phillip seems like a character you'd find on an obscure artist's tumblr, where they've drawn thousands of detailed comics featuring him that only answer some of your questions, and I mean that with praise.

Seriously, how COOL is this concept?

Not a lot surprises me these days as the market is very oversaturated, but this hooked me from the start.

A limb-poppingly fantastic read with diversity.

i am definitely too old for this book, but i definitely would have adored it at about 14, so that's something, and I am going to review it like I was in the correct age group. Overall, I enjoyed reading the book, and the characters were fun, but I am not really a big fan of the way that transmasculinity was depicted(this is personal it's not problematic I just don't like it), and also I still don't get how the magic system works all that much. One of those books where the aesthetics are the best part of it

I don't have a lot to say aboutt this one. I thought it wasn't very good, that the narration was struggling and I had issues with the storytelling. Overall it lacked stakes and emotional attachment. The way information is revealed is off. I don't even know what this book wanted to say.

I have mixed feelings about this book. It's really well written... and it's probably one of the most unique things I have fead in a long time. I enjoyed the reader's writing style, the pacing was great.. and the characters developed well as the novel progressed. What a lovely things for a villain to be able to do - steal body parts from people.. and what a world in which that can happen.

It made me uncomfortable that the MC was deadnamed... I have read books before in which the author has used a variety of methods to avoid deadnaming a character. Not sure if that will bother readers... I am sensitive to it.

Overall, a twisted tale... loved the morbid overtones. I didn't always connect well with the characters. Sometimes, their decision confused me a little bit.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.25/5

The Duke Steals Hearts & Other Body Parts is a creative, immersive YA fantasy with a powerful plot and fascinating characters.

This one was lovely. I adored the characters, and each character’s development was great. They felt real, and I especially loved the explorations of sexuality and gender. The love stories were captivating, and I enjoyed the satisfying ending. The magic system was fascinating and imaginative, and I enjoyed the world-building. The plot was intriguing, and the pacing fit the story well, although a few parts felt choppy. Elias Cold’s prose was beautiful, and they presented a wonderful story. This one did not hook me throughout the story as much as I was hoping, but it was an overall entertaining and powerful novel that is a great addition to YA shelves.

Thank you to the publisher for the free ARC!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Page Street YA for providing this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

This book is such a gem! I loved the whole, incredibly flawed cast of characters and was happy with how it all wrapped up!

I recommend checking out this book when it is released!

While this book me a while to finish, I feel like it's not completely done. I had a hard time connecting with the characters and felt that their motivations were often strange and unreliable. I love that the protagonist is trans, but feel like the initial "transition" could have been fleshed out a little bit more - we went from Phyllis to Phillip almost on a whim, and then didn't dive into anything else. Beyond that, the magic system also could have been explained a little bit more, because it's such an interesting concept, but missed the execution. Sometimes, it was difficult to follow the first vs third-person narratives through the story - at several points, characters would refer to Phillip as Phillip, and then we'd jump back into Phillip's head. It was a little disorienting to follow. Adeline was a major character, but we almost never get her POV beyond being angry at Phillip or being a dancer. Phillip's feelings for her also appear out of nowhere, and it was hard to root for their relationship when he was suddenly obsessed with her for no reason other than feeling guilty about stealing from Wycliff when supposedly Phillip has stolen many body parts before and never felt bad. I also didn't fully see the relationship that Phillip and Lucent claimed to have - we get snippets, but mostly it felt like the relationships (and the world-building!) could have been worked on for a little longer. Show, don't tell, and all that.

The ending brought down what had been an enjoyable book for me. Around 80% through the book, I realized how few pages were left and how much story there seemed to be left to tell, and I wondered how it would all fit. And then it didn't. The ending was abrupt. Many of the plot threads felt hastily resolved and some of the characters fell away. First Wycliff, then Adeline and Nyx, started with strong presences in the narrative in terms of their personalities and goals -- Wycliff and Adeline even being point-of-view characters -- before dwindling away. Lucent had a lot of set-up as a complex, tragic villain, but not a lot and not consistent development of those ideas. His main motivation ended up not really seeming to matter to him or anyone else. He drops it with very little prompting considering he's been pursuing this one goal for 400 years, killing for it and ruining his own happiness for it the whole time. **spoilers** (Also, if he cared so much about resurrecting his sister or at least tells himself he does, why kill the one man who's been shown to have resurrection powers? At least pretend a bit to consistent goals, you killed your lover for this.) **spoilers** Also, the tragedy of him living so long, but by his nature always falling into the same miserable and inescapable patterns is a compelling concept, but not shown off all that well.

What I liked:
Phillip's coming into himself as a trans man. Despite the fantastical setting and his unusual past, he reads true and relatably as a young trans person figuring it all out, both in his insecurities and fears and in this bright new self-assurance and comfort he starts to find as Phillip.

The trio of Phillip and the two undead girls. They had a sweet friendship developing even if, like many things in this book, I think it could have used more time to keep developing. Their support of each other and attempts to be honest and open with each other (a work in progress but something) were a nice contrast to the unhealthy relationship Phillip had been trapped in.

Lucent's love. Lucent's worst actions are done out of love and to people he genuinely loves. He's not just pretending to manipulate Phillip or Weevil. I think it adds something to the book's discussion of unhealthy relationships to acknowledge that there can be real love, care, and affection mixed with or driving the cruelty. And where other attempts to add complexity to Lucent's character fall flat, this one does work for me.