Girl of Hearts

Luck Gods Series, Book 1

By: J. Gabriel Gates

Narrated by: Paige Reisenfeld

Length: 11 hrs and 38 mins

Publisher's summary

Four tribes of ruthless demigods rule over luck in our world.

Hearts, Diamonds, Spades, and Clubs.

But I don’t believe in luck or in gods. I believe in science. And coffee. And nerding my way to the rank of class valedictorian. My OCD is under control—mostly—and my mom, Rachel, has just finished building a dark-matter machine that could win back her job as a physics professor. Life is good...until Mom disappears.

My search for her leads me to the dangerously handsome Jack of Hearts, a demigod with the power to control chance. Mom may have been captured by bad-luck gods, the savage Blackovers. To save her, I have to join Jack and his fellow Valentines. I find myself whisked into their world of opulent mansions, gorgeous people, and fancy cars.

But being a demigoddess isn't all glamor and popularity. It can be deadly. Now, I’ll have to master my newfound luck powers, battle the dark suits, and brave the unlucky underbelly of Detroit, all while keeping my OCD at bay—or risk losing my mom forever.

Girl of Hearts is book one of the Luck Gods series, an urban fantasy series featuring court intrigue, found family, slow-burn romance, and a mind-bending original magic system based on the four card suits.

Reviews

"Gates has created a fresh, magical world where luck is power. The MC Aggie is smart and fiercely determined, and I was eagerly flipping through the pages from the very start. With strong prose, action-packed scenes, and a unique magic system, Girl of Hearts is a must-read!" (Nissa Leder, author of the Whims of the Fae series)

"I’m beyond obsessed with this book and I am already dying for the second one to come out." (Booktok review: @bookchellereads)

"Wow...I was not expecting to get that sucked into an Urban Fantasy novel. This is a page turning, slow burning romance with all the action that gods and a demigoddess can bring...a great combination of thrill, action, and romance to satisfy all my literary needs. You will not be disappointed." (BookTok review: @missie_r)

©2022 J. Gabriel Gates (P)2023 J. Gabriel Gates

3 star listen

Interesting take on luck magic
Suits of cards are almost like gangs
I didn’t really buy into the love component of this book but the world building was good.
Gifted audio

Not just a card game

Good or evil who will prevail? This story leaves you wanting to know what happens next!

An easy, fun read

I read the prequel and I couldn't wait for this to come out. It didn't disappoint. The world development was crazy good. The luck system at times is a little hard to understand but still worth the time. Performance is great.

Overall good story.

I was given this audiobook for free in exchange for an honest review. The story is very unique and is told well. The audio performance is also done very well. There are a few parts that are a little heavy in scholastic narration, but it goes by quickly. Overall a solid story.

An intriguing universe with compelling characters

This fantasy drew me in right away, with clear and steady world building and a relatable protagonist. Some of the plot points left me with questions by the end, but maybe they will be explained in subsequent books.
The narration is superb, I had no trouble discerning one character from another and I just love her voice.
I was given this book free and am reviewing it voluntarily.

Loved the book

I loved the book it was a nice introduction in to the series this is only the second audio book I have ever listened to the narrator made me feel like I was there with Aggie and Jack taking part in the action. I can't wait to read the second book in the series.

a fun experience

not typically the genre I read, but this was an entertaining story. the world building and character development was written well. I liked the kinda quirky MC. Narrators performance is top notch. I'd continue with this series and other works from this narrator as well

The start of a good series

I want to thank the author & narrator for the opportunity to listen to Girl of Hearts in exchange for my review. I really enjoyed the twists and turns in this audiobook. It's the beginning of a good series! I like that the author made the character more believable by not just telling us the girl has OCD, but by having true to life OCD incidents throughout the story. The narrator, Paige Reisenfeld, did a wonderful job bringing the pages to life. I'm looking forward to the rest of the series!

Find your inner power

"Girl of Hearts" is a satisfying Young Adult story that I feel Grown adults will find entertaining as well. Everyone with an OCD habit can recognize a bit of themselves here. The Suits provide a unique twist on the 'super-powers' metaphor for finding one's inner strength. Good action and suspense leading to climax of plot, and 95 percent wrapup while leaving teasers drawing the listener to the next book.
Narrator Paige had a lot of characters to cover and performed them extremely well. I could hear humor, sadness, terror, resolve, angst, excitement, and fun, by turns. With her characterizations, I found that I could distinguish all of the personalities by her voices in a dialogue without needing the text to identify explicitly who was whom, and she was consistent throughout: impressive!
When I first chose this book, I
didn't think I would want to hear the sequel, but now I will definitely get it!

An easy read with compelling characters

I really loved the characters in this book. There was a lot of character development and overcoming fears and flaws, which is what also made the characters relatable. In addition, the worldbuilding was spot on and the luck gods and their suits intriguing. Paige Reisenfeld also did an amazing job bringing the story to life. The narration was great and easy to listen to.

A bit of luck god politics, surprising twists, just the right amount of action, and a hint of teenage awkwardness, made the book a solid four star read. The only thing that fell a little flat for me was the sprinkle of romance. I was rooting for the couple but I wish their romantic feelings were built on more interactions between the characters.