Darkhearts

A Novel

De: James L. Sutter

Narrado por: Ramon de Ocampo

This program features original music written and performed by the author.

Perfect for fans of Alice Oseman and Red, White, & Royal Blue, Darkhearts is a hilarious, heartfelt, enemies-to-lovers romance about love, celebrity, and what happens when the two collide.

When David quit his band, he missed his shot at fame, trapped in an ordinary high school life while his ex-best friend, Chance, became the hottest teen pop star in America.

Then tragedy throws David and Chance back into contact. As old wounds break open, the boys find themselves trading frenemy status for a confusing, secret romance—one that could be David’s ticket back into the band and the spotlight.

As the mixture of business and pleasure becomes a powder keg, David will have to choose: Is this his second chance at glory? Or his second chance at Chance?

A Macmillan Audio production from Wednesday Books.

©2022 James L. Sutter (P)2022 Macmillan Audio

Reseñas de la Crítica

Book Riot, "Spring 2023 YA Books You’ll Want to TBR ASAP"

LGBTQReads, "Most Anticipated LGBTQ+ Romance of 2023"

SheReads, "Best YA Romances of Summer 2023"

The Nerd Daily, "Must-Have Queer Book Releases 2023"

"Tenderly written and exceptionally sweet... A funny romp with a lot of heart."—Kirkus Reviews

"Sutter's breezy, warm-hearted prose feels almost like a trick: blink and you'll catch yourself surprised by the more emotional moments in the book. A fantastic, slow-burn romance both sweet and poignant, hilarious and brilliant."—Cassandra Khaw, USA Today bestselling author of Nothing But Blackened Teeth

"Laugh-out-loud and tearful at the same time, Sutter's Darkhearts combines real characters, smart prose, and an emotional journey into one fantastically relatable read."—Charlie N. Holmberg, bestselling author of The Paper Magician series and You're My I.T.

This gave me a lot of feelings

I really liked this book. The narration was top notch but I expected that from Ramon de Ocampo. The main protagonist is a deeply flawed character. You watch him flounder and figure out what it means to be who he is now. The relationship between the characters was also good. I can see why this book has received mixed reviews. I have to say I enjoyed it from beginning to almost end. It was engaging, funny and really. The end of the book although it didn’t go the way I thought it might or hoped it would. Felt real too. Honest and true to the characters and a real life situation not just something created for function. Don’t fear though there is a HEA at the end

Sweet and sweetly steamy

I finished this book in just a few days, and stayed up way too late more than once to do so. The teenage characters felt really true to life for me, and I very much identified with the main character's journey. I liked that the ancillary characters were dimensional and interesting too, and as someone born and raised in Seattle, the city itself felt like another lovely character I was getting to know and found very charming.
This was a sweet and funny story with a handful of steamy scenes that felt true to teenage excitement and discovery of sex and sexual identity.
I really enjoyed the author's steady voice, and look forward to reading more from him.
The audio performance was really good. I found the reader's voice a little hard to buy as teen-aged at times, but he did a great job with humor and emotion and pacing, and overall was pleasant to listen to.

Surpassed my expecations

I absolutely loved this book. I did not want it to end. I cannot stop thinking about the characters. They feel so real and relatable. Beautifully done!!!

Complex characters with a strong plot!

An excellent story that has perfect narration. Chance and David are both characters with their own strengths and weaknesses that are brought back together after 2 long years by the unfortunate death of a friend/bandmate. The close proximity has them both working on their ruined friendship but so much more begins to develop between them that will leave David (our MC) on a path to look inward and learn about himself in ways he never saw coming. The personal growth for all characters involved and the easy flow of the compelling plot had me devouring this book!

Great story and performance

The narration is flawless and the characters are very real. I found David and Chance’s journey very charming and loved how David had his flaws but grew as a character.

The tender romance YA audiences deserve

Something in this for adult readers too, this poignant and unflinching look at the trials of teen romance has the potential to be formative not only for young adults, but adult adults as well. In a world still struggling to understand the basics of love, this relatable tale offers everyone an opportunity for introspection and growth, no matter where we are in our real world relationships and understanding. Being funny and entertaining sure doesn't hurt either. Relatable characters and accessible emotionally with just the right amount of steam, this is a satisfying read. Bravo, Sutter!

Splendid

Read it and enjoy. The love story you need to heal and learn a heart wants what a heart wants 😍Funny, touching, captivating, and brings visibility that LOVE IS LOVE 😍😍😍

Steamy yet meaningful

It was refreshing that they actually got to enjoy being together, and the romance wasn’t created in the last 20 mins of the book.

His first young adult novel is a great debut

The author's branching out into young adult fiction is surprisingly rather good. Hilarious dialogue, well-developed characters, and excellent narration by Ramon all earn high praise from me, Ramon's skill at different voices and accents working extremely well here. Falling in love is onething, falling for a celebrity is no picnic.

Bisexual MC

Book Review: Darkhearts by @james_l_sutter
Released: June 6, 2023
Rating: 5/5
Recommended by: The Universe
The Low-Down: Young Adult Rom-Com with some mental health rep of fighting internal battles. M/M with Bisexual MC. Balancing fame and coming out.

I LOVE LOVE LOVED Darkhearts by James L. Sutter. This book kept popping up in my recommendations on Audible, Libby, and other creator's recommendations. I had bought it long ago and just let the beautiful cover stare back at me from my bookshelf until @lets_cry_about_books read it and told me I was going to love this one. Always trust in your book besties because she wasn't wrong. I immediately fell in love. I am a sucker for entertainment books, but add some angst in a Queer story about musicians, and I'm hooked. Also, who gave James Sutter the right to casually name drop one of my favorite bands (@subradioband) TWICE? This was an unexpected surprise that I audibly squeeled at.

This book is told from the first person point of view of former Darkhearts band member, David. David hasn't spoken to his ex-bandmates, Eli & Chance, in two years since walking out on the band and their friendship. But with the unfortunate passing of Eli, heartthrob Chance is back in town. However, Chance is not the same person David remembers. There's anger, resentment, and jealousy between the reunited friends, but there's also a spark of something ... more. How is David supposed to navigate new feelings while trying to close the door on old ones?

For fans of: Red, White & Royal Blue, Kiss & Tell and If This Gets Out. But also for fans of Sub-Radio 😉

Bonus: When one of your favorite books mentions one of your favorite bands, you get the band to sign said book. Just gotta meet @james_l_sutter now to add the final piece. Check out a video of @subradioband signing the book via James' Reels! Then add Sub-Radio to wherever you listen to music.