bookperson
Written on Nov 10, 2019
Dee Moreno is out of options. Her home life sucks (to put it mildly), and she's about to get booted from her boarding school--the only place she's ever felt free--for lack of funds. But this is a world where demons exist, and the demons are there to make deals: one human body part in exchange for one wish come true.
The demon who Dee approaches doesn't trade in the usual arms and legs, however. He's only interested in her heart. And what comes after Dee makes her deal is a nightmare far bigger, far more monstrous than anything she ever could have imagined. Reality is turned on its head, and Dee has only her fellow "heartless," the charming but secretive James Lancer, to keep her grounded. As something like love grows between them amid an otherworldly ordeal, Dee begins to wonder: Can she give James her heart when it's no longer hers to give?
In The Hearts We Sold, demons can be outwitted, hearts can be reclaimed, monsters can be fought, and love isn't impossible. This book will steal your heart and break it, and leave you begging for more.
- ISBN10 0316314552
- ISBN13 9780316314558
- Publish Date 25 July 2019 (first published 8 August 2017)
- Publish Status Active
- Publish Country US
- Publisher Little, Brown & Company
- Imprint Little, Brown Young Readers
- Format Paperback (UK Trade)
- Pages 416
- Language English
Reviews
Empress of Sass
Written on Jan 9, 2018
I loved this book. The characters, the world, the story, it wasn't what I was expecting when going in, but I loved where it went. I wasn't a fan of the ending, I saw other and better in my opinion ways things could have gone down, but it didn't ruin the book for me either. I'm definitely going to give this a second read sometime soon.
pagingserenity
Written on Dec 23, 2017
I received a copy for review. This in no way affects my opinion of the book.
With its well-developed characters serving as conductors, The Hearts We Sold takes you on an epic roller coaster of emotions with plot twists at every turn. Recommended for sci-fi fans tired of the same old plotlines.
Amber (The Literary Phoenix)
Written on Oct 25, 2017
Dee Moreno is out of time.
Her money is gone and her boarding school is telling her they'll have to pull the plug on her at the end of the semester. Dee can't go home. She just can't. And she has a really good reason. She has an account with trust money from her grandmother, but that doesn't mature until next year. She's not just out of time, she's out of options. Then the demon shows up.
The demon will take her heart for the money. When Dee says yes, yes doesn't understand the truth about him. About the world. She doesn't expect to make friends or fall in love. But, somehow, as one of the heartless, her whole world comes together.
Dee is one of the most incredible YA protagonists I've seen.
Not only is she kind and intelligent, but it takes incredible strength for her to survive her home life. Dee isn't rich and she's not at a boarding school because she's the smartest of them all. She's there because it was her way of pulling herself out of an emotionally abusive home life with two alcoholic parents. I have so much respect for this girl. A less-than-perfect home life is something we don't normally see in YA fiction. Alcoholic and/or emotionally abusive home lives are horrifyingly common and I thought it was so important to represent this sort of background. Especially because Dee is incredible. There are scenes outside of the supernatural that require such strength of character, and they were my favorite scenes in the book.
I also adored the love story in this book. It was not (necessarily) a googley-eyes type of relationship, but it was raw and real and heartbreaking and I really really loved it a lot. This is the type of romantic relationship I want to read every time. I thought it was handled really well. And I was defintiely rooting for everyone.
I did not predict this book.
I feel like there are aspects of it I probably should have figured out. There was literally a moment at like page... 340? Where I went, "OH MY GOODNESS SOMETHING BAD IS ABOUT TO HAPPEN AND I CANNOT HANDLE THIS." Then I spent the rest of the book flailing. Books don't often do that to me. They don't usually surprise me. A lot of them, I just want to rush through? "I know what's happening, moving on." This book surprised me at every turn. It's such a good book to show escalation of drama because it lets you settle in and get comfortable, then "WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU DOING STOP THAT NOOOOOOOOO".
It's really important to have a surprising book. It engages the reader. It makes them fall in love. More authors should be doing this.
This book broke my heart in all the best ways.
I loved this book. It was a gem - a diamond in the rough. I haven't read Emily-Lloyd Jones' other books and honestly? I don't think I'd've picked up The Hearts We Sold if it had not come in my September OwlCrate box. Now I am a huge fan of her work. Her writing style really draws you in and her characters are interesting and real. Even the minor characters like Cora and Gemma were amazing. I honestly cannot find a single fault in this book. Do yourself a favor and pick it up - it's a fantastic read.
leahrosereads
Written on Sep 10, 2017
liz089
Written on Aug 28, 2017
First off: this review contains spoilers, like MAJOR SPOILERS. I need these to make my point and otherwise it would be a very vague review… So if you want to read this novel and do not want to be spoiled; don’t read this.
I won’t talk around it: I did not really like this novel. It is probably not a very popular opinion, but it is mine and I prefer to be honest.
It wasn’t all bad, it did have some interesting ideas in there and at the beginning I enjoyed it. But the further I got into the novel the less I started to like it, I even had trouble finishing it. You know, it is okay for concepts to take time to develop, characters to get more dimensional throughout the plot, but when the story progressed and the characters/concept didn’t, I was disappointed.
What I liked.
Small list, but well.
I liked the concept at the beginning with the demons. As a huge lover of everything supernatural (including the TV show), I really like the idea of a story that is based on making deals with demons. I like that setting and the whole evil demon vibe that comes with it. What do they really want, are there ulterior motives ?
I liked the beginning in general, the writing was compelling and easy to read. We got some sympathy for the MC because of her home situation.. but after that, it just got bad and I started to dislike it more and more..
What I disliked. (be warned)
This plot guys.. It was like Indiana Jones all over again XD WTF with the aliens !?!? Why ?! That is just… lame. I wanted magic and demons and then all of the sudden, nope, we are actually aliens. Well, that’s disappointing.
And also, because of this, I still have some questions about the whole making deals part. Normally you can explain it away with magic, but now that they are aliens.. I feel like there are some big plotholes left behind here. And not just about the “alien system”, but also with some other stuff. We get to know Cora, find out that she traded her heart to get someone murdered, there was this whole THING about it and her feeling guilty about doing it because it didn’t do anything to make her feel better (no shit Sherlock), and then… Nothing ? We don’t get to know who it was and what he did to her ? It must have been pretty spectacular if she traded her heart and two years of her life for it ?! But noooo.. according to our MC, Cora was a good person (let’s agree to disagree) and it must have been something he deserved if she let him be assassinated, the end. Well NO, that is just really LAME.
Talking about lame… how incredibly DUMB were the MC and the alien at the ending. Telling the aliens that they should have just said they were aliens from the beginning and that everything would have been okay then. I found it kind of condescending and well.. DUMB. I mean, these aliens have been around for thousands of years and never thought of that ? And then some teenager comes around the corner and knows everything better ? She should have let that out, I found it very weird and stupid.
I also really disliked how we built towards something for the entire book, to this big fight at the end that decides the fate of the whole world… and then it is over in like less than 10 pages !! 10 pages people !! That was such a let-down. Twilight anyone XD
Almost nothing happens, expect for oh yeah, not predictable at all, the guy sacrifices himself for love (blegh) and turns out to have some incurable sickness (hands in the air if you saw THAT coming right from the beginning..) and had it all planned to save her ?
About the romance. I did not really feel it. Personally, I think it would have done better without. They had zero chemistry and it did nor add much to the story in my opinion. Also, why does everyone have to end up with someone in these kind of stories ?? It is okay for people to still be single at the end of a story. All of the sudden we need to get everyone together. Like Gremma and Riley, that was not necessary at all, felt more like something to do because it looks better ? Oh wait, we need to get some lesbian love in there too.. Check !
Like I already said before, the characters (including the MC) were really flat and one dimensional. Some heavy stuff happened (like Cal dying)and they didn't even really seem to care. I didn't like any of them.
Final Thoughts.
It started our promising, but ended up very predictable and cliché. This is just one of those YA novels that we’ve seen already a million times before. The MC was mediocre and had no personality, same for all the other characters and the plot took a very unpleasant turn later on in my opinion. The romance was superfluous and boring. The story was filled with plotholes and weird revelations that made the novel worse and worse. This was not my kind of novel, at all and I can’t give it a high rating feeling like the whole book exploded in my face. What a disappointment.
layawaydragon
Written on Jul 23, 2017
I LOVED Hearts We Sold!
- Both of my parents are addicts, my father an alcoholic and my mother self-medicated with drugs. Dee's home life with the emotional and psychological neglect and abuse is scarily accurate. My heart broke for Dee, understanding all too well 3
- Dee's best friend & roommate who is understanding and supportive but doesn't push. She gets it without having to have it spelled out. Some people can't deal with our hang ups and messed up families. She's the amazing kind of friend I'm -used to having, rare as they are.
- Loved the present POV of Dee and the separate interspersed past tense for the background info, especially on James.
- Love how the first time romance isn't hung up on virginity and purity. She's sure, she wants it, it happens, she's happy.
- I don't want to give it away, but the reasons why they become heartless are amazing. I'm SO WITH IT!
- Daemon who Knits. Portals. Nerd Crews. Burrowers. Unique paranormal set up with a public Deamon population.
- Great mix of inter and intrapersonal drama and progression with action and unraveling the mystery of the Heartless, Daemons, and portals. -
The only thing that really bugs me is HEARTS AREN'T ALL INTERCHANGEABLE. Yes, magic, blah, blah, blah. But nope, that's too far. I can't accept it. It hurts to think about, my brain just screams in protest.
I was quickly sucked into Hearts We Sold and devoured it. There's great style, substance, and a more than typical cast of young adults. Beside the one hang up, I have no issues or complaints, not even with the adorable and quick instalove with Shaggy-like James.
3 winners will receive a finished copy of THE HEARTS WE SOLD, US Only.
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This review was originally posted on The Layaway Dragon