A Review of: The Hearts We Sold by Emily Lloyd-Jones

Summary:

The Hearts We Sold is a young adult fantasy/paranormal novel. It follows Dee Moreno, who lives in a world where demons have revealed themselves and make deals with people. Dee trades away her heart to the Daemon in exchange for money for school and for two years must do his bidding.

Narrative Style:

This novel is told primarily from the third person perspective of Dee. However, there are several chapters which are told from the third person perspectives of the other ‘heartless’ (those who traded their hearts away). These chapters take place in the past, recounting the days they made their own deals. I enjoyed this style but disliked the chapters where we saw the other characters making their deals. While this gave us some insight into these characters, it felt disruptive to the story.

Characters:

The main protagonist, Dee, had tremendous of personal growth throughout the novel. She grew up with alcoholic parents and closed herself off from the world. As the novel progresses, she slowly opens herself up to trusting others and forming meaningful connections.

The other heartless included James, Cal, Cora, and Riley. I adored James, who was very talented but self-depreciating. He becomes the love interest of Dee. Cal was my other favorite, as he was very kindhearted. I did not like Cora, and felt she was selfish. Riley was fine, though we didn’t really have enough time with her.

Finally, there was Gremma, Dee’s roommate. Gremma was a strange but cool character who was brave and a very supportive friend to Dee. Even though she wasn’t one of the heartless, I enjoyed her role within the novel.

Pacing:

The novel had good pacing though I did feel like as it progressed I had more and more questions about the paranormal aspects. Though they were eventually revealed, it took a decent chunk of the novel to get there.

Final Thoughts/Would I Recommend This Read?:

For anyone who’s interesting in the supernatural/paranormal, or who is a fan of fantasy or even sci-fi, then I think this is a solid read. It is both heartwarming and heartbreaking. That being said, I would warn those sensitive to topics like abuse (specifically parents abusing children) and alcohol, as these are heavily featured within the novel.

Final Rating: 9/10