"This LGBTQ+ charmer explores the price of fame, along with love, sexuality and conflicted second chances."
Brimming with engaging dialogue and authentic voices, James L Sutters’s Darkhearts is an entertaining, emotional YA romance with gallons of gripping will-they-won’t-they tension between two young adults.
The crucial context: David was “almost famous” after forming a poppy goth-rock band at the age of thirteen, but come freshman year he proposed taking a break, what with the new pressures of high school, and the trials competitiveness of being in an underage band. A mere two months after David left, Darkhearts landed a deal and, with their stars rising, his remaining bandmates, Chance and Eli, quit school and found major success.
Now, a couple of years on, David and Chance reunite following Eli’s tragic death, much to the fangirl delight of David’s best friend Ridley (their “mixed-gender bromance” - Ridley’s term - is an utter joy). As the guys see each other more regularly, Chance’s feelings of guilt and grief, and David’s regrets and resentment rise to the surface, along with unexpected romantic feelings.
Then there’s the question of whether the old band (almost) should get back together, complicated by the fact that David’s dad hasn’t forgiven his son’s former bandmates, and going public with a boyfriend is likely to ruin Chance’s career. Cute and true-to-life complicated, Darkhearts is a hands-down heart-stirrer for fans of Phil Stamper, Simon James Green, and YA romance.
