The Hearts We Sold

by Emily Lloyd-Jones

Overview

An intoxicating blend of fantasy, horror, and romance—a Faustian fable perfect for fans of Holly Black, and Stranger Things.

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 threat, 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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780316314596
Publisher:	Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication date:	08/08/2017
Pages:	400
Product dimensions:	5.70(w) x 8.40(h) x 1.50(d)
Age Range:	14 - 17 Years

About the Author

Emily Lloyd-Jones grew up on a vineyard in rural Oregon, where she played in evergreen forests and learned to fear sheep. After graduating from Western Oregon University with an English degree, she enrolled in the publishing program at Rosemont College just outside of Philadelphia. She currently resides in Northern California, working in a bookstore by day and writing by night.

Editorial Reviews

07/01/2017
Gr 8 Up—Dee Moreno worked hard to get a boarding school scholarship so she could live away from her alcoholic parents, but when the school decides to cut scholarships for the following year, Dee chooses to do what many others in need have done: bargain with a demon. However, the demon Agathodaemon wants hearts and two years of labor. Dee is in a cohort of heartless teens along with Cora, James, and Cal, who do the demon's bidding of closing voids, or mysterious portals leading to an unknown danger. Other demons fashion homunculi out of the dealmakers' body parts and send them into the voids to close them. With Cora's time nearly up, she is determined to ensure that the demon doesn't make any more people heartless and she goes on the hunt for a Rumpelstiltskin clause to get their hearts back. However, the obsessions of the heartless come at a cost. Lloyd-Jones's take on the Faustian myth will keep readers engaged. The author presents a broad array of well-developed characters who will intrigue readers as the plot advances and curves. Dee, who is half Latina, offers character depth and diversity often lacking in the fantasy genre. VERDICT Purchase where urban fantasy is popular.—Adrienne L. Strock, Nashville Public Library

School Library Journal

2017-05-15
A girl sells her heart to a demon to escape abusive parents, unwittingly signing up for more than she bargained for.Mixed-race white/Latina high school student Dee Moreno (she has her father's light brown skin and textured hair) attends a prestigious boarding school in Portland, Oregon, keeping necessary distance from her alcoholic, abusive parents. A tough home life has wrung any belief in fairy tales out of her even though demons announced themselves as real to the public via press conference when she was only a child. The demons emerged in order to make deals—humans can trade body parts (their own) for a wish. When Dee's scholarship is suddenly revoked, she finds herself back in the market for fairy tales; she refuses to go back home. She trades a two-year lease on her heart for tuition money. As a new member of Portland's "troop of heartless," Dee follows her demon's biddings directly into battle with other, truly horrifying monsters. She and the other heartless work to close the voids that periodically open all around the world to keep the monsters that issue forth from overrunning the planet. As the danger ratchets up, so do her feelings for another member of the troop. Dee's never felt more alive—yet never been possibly so dead. The slowly revealed lore of the demons coupled with Dee's adventures make for a whirlwind of a page-turner. Readers will devour this romantic, Faustian fable. A dark fantasy brimming with passion and peril. (Paranormal suspense. 15-adult)

Kirkus Reviews

Praise for The Hearts We Sold:* "Beautifully written and elegantly characterized, this is a thoughtful, melancholy tale of love and redemption, magic and choice. Lloyd-Jones tracks Dee's Faustian journey without ever falling out of step, and the story itself will ensnare readers as surely as any bargain."—Booklist (starred review)

* "Emily Lloyd-Jones's (Illusive) depictions of the emotional abuse Dee faces are nuanced and subtle, so truthful that the reader comes to understand the depth and destruction of the abuse only in the final pages. The world-building is outstanding, but it is the smaller, true things—how Dee keeps her circle of people small, how a new, loving partner is patient with her while she navigates love and PTSD—that make The Hearts We Sold such a superb (and heartfelt) work."—Shelf Awareness (starred review)

"The slowly revealed lore of the demons coupled with Dee's adventures make for a whirlwind of a page-turner. Readers will devour this romantic, Faustian fable. A dark fantasy brimming with passion and peril."—Kirkus Reviews

"One of those unassuming reads that quietly sneaks up on you—and before you know it you've been blindsided by how awesome it is... The message in the philosophical prose is understated, but powerful, as is the surprise ending. With wonderfully developed characters, an engaging storyline and a romance that will steal readers' hearts, The Hearts We Sold is a story that's easy to love."—Romantic Times

"Lloyd-Jones's take on the Faustian myth will keep readers engaged. A broad array of well-developed characters will intrigue readers as the plot advances and curves. Offers character depth and diversity often lacking in the fantasy genre."—SLJ

"A completely original story that shatters the boundaries of YA fiction. Magic, mystery, and intrigue, paired with Jones's devilish story-telling ability, will bind readers to The Hearts We Sold until the final explosive ending."—Lindsay Cummings, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Zenith and The Murder Complex

"An inventive, heart-wrenching thrill ride."—Kim Liggett, author of Blood and Salt

"With its lush, Lovecraftian worldbuilding and a heroine as tough as she is damaged, The Hearts We Sold sucked me in and held me captive. I finished it in one sitting!"—Gretchen McNeil, author of Ten and the Don't Get Mad series

From the Publisher