Girl of Hearts

Luck Gods Series, Book 1

By: J. Gabriel Gates

Narrated by: Paige Reisenfeld

Four tribes of ruthless demigods rule over luck in our world.

Hearts, Diamonds, Spades, and Clubs.

But I don’t believe in luck or in gods. I believe in science. And coffee. And nerding my way to the rank of class valedictorian. My OCD is under control—mostly—and my mom, Rachel, has just finished building a dark-matter machine that could win back her job as a physics professor. Life is good...until Mom disappears.

My search for her leads me to the dangerously handsome Jack of Hearts, a demigod with the power to control chance. Mom may have been captured by bad-luck gods, the savage Blackovers. To save her, I have to join Jack and his fellow Valentines. I find myself whisked into their world of opulent mansions, gorgeous people, and fancy cars.

But being a demigoddess isn't all glamor and popularity. It can be deadly. Now, I’ll have to master my newfound luck powers, battle the dark suits, and brave the unlucky underbelly of Detroit, all while keeping my OCD at bay—or risk losing my mom forever.

Girl of Hearts is book one of the Luck Gods series, an urban fantasy series featuring court intrigue, found family, slow-burn romance, and a mind-bending original magic system based on the four card suits.

Reviews

"Gates has created a fresh, magical world where luck is power. The MC Aggie is smart and fiercely determined, and I was eagerly flipping through the pages from the very start. With strong prose, action-packed scenes, and a unique magic system, Girl of Hearts is a must-read!" (Nissa Leder, author of the Whims of the Fae series)

"I’m beyond obsessed with this book and I am already dying for the second one to come out." (Booktok review: @bookchellereads)

"Wow...I was not expecting to get that sucked into an Urban Fantasy novel. This is a page turning, slow burning romance with all the action that gods and a demigoddess can bring...a great combination of thrill, action, and romance to satisfy all my literary needs. You will not be disappointed." (BookTok review: @missie_r)

©2022 J. Gabriel Gates (P)2023 J. Gabriel Gates

3 star listen

Interesting take on luck magic
Suits of cards are almost like gangs
I didn’t really buy into the love component of this book but the world building was good.
Gifted audio

Interesting and different

Narrator is awful making it hard to engage in story. Would read this book, not listen to it because a lot is lost because of her lack luster performance

Not just a card game

Good or evil who will prevail? This story leaves you wanting to know what happens next!

Luck gods

This story definitely kept my attention no much spice but lots of action and adventure. Would definitely recommend

An intriguing universe with compelling characters

This fantasy drew me in right away, with clear and steady world building and a relatable protagonist. Some of the plot points left me with questions by the end, but maybe they will be explained in subsequent books.
The narration is superb, I had no trouble discerning one character from another and I just love her voice.
I was given this book free and am reviewing it voluntarily.

Loved the book

I loved the book it was a nice introduction in to the series this is only the second audio book I have ever listened to the narrator made me feel like I was there with Aggie and Jack taking part in the action. I can't wait to read the second book in the series.

An easy, fun read

I read the prequel and I couldn't wait for this to come out. It didn't disappoint. The world development was crazy good. The luck system at times is a little hard to understand but still worth the time. Performance is great.

Overall good story.

I was given this audiobook for free in exchange for an honest review. The story is very unique and is told well. The audio performance is also done very well. There are a few parts that are a little heavy in scholastic narration, but it goes by quickly. Overall a solid story.

Brilliant. Inspired.

Paige Reisenfeld- voice narrator; but I’d call her a voice actress. Because she puts on quiet the performance in Girl of Hearts by Gabriel Gates.

Seemlessly and consistently uses over fifty unique voices in this book. My favorite was the accent she did for the Obsidian. Next was probably Jack of Clubs. The audiobook is so well performed with emotions- sadness, fear, humor, and anger. Now, the first chapter with Aggie’s voice hit me as an annoying teenager, but then that voice- I’m not sure if it was different or the writing was different, or if it just took me a chapter to acclimate to a new book, but then after the first chapter, the rest flowed and I didn’t want to stop listening to it.

Outstanding Performance.

Find your inner power

"Girl of Hearts" is a satisfying Young Adult story that I feel Grown adults will find entertaining as well. Everyone with an OCD habit can recognize a bit of themselves here. The Suits provide a unique twist on the 'super-powers' metaphor for finding one's inner strength. Good action and suspense leading to climax of plot, and 95 percent wrapup while leaving teasers drawing the listener to the next book.
Narrator Paige had a lot of characters to cover and performed them extremely well. I could hear humor, sadness, terror, resolve, angst, excitement, and fun, by turns. With her characterizations, I found that I could distinguish all of the personalities by her voices in a dialogue without needing the text to identify explicitly who was whom, and she was consistent throughout: impressive!
When I first chose this book, I
didn't think I would want to hear the sequel, but now I will definitely get it!