This was such a cute read! I loved the art style, the characters, and the story line. It was such an enjoyable story and I appreciated that the author touched on some deeper topics (such as ED's and mental health). The relationship progression between Laurie and Oryan was paced well. It was slower to develop, but it made sense considering they each were going through their own struggles. They were content to being one anothers friends, which made it all the more satisfying when they decided to take the next step. I'm curious to see if there is more to come for this story. I am hopeful that we will get to see these characters again and learn more about their new relationship and how their lives are progressing.

This was a super cute, fun, beautifully written and illustrated story about anxiety, struggling under pressure, fame, food, queer identity, friendship and love. I really enjoyed the whole thing!

I also like that there was a small conversation about race and how Black people (and other people of colour) have a different experience of the same place than white people, and are held to different expectations.

A great cute graphic novel!

Side note: vegan empanadas with eggs wouldn’t be vegan, as eggs aren’t vegan.

I haven't previously read this web comic on Tapas, so I wasn't sure what to expect from it. I thought this was a really sweet story, and I loved seeing the romance slooowly build. The comic has such a lovely cast of characters. It was a pretty comforting read, even though it does deal with some heavier themes. I do think the way these heavier themes were dealt with felt a little haphazard at times - they were discussed in small bursts and I was missing some structure. All in all, I really did enjoy this though!

4.5/5 I thoroughly enjoyed this book! A beautiful queer interracial romance love story blossoming through food! I think the biggest takeaway from this is trying to be your authentic true self before loving someone else. Also, food is always a love/hate relationship with people! We can hate for many reasons but food always brings us together whether it’s family or love! The graphics were beautiful to look at while painting this beautiful story together!

Although light-hearted, this book touches heavy topics and social issues such as racism and eating disorders. The artwork is amazing and the story is very charming. LOVED the pansexual representation!

The romance between the main characters felt very natural and not rushed at all. We get to know them as individuals before they develop a romantic relationship. The author does a great job at interweaving difficult topics with the cute romance. Hope there is a second volume!

Thank you Jem Milton and Netgalley for the arc

Thank you, Andrew Mcmeel Publishing & NetGalley for an advanced ARC of this graphic novel.

The humdrum life of an aspiring food writer changes when he meets a celebrity chef. Based on the hit webcomic, Hungry Heart is a sweet, queer rom-com that explores self-discovery, identity, and acceptance.

This was a great read from start to finish, I loved that it was slow-paced and also hit on subjects other than a possible romance, the story was engaging & had you drawn in to care about both characters & showing that things are not what they appear to be when looking from the outside in on people.


The young and talented chef Oryan Adjei is not just a celebrity in this graphic novel to be all Starry-eyed over instead shows the young man behind the mask of fandom and also trying to find his way in a world where everyone is telling him what to do, how to be and pushing him into one thing after another...( it's a true saying when they say - your passion will die when it's taken out of our hands & ran around like a profit cow), and that's what we see happen here but also we see him facing what he wants and the ideas of urself being twisted by society on social platforms.

Laurie the freelance writer is a nervous wreck as well as a person suffering from his dilemmas of self-image, low self-esteem, an eating disorder etc... the one thing I liked and disliked at the same time ( but that's because I have my past with dealing in this field myself) was the eating disorder parts that where short sections but handled respectfully, showing that Laurie went from a binge eater fo hardly eating at all and at times throwing up if he thought he eats too much ... (this sort of thing -even though was not mentioned in the book looks like bulimia) I wish it was talked about a little more because I do believe it's an issue that needs to be addressed more so younger people are made aware.

But other than that 1 little thing, I loved the story, the characters, the friendships and the bond that was made between Laurie and Oryan and I think it was very sweet and adorable ❤️... i cannot wait for the next volume

Thank you to Andrews McMeel Publishing and Netgalley for the e-ARC!

Cute and cozy, Hungry Heart is a very queer, very diverse graphic novel serves up joy on a silver platter as we follow Laurie, a food blogger trying to break into journalism, and Oryan, a celebrity chef and media darling, as their intertwining career paths bring them a budding new friendship... and something more!

The art is cute and dreamy, bringing a softness with the style and coloring that perfectly fits the cozy feeling of the writing. With natural sounding dialogue and fantastic pacing, the relationships between the characters feels realistic and delightfully not rushed. Each of the characters, too, feels very well-written and actualized without being one-note, and while the romance between Laurie and Oryan is a strong thru-line, the narrative takes its time to explore each of them as individuals and not just as static objects destined for romance.

The care and respect that the author puts into exploring the heavier themes of the narrative is also readily abundant without being heavy-handed. From questions of identity as a queer person to the lived experiences of Black, POC, and disabled folks living in London (particularly through the lenses of folks living with a measure of fame--and thus, scrutiny--that others might not have to contend with to such a severe level if they were white, able-bodied, etc) as well as the handling of eating disorders and complicated family dynamics... I feel these were really well handled, all while never losing its sense of levity and kindness.

The only mild piece of criticism I have is the depiction of a vegan empanada that has a whole egg inside of it; its a Very minor detail, but I know most folks don't consider eating eggs as being vegan-friendly, so it stuck out to me. It also ended quite suddenly, but I know that making the transition between webcomic and print media means there's not always a perfect place to leave off when portioning a comic into separate volumes.

Overall, I really enjoyed Hungry Heart and I can't wait to read any future installments to come!

Hungry Heart was so a sweet graphic novel that touched on so many realisties of the world around us such as sexuality, gender, and mental health. The story was beautifully written and you really get attached to the characters in the story. I would suggest this to anyone who enjoyed Heartbreaker.

This one was just too cute to pass up—The Great British Kitchen Trials! I’ve watched a few seasons of The Great British Baking Show, and Laurie is a food blogger/writer so this felt like a perfect fit.

Art Style: Beautiful, gorgeous, watercolors.

While this story is absolutely adorable, it does come with a touch of secondhand embarrassment—which, as it turns out, I’m very sensitive to! So, the counter begins.

Number of times I closed this and had to take a moment due to secondhand embarrassment: 1 <– I really thought this was going to be a lot higher…anyways…

This book was exactly what I expected—super sweet and adorable. But I was pleasantly surprised by how much I ended up loving the romance between Laurie and Oryan and how deeply I got drawn into the story. It also touched on some heavier topics, which I think were handled really well. As an extremely anxious person, I felt so seen—so all my fellow “pukey anxious” readers, will love this one lol

Everything about this was done so well—the art, the story, the writing, the dialogue. If you enjoy queer comics that focus more on story than spice, this is a must-read!

*full blog post scheduled for Nov. 13th*

This book had a great plot with intriguing characters. I’ll definitely be looking out for more from this author.

Add this to the ever growing list of wonderfully queer graphic novels! Hungry Heart follows Laurie, a shy, sweet food blogger who gets a chance to write a series of articles about Oryan, who is a celebrity chef who got famous from a Masterchef-esque competition show. The two get along well in their first interview and their personal relationship blossoms from there in a slow-burn romance.

This was a sweet romance, and the soft but colourful palette gave it a dreamy, romantic vibe that paralleled the story well. There are some serious issues tackled here (see the warnings at the start of the graphic novel before reading), but it is done in a sensitive way. It very much reminds me of the later Heartstopper volumes in the sense that it follows a very cute romance while both characters are going through complex personal challenges.

I love slow-burn romance for graphic novels especially, which is what Hungry Heart has. Graphic novels can often feel fast and like we don't get to know the characters enough, but Jem Milton does a fabulous job taking time to develop each of the characters individually before the romance takes over. We get to see Laurie and Oryan with their friends as well, which helps give them more personality outside of the romance.

My only critique is there were some flashbacks throughout the story that I didn't realize were flashbacks at first, which left me a little confused. Maybe I missed it, but I felt like there could have been better visual cues when a flashback started.

I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a queer, diverse graphic novel who enjoys slow burn romance! I can't wait to read volume 2!

Thank you Netgalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for the eARC!

Did I read this sweet graphic novel in under 2 hours? Yes. Did I rush to Tapas to find the rest of the webcomic? Also, yes.
Beautifully illustrated and cleverly written, this is a tale of finding yourself and finding love. Laurie, a food critic with loads of self-doubt, clumsily interviews celebrity chef and heartthrob Oyran. Laurie quickly develops a friendship/crush that's reciprocated. This book ends with them exploring something more.
I loved the inclusion of expressive chibi-style art throughout. I can't wait to see what happens next!

Esto fue divertido, pero a veces fue simplemente DEMASIADO. Demasiados temas en uno, todo muy apretado; algunos funcionaron, pero a veces era demasiado y me costaba leer. Además, me hubiera gustado saber sobre los problemas con la comida porque eso es un gran desencadenante para mí y a veces dificultó seguir. Sin embargo, el arte fue divertido, ¡me gustó! Solo desearía que hubiera más romance, cosas lindas, suaves y sobre comida. El romance fue bueno, realmente lindo y divertido. Ah, y me encantan los amigos del grupo de Laurie.

This was such a funny and sweet story. The artwork was so beautiful and I cannot wait to share this with friends.

Hungry Heart is a graphic novel about the developing relationship between a celebrity and a regular person. I didn’t read the description closely enough before requesting this, so I didn’t realize that this wasn’t a full book. As a result, I was initially quite disappointed, as I’m not really a fan of graphic novels. However, the story was cute and the artwork was excellent, so it did win me over in the end. I would have loved for it to be longer! It left me wanting more.

Two precious cinnamonrolls finding comfort and friendship with each other.
I went into reading this graphic novel without any expectations or prior knowledge, and it was such a pleasant experience.

Seeing as they're both not looking for a relationship when they meet the first time, their relationship initially develops as a friendship. I enjoyed watching the guys be their for each other with support and advice. On the surface, Laurie and Oryan seem to be in different places in their career. However, they both struggle with setting professional boundaries and who they are as individuals. It was interesting to see them navigate these situations and realise what's most important to them.

•••

Content warning: anxiety, disordered eating

This was a really really terribly adorable graphic novel. It has such a cute and entrancing one.

It was a very simple, swoon story and of slowly opening up to someone and learning to trust yourself. I liked that this graphic novel had a good support system of friends and family in the back, along with society nasties.

The art was super cute and also well detailed. I loved the simple storyline of love and celebrity grief. The eating disorder theme honestly made me nostalgic of the heartstopper series, I wish that one thing could be different.

Hungry Heart is a beautiful story about the developing relationship between Laurie and Oryan. As Laurie interviews the popular chef and media star, he learns that there is so much more to Oryan than meets the eye. For Oryan, the experience is eye-opening as Laurie seems to just "get" who he is and reminds him of why he loved cooking in the first place.
The story takes on some serious issues such as anxiety and disordered eating but in a way that is not overwhelming. There is a lovely balance between the light-hearted moments and the serious ones.

There’s something about queer POC graphic novels that feel so wholesome. Like this was the kind of content I wanted in middle school when I hated everything including myself.

I really enjoyed this graphic novel. It felt so fast, but I did enjoy the pacing.

I lovedddddd the art style. It was so cute and colourful! I love when romance graphic novels are colourful, and this one is so colourful. I love it.

The romance itself is slowwww burn, but also still didn't feel that slow.

I recommend this!! So cute