Reviews with content warning for Death of parent - Henry Hamlet's Heart

Quiet and shy Henry Hamlet's life changes when his best friend, Len, kisses him during a party game and he discovers feelings he never knew he had.

This was so cute. I took too long to write this review and now my memories are mostly snippets and vibes from this book. But I read this in one day, absolutely devoured it, and needed to know what would become of Len and Henry's relationship every second of the way. They were so adorable and I absolutely love the friends-to-lovers trope and Lennon was in love with Henry for so long and Henry was completely oblivious! Not gonna lie, I wish some of this was from Len's pov too because I need to know what he was thinking!

I really loved this every step of the way. I hardcore need to reread it (audio maybe??) soon so I can remember details better but ahhh. So cute. But also painful. Like this may make you cry if you get as invested in the relationship as I did. I definitely cried and then thought about my feelings for many days afterwards.

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betweentheshelves's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

It's Henry Hamlet's last semester of high school and he's not sure what he wants to do when he's finished. His only talent seems to be his ability to make pretty much every situation awkward. Especially when compared to his best friend, Len, who is perfect in almost every way. They might be opposites, but their friendship has always been something that's worked.

Everything seems straightforward until Henry falls in love at a party. One kiss, and his life is changed forever. Len has always been there, but Henry never realized his feelings until that kiss. And that maybe Len has similar feelings, too. Now, Henry has to figure out if risking his friendship is worth falling in love for.

Thanks to NetGalley and Charlesbridge for an advanced copy of Henry Hamlet's Heart to review! One of the comp titles for this book is Red, White, & Royal Blue, and while I don't necessarily agree with that comparison, it did make me want to pick up this book.

Guys, the pining. If teenage pining is your jam, you'll love this book. The moment Henry and Len kiss, a light just clicks in Henry. Honestly, the chemistry between the two of them is really what makes this book. You can feel the yearning, the emotions surrounding first love. They want to be together, but they're not sure they'll be accepted. Wilde nails all of those emotions, bringing you on an emotional ride throughout the entire book.

However, just because there is an MLM romance doesn't mean it reads like Red, White, & Royal Blue. I actually think a better comp title for this would have been Heartstopper. For me, it read more like that story. Best friends, falling in love. One of them still trying to figure out their identity. It fits those vibes and that storyline to a tee.

The only thing that I think would have made this an absolutely stellar book was a better sense of the time. It's mentioned once that it's supposed to be like 2008 or something, but it's a blink and you'll miss it reference. It's also set in Australia, though, so maybe I just missed some of the references. The time period is important though, as Len and Hamlet are afraid of coming out. While this is still true for couples today, some of the homophobia and other things made a bit more sense.

All in all, if you love a good classic friends to lovers queer romance, you'll probably love this book!

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aromarrie's review

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emotional funny reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

the title of this book is absolutely spot-on because it genuinely felt like i was seeing all the best & worst parts of hamlet as his heart is unveiled at every page.

his love for reading and talents for writing showed very well in the way he described moments that for him were so completely significant—whether it was with len, his family, his friends, and himself.

it all made me feel closer to him somehow, and i loved how many times he made me laugh as i also teared up.

this is what ya books are all about, to be honest, and it’s wonderful that i got to read this when i did.

24 january 2024 update: (thank god for this re-read; henry & len’s characters mean the world to me)

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yaryjd's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No

3.75

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giulsfloris's review

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medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

! Spoilers ahead !
This story follows the friends-to-lovers relationship between the protagonist, Henry Hamlet, and

his best friend Lennon Cane.

First of all I’d like to say that this book was cute and I enjoyed the typical ups and downs of a “first-love in high-school” novel.
I liked the characters, even though I didn’t find their personalities to be that deep or fully shaped.
Being Italian, I sadly didn’t understand many of the references, but I did catch the one about McGonagall and I honestly find it hard to let this go. A queer story with references to the work of someone who openly disrespects the community? I mean… wasn’t there any other old white and stern-looking lady to compare that person to?

Furthermore, I’d like to understand why an incestuous relationship between cousins was mentioned more than once? I mean… was that necessary?

Overall, the story wasn’t bad. The romance was full of clichés and the characters felt incredibly bland at times, but the book per se was a nice reading altogether.

I found myself imagining Len completely different than how he was described by the author. In my head, he had typically asian features, with dark brown eyes and black hair.
To me, this book lacked diversity and I know for a fact that Australia is a pool of different ethnicities.
It just may be the fact that I am always looking for different kinds of stories, the ones with people who aren’t always represented, but this book was compared to Red White and Royal Blue or Becky Albertalli’s and Adam Silvera’s novels. In those novels I pretty much always found some representation, but here… this was literally two white people falling in love and they just happened to be gay. There was no self-discovery, no fully trying to understand their sexualities or questioning them. As part of the lgbt community, I know that we don’t all have the same experience, but this made me feel like I was reading about a straight relationship. I don’t know how to explain it any better than that. At times, their relationship felt… unseasoned?

Overall, I’ll still say that this story was cute and a nice read, but I probably wouldn’t read it again. I hope I wasn’t too harsh because I did enjoy reading parts of it, especially once the story took a faster pace (the beginning was a bit slow).

Thank you to NetGalley and Charlesbridge for the opportunity to read this book

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pagesofnay's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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cateemma's review

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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