Hungry Heart Vol. 1 | Queer Foodie Comic ARC Review

I can’t wait to gush about this webtoon/comic! Quick disclaimer: I’ve marked the age range as older YA. Technically, YA is for ages 12–18, but this one deals with some heavier topics. Personally, I’d feel comfortable giving it to my 13- or 14-year-old siblings, but that’s because I know their reading habits. If you’re considering it for younger teens, I’d suggest reading it first to get a feel, but I think 15+ is a good general guideline—just my opinion & this also only applies to volume 1.

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

Laurie, a plucky young writer, gets his big break interviewing hearthrob chef Oryan Adjei. Laurie has idolized Oryan since watching him in the Great British Kitchen Trials on television, back when they were both teens. However, Oryan’s life is lonelier than it seems from the outside, and his career has taken a direction he isn’t sure he wants to continue. Laurie seems to get Oryan in a way few others do. Despite their attempts to keep things professional, the two begin to bond over cheesesteaks, flat whites, and stolen hors d’oeuvres. Can Laurie overcome his self-doubt and anxious head while navigating the attention Oryan receives? Mutual feelings grow, but the pair find themselves in a pressure cooker of celebrity and scandal that threatens their chance at romance.

⬇️this review is spoiler free⬇️

Hello, bots, and readers, if you’re out there.

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!

This is definitely going on my physical copy wishlist! With my trip back to the States coming up, though, I’ll have to cull the list—money and suitcase space are both pretty limited!

I got the images from the author/artist’s website (here), and they also seem active on X if you want to check them out!

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