In The Heart Trials by J. Elle, falling in love is a privilege reserved for the wealthy. In this dystopian romantasy duology, love is controlled, emotions are commodities, and a deadly dating competition may be one girl’s only chance at freedom. With starred reviews from Publishers Weekly and School Library Journal, this September release looks especially promising for fans of high-stakes YA fantasy.
Author: J. Elle
Genre: dystopia, romantasy
Setting: island kingdom of Ethyria
Themes: forbidden love, tournaments, false accusations, murder, oppression, corruption, drugs, poverty, wealth, privilege, royalty, magic, loyalty, reality TV, dating, getting voted off, worldbuilding, survival, rebellion, social class, orphan
Protagonist: female, age 17, pale-skinned, orphan
Recommended for: Grades 8-12
Starred reviews: SLJ and Publishers Weekly
Notes: Book 1 of a planned duology.
Publication date: September 1, 2026
WHAT IT’S ABOUT
In the island kingdom of Ethyria, social class determines who is allowed to experience love. Skyborn citizens enjoy the full range of human emotion, while lowborn people are chemically suppressed with Heartfillers, drugs distributed by the kingdom’s ruler, the Benevolent.
Lowborn teen Axira Merreri wants nothing more than to escape. Orphaned and determined to protect her family, she secretly smuggles Heartfillers to wealthy Skyborn clients, saving every coin toward passage off the island.
Then a smuggling job goes disastrously wrong.
Accused of murder, Axira makes a reluctant deal with Prince Caelus and enters the Tournament of Hearts. Held only once every ten years, the competition gives lowborn contestants an opportunity to earn Skyborn citizenship—and the right to experience true love.
But this is no ordinary dating show.
Contestants must pair up, go on dates, and survive increasingly dangerous trials testing strength, courage, and loyalty.
Axira enters the tournament with an agenda of her own, but her growing connection with Caelus threatens to complicate everything. In a society where love itself is tightly controlled, genuine emotion can be a dangerous act of rebellion.
GOT STUDENTS WHO LOVE THE SELECTION SERIES?
Kirkus aptly describes the setup as “Love Island meets The Hunger Games.” To me this sounds even more like The Selection by Kiera Cass, which has enjoyed enduring popularity with my high school readers (maybe because I loved that series so much!).
Publishers Weekly praises the novel’s “cerebral, original worldbuilding,” while School Library Journal recommends it to fans of Suzanne Collins’s The Hunger Games. With deadly competition, political intrigue, forbidden emotion, and a sultry romance at its center, The Heart Trials should have plenty of appeal for teen romantasy and dystopian fiction readers.
The Heart Trials is the first book in a planned duology and is recommended for ages 14 and up.
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