A thrilling and romantic debut fantasy where competitors from two prominent, time-traveling Black families must fight in a deadly magical duel - and find themselves falling in love.
The Baldwins and the Davenports have been sworn enemies for centuries. Ever since Venus Davenport and Titus Baldwin, two enslaved kids, fell in love, tried to run away, and got caught by their mistress, Sabine, a powerful witch. Desperate for freedom, they struck a bargain, and she gifted their families the ability to exist outside of time, along with magic to survive and thrive.
Those gifts came at a price.
Once a generation, their families must put forth a competitor for a magical duel to the death to feed Sabine's immortality. This time, Emma Baldwin - a wish spinner - and Malcolm Davenport - a maker of illusions - are chosen.
But when they meet to check out the competition, sparks fly. Soon, the two are exchanging letters, having secret meetings, and fighting off their cursed urges to hurt one another, all while trying not to fall in love. And if they are ever going to have a chance to be together, they only have one choice: to put an end to Sabine’s curse, once and for all.
J.D. Myall's Heart's Gambit is an irresistible journey of dazzling magic, unforgettable first love, and daring to dream of something more.
The Baldwins and the Davenports have been sworn enemies for centuries. Ever since Venus Davenport and Titus Baldwin, two enslaved kids, fell in love, tried to run away, and got caught by their mistress, Sabine, a powerful witch. Desperate for freedom, they struck a bargain, and she gifted their families the ability to exist outside of time, along with magic to survive and thrive.
Those gifts came at a price.
Once a generation, their families must put forth a competitor for a magical duel to the death to feed Sabine's immortality. This time, Emma Baldwin - a wish spinner - and Malcolm Davenport - a maker of illusions - are chosen.
But when they meet to check out the competition, sparks fly. Soon, the two are exchanging letters, having secret meetings, and fighting off their cursed urges to hurt one another, all while trying not to fall in love. And if they are ever going to have a chance to be together, they only have one choice: to put an end to Sabine’s curse, once and for all.
J.D. Myall's Heart's Gambit is an irresistible journey of dazzling magic, unforgettable first love, and daring to dream of something more.
Title: Heart's Gambit (Heart's Gambit #1)
Author: J.D. Myall
Publisher:
Expected Publication Date:
Review:
Thank you Wednesday Books, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for providing me with an audio ARC and eARC of this story to read and give my honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.
First may I say how gorgeous the cover of this book is? This is what drew me in for sure. Then the blurb hit all my right spots and I could not wait to jump in and see how this story progressed. Unfortunately, it turned out this story was just not for me.
All three narrators, Alaska Jackson, Eric Lockley, and Khaya Fraites, were new for me. I was excited to See how they told this story. And, while the voices did match the characters they were narrating, I just could not connect with their narration. I even sped it up and then slowed it down to see if that would make a difference but it did not. I couldn't connect with their cadence or tone. So I switched to the print version because sometimes you just cannot connect with the narrators.
Unfortunately, even the print version of the book fell flat for me. I do know this was a debut for this author, so I had in my mind there would be things that didn't sit right with me (I almost always find this with debut authors), but it wasn't just that. It was the writing and how the characters were portrayed. It was the world building (since this is technically a fantasy/time travel story) and how the characters fit into that world. It was the magic system which was quite confusing for me. It was so vague. Plus so much story packed into the short amount of pages given, it was just too much.
While there's a lot of things that could have been right with this story, those things didn't come to fruition for me. I felt like I was slogging along trying to get through this and hoping it would pick up, as many books often do. But that never really happened for me. The pacing was very uneven. One moment there's tons of things happening and the next you feel like you are trudging along waiting for something, anything, to give a spark. I also just could not connect with the characters or the story or even find any empathy for them. Plus the insta-love just threw me. Sometimes that sort of relationship makes sense, in this book it did not. Forbidden love, ok, I can be down with that, but there wasn't any chemistry or build to the relationship.
I will give the author props for addressing the experiences of POCs in the timeline she provided. How scary it was to be a POC in those times. And the exploration of Black culture through the years. This history is so important and deserves to be addressed so others may understand those experiences.
Overall, this book just was not for me. Mostly I was bored and didn't really care about what was happening. I will not be continuing on with the series.
Author:
J.D. Myall is a literary assistant at Neighborhood Literary Agency, co-chair of Drexel University's MFA Alumni Association, and host of the Craft Chat Chronicles podcast. Her work has appeared in Ms. Magazine, Writer’s Digest, and HuffPost. Her debut novel, Heart's Gambit, launches in Winter 2026. When she’s not conjuring magic, murder, and mayhem, she mentors writers through workshops at www.jdmyall.com.
https://linktr.ee/jdmyall
https://linktr.ee/jdmyall
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