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These Forgotten Hearts: A dystopian romance
Not yet published
Expected 3 Mar 26We live in two different worlds.
I’ve never seen an Outsider before, but that doesn’t mean I’m not curious. My town is close-knit. Protective. And we have to be, because our wifi allergy is deadly, and the rest of the world has left us far behind.
We’ve been isolated in our tiny community. Forgotten. But we’ve been hearing news of a possible cure, and a stranger just moved into the farm bordering our town.
The Outsider doesn’t seem dangerous, but I know better. The minute he pulls out his cell phone, I flatten myself to the ground, getting ready for the blast of pain. But it doesn’t come. In fact, when I get up the courage to talk to the Outsider—Deke—I realize he’s not that different from us at all.
He tells me to keep my distance. He says he’s got a pacemaker in his chest, putting out wireless signals that could hurt me. But I can’t seem to stay away. Not when he has access to all the information in the world, enough information to maybe cure us.
I’ll do anything to save my family. Including running away with the one man I was never supposed to love.
These Forgotten Hearts is a dystopian romance, set in an alternate version of the modern world. See content notes for more details.
I’ve never seen an Outsider before, but that doesn’t mean I’m not curious. My town is close-knit. Protective. And we have to be, because our wifi allergy is deadly, and the rest of the world has left us far behind.
We’ve been isolated in our tiny community. Forgotten. But we’ve been hearing news of a possible cure, and a stranger just moved into the farm bordering our town.
The Outsider doesn’t seem dangerous, but I know better. The minute he pulls out his cell phone, I flatten myself to the ground, getting ready for the blast of pain. But it doesn’t come. In fact, when I get up the courage to talk to the Outsider—Deke—I realize he’s not that different from us at all.
He tells me to keep my distance. He says he’s got a pacemaker in his chest, putting out wireless signals that could hurt me. But I can’t seem to stay away. Not when he has access to all the information in the world, enough information to maybe cure us.
I’ll do anything to save my family. Including running away with the one man I was never supposed to love.
These Forgotten Hearts is a dystopian romance, set in an alternate version of the modern world. See content notes for more details.
324 pages, Kindle Edition
Expected publication March 3, 2026
2 people are currently reading
9 people want to read
About the author
S.M. Levine
5 books15 followersS.M. Levine grew up with her face in a book, and now she writes steamy, emotional contemporary romance about imperfect people who find true love. She lives in the Midwest with her family and a small assortment of cats.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
February 8, 2026
Thank you NetGalley for the arc!
I’m always a sucker for a dystopian! What made me interested in reading These Forgotten Hearts was the unique premise of an allergy to WiFi. How intriguing! It had me considering how the majority of the world would change drastically if this were to happen in present day as our lives revolve so much around having access to the internet. And in some ways reminded me of the Amish. I actually grew up near an Amish community.
But anyway, this was a classic story of city-life hunky, soft hearted, grieving veterinarian man falls for sheltered, intriguing adventurous farm girl. Ahhhhh. I kid, I kid. I overall enjoyed them.
Deke is a really kind and compassionate man. I could really see why he left and wanted a change in his life after experiencing intense grief at the loss of his best friend. I would say it’s impossible not to love him and have empathy for him. It was heartbreaking to hear how his past experience and grief may keep him from really living life how he wanted.
Essie is a fun, strong female main character. I really loved her spunk and confidence throughout the book. At times she felt more like a teen than a young adult, but I could imagine with limited experience outside her hometown that could be contributed to her sheltered life.
Shoutout to Florence.
Overall I would say at times the dialogue as well as the romance felt cheesy and expected but still sweet and almost cozy.
Through a lot of the book I was wondering which side was bad. Or were they both bad? The town was giving cult a little bit while the rest of the world was also horrible. I would say if you enjoy more low stakes dystopians, this is a cozy book to settle down with and give you the intriguing feel of a different dystopian society without the overdramatic and high stakes, anxious moments.
I’m always a sucker for a dystopian! What made me interested in reading These Forgotten Hearts was the unique premise of an allergy to WiFi. How intriguing! It had me considering how the majority of the world would change drastically if this were to happen in present day as our lives revolve so much around having access to the internet. And in some ways reminded me of the Amish. I actually grew up near an Amish community.
But anyway, this was a classic story of city-life hunky, soft hearted, grieving veterinarian man falls for sheltered, intriguing adventurous farm girl. Ahhhhh. I kid, I kid. I overall enjoyed them.
Deke is a really kind and compassionate man. I could really see why he left and wanted a change in his life after experiencing intense grief at the loss of his best friend. I would say it’s impossible not to love him and have empathy for him. It was heartbreaking to hear how his past experience and grief may keep him from really living life how he wanted.
Essie is a fun, strong female main character. I really loved her spunk and confidence throughout the book. At times she felt more like a teen than a young adult, but I could imagine with limited experience outside her hometown that could be contributed to her sheltered life.
Shoutout to Florence.
Overall I would say at times the dialogue as well as the romance felt cheesy and expected but still sweet and almost cozy.
Through a lot of the book I was wondering which side was bad. Or were they both bad? The town was giving cult a little bit while the rest of the world was also horrible. I would say if you enjoy more low stakes dystopians, this is a cozy book to settle down with and give you the intriguing feel of a different dystopian society without the overdramatic and high stakes, anxious moments.
February 12, 2026
You know when you finish a book and you just know it is going to stick with you forever??? This is one of those amazing core memory books!!! The premise of the allergy was so unique and the love… omg the LOVE!!! The characters were so raw and relatable, I laughed and cried and cheered. Levine has a special way of making her characters come to life and I know I am going to be rereading this book again and again just to visit with my new friends Essie and Deke. I really hope that one day we get to go back to the town of Mitchell from the perspective of Simon and see what the future has in store for him.
Review of advance copy received from Author
What a unique and interesting story! Dystopian romance is still new to me, so I'm learning the genre. I really enjoyed this book. So very different than S.M. Levine's other books, but it was a welcome difference.
Essie and her community have a rare disorder that hinders their ability to be in the real world. Wi-Fi is extremely dangerous, and the pain and burns from exposure have forced them to live in their secluded town, avoiding Outsiders.
Deke is a lost soul, hoping to move out to the country, live a life of solitude, and open his vet clinic. Deke has his grief, his goat and his literal broken heart.
Essie discovers Deke and his secluded lifestyle and their secret friendship grows.
Deke wants to help her. She's a free spirit.
The two work well together but the scary part is just beginning. Essie and Deke set out to change things and that puts everyone in danger.
This was a fun read.
Story: 4/5 ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
Characters: 4/5 🫂 🫂 🫂 🫂
Spice: 2.5/5 🍆🍆.🌶️
Essie and her community have a rare disorder that hinders their ability to be in the real world. Wi-Fi is extremely dangerous, and the pain and burns from exposure have forced them to live in their secluded town, avoiding Outsiders.
Deke is a lost soul, hoping to move out to the country, live a life of solitude, and open his vet clinic. Deke has his grief, his goat and his literal broken heart.
Essie discovers Deke and his secluded lifestyle and their secret friendship grows.
Deke wants to help her. She's a free spirit.
The two work well together but the scary part is just beginning. Essie and Deke set out to change things and that puts everyone in danger.
This was a fun read.
Story: 4/5 ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
Characters: 4/5 🫂 🫂 🫂 🫂
Spice: 2.5/5 🍆🍆.🌶️
Review of advance copy received from Author
My favorite thing about this book was the unique premise of being allergic to the WiFi signal and the people creating a dooms-day style community to protect themselves from WiFi. The connection between the main characters was believable and exciting. The anticipation the other keeps you on to find out if this WiFi allergy is a real thing for our FMC was addictive, I had to know the outcome. Great story.
Review of advance copy received from Author
I received this book as an arc. I absolutely loved it. im not normally the biggest fan of dystopian romance books but this book kept me hooked the whole way through.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews