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Warrior of Hearts #1

by Beau Van Dalen

At the age of twenty-one, Alex Winters has already repaid his student loans, gotten his own apartment, and become officially recognized as a rising artist to watch out for in the character design field. Everything is perfect, except it’s not, because Alex is miserable.

To distract himself, Alex signs up to become a moderator for his favorite video game. He figures it shouldn’t be too hard. He just has to answer a few questions, and that’ll be that. But life loves proving Alex wrong. Because the first message he receives [she’s not breathing, and I don’t know what to do, because when my mate’s parents get home they’re just gonna find this girl on the floor and I know we don’t know each other but you’re the only one I can count on right now so please help me.]

Now, Alex is stuck chatting with David—an equally depressed medical student, who’s coincidentally also the king of unhealthy coping mechanisms. When Alex realizes David also hates himself to a point of no return, what started off as an online joke slowly blooms into a genuine friendship between the two. So, it’s all nice and wholesome. Mostly. Until Alex falls in love. Then, it gets complicated.

FOR MATURE AUDIENCES ONLY.

Genres: Queer, Contemporary, Romance, LGBT, Gay, Mental Health, Transgender

305 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 14, 2023

About the author

Beau Van Dalen is a best-selling author of adult speculative fiction. Wattpad Stars Alumnus and Winner of Tapas Media’s 2018 Summer Writing Competition—Beau’s stories have amassed over two million reads online. Whether it be through books, poetry, comics or games, Beau is always enchanting words and creating worlds; he is currently on a journey to write one-hundred novels.

Reviews

[tyler · Rating 5 out of 5]

блин блядь это просто Тот Самый Фанфик в котором нет ничего особенного и собраны все тропы но ты все равно не можешь от него оторваться И БЛЯТЬ ЭТА СУКА ЗАКАНЧИВАЕТСЯ НА КЛИФФХЭНГЕРЕ ПОЭТОМУ Я ЭТО НЕ ДОЧИТЫВАЮ ебаные онгоинги черт бы их побрал

[arin · Rating 4 out of 5]

i enjoyed it a whole fucking lot,.,.,.,,,, even though there are a lot of dark topics covered, the author still managed to bring so many lighthearted moments into the plot, so it all kind of evened out. it was hot, it was funny, and it was also relatable in both small ways and big ones which i appreciated so, so much!!!

do check the tws, it gets dark but def give it a read if you want sth queer & hopeful

[Holly M · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book took me back to my chat room days. It had a great perspective and told an amazing story of someone thinking about their gender in an incomplete way - which I appreciated. Not a lot of romance as I would define it and some really heavy content warnings - suicide and religious trauma for sure. Still a great read!

[Gareth Jones-Jenkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read

Great read.

Open and honest in all that is covered in this story.
Is there going to be a part 2

[Jules · Rating 4 out of 5]

Was this a fun read? Yes, absolutely. I was giggling and kicking my feet at times. I'm actually looking forward to the next one and I started reading it on tapas, but I'm not without Thoughts.

I do feel like this was a first draft. The way this synopsis is worded is kind of misleading, mostly in the way that it explains things that never get explained on camera in the book. There's hardly any in person action between characters, which granted the majority of the story takes place online in chat; but what little is in person is very lack luster. Also, one synopsis I saw on insta marketed this as a spicy romance. It was definitely not that. The spice felt very juvenile and hardly there as an afterthought.

The heavy themes felt very trivial, like the depression just went away and like a switch was magically flicked and that Alex wasn't phased he nearly killed himself, that David seems only alightly worried that he just saved Alex from killing himself. The scene literally moves on and it's brought up like twice but not with the gravity of how heavy suicide is. To me, the self hatred felt very real and the way you can spiral in over and over again, but that felt like the only genuine heavy topic.

[Cythera]

This book was entertaining and I was able to finish it pretty fast which says a lot as i usually have to force myself to finish books I don’t like.
Unfortunately the writing itself for this book specifically was really really bad. The characters don’t think at all how human beings actually think? All the online speak reminded me a lot of how people talked when I was in early middle school… I’m 21 and this book came out last year
For some reason David is alway calling technology beast? And that just doesn’t make sense at all. Even though I enjoy the story none of the characters felt like people, like at all. Because there thought processes almost never made sense ever.
Also I still do not understand how drugs autocorrects to lemons.
Speaking of which at one point David said something out loud and blamed it on autocorrect and I wanted to scream.
It’s really a shame because this author has so many good story ideas but I literally never end up liking the books as much as I think I will. But I’m still buying them so win for him ig?

I really don’t know what to rate this book my opinions are so mixed so I’m just not giving it a star rating

[Syd · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was very sweet and I enjoyed it a lot. The highlight here really was the development of Alex and David’s relationship. Some things felt a bit underdeveloped in my opinion but it didn’t hinder my enjoyment! I’ll be looking forward to the sequel as I can’t wait to see where these two go from here.

There were some things that lower my rating unfortunately. If I were rating objectively I would probably give it a 3.5 but my personal enjoyment bump it up to a 4. I think at times the more ~ spicy ~ aspects of Alex and David’s conversations felt a bit jarring/out of nowhere and not really needed (I personally didn’t feel like it added a lot but wasn’t bothered by it much so it’s just there). I also think the ended was a bit meh, also again a bit out of nowhere (mostly David’s change of philosophy (may not be the right word but best I’ve got) like I get it but feel like it could’ve been established a bit better maybe throughout the book slowly seeing his viewpoint change though I’m trying to be vague for sake of spoilers).

Maybe with a bit more length these things that felt underdeveloped could’ve been fleshed out a bit more. Overall though I still enjoyed this a lot.

[J. A. Jumphol · Rating 5 out of 5]

(Thank you to the author for the free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review)

THIS BOOK IS ABOUT AN AUTISTIC BEAN AND AN ADHD GREMLIN FALLING IN LOVE AND YOU CANNOT CHANGE MY MIND.

On a serious note, I heavily related to David as a character especially since I am queer, Asian, and ADHD myself. His personal struggles hit really hard, even though he never is explicitly stated to be ADHD in the novel the intersectionality of cultural expectations of Asian parents who have high expectations, self-confidence issues, and just the sheer impulsive actions to just be a mirror to my face. I don't like it, get it away from me but at the same time, I love it. Give me more.

I found the relationship to be very cute, and hilarious, but also gave me second-hand cringe (in a good way) and I can't help but love these characters. Alex is a good balance and anchor to the impulsive chaotic force that is David and they just seem to be so good for each other.

#indigoemployee

[haley · Rating 4 out of 5]

read this in one sitting. i felt so many emotions physically in my stomach while reading this. davids first chapter, especially, hit me like a bus and i honestly had to consider if i felt comfortable reading bc it was just too real. the writing flows well and it a very easy read. the characters voices are well defined and you can really feel and understand what they're thinking and feeling. my one gripe is that a good bit actually happens off page, things like david's sobriety and development is told to us rather than shown and i feel like it wouldve been great to explore more in depth. overall it was a cute romance with some dark moments and very human characters. i enjoyed it a lot. tw for deadnaming, misgendering, and suicidal thoughts.

[Pepper Jade · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing and very relatable book for both characters ❤️❤️ The heavy topics were very heavy, please heed the trigger warnings if you want to read it!

This was my first book from this author, and I loved it! The chat-look feature was very nice and I like it was used to add tension to the romance. I also like the very real feeling of long-distance-to-meetup worries and anxieties.

I loved watching the characters grow, though Alex still seemed to struggle with self love at the end, I was glad to see his improvement! Especially as a trans man! I also was glad to see he wasn't sure about hormones and everything yet. It feels rare we get to see this kind of inner battle. At least, one I highly related to in terms of hopelessness to feeling more hopeful, slowly.

[?? · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very fun read! The story is super accessible even though it touches on some heavy subjects. There is a noticeable lack of description of the characters and their surroundings, but otherwise the writing was great. I did think it was a bit odd that we’re never really told where it takes place, however that didn’t seem to affect the flow of the narrative much. The author perfectly captured what it’s like to be in your 20s, so I was really invested in the two central characters and their development.

[Rune Morris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Realistic and heartwarming

This book deals with some heavy stuff. Depression, suicidal ideation, gender dysphoria and excessive societal expectations. The character are so real, you feel their pain, and their joy. When they hurt, you do and when they triumph, it feels amazing. As one of my favorite (and most frequently recommended) webnovels, I was THRILLED to see an ebook. Can't wait for continuation!

[hauntedhouses · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5/⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

It was OK. Alexander has a pretty dry personality that is hard to think of as anything other than "pretentious," which was my biggest beef with this story. Everything was pretty surface-level, although pretty heavy topics are covered. I was excited to read something that involved a trans MC, feeling like I might be able to relate, but it just felt really forced and lackluster. The story was pretty cute overall but it just fell a little flat.

[Ashish Rastogi · Rating 5 out of 5]

A modern take of love

The two protagonists connect over a video game. They are both struggling, one on what to do with their life and the other on their identity. Woven through this internal conflict, the tale takes you on a journey of self-acceptance and finding love over gaming room chats. This is book one, and you will be left wanting to know what happens to Alex.

[Theo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I did not expect to fly through this so fast or get so invested because it is so outside of the type of thing I would normally go for but this was sooo much fun

Pls check cws though! There's heavy themes including suicide, mental illness, gender dysphoria, and transphobia.

[Eel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Two miserable losers take their hands out of their pants and experience a bromance for the first time. There’s a trigger warning for suicide attempt but there should have been one for self-isolating paranoid 20-somethings.

[Tanuj Sameer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Honestly for me a 2.5, I think I much prefer the style and overall world building of his other works more, but this isn't a half bad way to spend a few hours

[Hickson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great writing (as always 😊) , wonderful story , where we dive into each characters feelings
Thank you Beau Van Dalen , for this amazing story !!

[Theo · Rating 4 out of 5]

was cute
I wish there were more gay trans romance stories published they're like crack to me

[Sidney · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was fun, but still meh... idk

[Ant · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

Anything with a Trans Lead will naturally have my heart

[Megan Burhop · Rating 5 out of 5]

“And since we all want somebody -no matter how much we try to isolate ourselves -maybe simply being with people is the answer we’re always searching for.”

This is a fantastic book written for a modern digital age reminding us of how important human contact can truly be. I myself am a self proclaimed hermit, an introvert if you will, who can relate at an almost uncomfortable level with some of the topics covered in this book. This novel dives deep into isolation and loneliness that can be felt by all and how the internet can be a valuable source of community but also an echo chamber for our own worst nightmares.

While it tackles vulnerable topics it is partially written in chat room format that is just a joy to read. The characters are witting, relatable and downright adorable in the portrayal of newfound feelings and self revelations. This author writes some incredibly heartwarming moments into their books that always keeps me coming back for more.

Though the spice is low with very little sexual moments I have hope for book two to give us a satisfying climax 😂

Read if you love:
The nostalgia of chat rooms 💬
Video games 🎮
Queer romance 🏳️‍🌈
Witty banter 🤭
Rom Coms 🎭