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Girl Bonding
Hearts on Paper follows a teenager on summer break learning to navigate life with a new stepmother and a picture-perfect stepbrother. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
One drop of truth spiraled into a writer’s hurricane. The first draft of Hearts on Paper poured out of me in just eleven days. When I was in seventh or eighth grade, my father remarried and didn’t tell me. I found out when I went to visit for two weeks over summer break. I let myself in with the spare key, hidden in a mustard jar, because my dad was at work. My new stepbrother, a total stranger, greeted me in the dining room. He showed me pictures of their wedding hanging on the newly painted pink walls.
Looking back as an adult, I thought two things: What a shifty thing to do, and what a great way to start a story.
What draws you to write YA fiction?
I’m drawn to the story; this one just so happened to be YA.
Do you have a favorite scene in this novel? One that was especially enjoyable to craft?
Chapter: “Clever Girls.” I loved writing the self-defense scene—girl bonding at its most savage.
What is the next book that you are working on, and when will it be available?
Pretzel Fangs is a cozy horror short novel. Kat ages out of the foster system and becomes a human blood bag for vampires. It’s salty, twisted, and delicious. Available on Wattpad while I fine-tune a few scenes. It might be available in print as soon as this fall, just in time for spooky season.
Author Links: GoodReads | TikTok | Facebook | Amazon
Emery Carter’s two-week visit takes an unexpected turn when she learns her diplomat dad secretly remarried and forgot to tell her. His new wife? Whatever. Her new stepbrother? Way too handsome, way too distracting, and way too easy to fall in love with.
No strings? Yeah right. No drama? Think again.
She never planned on staying. He never wanted her to leave.
A young adult sweet romance.
Hearts on Paper
Hearts on Paper, by E. G. Creel, is a charming story that follows Emery, a witty and thoughtful teenager whose summer break turns upside down when she discovers her father has remarried and forgotten to mention it. Thrust into a shiny new life with a picture-perfect stepbrother named Dean, Emery stumbles through awkward poolside encounters, a stifling country club culture, and a whirlwind of emotional and romantic confusion. The book is packed with sharp dialogue, heartfelt introspection, and plenty of high school drama, but beneath all the sass and swoons, there’s a deeper story about identity, grief, and navigating the awkward gray areas between childhood and growing up.
Emery’s tone makes this book. She is funny in that quietly savage way that makes you want to follow her around just to hear what she’ll say next. Her thoughts feel real–the kind of thoughts you only admit to yourself. E. G. Creel has this knack for nailing teenage awkwardness without making it cringeworthy. The banter between Emery and Dean hits the perfect balance of playful and emotionally loaded. I caught myself smiling during the quieter scenes, especially when Emery is trying to figure out whether Dean is trouble or just a misunderstood golden boy. It never felt overdone or syrupy. The pacing, especially in the early chapters, was smooth and tight. I was pulled in fast and stayed locked in.
There were moments where the story leaned into tropes. Still, I couldn’t put it down. There’s something magnetic about watching these characters slowly orbit each other, even when the plot takes some predictable turns. The writing keeps things light enough to stay fun but serious enough to give the characters some weight. Creel’s prose never talks down to the reader, and that’s a big part of why the story works.
Hearts on Paper is the kind of book I’d recommend to readers who loved To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before or Everything, Everything. If you’re into slow-burn romance with strong emotional undercurrents, rich teenage voice, and a little chaos in your love life, this one will hit the spot. It’s messy and sweet and complicated, just like being seventeen.
Pages: 226 | ASIN : B0F8WB2PPW
LITERARY TITAN 