I really enjoyed this graphic novel set in the 1950s. Juliet is a penniless American art student, studying in Paris, who paints portraits of wealthy debutantes in order to make ends meet. She meets Deborah, a young woman who is about to marry a family friend. Juliet is supposed to paint her and as she does love blossoms between the two women but their love is thwarted by societal duties and the expectation of Deborah’s family. And Deborah very nearly does get married but she discovers something about her fiancé and then she hunts for Juliet who has returned to the USA with a broken heart. But suddenly life takes a turn and Deborah takes a risk on true love. This is a lovely story. Deborah seems so naïve and wanting to bow to societal pressure. Juliet is the supposed wild one but she gives up easily only to find a surprising love.

This is a great story with quirky drawings and a lovely pace. I didn’t like the colouring though and I think it would been so much nicer with more colour!

Fab story though.

Love the Lesbian representation and the lesion about following your dreams and being true to yourself. I hated how Deborah’s brother used her for his own gain but I’m glad she got her happily ever after

This is an interesting read with unique illustrations and a clear style of its own. I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to others.

I enjoyed the illustrations in this graphic novel it kind of reminded me of a Portrait of a Lady on Fire. At times I felt the story could be more developed and struggled with some of the wording at times but overall a quick and fun read.

NetGalley ARC Educator 550974

A enchanting graphic novel with old style graphics that will have you longing to visit Paris. The storyline was easy to follow and engaging. A wonderful edition to any collector's quarry.

This was a really interesting graphic novel. The art style was unique and captured 1950s Paris very well. I really wanted to see more romance, intimacy, and sensuality though! And the overall story left more to be desired.

This book is light on substance and plot as it tends to learn more into the aesthetic and cliches of stories set in Paris. The characters are not interesting and the plot, what of it there is, is not engaging. Even after finishing it, I'm not really clear on what the point of this story was. I also found it very hard to follow the dialogue, as there's a lot of untranslated French thrown in that was more distracting than functional. I did however, like the art style, it was detailed without being too much and there was a lot to look at on the page. Overall though, I felt like the book was confusing and hard to get into.

This was a wonderfully illustrated Parisian sapphic graphic novel. It was a quick read that didn't have much complexity to it but was still entertaining overall. Knowing a bit of French going into it would be helpful to understand some of the phrases but it doesn't take away too much from the story.

This graphic novel was essentially about an aspiring American artist in 1950s Paris who is falling in love with the British woman whose portrait she's been hired to paint. I felt that the storyline was underdeveloped and needed more interaction or more conflict -- something. The text was largely English but peppered with French, which I quite liked because it enhanced the setting. While I found myself wanting more from the story, I was captivated by the illustrations and finding so many details in the drawings. I enjoyed all the Parisian nooks and crannies and recreations of artwork. The artwork certainly sent my wanderlust a-flutter. I will read this again just to spend more time looking at the illustrations and taking a time-traveling trip in my mind. I appreciated the goodies at the end -- translations (if you don't speak French at all, take note before beginning the book!), recreated artwork, added illustrations, and even paper dolls! What fun.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing a copy of this book. I will be reading it again.

I found the relationships to be unbelieveable, and underdevloped. That being said, I did like the artwork, and the story idea was interesting. Unfortunately, I think it was unispired and fell flat. I would say pass on this book.

While I know this artist has many fans, this art style was soooooo hard for me 😭 I really struggled to figure out where to focus and it made it hard for me to read this book. That said, I am not everyone!! This book is definitely perfect for some people, just not me

3.5 stars

I enjoyed this graphic jovel. The pictures designs are picturesque of Paris and kind of remind ne of the old Madeline book designs.

It was quite difficult at times for me to get through as the language from switch from English to French back to English. I had to go backwards in my mind pulling on my grade 9 french class knowledge to get me through.

Would definitely recommend for anyone who enjoys Paris, artwork or LGBTQ+ related books.

Special thanks to Netgalley & Image Comics for providing me with a copy of the graphic novel.

The novel follows Juliet, an American art student in Paris who does commissions on behalf of her teacher to aid her educational expenses, and Deborah, a British debutante who is constrained by the old-fashioned traditions of her upper class family. After Juliet is asked to paint Deborah's portrait, both begin a journey towards self-awareness and each other.

The art within this novel is detailed to the extreme, covering the entire page to make the readers feel as though they really are in Paris in the fifties. Cityscapes and rooms seem to come particularly easily to the illustrator. Everything is exaggerated which is both a good thing, as it makes the novel distinct, and a bad thing, as it becomes a little difficult to take the story seriously.

It feels as though the story itself was underfleshed -- there is a lot of filler which doesn't fully add to the progression of the story. Graphic novels, without the advantage of narration, are already at a disadvantage in this regard, and the filler panels burden the novel further. This also leads to any twists feeling sudden, as though they didn't have any pre-laid groundwork which is never a good thing.

The characters all speak in very stereotypical ways. To be honest, the novel is generally full of stereotypes but this fact was especially evident in the dialogue. There were so many country-specific expressions that it makes you wonder how on earth the characters understand each other at all.

The romance was also a little insta-lovey for my taste, it didn't feel as though the characters had connected over much. Although Juliet and Deborah experience some semblance of character growth, Paulette and every other side character was entirely one dimensional, which was unfortunate as they seemed very interesting.

The ending was also very ambiguous, it very much felt as though the point A and B were not connected, like there were scenes missing.

Overall, a decent novel with a standard plot and interesting artwork.

Beautifully illustrated Parisian sapphic graphic novel. A quick read—I was a bit frustrated by the half French/half English and it would’ve been helpful to know there was a translation index at the end before I started.

A cute sapphic romance set in 1950s paris. Juliet, a student painter and Deborah, a rich English tourist cross paths when Juliet is hired to paint Deborah's portrait. Reminded me a bit of "Portrait of a Lady on Fire". I love how Paris is illustrated throughout the graphic novel. I did find the 1950s slang a bit confusing at first, but I got used to it. Perfect to read with my morning coffee.

There were certain parts of the book that I was unsure whether they were serious or satirical. However, all the artwork in the book was absolutely beautiful. I loved that there was a little art sequence both at the beginning & at the end with just images. These sequences were gorgeous and set the mood for the book. I also liked that throughout the book, there was a good mix of pages with a lot of dialogue and pages with very little dialogue.

Thanks to Image Comics and Netgalley for this eARC.

As others have noted, this story is light on many areas, namely any deep dives into characters. The art does a lot of the heavy lifting, but it can only do so much. What's there I liked very much, but I wanted there to be more. Let the girls speak a little more than they did, something.

3.5 stars rounded up.

This was a beautiful book! I loved Simon's illustrations of Paris, UK and US, with so many intricate details. I really liked the romance, although I wish it was a bit longer to elaborate more on it! Can't believe this graphic novel is 16 years old, it hasn't aged at all!!

Wow - the illustrations in this graphic novel floored me. I absolutely loved how Simon Gane captured the way Paris really feels.
I couldn't really tell the era. Juliet looked like she was in the 50s or 60s but Deborah was from the 1800s so I was a little confused.
However, I did like the sapphic romance element.
I found that there was an element of parody of how we perceive Paris and french people throughout the storyline, in fact of all the places, UK, France and the USA. All quite obvious but I can forgive it because the illustrations were just so good.
The story was ok - there were some elements which could have gone further and been explored more but I guess there is only so much you can include in a graphic novel, a lot will be subtext.
I would love some of the art as prints for my room though - the art is what gives it the score I have given it.
Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to review this ARC.