When I started reading this graphic novel I didn't really know where I was going to go and the truth is that as I progressed I realized what the story wanted us to see. About what the author wanted to tell us through Total Suplex of Heart.

When you get to the end and read the author's words, everything makes more sense. It is not a novel in which one can judge the protagonist, one simply sees her and tries to understand her. I think he was very brave for having made this graphic novel and for exposing his soul in this way.

Thank you very much Humanoids Inc for the ARC I read on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I love the art in this novel. I feel like it was really striking and the story was quick to read and entertaining. I do wish some of the plot hadn’t been so rushed, as I felt like a lot of topics could’ve been expanded on but I would still recommend.

I really wanted to like this, and I know you can only do so much with a graphic novel - but I felt like we were missing so much more information. The transitions between scenes felt very rushed and incomplete. I liked the premise of the story and the fact that the FMC realizes that family isn't only blood. I get the story was inspired by the authors life, but those weird comments from the men rubbed me the wrong way in the beginning.

This was a really great story!!! Even if it was really sad at the same time too. I didn't realize until I reached the end that it was actually based on someone's life and experiences in the wrestling world. I really enjoyed Georgie's journey and what it took for her to heal and grow as a person. The graphics for this comic were really good too. I also enjoyed JT I think he was my favorite character besides Georgie.

The cover had me hooked before I even knew the premise of the story. The art style was fantastic (*Chef's Kiss*), no notes from me on that. I do, however, have many notes on the writing. It felt jumpy, disconnected, and there were parts where I genuinely had no idea how the previous line and panel led to the next line and panel. I know that as I am writing this review, the book has already been released, but I really hope that there was more editing from this ARC to the final product. It was readable, but confusing at times.

Total Suplex of the Heart was a quick and entertaining read. The novel's art work is amazing and the characters created each have their own distinct personality. Georgie's growth through out the novel was a plus as well as the conversations that many of the problems associated with wrestling today. However I honestly wish the story was longer. Parts of Georgie's story felt rushed or even glossed over which would have given the reader a deeper connection to her character. I was saddened to see what I had hoped would be a meaningful and powerful female friendship be thrown away in the last few pages due to a man. While, I may not have enjoyed the entire book.it still was a worthwhile read.

This wasnt an easy read and I struggled to get into it at the beginning. Nonetheless it told an important and powerful. story! Not Bad!

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for giving me this eArc to review.

The best thing about this graphic novel is the art as the story, whilst being semi-autobiographical, didn't have the depth that I expected. The concept is great but the story focuses more on men than the wrestling and what she achieved. The beginning feels like it is missing pages due to lack of depth and exploration as to how she got into wrestling. I also feel that the friendships that the main character had with women was stereotypical which I didn't enjoy.

In my opinion, I just don’t think this graphic novel was fleshed out enough: the themes (eating disorders, abusive relationships, being a woman in wrestling), the relationships between the mc and her love interest and the plot itself. It was trying to much with too little pages.

With that said, I am fairly interested in a fully biographical graphic novel by the author (since this one is only inspired by).

DNF @31% - I feel like I’m cheating a bit DNF’ing a graphic novel, but I really can’t with this. It just jumps around from scene to scene with no real line through it all. A lot developement has happened of screen already. We get 0 explanations for anything so everything just comes out of complete nowhere, and I can already tell that I’m going to DESPISE this main character by the end of it. I’m sorry, this just REALLY isn’t my thing.

i went in blind for this one as i thought the cover art and title were intriguing, but i thoroughly enjoyed how much care was given to it's portrayal of domestic violence in relationships and with sexism in the sport. i also didn't realize it was semi-autobiographical so i can't fault the author's lived experiences, but i wasn't as engaged with the wrestling plot-line.

thank you netgalley and lifedrawn for this arc!

this was a semi-autobiographical graphic novel about the authors experiences in independent wrestling. i was drawn to this as a wrestling fan but i didn’t fully know what to expect. i understand there are limitations in telling a story like this in this medium, but it felt like there was a LOT left unaddressed. overall it was a fun read that handled some heavy subject matter, but i definitely had some issues with the way those subjects were handled. this IS semi-autobiographical though, so i can’t fault the author for the way she’s talking about her lived experiences.

This is a coming of age story set in the early 2000’s. Our FMC Georgie gets involved in wrestling after writing a freelance article on the hardcore indie wrestling scene. What follows is whirlwind of drama, fights (in and out of the ring), love, heart break, friendships and betrayals. For what felt like a short comic (I read it in an evening) author Joanne Starter tackles a lot of issues and fleshes out some amazing characters. This story deals with heavy topics in a very real way. No waving of a magic wand to “get over it”. The art by Ornella Greco is beautiful and balances the story well.

While there were time jumps that were sometimes choppy, ultimately this didn’t diminish the story. I was sad to see this one end, I really wanted more of each of the characters. Honestly, I think this could have been a series of comics and I’m sure Ms. Starter has plenty of stories to share from her time in professional wrestling.

Total Suplex of the Heart is a semi-autobiographical, inspired-by story of a woman getting into underground wrestling-- and aaaaaaaaaaaall the men it comes with. It's a messy story but one that's really true to life and one that makes you go "oh no...." more than once! But not in a bad way, and despite Georgie's flaws you still want to root for her and hope for the best despite the dicks (both literal and figurative) around her.

There's several content warnings a reader should be aware of if they need it (domestic violence, cheating, EDs, abusive parents, letting oneself be controlled by a SO, emotional abuse/manipulation, dead beadrooms, etc) which may not be expected in a full color, cartoony graphic novel but it just goes to show how varied graphic novels can be!

Thank you to Humanoids Inc/Life Drawn and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for review!

I think this book is an autobiography of sorts? Not 100% sure, but if so I like it more that way and I wish I had known it was the whole time. I definitely feel like I known a version of the people in this graphic novel.

A quick and fun read.
Didn’t love the cheating, DV or sexism. But a good story about finding yourself.

This book was really interesting, and learning at the end that this is passed on to the author added another layer to the story. I think the art was fun and I enjoyed it a lot. The book touched upon a lot of heavy topics that affected our main character, which showed just how much she had to overcome and made the reader root for her to have a happy life and to be happy. The pacing was fast which often made the story feel rushed and that I was missing things, but it was still an enjoyable story to read.

This was a really interesting story. Going into it, I wasn't prepared for how heavy it was in some moments, but this didn't take away from my enjoyment of the story.

The time jumps felt a bit confusing and it felt like there were some things that could have been developed upon more, but overall this was a great graphic novel.

I really liked the art style and there were some really great characters throughout.

In an effort to pitch a compelling article for the website she writes for, Georgie goes to a wrestling show. She is immediately intrigued and starts working there. She immediately makes friends and then meets Steve, who seems like he is perfect. She follows him to Pennsylvania and helps him set up his school. However, she can't help feeling that she is not in control of. her life.

I liked this story overall! I did not realize it was going to get as serious as it did (which was fine and it was a good story), so I would just be aware that it has some really serious themes once Georgie moves to be closer to Steve. I was sad this nerd who seemed perfect turned out to be a huge jerk. I was also sad by Kassidy's betrayal of Georgie toward the end! But Georgie still got a good ending ultimately (or at least as far as we could see). I also really enjoyed the art here! It was really good.

I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Okay, I requested this because I thought it was going to be interesting. The story overall was entertaining, just felt unfinished to me. The emotional abuse and the eating disorder felt unfinished. The time jumps were confusing sometimes for me, and even though I found it entertaining I just didn't love it.

I got an e-arc of this book on NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.