truly a gift on the eyes - i love watercolour and how it speaks to the mood, especially in a setting like this one. an inspiring and invigorating story about finding yourself and finding where you belong. the library will love this one!

This graphic novel had a unique art style. I liked the colors. The way the three languages, English, French, and Cantonese, were twined together was quite interesting. I could see that it was going the romance route, but I also would have liked it as a friendship story. The fall out seemed sudden and overdramatic, but it is nice that everything worked out.

Love Languages by James Albon is a sweet sapphic romance about two very different women far from home, united by their feelings of disconnect in a foreign country. They happen upon one another and strike up a friendship as they desire to master multiple languages and ultimately learn that love surpasses all other languages. As they spend time together, Sarah realizes she has strong feelings for Ping and may not be as straight as she thought.
This romcom was interesting and had me chuckling several times. The characters are likable, and the relationship feels completely organic.
The art works extremely well for the content. The watercolors and the way the images flow emphasize their feelings of being carried along through their experiences, almost passively.
I am impressed at the depth and completeness of this story in such a small amount of space. I recommend this graphic novel.
#fishoutofwater #Paris #English #Cantonese #French #HongKong #sapphic #oppositesattract #toasterover #multilingual #interracial

It was such a cute and sweet story. I loved how colourful it was, and the art.

I also loved having different languages- French, English, and Cantonese. Alost each time another language than English was used, there was the translation or sometimes the characters would use a mix of two languages-which makes it quite relatable as it is sometimes hard to find what we want to say in one language.
It was nice to see the Parisian life not depicted as something incredible and out of this world. The character is happy to live there but also shows the negative aspects that we are not always aware of.
I would recommend it!

Finally a comic that live to its name.
Love languages is about two strangers coming from different world speaking different languages and colliding into Paris by chance. What I loved about the comic was the dry humour as well as the candid experiences of learning different languages at the same time. The language soup that was communicated with ease between the two and the way that become their central bonding way is so close to my own experiences with my best friends.
The only criticism I would say was that the ending felt a bit rushed as the story in the beginning was so relaxed and took its time to build their bond. Also, I may have a difference of opinion with how things were handled at the office. But all in all I think this was a really fantastic comic. I cannot wait for more by James Albon.
Thankyou #NetGalley for providing an arc copy. All opinions are my own.

This is one of my favorite graphic novels I have ever read. Easily top three. The art is absolutely gorgeous, and I love how the way language is presented changes as the two characters get to know each other. This is cavity sweet, and I will be reading over and over and over again.

This graphic novel was such a lovely palate cleanser! The art is stunning and some of my favorite art I've ever seen in a graphic novel and the story was sweet, engaging, and hopeful. Definitely something that can be recommended widely and you'd be hard pressed to find someone who couldn't take something away from this story. I think this serves as a nice entry level graphic novel for those just starting to get into them and fills a gap adult graphic novels have as a genre.

The author captures the essence of a blooming romance, depicting characters gradually learning to understand and speak each other’s language. It's fascinating to see how their interactions evolve, creating a rich tapestry of connection and intimacy. Additionally, the illustrations breathe life into each character, showcasing their unique personalities and enhancing the overall narrative. The colors and expressions on the pages mirror the characters' feelings, making their journey all the more relatable and engaging.

This was an easy read graphic novel. It reminded me of my own time living in a foreign country so. I enjoyed the relatability. The art is gorgeous but I admit sometimes it was hard to read some of the blurbs. I truly enjoyed this though. I liked the unique take on the struggle finding friends/love in a foreign country

Woah it was kinda fast and literally having 3 languages like Cantonese, English and French on top of each other made it really confusing for an English-only pea brain like myself 😅

However it’s still a ok read like it is a good one to waste time on if you’re in a reading slump. Both girls were interesting and cute together👍

Loved this graphic novel. Two people from different backgrounds finding themselves in a foreign place to form a connection/language that is truly understand only by each other? Yes please

4.5/5⭐️

this was so cute!!!
the art style for this was so pleasing to look at and I love how it got more exaggerated for characters who were sleazy, I found that to be a cool and interesting touch. it was so easy to care for these characters and what would become of them and their relationship! I got so emotional in the ending and I’m so glad it ended happy!
I would definitely recommend to friends and followers!

“The process of learning two languages is doing something strange to my brain. I’m trying to seize disjointed gusts of wind, flailing, trying to tie sound to meaning.”

I loved Love Languages. In this graphic novel, the arts are sweet but also have a lot of energy. I loved the colors choices, with an alternation between cold and warm colors, depending on the situation Sarah is in (alone vs with Ping).
This story is as much about learning a (some) new language(s), being a foreigner and forge ties with someone. I loved seeing the friendship between both MC deepen and end with something more. The choice to have them learning new languages (their respective mother tongues, and French) as they discover each other was very interesting. I loved how it was pictured graphically, as if everything was mixing in their heads. It truly felt relatable and made it pretty easy to read and understand too.
In one word, that lost in translation love story left me with a swooning feeling and a little bit in awe.

Thank you to the author, idw publishing and Netgalley for the eARC. My opinions are my own.

3.5 overall (I’ll be nice and roundup)

This is why I love languages. There’s magic in connecting with people despite language barriers. I was rooting for this couple the entire time and loved the ending.

I really enjoyed the artwork for this graphic novel. I think it’s one that I would recommend to a book club or discussion. I think it got a bit too information heavy when it came to some parts. I did enjoy exploring more of the relationship and its connection to language and how speaking in itself is forming a relationship of any type.

Book Review: Love Languages by James Albon

At first, I found the story a bit unclear, as the narrative wasn’t immediately obvious. However, as I kept reading, I was drawn in by the heartfelt journey of the two main characters. It was amazing to see how they overcame language barriers and still made the effort to build a genuine friendship. Their determination to learn each other’s language while navigating the challenges of daily life in a new country felt both realistic and inspiring.

That being said, I didn’t particularly care for the career storyline of one of the characters. It felt like it took up too much space in the book, and I would have preferred if the focus had remained more on the friendship itself. Additionally, the miscommunication trope did get a bit frustrating at times, but I was ultimately happy with how things worked out in the end.

Overall, Love Languages is an engaging story about connection, perseverance, and the beauty of learning to communicate across cultures. While some parts could have been more streamlined, the emotional core of the book made it a worthwhile read.

Love Languages reminded me so much of an artful adult version of New Girl by Cassandra Calin.
Being alone in a new country with only the basics of a language is scary. Albon beautifully illustrated the way the main character, Sarah, was able to adapt to the languages around her. This was gorgeous and hopeful and so Parisian. It was a little wordy and hard to get the hang of at the start, which could scare some readers, but I would recommend this book to multilingual readers!

What an adorable romance story about an english woman working in Paris, meeting a "fille au-pair" from Hong-Kong. The rendition of the context and the atmosphere is greatly done, through a beautiful flow of colors, dialogues and thoughts. The relationship between Sarah and Ping evolves with an intriguing complexity, a variety of emotions and it's beautiful and satisfying to witness!

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 ⭐

I adored being swept away into Sarah and Ping's stories with absolutely gorgeous watercolour illustrations. This was a vibrant, wonderful tale of two women becoming friends and slowly learning each other's languages (English, French and Cantonese). I love the way their conversations were visually portrayed with overlaying text boxes to demonstrate the clunkiness of cross-cultural communication. The use of watercolour and red-yellow-blue colour palette worked fantastically to really express the various tones and locations across the story. From the blues and greys of Paris to the reds and yellows of Hong Kong, it was absolutely stunning! I will say, however, Sarah's work bored me to death, which I understand was featured to demonstrate why Sarah was so bogged down in life, but man I did not want to be bogged down with her.

I will be looking forward to finding this in bookstores and can't wait to have my own physical copy!

Gorgeous, gorgeous art, especially of Paris and that dimsum!

The writing is very clever, especially in the beginning. The romance does feel like it comes out of the blue, so I was never fully convinced by the characterisation, but it's such a beautiful depiction on living in a foreign land and the way fluency is fluid and can feel forever elusive.


Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.