This graphic novel was GORGEOUS. The watercolor artwork throughout the story was breathtaking to look at and the use of colors to portray emotions, even with how subtle it was at times, was phenomenal.

This story transcends language. The way Ping and Sarah begin their friendship awkwardly, using dictionaries and translating tools to communicate between three different languages, each one woven in between the others was so cool to see both in the text and the artwork of the story. I loved reading about Sarah learning more about herself and who is she is and who she loves. Her journey into discovering her queerness was a joy to read and I loved every minute of it.

This was a quick, beautiful story that everyone should add to their reading list!

Set in Paris, this is a story about two women. Sarah moved to Paris from England and met Ping, who is from Hong Kong. They developed a beautiful friendship that eventually evolved into a romantic relationship. The two often communicate in a mix of English, French, and Cantonese.

Both Sarah and Ping were navigating their lives in Paris on their own. What I appreciated about them was their eagerness to learn a new language to communicate with each other. I admired their friendship; they truly understood one another. Although the romance depicted in the book was brief, it was incredibly sweet.

I liked the watercolour illustrations; it was beautiful.

The only thing I didn’t like was the overlapping language in the text bubbles; following their conversations was confusing.

Overall, I enjoyed reading this book.

"Love Languages" is a gorgeously illustrated graphic novel about two foreign women in Paris bonding over their shared limited French skills. Sarah, a British woman working in the corporate world, and Ping, an au pair from Hong Kong working for a wealthy family, begin to develop their relationship after a chance meeting. As they spend more time together, their communication becomes a mix of French, English, Cantonese, and hand signals. As they spend time together and practice languages together, they become closer than either of them anticipated. This is a truly beautiful and rather quiet slice of life graphic novel, featuring characters that readers will cheer for and art that effectively conveys thoughts and emotions spoken and unspoken. Highly recommended for adult comic and graphic novel collections, and for anyone looking for a great sapphic romance.

Thank you to NetGalley, the Author, and the Publisher for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book was adorable. Beautifully written. I loved how things were automatically translated, though you still got to see the original language the characters were speaking in. I also loved how the art was more colorful whenever Sarah and Ping were together, versus whenever Sarah was without her. It was also colorful whenever she was thinking of Ping. I've seen that method used once before in a different type of media, but I think it worked brilliantly for the story here. The art for the panels were absolutely breathtaking. I'm not sure if it was originally done in watercolors or maybe just pastels, but it was great. The story also felt very organic in its pacing.

I received an ARC through NetGalley for an honest review.

I am learning more and more to not judge books by their covers and titles, moreover that there are so many wonderful things out there that I should just take a punt on them because then I might stumble upon a gem like this.

Love Languages is a beautiful graphic novel two women in Paris, one from Britain, the other from Hong Kong, in difficult and alienating places in their lives and the friendship that blossoms through their multi-lingual communication.

Written in English, French, and Cantonese with rich and charming ink and watercolour artwork, this is a feast for the eyes, heart, and mind. It has all the character, charm, and emotional resonance of a fabulous indie film.

I absolutely adored this and hovered it up in a single sitting, unable to keep still as I had to bodily express my emotions and got choked up.

Wonderful stuff!

This is such a beautiful story! It might take a little bit to get into the story of these two women feeling out of place in Paris but finding home in each other but it's definitely worth the wait. While I may have found myself skimming some parts, especially the parts of the men one of the women works with, I still thoroughly enjoyed this. The art style is also something I haven't seen much, such brilliant colours and soft watercolours. The romance was soft and sweet and I really felt myself rooting for these two to have a wonderful life together.
Great queer graphic novel!

Two women find themselves alone in France with limited knowledge of the language. After a few pleasant encounters the two of them realize they can each speak a little of their own language, a little of the other's, and a little French as well. As the two grow closer they begin to hodge podge their own language together using a mixture of French, Cantonese, and English: a love language, if you will.

I absolutely adored these characters. Sarah is so relatable in her shyness and self-doubt, and Ping is the perfect companion for her - so outgoing and kind. I loved the play on words that the title was, and the general theme that love and friendship are truly what bind people together entirely independent of language. I also liked all the ways they figured out how to communicate.

I find that many graphic novels have a tendency to rely more on one part of media than the other (either the words or images) but this one specifically struck an amazing balance relying on both to tell the story. I really appreciated it, especially since it would be easy to be frustratingly word-heavy in a book with language as a central topic and theme.

I would recommend this to anyone looking for stories about finding love in lonely places :)

This is a lovely sapphic romance between women from England and Hong Kong, both living in Paris. They are both struggling with the languages, yet find a way to communicate with each other. The art feels very Parisian, and I really liked how Albon handled showing their conversations in a mish mosh of language. I could have done without so much of Sarah's work stuff, but it did help to illustrate why she felt so lonely. Overall I enjoyed this, and I would read another graphic novel by Albon.

This was a really sweet mini love story of two people living in Paris, one whose native language is English, one whose native language is Cantonese, and how they slowly bridge the language gap between them to get to know each other. It was a quick read, and honestly, I could have used like, 50 more pages. Partially because the story needed a bit more depth and length, and partially because I enjoyed it so much! I thought the English text wrapped around the spoken language so that English-speakers can read it was a clever touch.

Thanks to Netgalley and Top Shelf for the e-ARC!

Love Languages was such a sweet little graphic novel. I loved the colourful art style. I also loved how James Albon manages to capture the flow of spoken language in picture. Some conversations are fluid, some are slow and confused. And he really manages to catch that feeling of joy when communication suddenly starts working.

The story takes place in Paris, but none of our main characters are from France. Sarah is from England but working at a French firm, Ping on the other hand is from Hong Kong. When they meet they only have fragments of English, French and Cantonese to use. But slowly and steadily they find a perfect mix and learn a lot of each others languages.

And slowly they become more and more important in each others lives.

Unfortunately, I found this story didn't work for me. I felt like we spent so much time in Sarah's head, in a very morose state, then all of a sudden she was professing her love. But previously, the other interactions we had Sarah internally wondering if she and Ping were even really friends, especially after grabbing lunch with people Ping knew. It felt like a chapter was missing, or even a thread connecting any sense of joy in Sarah's existence in any aspect of her life after spending more and more time with Ping. She never shared any aspect of what her burdens were with Ping because she was too worried about being seen as frivolous, so I'm unsure how you could be in love with someone you chose to share nothing with.

First the likes: I found the art style absolutely beautiful. It's watercolor-like, and the author is able to use the medium in different ways to show different emotions. I liked one specific panel where the main character's face is progressively less complexly drawn to signify losing herself/depression/sadness.

I liked that it's written in different languages, but I don't think it was handled in the best way all the time. I speak french and english, so I wanted to read both the french and the english, but sometimes the second would be written over the first, half a sentence here and half a sentence there, and it got difficult and confusing to read. Bigger panels and less text would've been great. Also there's no option in netgalley but to read it on your phone, and the text was small enough already without having to account for multiple languages and their translations in the same panel.

The main character was fleshed out correctly, but the relationship felt underdeveloped. Reading the author's notes it looks like they wrote this from their own experience, and maybe that played against it. Yes they know this people in real life, but maybe that prevented them from being able to write them for readers who don't know who they are. I don't think the couple made any sense, apart from being two foreigners in the same country. The jump from acquaitances who can't even string a sentence together to friends to lovers felt rushed, even for a lesbian couple.

Love Languages by James Albon was beautiful! It had a bit of a slow start at first. The main character, Sarah Huxley, moved from London to Paris for her job. She meets Ping, a woman from Hong Kong. Together they start communicating through French and English, and eventually Cantonese. I especially enjoyed how they communicated through a mix of languages and gestures. Eventually they become really good friends, and soon after their feelings for each other start to grow. While I eventually came to enjoy the story, the artwork was a bit distracting to me, but that’s more of a personal taste problem than a problem with the graphic novel itself. The artwork is painted in watercolor, which while impressive, comes off a bit rough. Overall, I would definitely recommend Love Languages to anyone who enjoys languages and LGBTQ+ stories.

Incredibly slow paced. The art was cute but I found the mix of languages, overlapping speech bubbles, and the lack of a real plot hard to follow. It picked up nicely in the second half once the romantic vibes started and ended up being an incredibly sweet story.

I picked up Love Languages on a whim, drawn in by the title and the promise of something quiet yet emotionally expansive—and that’s exactly what I got.

What I loved most about this book is how it captures the real messiness of human connection. The language barriers aren’t just a cute plot device—they’re woven deeply into the emotional fabric of the story. Misunderstandings, pauses, the silence between conversations—they all carry weight here. Albon does something really special with how he visually represents dialogue. Sometimes, entire panels are silent except for floating translation bubbles, or overlapping languages swirl in a chaotic blur. You feel the disorientation, the longing, and eventually, the warmth of connection.

And the watercolor artwork—gorgeous. It feels nostalgic and alive at the same time. There’s a softness to it that perfectly matches the hesitancy and growing affection between Sarah and Ping.

If I had to nitpick, I’d say the pacing toward the end felt a bit rushed. I found myself wishing for just a few more pages to sit with the characters after their emotional arc wraps. But in a way, maybe that mirrors life too—sometimes things happen quickly, all at once, and we only realize their impact later.

Love Languages isn’t loud or dramatic, but it stayed with me. It’s about the quiet power of empathy, the beauty in difference, and how we find connection even when the words don’t line up. A truly lovely read.

I really liked the art and the characters but I had some trouble following the story when the romance was introduced. It seemed to come out of nowhere and I couldn't figure out the conflict. There was just a lot of things that didn't make sense to me.

A sapphic graphic novel about two expats, one English and one from Hong Kong, living in Paris and navigating their everyday life. With amazing watercolour art!

I love reading books focusing on adults around my age living their everyday life and going through their struggles because I can identify with them. Sarah and Ping are just two adorable people who happen to meet in Paris and have a beautiful friendship, later relationship, blossom between them. It shows their growth as people living in a different country and what they experience there. It's an adorable love story.

Especially, it focuses on the language barriers. Willingness to learn a new language to be able to communicate with someone. The need to be understood. How it feels to be a part of an international group where people speak several languages at once. How love can overcome even not being able to understand each other. The hard work that goes into learning a language, how it gradually builds in a person, mainly in an immersive environment. How a true multilingual person speaks. And the most wonderful moment - when it finally clicks that you can understand and speak the language! I'm in love with this part as a linguistics major. Love Languages masterfully combines what the title promises - love between people, and many languages themselves.

This is a tender and visually stunning graphic novel that explores the intricacies of cross-cultural connection and the slow blossoming of love. Set against the romantic backdrop of Paris, the story follows Sarah, a London expatriate, and Ping, an au pair from Hong Kong, as they navigate the challenges of language barriers and personal discovery.

The novel's use of both watercolor artwork and multilingual dialogue—interweaving English, French, and Cantonese—authentically portrays the characters' efforts to communicate and connect. I'd imagine this as exciting practice for readers in the process of learning any of these languages.

I'd say this is a great introduction to graphic novels for any readers who typically enjoy either literary fiction or LGBTQIA+ romances as this narrative unfolds as a slow-burn romance, focusing on the everyday moments that build intimacy and understanding between Sarah and Ping. This story emphasizes character development and the gradual deepening of their relationship rather than having a strong plot.

This is an ideal read for those who appreciate stories of personal growth, the nuances of communication, and the quiet power of love.

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚ 2 stars ˚୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆

i hate to be a part of the minority but i didn't like this graphic novel. to me it seemed very slow and it was hard to follow with the languages mixed in the speech bubbles. unfortunately, i found the story boring and the characters were annoying. the premise seemed interesting but no, i guess it just wasn't for me.

˗ˋˏ ୨୧ thank you to NetGalley, IDW Publishing, and James Albon for the digital arc in exchange for an honest review! ୨୧ ˎˊ˗

A fluffy and beautiful queer graphic novel about belonging, language, and what it means to truly thrive. The art style is a stunning watercolor that perfectly matches the tone of the story. It was so cool to get glimpses of various languages throughout the novel, but the story is primarily told in English, French, and Cantonese – with English translations for whatever is understood by the main character. I get the feeling that readers who understand the French and/or Cantonese might be frustrated with how often translations cover up the original text, but as someone with zero grasp on either of those languages I was not affected by that design choice. Overall, I throughly enjoyed this story and would highly recommend it to anyone fascinated by the complexities of communicating across languages or who is looking for a lighthearted sapphic friends to lovers tale.