Publishing date: 06.05.2025 (DD/MM/YYYY)
Thank you to NetGalley and IDW Publishing for the ARC. My opinions are my own.

TLDR: A woman moves to Paris for a job, meets a foreigner and becomes close friends. But it isn't easy making a stable life for yourself in a foreign country. 4 stars.

Sarah has moved to Paris because of a job, finding a boring and colorless everyday life. Soon she meets Ping. The two connect ove their difficulties with French and create their own amalgamation of three languages to understand each other.

I adored the relationship between Ping and Sarah. It felt very much akin to friendships I have had myself where we don't quite understand each other, but we keep on communicating anyways. The way they communicate is also so similar to me and my husband's way, a combo of multiple languages. How beautiful that we can bridge gaps with something so different but so alike all the same.

The story has the typical ups and downs of "person moves to another country" stories. The excitement, the boredom, the new relationship, a struggle brewing, chaos, and lastly sadness. I did enjoy the story greatly, but it felt like something I had read before.

The art here is stunning. Beautiful colors, flowing lines, and creative way of speech-bubbles. The way the colors conveyed emotion and excitement was a really nice touch. Whenever Sarah was with Ping the colors were vibrant and diverse. When she was alone, the colors were dull and few. Stunning.

Also, great and realistic LGBTQ+ rep here. I feel like this is the best portrayal I have seen so far. Lesbians for the win.

Audience is young adult to adult. Anyone with an interest in language will enjoy this. People who have moved to other countries might find it relatable. And if you are a girl-kisser with the need for some cozy romance this might hit the spot.

I am giving this 4 stars. Stunning art, cute story, lifted my mood. Highly recommend it.

graphic novel about translanguaging for linguistics enjoyers. very fun visual representations of translation but not too interesting of a story. there were a handful of french grammar mistakes that really pissed me off both in the artwork and the text (genre je suis /y/ allé) these will hopefully be fixed in the final edition or the french might just revolt again! thanks netgalley for the arc.

Love Languages is a sweet graphic novel about how love can transcend language barriers.
Sarah is a lonely Brit who has moved to Paris for a corporate job who, on a particularly bad day for her, meets Ping, a nanny from Hong Kong. Sarah speaks some French and a little Cantonese, Ping’s mother tongue is Cantonese and she speaks a bit of French and English. Over time they form a friendship and get to know each other using bits of these languages in a way only they can understand.
This is a beautifully drawn sapphic novel, saturated with colour. I was not aware of James Albon previously but will now seek out his other work. I would highly recommend Love Languages, it is a quick read and a warm hug of a book.

Thank you to Top Shelf Productions for providing this ARC via NetGalley. #NetGalley #LoveLanguages #TopShelfComix #sapphic

I loved this! One, there is not enough sapphic representation in queer stories, so that was a nice change. But the story itself was so sweet and pure. As someone who has moved to a new country and to new cities multiples times through out my life the feeling of loneliness and isolation portrayed in this graphic novel were spot on. Albon really captured what it is like to being alone and finding that one lifeline in a vast ocean that is the world. I am so glad Sarah left her toxic office in Paris because those guys sucked!

Thank you to NetGalley, IDW Publishing, and James Albon for the free e-ARC. My thoughts and review are my own.

This is a sweet, sapphic love story about two foreigners who find each other in France. Sarah and Ping develop a friendship that grows as they learn each other's languages—English and Cantonese—while also struggling with French. Their shared experience leads to a blossoming love between them. I rated this book four out of five stars. It's an easy, quick read, although the ending felt a bit rushed. Overall, I enjoyed this cozy love story that beautifully portrays the breaking of language barriers, complemented by stunning watercolor illustrations.

thank you to netgalley for the arc!

what a lovely exploration of language --- the book does an excellent job of translating dialogue in a way that feels natural, and my favorite parts were definitely ping and sarah's conversations. they speak in a language all their own, and even though sarah feels embarrassed about that in front of pings friends it is still so important to them both that there is never a consideration of stopping.

gorgeous watercolor style art :)

I'm so glad this became available to all because I've had it sitting in my want to read for a while! And it did not disappoint at all- the art is beautiful, and the story made my heart ache. Also I never imagined reading about the feeling of trying to speak one language and another falling out. So relatable and cute. I can't wait to pick this up in print.

This is a very sweet story. It has a very quiet feel but I loved the development of the relationship and seeing how they grew together. The art was really lovely, and the water colour technique really suited. I was so pleased that it had a happy ending. I would definitely recommend this.

Thank you to NetGalley and Top Shelf Productions for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

This was a lovely, charming, and gay book about two women forging a connection despite language barriers.

We follow Sarah, who is obviously deeply unhappy with her work life and just kind of trying to get through. She moves to Paris from England, and she doesn't speak French, so she feels like an outsider in her new home. Sarah meets Ping, who has moved to Paris from Hong Kong. The two of them spend the majority of the story trying to figure out how to communicate with each other through English, French, and Cantonese.

With themes of identity and belonging, this story felt emotional while the art gave the story a touch of whimsy. Plus, we got a few moments of humor & levity :)

VISUALS
The visuals of a graphic novel will make or break the whole thing for me. The art in this book was enjoyable and distinctive.

I really enjoyed the way the language switching was illustrated with ‘banners’ of translation across the speech bubbles. The art was super rich and the use of color to convey mood was wonderful! This had much more prose than I am used to in a graphic novel, but it worked, and I especially appreciated the way Sarah’s work meetings were just strings of buzz words (too relatable).

I didn't always vibe with the illustration style tbh but the story was enough to keep me reading! I think reading the physical book and seeing the full spread of some of the pages would also make the experience better than the e-book version.

STORY
This story was charming, even if the end felt a little rushed to me. I adored the scene where they are out with Ping's friends and Sarah & Ping start having a conversation in their "own" language and everyone else at the table kind of blends into the background for them. I think we all share a language with people we love that consists of references, in-jokes, memories, and made up words that mean something to just you. This was a beautiful illustration of that.

I felt like Sarah's realization that she was interested in women was rushed and glossed over with her sadness that Ping had left. This was a core part of her identity that she just discovered and it didn't feel like she took much time to sit with that. (That being said, everyone's journey is different, I just couldn't relate personally because I definitely had Thoughts when I had my realizations lol.) I also didn't really appreciate the ending. It felt...rushed. I know there is a stereotype about lesbians being friends one minute and then co-habitating the next, but this just didn't hit right for me.

THOUGHTS OVERALL
I liked this book. I enjoyed my time reading it and the art was pleasant. I don't feel the need to re-read or even necessarily own it, but I am glad that I read it. The shared 'love language' was really sweet and that will be the main thing I remember when I think back on this novel.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher. I really liked the art style of this book. It's not really what I normally enjoy reading, but I liked it. The art style was more like watercolor on actual canvas to me instead of a comic/manga style. I liked that there was a difference in color used during work scenes versus when Sarah was hanging out with Ping and enjoying the city. I like the ending, but I feel that it might have been unnecessary. It is good representation though.

Sarah has moved from London to Paris, finding it much difficult than what she expected for the romantic city. She crosses paths with Ping Loh after a particularly embarrassing walk to work. Ping Loh is a young woman working as an au pair to a wealthy family of Hong Kong expats, and the two bond over their shared struggle in Paris.

This story had very whimsical, beautiful illustrations. They were very different from the typical graphic novel and manga style I am used to, however they lent well to the story. I was especially taken by how the illustrations matched the mood of the character, lightening and she came to enjoy her situation more. It was also beautiful to see the relationship between Sarah and Ping Loh unfold, cobbling together a language of their own.

4.5. This is so stinkin' cute! The way James Albon conveys the delicacies of being multilingual and learning multiple languages at once when you're stuck in one particular environment. I wish this has been even longer to further explore Sarah and Ping's relationship, but I really enjoyed what we got.

I loved the art in this book, first and foremost. Watercolor graphic novels are always a welcome surprise and this one was no exception. it was stunning. the nuance of being in a new place doing your best is someone everyone can relate to. the woven languages and yearning to be understood tie together in a beautiful queer romance. this book was so much fun.

🌟ARC🌟
This comic comes out on May 6, 2025 - you can find at most major retailers like Barnes and Noble & Amazon

📚 Love Languages
✨ by James Albon
📖 Genre: Comic, LGBTQIAP+
⭐ Rating: 4/5 stars

📝 Review:
This is a cute and relatable comic about moving to a new city, making cross-cultural connections, learning a new language, and falling in love. Following the main character you see her starting at a business with questionable characters and will watch her grow through meeting her new friend, who may be more than a friend? Following her growth and adapting to change will warm your heart and help you remember those moments of growth in your own life.

🤔 Why You Should Read It:
You should read this comic because of how relatable it is, specifically when learning a new language and falling in love. It captures the nervousness in both ways - anxious, yet giddy. There are ups and downs that will have you hoping for more, and the ending will be satisfying.

Sarah and Ping meet in Paris: Sarah from the UK and Ping from Home Kong. Though they don't share a language, they slowly befriend each other as they learn French, English, and Cantonese.

This was a fairly quick and at times poignant read. Because there was no chapter division in this graphic novel, I was reluctant to put it down. I enjoyed the way James visually depicted Sarah learning to understand Cantonese across the story: where she stops translating it and instead directly understands it.

Thank you to IDW Publishing - Top Shelf Productions for an ARC on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. This book is due to be published on 5/6/25. I will post to Instagram closer to publication

A precious story that I ended up loving! The water colour atmosphere made it the story stand out more.

Such a beautiful love story that transcends language. Sarah and PIng's friendship turned relationship is so sweet and interesting to read about with all of the nuances of language barriers. I really enjoyed their story, the illustrations, and the journey they both had to go on to decide to be together.

If you want a slow burn, this is definitely one. Sarah, British, is living in Paris, working for a firm that is draining her soul. Ping is in Paris, as a nanny to a Chinese family. They both speak English, some French and some Cantonese.


They keep running into each other, accidentally, and finally exchange numbers, and Sarah finds that there is brightness in Paris that wasn’t there before. She loves picking up more Cantonese, and we don’t see inside Ping’s head, but she seems to be enjoying their meetings as well.


Sarah doesn’t realize she is falling in love, and neither does Ping. They keep thinking they are really, really good friends. I think if we weren’t told this was an LGBTQ graphic novel, we might have delieved that. But we can see them getting close.


And the thing that really makes Sarah understand that there is something more that is despite them not knowing each other’s languages totatally, they do understand each other.


Sweet story. I kept wondering where it would all end up, and how it could all end up.


Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review. This book is coming out the 6th of May 2025.

As a language nerd, this was excellent. I loved the way the translations were shown, as well as the natural way the different languages were used in conversations. Also the jargon-laden descriptions of the workplace? Exquisitely clever. This was fantastic.

rep: queer white MC, queer Asian LI

spice: none

What if you are a foreigner working in a new place where you are learning to speak the language at the same time and you meet other foreigners who speak different language than you and are also learning a new language, too? This graphic novel answers this question, the icing on the cake being the blossoming of a meaningful friendship.

As a Cantonese speaker, I find myself drawn to the Romanized Cantonese layer of bubbles sprinkled throughout the book. As a woman who has worked in a toxic workplace before, I can also relate to the main protagonist's experiences of a toxic work environment. As someone who appreciates art as well, I love how the main characters bond over art in the Louvre. The book definitely has relatable characters.

Taking place in France, this book gives a fresh perspective on romance and the angst that can consume someone who is newly in love. The interracial and intercultural context adds delightful layers to this story of the budding of a queer romance. Overall, a wonderful read.