I think I should really stop picking up cute-looking lesbian graphic novels written by men. Tried a few times, never happy with the result - this was no exception. On the surface it may look like everything I want to see in a graphic novel - the setting, the characters, the premise, the promise of a queer love story - yet somehow the story leaves me with mixed feelings. Strong opener about two people growing close as they stumble through the jungle of a foreign culture language and slowly build a bridge of mishmash pidgin unique to two of them, but the way the story comes together has a sense of falsehood to it. Things evolved at a weird pace, obstacles magically formed and dissolved, but Sarah’s internal monologue continued to feel overdone On the plus side, the art style was lively and colourful - definitely the books’s strong point.

Thanks to Netgalley for an ARC.

I thought the style flowed really well, and the use of languages (3 or so in total) was so unique and conveyed well how difficult it is to communicate, but also exist. I very much enjoyed this for how gorgeous it was, but also for the messages it conveyed and translated.

Love Languages is an amazing comic book which follows Ping and Sarah.

The two woman are both foreigners living in Paris, Ping from Hong Kong and Sarah from England. Neither has French as a confident speakable language.

We follow the growing friendship between the two woman, where they proceed to teach each other their languages whilst learning French.

This is portrayed beautifully as the reader can understand more non-English words the further through the book, contrasting how Sarah is growing her vocab in the different languages.

(4.5/5 stars) This was such a lovely graphic novel! Sarah and Ping, our two main characters, are both foreigners living in Paris. After running into each other a few times, they begin a friendship and start navigating how to communicate through a mix of French, Cantonese, and English. As their understanding of each others language grows, so do their feelings for each other.

The art is vibrant, drawing on a lot of yellows and blues which make for lovely, expressive panels. The language/speech itself is an interesting visual element as it evolves to reflect the ways Sarah and Ping's conversation flows in different languages. I am also a huge fan of friends to lovers, and I felt like the pacing of this book was perfect for building the friendship and gradually leaning into a romantic pairing.

The main reason this isn't 5 stars for me is I wanted just a little bit more at the end, once the conflict is resolved. I just loved Sarah and Ping and wanted to know more about how they ended up!

Thank you to Netgalley and IDW Publishing for the eARC!

A comforting read with a main character that I found extremely relatable with her finding herself in a new country for a new career. She’s seeking connections and learning a new language when she meets another foreigner getting comfortable as well. As they get to know each other they learn a blend of languages to communicate and form close bonds. I enjoyed the art of this wonderful graphic novel and can’t wait to offer it for others to read!

A beautiful story about finding love despite all the barriers in culture, language, and distance.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book.
The illustrations and colouring are beautiful.

I love the introspection from Sarah. I related to it a lot.
The thoughts on home, belonging, and life were thought-provoking and insightful.
The love that the main characters found in such unexpected places left me with a warm and wholesome feeling.
Someone also called this book a patchwork of languages, and I couldn't agree more.

I absolutely loved it!

Thanks to Net Galley, the publisher, and the author for giving me this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really loved the style !! a quick read about two lovely characters, this is sweet and delicate.

Thanks net galley for the copy

Love languages raises a topic with which many people can empathize. What makes the difference are the artistic decisions that the author makes: the implementation of various languages in the dialogue bubbles, for example.
Love languages presents the story of two foreigners who work in Paris and after meeting for the third time they begin a friendship where language is not a barrier (as it has been in their daily lives) but something that unites them even more.
I think it's a book that almost all audiences can read, I would give it a +13 because of some comments that are made. Migrant and bilingual people (or those in the process of becoming so) will enjoy it, they will feel seen.
You can understand very well the whirlwind of emotions when you can't fully understand your surroundings and also can't fully make yourself understood. As Sofia Vergara said in Modern Family: You don't know how smart I am in Spanish.
It is a graphic novel that explores the interior of its protagonist and also tells us about her surroundings. The color palette is wide and quite vibrant when they are outside or enjoying, but dull and dark in less happy moments. It is also interesting how it presents this friendship, where the dialogue bubbles are increasingly filled with different languages at the same time. Ping already say it: we have always understood each other. Where others could hear and see chaos, for them it was a linguistic system that allowed them to get to know each other.
I don't have negative points to add, although the type of drawing is not my favorite, but this would be something more personal than objective.

I devoured this book in one sitting! It’s a beautiful story, brought to life by beautiful artwork.

Sarah and Ping meet by chance in Paris. Neither of them speak French as a first language, and as their friendship deepens they each learn the others’ mother tongue, and end up almost creating a language that only the two of them can understand, constantly switching between French, English, and Cantonese. What I really loved is that as much as learning these languages helped them get to know each other, it also helped them get to know themselves and open up their own worlds in different ways. I thought the way languages were used as a metaphor for queerness was beautifully done, and it felt very poetic.

The illustrations are absolutely beautiful, and they’re not just a vehicle for the story – they enhance the story, showing us emotions and depths that we don’t get from just the words. I thought the way colour was used was particularly powerful and effective. I also really liked how the different languages and translations were depicted, keeping us in the loop just enough. It was always really clear what language was being spoken, and how much the listener understood of what had been said.

This is a beautiful book in every way, and it’s a love letter to opening yourself up to the people and experiences around you. I was transfixed the whole way through, and I’m sure it’s one I’ll come back to.

I received a free copy for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley, IDW Publishing and Top Shelf Productions for providing an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Sarah and Ping navigate a fascinating multilingual friendship that develops a slow burn of love. The water color art brought the story alive. It was a great story about listening to one another and building foundations for friendship and love via sharing language and culture. Truly an enjoyable reading experience.

An easy 5/5 rating for me!
I read through it in a single evening, so it can be a quick read, depending on how much time you spend looking at the beautiful artwork (which I will definitely go back to do).
Storywise, it has all I could want from a book: adorable wlw romance, living in a foreign country, communication through language barriers, a cute baby... I could go on.
I will definitely be purchasing a physical copy when it comes out!

As a big lover of languages, this book spoke to me from the start and I was so glad I gave it a go.

The author does an incredible job crafting the words and illustrations to describe the journey of learning one or more languages. The personal mix-and-match language you rely on when you and your friend are at different levels in different languages. The hesitation and anxiety of being misunderstood when you really want to convey something. The sudden click when everything finally falls into place somewhere in your brain just when you let your guard down and felt the most insecure about your skill.

This is of course a love story, but to me it goes beyond just the relationship between Sarah and Ping - it's about how language is at the base of all relationships. Through this story, the book manages to take readers through a beautiful exploration of this idea that feels genuine and heartwarming.

I can't recommend this book enough - if you're looking for a sweet love story or you're a fan of languages, this should hit the spot.

✨ Disclaimer ✨ I received a free copy of this book and this is my honest review.

Oh this was absolutely precious. I’m so pleased that they ended up together. I genuinely think this is one of my favorite romances I’ve read in a long time. I enjoyed the use of multiple languages just to show the power of love.

How adorable this book was, urgh, I absolutely loved it! I am most grateful to James Albon and the publisher for providing me with this advance reader's copy!

Thanks to James Albon and NetGalley for this ARC!

This graphic novel was so unbelievably charming. With a colour palette that was so welcoming and a watercolour visual narrative that immediately brings you into a soft and tentative exploration of a relationship. The focus on languages and finding a safe space in a non-native country in the people that you surround yourself with.

*Minor spoilers ahead*

This was a lovely little graphic novel. I really enjoyed the focus on connecting across cultures, and it was sweet to see the romance come to fruition. But oh gosh, the show-stealer is the art. It's just so beautiful and enjoyable to look at, and it paired so well with this kind of story. My only criticism is that it would have been nice to get a few more pages of them together at the end.

Thank you to Netgalley, IDW Publishing, Top Shelf Productions for an arc in exchange for ab honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC.

This book is an interesting combination of a novel and a comic; it was fantastic. The story follows our protagonist, Sarah Huxley, as she navigates her relatively new life in Paris while meeting a faithful friend named Ping along the way. It is a realistic and beautiful portrait of love, the hardships of life, and acceptance.

One of my favorite things about this book was the beautiful watercolor art style. As an artist myself, I found this book to be really inspiring, the expressive art style and bold strokes spoke to me. the visual storytelling is really interesting too. an example could be the translation text bubbles blended into the actual text bubbles towards the end, indicating the language is not foreign to them anymore.

overall I loved this book!

This was very cute! It was definitely a slow burn but I liked these characters and the art style a lot, especially the way the languages are depicted. Very much a casual read

Oh how I adored this book! Sarah and Ping had such a journey that felt so real, emotional, and lovely to read. I was happy to see their story end the way it did and wow, I look forward to so much more from this author. I expect this to be on my favorite end of the year list.

Such rich and unique visuals give supplementary texture to a story of two people determined to connect even when separated by language barriers. Truly loved the search for an authentic connection at a time in your life when you should feel like you have it all, but are left feeling empty and lonely. Absolutely devoured these two main characters and the innate thoughtfulness that they have for each other. The self deprecating humor evolving into earnest conversations and internal thoughts was divine and true to the journey of self discovery.