mehsi's review
3.0
I received this book from Netgalley in exchange of an honest review.
Well, this sounded better than it was. There were just a few things I didn't particularly like.
This is the story of a woman whose partner is withdrawing from her. She decides to leave the place they are staying together (apparently with his parents???) and find a spot of her own. We see her talk to her friends, family, acquaintances about the situation. About Jorge, about what her plans are now.
However, it isn't until the last story we finally hear something from Jorge. We finally meet the illusive guy who we only heard about from everyone and our MC. I was pretty pissed at that dude by then. I mean, really? It has been at least months (given that one cannot find an apartment in just one poof) and he hasn't contacted her ONCE??? Hello? What kind of relationship did you guys have? And oh yes, when she finally meets him up, they are all cosy and lovely and it didn't even feel awkward. Well, OK, right up until the moment they had sex. Then it got awkward. At least for me. I just couldn't understand why she had sex with the dude who hurt her this badly that she had to leave him.
Elena's friends/acquaintances were so sweet. They offered help, a home, items, a party.
I did love that the comic had many silent moments, relying on the images instead to the tell the story. And I also loved those more than the ones with conversation.
I have to say that I expected more off those Seven Places thing in the title. I had expected her to visit Seven Places that were significant to her and her boyfriend.
The art was pretty OK. It fitted with the theme quite well, though I am not a very big fan of the style.
All in all, it had good moments and not so good moments. I am glad I had the chance to try it out.
Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/
Well, this sounded better than it was. There were just a few things I didn't particularly like.
This is the story of a woman whose partner is withdrawing from her. She decides to leave the place they are staying together (apparently with his parents???) and find a spot of her own. We see her talk to her friends, family, acquaintances about the situation. About Jorge, about what her plans are now.
However, it isn't until the last story we finally hear something from Jorge. We finally meet the illusive guy who we only heard about from everyone and our MC. I was pretty pissed at that dude by then. I mean, really? It has been at least months (given that one cannot find an apartment in just one poof) and he hasn't contacted her ONCE??? Hello? What kind of relationship did you guys have? And oh yes, when she finally meets him up, they are all cosy and lovely and it didn't even feel awkward. Well, OK, right up until the moment they had sex. Then it got awkward. At least for me. I just couldn't understand why she had sex with the dude who hurt her this badly that she had to leave him.
Elena's friends/acquaintances were so sweet. They offered help, a home, items, a party.
I did love that the comic had many silent moments, relying on the images instead to the tell the story. And I also loved those more than the ones with conversation.
I have to say that I expected more off those Seven Places thing in the title. I had expected her to visit Seven Places that were significant to her and her boyfriend.
The art was pretty OK. It fitted with the theme quite well, though I am not a very big fan of the style.
All in all, it had good moments and not so good moments. I am glad I had the chance to try it out.
Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/
queenkoko's review
1.0
Here comes a rant and spoilers.
Let's take a quick look at one particular line in the summary. "Seven Places Without You" is the story of a young couple’s first experience of a relationship on the rocks. I am very confused on why it says "couples" when we clearly see Elena for 100+ pages moping around crying about "Jorge" who I thought was a figment of her imagination until the very end. When the dingleberry shows up I was very surprised.
Elena lives with Jorge in his family's house and never comes home at night. Where is he? Nobody knows. He's probably batman for all I know. Due to this Elana decides that it is time for her to leave because living with your boyfriend's parents is weird since he is never home. I am not sure why it is presented as if Jorge broke up with Elena, when its Elena who leaves without saying a word to Jorge.
So, we see Elena depressed for entire novel. Yes, the ENTIRE novel. Her two friends are cool, clearly living their best life. Elena's parents are cool. Even Jorge's mom is really nice. I wanted to like Mario but he was extremely pushy and kept trying even though Elena wasn't interested.
Then we meet the infamous Jorge towards the end. He acts as if nothing has happened. Like he really tries to engage in normal conversation and acts like everything is okay. It was AWKWARD AND WEIRD and Elena says at some point that its awkward. Then she has the nerve to sleep with him AND make him breakfast in the morning. Not only is Elena depressed but now she has to pay rent due to Jorge and she decides to cook him breakfast in the morning. I was fuming. The dialogue between them is weird and there is no chemistry. He throws the word romantic around like its supposed to mean something. He still doesn't explain himself. I understand what it's like to be self involved but Jorge needs to explain where he was and why he didn't bother to even check in to see if Elena was okay.
Not a fan of the art work style. It worked well for this story but in general I don't like it. The colors were very dull and made the story even more depressing for my eyes.
9 days into 2019 and I am already writing a 1 star review.
I received a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Let's take a quick look at one particular line in the summary. "Seven Places Without You" is the story of a young couple’s first experience of a relationship on the rocks. I am very confused on why it says "couples" when we clearly see Elena for 100+ pages moping around crying about "Jorge" who I thought was a figment of her imagination until the very end. When the dingleberry shows up I was very surprised.
Elena lives with Jorge in his family's house and never comes home at night. Where is he? Nobody knows. He's probably batman for all I know. Due to this Elana decides that it is time for her to leave because living with your boyfriend's parents is weird since he is never home. I am not sure why it is presented as if Jorge broke up with Elena, when its Elena who leaves without saying a word to Jorge.
So, we see Elena depressed for entire novel. Yes, the ENTIRE novel. Her two friends are cool, clearly living their best life. Elena's parents are cool. Even Jorge's mom is really nice. I wanted to like Mario but he was extremely pushy and kept trying even though Elena wasn't interested.
Then we meet the infamous Jorge towards the end. He acts as if nothing has happened. Like he really tries to engage in normal conversation and acts like everything is okay. It was AWKWARD AND WEIRD and Elena says at some point that its awkward. Then she has the nerve to sleep with him AND make him breakfast in the morning. Not only is Elena depressed but now she has to pay rent due to Jorge and she decides to cook him breakfast in the morning. I was fuming. The dialogue between them is weird and there is no chemistry. He throws the word romantic around like its supposed to mean something. He still doesn't explain himself. I understand what it's like to be self involved but Jorge needs to explain where he was and why he didn't bother to even check in to see if Elena was okay.
Not a fan of the art work style. It worked well for this story but in general I don't like it. The colors were very dull and made the story even more depressing for my eyes.
9 days into 2019 and I am already writing a 1 star review.
I received a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
paragraphsandpages's review
2.0
First I would like to thank Netgalley, the author, and publisher for allowing me the chance to read and review this graphic novel.
I wasn't really expecting too much from this, having seen the reviews on Goodreads as well as the intriguing yet simplistic synopsis, but the art style was more than enough to make me want to read it. It's minimalistic yet cute vibe is one I love in my graphic novels, as it usually works well with the textual parts of the story while not being too distracting or too invisible. However, the art style alone isn't enough to support a story.
While the story was nice enough while reading, especially when supported with a nice art style, the ending left me feeling conflicted about the story in its entirety, and the point in reading it. While I understand the story follows a couple going through their first issues, it felt like the reactions of the characters didn't match up with what was happening, and the ending only supports this more so. It was all just rather confusing, and when paired up with the complete lack of background info, it was hard to orient yourself in the story enough to enjoy the simplicity of the plot. I spent too much time trying to figure out who everyone was, and their relationship to each other, that I never got around to caring about what happened, or really feeling anything at all about the characters.
In the end, that's probably my biggest disappointment with this story. I didn't feel anything while reading it, even though I can empathize with the situation of Elena quite a bit (having moved into my boyfriend's family home and all the things that come with that). But instead I felt no connection at all, because I never felt like I actually knew Elena, her story, and her relationships at all. It made the story fall flat, and feel unmemorable.
I wasn't really expecting too much from this, having seen the reviews on Goodreads as well as the intriguing yet simplistic synopsis, but the art style was more than enough to make me want to read it. It's minimalistic yet cute vibe is one I love in my graphic novels, as it usually works well with the textual parts of the story while not being too distracting or too invisible. However, the art style alone isn't enough to support a story.
While the story was nice enough while reading, especially when supported with a nice art style, the ending left me feeling conflicted about the story in its entirety, and the point in reading it. While I understand the story follows a couple going through their first issues, it felt like the reactions of the characters didn't match up with what was happening, and the ending only supports this more so. It was all just rather confusing, and when paired up with the complete lack of background info, it was hard to orient yourself in the story enough to enjoy the simplicity of the plot. I spent too much time trying to figure out who everyone was, and their relationship to each other, that I never got around to caring about what happened, or really feeling anything at all about the characters.
In the end, that's probably my biggest disappointment with this story. I didn't feel anything while reading it, even though I can empathize with the situation of Elena quite a bit (having moved into my boyfriend's family home and all the things that come with that). But instead I felt no connection at all, because I never felt like I actually knew Elena, her story, and her relationships at all. It made the story fall flat, and feel unmemorable.
ljrinaldi's review
3.0
This is an interesting take on what happens when love dies. Not because of cruelty or abuse, but by absence, and not caring.
We follow Elena as she unravels her life from Jorge, leaving his parents house, to couch surf with very generous friends, until she finds a place of her own.
It is slow and steady, as we go from place to place without Jorge, until she has a place of her own. Not so much a love story, as a finding herself story.
Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.
We follow Elena as she unravels her life from Jorge, leaving his parents house, to couch surf with very generous friends, until she finds a place of her own.
It is slow and steady, as we go from place to place without Jorge, until she has a place of her own. Not so much a love story, as a finding herself story.
Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.
themoonwholistens's review
2.0
Thank you to Europe Comics and Netgalley for the ARC to review
For the most part, the story was not for me because I was really expecting something much more unique based on the premise and the way the book was represented. Even so, what I did enjoy the graphics and the way the story was told. Unlike most comics and graphic novels I've seen Berrio was not afraid to display the progression of some scenes, which I liked since it has been my pet peeve in reading comics.
Going back to the plot, there were multiple scenes that featured people smoking, which I am personally against. This is the result of my rating being lower than usual. I expected our lead character to talk more about the places they were together in and perhaps their memories and whatnot, but I did not get a lot of that going through the book.
I got a gloomy vibe from seeing the cover and the title of the book, which spills into the color scheme throughout the pages, but the plot itself and the characters themselves were not able to represent that enough for me. And I need to mention again how the plot was just really not for me. And it did end weirdly for me.
For the most part, the story was not for me because I was really expecting something much more unique based on the premise and the way the book was represented. Even so, what I did enjoy the graphics and the way the story was told. Unlike most comics and graphic novels I've seen Berrio was not afraid to display the progression of some scenes, which I liked since it has been my pet peeve in reading comics.
Going back to the plot, there were multiple scenes that featured people smoking, which I am personally against. This is the result of my rating being lower than usual. I expected our lead character to talk more about the places they were together in and perhaps their memories and whatnot, but I did not get a lot of that going through the book.
I got a gloomy vibe from seeing the cover and the title of the book, which spills into the color scheme throughout the pages, but the plot itself and the characters themselves were not able to represent that enough for me. And I need to mention again how the plot was just really not for me. And it did end weirdly for me.
leticiatoraci's review
3.0
I would like to thank NetGalley and Europe Comics for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Interesting slice-of-life story but a lot of things are left unsaid while the story goes in all directions without any answers for the reader. You also don't get many opportunities to care for the main character, Elena. She isn't shown in depth, her family and friends are sympathetic but superficial, and the reader mainly gets their superficial impression of what seems to be a blasé, stand-offish person.
Is Helena depressed, angry, lost, lonely, in schock? I'll never know. Elena's family and friends also never seem really interested in talking beyond the superficial niceties. Wherever she is the focus remains with the people around her, who go on interacting socially and having successful lives while she only observes in a detached way.
As a reader I can try to understand her reasons to leave Jorge, but I don't understand her lack of deep reactions. The character of Jorge and the backstory of his relationship with Elena are also not fleshed out enough so I understand what the whole break down was about. I can understand why Elena still sleeps once with her ex-, it seems that for her the turmoil of the breakdown messed up any rationality, this last scene making Elena more relatable; not an example of a heroine but a flawed and confused human being.
This book was like a portrait, a short melancholic depiction of the moment a relationship finishes.
Interesting slice-of-life story but a lot of things are left unsaid while the story goes in all directions without any answers for the reader. You also don't get many opportunities to care for the main character, Elena. She isn't shown in depth, her family and friends are sympathetic but superficial, and the reader mainly gets their superficial impression of what seems to be a blasé, stand-offish person.
Is Helena depressed, angry, lost, lonely, in schock? I'll never know. Elena's family and friends also never seem really interested in talking beyond the superficial niceties. Wherever she is the focus remains with the people around her, who go on interacting socially and having successful lives while she only observes in a detached way.
As a reader I can try to understand her reasons to leave Jorge, but I don't understand her lack of deep reactions. The character of Jorge and the backstory of his relationship with Elena are also not fleshed out enough so I understand what the whole break down was about. I can understand why Elena still sleeps once with her ex-, it seems that for her the turmoil of the breakdown messed up any rationality, this last scene making Elena more relatable; not an example of a heroine but a flawed and confused human being.
This book was like a portrait, a short melancholic depiction of the moment a relationship finishes.
rogenecarter's review
5.0
A beautifully sentimental and ultimately uplifting look at one woman's journey to finding herself despite the pressure to remain coupled.
lucynoonan's review
2.0
The art grabbed me straight away, very simple and yet conveyed so much of the main character's emotions. It was particularly good at showing how isolated she was feeling at the beginning of the story and at the party. Unfortunately, what seemed to be heading towards an original story about a woman finding herself again after the breakdown of her long term relationship ended up revolving entirely around men still. It's unsurprising this was written by a man and was a disappointing and very disjointed read.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher -Dibbuks for the advance copy
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher -Dibbuks for the advance copy